Sermon afterthoughts - more "what is church"

In the message yesterday we read in 1 John about the aged John’s desire for a fellowship to be the inclusive close group of all having a common faith and experience of Jesus -- the bond that holds them together

I did not mention that perhaps the background to this was a group who had broken fellowship and withdrawn from close knit fellowship of the believers in that place – the aim of all our churches and certainly an aim of St Barnabas

There are people who today find the church unhelpful, and without giving up their faith, withdraw from Sunday worship and other Christian activities of their local church.

I think John would want to resist that tendency and encourage people to attend and participate for their own good and for the benefit of those who have been deprived of their input.

What do you think?

Brian