We Need Our Church Community
[Let us] not [give] up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but [encourage] one another. Hebrews 10:25
READ Hebrews 10:19–25
I grew up the firstborn son of a Southern
Baptist preacher. Every Sunday the expectation was clear: I was to be in
church. Possible exceptions? Maybe if I had a significant fever. But
the truth is, I absolutely loved going, and I even went a few times
feverish. But the world has changed, and the numbers for regular church
attendance are not what they used to be. Of course, the quick question
is why? The answers are many and varied. Author Kathleen Norris
counters those answers with a response she received from a pastor to
the question, “Why do we go to church?” He said, “We go to church for
other people. Because someone may need you there.”
Now by no means is that the only reason we go to church, but his
response does resonate with the heartbeat of the writer to the Hebrews.
He urged the believers to persevere in the faith, and to achieve that
goal he stressed “not giving up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25). Why?
Because something vital would be missed in our absence: “encouraging one
another” (v. 25). We need that mutual encouragement to “spur one
another on toward love and good deeds” (v. 24).
Brothers and sisters, keep meeting together, because someone may need
you there. And the corresponding truth is that you may need them as
well.
By John Blase |
What are the top four reasons you either go
to church or don’t go? How does knowing “someone may need you there”
make you feel about meeting together?
Heavenly Father, as I meet with others to
worship and praise Your name, help me to also encourage others in Your
name. Forgive me when I overlook the latter because I’m too preoccupied
with myself.
Learn more about the importance of church. | | | | |
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The letter to the Hebrews was written to
Jewish believers in Jesus who, due to persecution and hardship, were in
danger of drifting from the faith. Therefore, it makes sense that the
author would remind them of the confidence they could have in Christ,
for it provides an antidote for their doubts. The New Bible Commentary
says, “The word translated confidence is found in four important
contexts in Hebrews (3:6; 4:16; 10:19; 10:35). Fundamentally, it’s a confidence of free and open access to God . . . based on the unique sacrifice of Jesus (by the blood of Jesus).”
As a result, the believers were encouraged to embrace the confidence
that they were truly part of God’s “house” (3:6), to enter God’s
presence confidently in prayer (4:15–16), to enter God’s presence in
worship (10:19), and to maintain that confidence in living out their
lives (10:35).
Bill Crowder
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