Sat May 24, 2008 , 11:50 AM
Part 4 of 13
They continued daily with one accord in the temple
Acts 2:46
'And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,'
The early church had such a love for the Lord that they were meeting daily in the temple for services. At this time the early church did not have its own building designated for church services. Therefore, they were using the Jewish temple as this is where many in the church had worshiped before turning to Christ. It also allowed them ample opportunities to witness to those Jews who were there to worship. This is a bid difference from many of today's churches and members. More and more churches are having to give up services because people simply will not show up. There are even some churches what only have services once a month. We need to realize that church attendance is an important part of the Christian's life. How wonderful it would be if Christians would simply be faithful to a couple of services a week let alone getting them to meet every day.
1. Church attendance is a command.
Hebrews 10:25
'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.'
Here in the book of Hebrews we see an admonition to be at church whenever the church is assembling. That means Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and revival services or any other time the church is meeting for services. Naturally, at times, things are going to come up which may cause us to miss a service; this should be the exception, however, and not the rule. Church attendance is an integral part of the mature Christian's life. Without church attendance a Christian will not fully mature in the Lord.
We should make church a priority in life. Sadly, to most "Christians" church is something for show, to satisfy our conscience, or it is just something to do when there is nothing "better" going on. Too many Christians have become distracted by the things of this world to attend church - television, sports, hobbies, even family can all become distractions if we allow them to interfere with our church attendance. I pity the child of God who would rather go fishing, go to a sports event, or stay home and watch a T.V. show instead of going to church to worship their Lord and Saviour. Of course, the problem may be that He is not their Lord and Saviour and therefore they feel no compulsion to worship Him. It is impossible to get most Christians to devote three hours a week to church let alone trying to get them in church each day. Imagine what we could do for Christ if we were that devoted the the House of God and to serving Him.
2. We ought to support our church and pastor.
By being faithful to our church we are providing our pastor with encouragement whether we realize it or not. As someone who has stood behind a pulpit many times, and seen the empty seats which should have been filled, I can tell you that it can be a discouragement to the Man of God. Think of how it is for a pastor who has been there for the people on countless occasions only to have them hit and miss in their church attendance.
Throughout the New Testament epistles we can see numerous individuals mentioned which were a great encouragement to the Apostle Paul. These were those who were faithful to the ministry and the work of Christ. We also see those that caused Paul some discouragement such as Demas (II Timothy 4:10). When we miss church or forsake the things of God to live for the world then it can be discouraging to our pastor. By being at church when the doors are open for service we are showing our pastor that we care for him and the things of God.
3. It provides much needed fellowship.
As we have mentioned before, attending church and being a part of a local assembly allows us to fellowship with like-minded believers. It allows us to get away from the troubles and temptations of this world for a short time. Attending church should reenergize our spirit and give us the strength we need to make it until the church meets again. The devil's constantly attacking those who are trying to live for God, but by being faithful in our church attendance we are giving ourself a defense against those attacks.
If we decide that church is not an important part of our life then we will miss out on the blessings God has for us. More than likely, we will bring about the chastening hand of the Lord instead of His blessings because it will not be long before we fall into sin. If we are not fellowshiping with other like-minded believers then we will fellowship with those of false views and eventually their false views will become our false views. This is one reason it is so important to find a group of believers who hold strongly to the Bible so that we can have some support in our own stand for the truth of God's Word.
If we are going to see the world turned upside down for Christ then we need to be faithful to the House of God. Whether our church meets one time, three times, or everyday of the week we should be faithful barring any extenuating circumstances.
In Christ,
PreacherE
They continued daily with one accord in the temple
Acts 2:46
'And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,'
The early church had such a love for the Lord that they were meeting daily in the temple for services. At this time the early church did not have its own building designated for church services. Therefore, they were using the Jewish temple as this is where many in the church had worshiped before turning to Christ. It also allowed them ample opportunities to witness to those Jews who were there to worship. This is a bid difference from many of today's churches and members. More and more churches are having to give up services because people simply will not show up. There are even some churches what only have services once a month. We need to realize that church attendance is an important part of the Christian's life. How wonderful it would be if Christians would simply be faithful to a couple of services a week let alone getting them to meet every day.
1. Church attendance is a command.
Hebrews 10:25
'Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.'
Here in the book of Hebrews we see an admonition to be at church whenever the church is assembling. That means Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and revival services or any other time the church is meeting for services. Naturally, at times, things are going to come up which may cause us to miss a service; this should be the exception, however, and not the rule. Church attendance is an integral part of the mature Christian's life. Without church attendance a Christian will not fully mature in the Lord.
We should make church a priority in life. Sadly, to most "Christians" church is something for show, to satisfy our conscience, or it is just something to do when there is nothing "better" going on. Too many Christians have become distracted by the things of this world to attend church - television, sports, hobbies, even family can all become distractions if we allow them to interfere with our church attendance. I pity the child of God who would rather go fishing, go to a sports event, or stay home and watch a T.V. show instead of going to church to worship their Lord and Saviour. Of course, the problem may be that He is not their Lord and Saviour and therefore they feel no compulsion to worship Him. It is impossible to get most Christians to devote three hours a week to church let alone trying to get them in church each day. Imagine what we could do for Christ if we were that devoted the the House of God and to serving Him.
2. We ought to support our church and pastor.
By being faithful to our church we are providing our pastor with encouragement whether we realize it or not. As someone who has stood behind a pulpit many times, and seen the empty seats which should have been filled, I can tell you that it can be a discouragement to the Man of God. Think of how it is for a pastor who has been there for the people on countless occasions only to have them hit and miss in their church attendance.
Throughout the New Testament epistles we can see numerous individuals mentioned which were a great encouragement to the Apostle Paul. These were those who were faithful to the ministry and the work of Christ. We also see those that caused Paul some discouragement such as Demas (II Timothy 4:10). When we miss church or forsake the things of God to live for the world then it can be discouraging to our pastor. By being at church when the doors are open for service we are showing our pastor that we care for him and the things of God.
3. It provides much needed fellowship.
As we have mentioned before, attending church and being a part of a local assembly allows us to fellowship with like-minded believers. It allows us to get away from the troubles and temptations of this world for a short time. Attending church should reenergize our spirit and give us the strength we need to make it until the church meets again. The devil's constantly attacking those who are trying to live for God, but by being faithful in our church attendance we are giving ourself a defense against those attacks.
If we decide that church is not an important part of our life then we will miss out on the blessings God has for us. More than likely, we will bring about the chastening hand of the Lord instead of His blessings because it will not be long before we fall into sin. If we are not fellowshiping with other like-minded believers then we will fellowship with those of false views and eventually their false views will become our false views. This is one reason it is so important to find a group of believers who hold strongly to the Bible so that we can have some support in our own stand for the truth of God's Word.
If we are going to see the world turned upside down for Christ then we need to be faithful to the House of God. Whether our church meets one time, three times, or everyday of the week we should be faithful barring any extenuating circumstances.
In Christ,
PreacherE