A few families are gathered in the living room.  They welcome us warmly.  The worship begins.  There is no organ here to lead us in our singing. But the praise songs are just as sweet and come from the heart. As in the other church, a leader leads us in prayer and Bible reading. Another gives the message. After the service, we have a happy time visiting with our brothers and sisters in this church.

You may wonder ‘what is a church?’  The church of the Lord Jesus is not a building. Each church is the people who meet together in the Lord’s name.  As a family of believers, we love and care for each other, pray and support each other and serve each other. Then, the Bible says, there is one church in the whole world!  What does that mean? The Christians all over the world, who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus and have decided to follow only Him, form this church. The Lord Jesus is the ‘Head’ of this church.  This church is called the ‘Body of Christ’. He breathes his life into his church and cares for us.  We are his very own.

 The Bible says: “Christ is the Head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.” As you are reading this, wherever you may be in the world, whatever your culture and language maybe if you are a follower of Jesus, you belong to the world-wide church of our Lord. And you are my brother or sister in Christ.  Isn’t this wonderful?! I love you and I pray for you. I care about you. Are you glad, my friend, that you came to church with me to worship God with his family today through these pages?

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, thank You for making me a part of your world-wide church family.”

Why do Christians go to church on Sundays? The Lord Jesus came alive from the grave on the first day of the week which is Sunday. We remember his resurrection that day. The Bible says his disciples met together on the first day of the week. So Christians around the world gather on Sundays to worship God, praise Him, and thank him with fellow believers.

Do you see the cross on top of the church?  You may see one on most churches and another one inside the room where we meet for worship. The Cross is a symbol of value for Christians.  It reminds us that our Savior gave his life on a cross to save us.

Let us go inside and sit quietly on a seat. We see many other Christians who have come to church also.  Let us pray quietly and prepare our hearts to worship God. The organ music is playing beautifully. As we focus our minds on God, our hearts are lifted up. We can feel God’s presence with us in the church. Here is the Pastor.  He is the spiritual leader of all the people of this church.  He is leading us in worship. We joyfully sing songs and hymns of praise to God and the Lord Jesus. Pastor prays. We hear passages read from the Bible. Pastor gives us a message and teaches us from the Bible. Then, with a blessing, the worship service is over.

We meet the other Christians after the service.  We are so happy to visit with them! They belong to God’s family just like you and me and so they are our family. They are our Christian brothers and sisters. God is our Heavenly Father – to all of us who have accepted his Son as our Savior. In the Bible, a great king, David, wrote: “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord’ “Psalm 122:1

 Prayer: “Almighty God, thank You for giving us a church to worship You in. And for inviting us to worship You there with other believers.”

My maternal grandparents started attending it in the mid 1960s when they moved from Delhi to Bangalore. My parents became members of St. Marks the year after they were married. This was the church I was born into, baptized, confirmed, and married in.

My memories are of the absolutely heavenly music, Professor Sebastian played on the grand pipe organ and the choir joyously singing hymns under Uncle Sugirtharaj’s tutelage. And, I cannot forget Anand Uncle proudly carrying the cross down the aisle each week. But, I also remember the service from the Book of Common Worship being repeated innumerable times that it felt very boring and often made me mindlessly say them – though in and of itself it was beautiful and meaningful. The Sunday school was set for elementary school aged kids. We sang the usual joyful songs, learned a Bible hero story and colored our papers in the parish hall. Except for my grandpa who was in leadership, the rest of us were pretty much Sunday Christians. 

Now looking back, it was a beautiful church but I am heartbroken to say that as far as I can remember, I don’t remember the gospel being preached at all through my 22 years there. I have been away from that church since our move to the U.S. 30 years ago. I wonder what Jesus would say about it today? It has an interesting history of being built and collapsing many times – is this a significant reflection of the spiritual reality of the church? Praying that it would be free of the chains of worldliness, legalism, morality and corruption to stand as a bright gospel light in the city of Bangalore. 

It’s not a church that matters but it’s the worship of our one true God! It’s the truth of the Gospel which gives us eternal hope and life. I have since learned that salvation is by grace alone, by faith alone, not by works so that none of us may boast! For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16

HISTORY: 

The Church That Kept Rising From The Ashes

– Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Updated: Dec 10, 2017