When you come together

Assembling to eat the unleavened bread and drink the fruit of the vine in remembrance of Jesus was a big deal to His first followers.  Jesus personally started it just before His death, burial, and resurrection; and, in so doing, He gave a model of worship with Him at the center that included singing and prayer (Matthew 26:26-30).  It only makes sense that those baptized after the gospel was first proclaimed in Jerusalem “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). 

We see this devotion to the “Lord’s Supper” continuing as the gospel spread throughout the world.  Luke described the Sunday assembly of Christians in Troas as “when we were gathered together to break bread”, with the Apostle Paul staying in town just to be there for it (Acts 20:5-7).  When writing to the Corinthians, Paul would refer to “when you come together as a church” with the understanding that it was to participate in the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:17-20).

Yet, Corinth also shows us just eating the bread and drinking the cup isn’t enough:  Paul said, “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper you eat” (I Corinthians 11:20).  Why?  “For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal.  One goes hungry, another gets drunk” (I Corinthians 11:21).  The result was division, humiliation of the needy, and a failure to wait for and share with one another.  This was unworthy of what the Lord’s Supper represents because it was against who the Lord Jesus is!

To truly be the Lord’s Supper, our focus must be on Jesus.  “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (I Corinthians 11:26).  When our focus is right, the Lord’s Supper reminds us of how much Jesus loves us.  It allows us to experience His presence and look forward to His return (Mark 14:26, Luke 22:18).  Instead of dividing us, it brings us together:  “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (I Corinthians 10:17).

Proclaiming the Lord’s death.  Remembering His love.  Experiencing His presence.  Uniting with one another.  No wonder the first Christians met every Sunday to celebrate it!  May we be just as devoted to the Lord’s Supper and in a way worthy of the Lord Jesus it proclaims!

A kingdom that cannot be shaken

Imagine a world without cancer or addiction; where broken relationships are healed; where war and terrorism, layoffs and hunger, even sin and death are ended.  It’s coming:

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:26-29).

When God gave Israel the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, the earth shook.  Now that Jesus has given a new covenant to bring all into a relationship with God, there is a promise that things will shake again and leave only the unshakable.  This is the unseen and eternal.  It’s the day when the mortal is “swallowed up by life”, and the things that hurt us are forever defeated (II Corinthians 4:16-5:5).

The worship we offer is built on the unshakable.  It isn’t “self-made religion” based on the “shadows” of what can be handled, tasted, or touched – “things that all perish as they are used” (Colossians 2:16-23).  It is built on the substance that belongs to Christ.  It is an offering we bring of grateful, acceptable worship.  With reverence and awe.  In spirit and truth.

What do we see when we assemble to worship?  Are we focused on the outward realities?  Are we burdened and distracted by the shakable things of the world? 

If in our worship we fix our eyes on the eternal – on God, on Jesus, and on one another as fellow citizens of heaven – we start to experience the unshakable right now (Hebrews 12:18-24).  This is what God wants for us in worship.  Not a focus on earthly things to temporarily satisfy ourselves, but an encounter with the eternal.  A preview of what God will accomplish when He shakes the heavens and earth and all is united in His Son. 

Worship is meant to be an opportunity for us to experience heaven on earth.  I, for one, do not want to miss it!

For you have not come to what may be touched

When we assemble for worship, there is so much more going on than what we physically see.  Consider what the inspired writer says in Hebrews 12:18-24:

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

The Hebrews writer shows us that when Jesus’ followers assemble, it is different than what happened under Moses.  Old Testament worship placed a major emphasis on the physical.  This was to teach us, serving as a “shadow of good things to come instead of the true form of these realities” (Hebrews 10:1, cf. Galatians 3:23-29).

Now that Christ has come, our worship is about spiritual realities.  It’s not about geography or buildings.  As Paul preached in Athens, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24).  The only physical thing we truly need to worship Jesus is the bread and the cup, and this is to proclaim the reality of His death until He comes (cf. I Corinthians 11:23-26). 

Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20).  Worship is about coming into God’s presence and being together, united in Jesus’ name.  This frees us to worship anywhere –living room, church building, campground– without needing “what may be touched”, things like big buildings, fancy robes, or musical instruments.

Let us seek to see worship the way God does:  “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven”.  May we all see the beauty of simple, personal, Christ-centered worship!

The Heart of Worship

As we live the new life and walk in love, the Apostle Paul tells us a lot about what our attitude toward worship should be in Ephesians 5:18-21.

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Notice what Paul says here:  what we do in worship is important.  Singing is important.  Giving thanks is important.  That’s not all that he tells us in this passage, though.

Paul also says that Who we worship matters.  When we come together, we should be filled with the Spirit.  When we are addressing one another in songs, we are really singing to the Lord.  When we are giving thanks, it is to God the Father. 

