Is Religon Just Going to Church?

Jas 1:27; Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.   (NIV)

According to the above verse, if we think that just going to Church on Sundays is all the religious activity we need to perform in order to please God, we're grievously mistaken.

This morning I listened to a Focus on the Family broadcast about a ministry known as New Commandment Men's Ministries. They understand both aspects of James 1:27. Look after those who are in need, such as orphans and widows, and keeping oneself from being polluted by the world.

The way their ministry works is that groups of 4 men each form within a church. One Saturday each month the groups get get together for prayer and Bible study for an hour. Then for the next couple of hours each group goes out to hep a particular person or family. They help widows, single moms, disabled individuals, and others in need.

A primary focus of the ministry is to help do basic chores such as fix a leaky faucet, clean windows, or haul trash. When the work is finished, the men take time to pray with the person they helped.

The same group of men goes back to the same home each month to build a relationship of friendship among themselves and the person they help.

By going regularly as a group it it helps avoid improper relationships from forming which could happen if a married man kept going alone to help out a widow or other single woman in need.

I believe that New Commandment Men's Ministries is something every church should take a look at and pray about whether something similar should be established as part of the Men's Ministry in their church.

Going to church to sing praises and hear good preaching and teaching is certainly important for those who want to grow in their understanding of the One who has authority over everything. But we need to do more than give Him an hour or two of our attention once a week

If He also wants us to help those in need, like widows and orphans, then we'd best seek to both do it and do it in a way that will be in keeping with the upright way He wants us to live.