Worship isn’t like a school club or a business meeting.  It isn’t like a concert or movie we go to see for our entertainment.  Worship is something we do.  It is something that we – filled with the Spirit – offer to God the Father because we are in Christ.

That’s why it is so important we don’t miss what Paul tells us about how we worship.  The melody we make to the Lord is with our hearts.  We are mentally and emotionally connecting with the words we sing.  We give thanks always and for everything.  We are looking for and appreciating all that God has done.  Because of who Jesus is and all that He has given for us, we are submitting to one another.  We are focused on building each other up, not grumbling about departures from our personal preferences.

The more we personally develop the heart of worship, the more we’ll benefit from being worshipers:  to God be the glory!

Something for everyone

In I Timothy 2:8-10, the Apostle Paul shows us that there is something for everyone in the church of Christ.

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 

On Monday January 28 at 6:30 p.m., the women of our church family are going to meet for a time of fellowship and devotion.  They will share a meal, study God’s word together, and pray earnestly.  They will grow closer to God and closer to each other.  They will be strengthened to live lives that are respectful and pure, to grow in the “beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”, and to do good and “not fear anything that is frightening” (I Peter 3:1-6).  See Lorna Thompson if you would like to learn more before joining this special time of Ladies Fellowship.

On Saturday February 2 at 8 a.m., the men of our church family are going to meet for our first Men’s Prayer Breakfast.  We are going to pray specifically for the spouses, children, family members, and friends in our lives that are harassed, helpless, and in “a far country” away from their loving Father (Matthew 9:36-38, Luke 15:11-32).  May God give us boldness to proclaim His word and open our loved ones’ hearts to pay attention (Acts 4:29, 16:14)! 

Please sign up today if you know you are going to attend the Men’s Prayer Breakfast to help us plan.  If you have someone for whom you would like our men to pray, write down the details on one of our prayer cards and give it to Tony Jordan, Dan Hager, or Debbie Justice. 

Pray earnestly

In Matthew 9:36-38, Jesus reveals a lot about His heart and commands His disciples to pray a specific way.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

When Jesus saw the harassed and helpless people all around Him, He felt compassion and He turned to prayer.  What about the harassed and helpless people all around us?  What about the children raised in the church who didn’t continue in their faith?  What about the spouses, parents, and siblings who have heard the good news about Jesus but haven’t obeyed it yet?

On Saturday February 2 at 8 a.m., the men of our church family are going to meet for a fellowship breakfast.  During this time, we are going to pray earnestly.  We are going to pray for the Lord to send out laborers (Matthew 9:38).  We are going to pray to speak His word with all boldness (Acts 4:29).  We are going to pray for the Lord to open hearts to pay attention to the gospel (Acts 16:14).

Is there someone in your life that is harassed, helpless, and in “a far country” away from their loving Father that we can specifically pray over?  Write down the details on one of our prayer cards and give it to Tony Jordan, Dan Hager, or Debbie Justice before or after services over the next couple of weeks.  During the men’s prayer breakfast on Saturday February 2, our brothers will pray earnestly over each of these.

If you are planning to attend the Men’s Prayer Breakfast, please let us know on the sign up sheet in the hallway by Wednesday January 30 to help us plan (but if you find out you are able to come that morning and you didn’t sign up, come anyway).

Using your "talents"

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells a story to help us understand how God’s kingdom works.  A man going on a journey gives some of his property to his servants according to their abilities to productively use.  He gave his first servant five talents, his second servant two talents, and his third servant one talent.  A “talent” was equivalent to twenty years’ wages for a laborer.  Based on minimum wage for a full-time worker today, he gave the first servant $1,508,000 (five talents), the second servant $603,200 (two talents), and the third servant $301,600 (one talent).

As soon as the master left, the first two servants got to work and doubled their talents.  When after a long time he returned, they presented him with $3,016,000 (ten talents) and $1,206,400 (four talents) respectively.  Praising them with, “Well done, good and faithful servant”, the master welcomed them to share in his joy.

Not so for the third servant.  He had buried what the master gave him – and then blamed it on the master.  “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.  Here you have what is yours.”  Do you notice how the servant contradicts himself, though?  The master supposedly reaps where he didn’t sow, yet the servant says, “have what is yours”?  He knew the master expected a lot, so he did nothing?  The master wasn’t impressed either, casting the worthless servant into outer darkness.

This story tells us a lot about living in God’s kingdom.  Our master has given to us each according to his ability.  He knows us.  What He has given is what He knows we’re able to use – and He entrusts us with a lot!  Even the one talent man received significantly more to use from the master than he would have earned on his own. 

Our master doesn’t judge our value in comparison to others.  We are faithful in His eyes based on how we used what He gave us.

What has God given us to use, in terms of our time, talents, and material blessings?  If we really think about it, it is a lot!  How are we using what He has given us?  May we all be “good and faithful” servants that we might enter into His joy!