Meet Together

For The Boys

If you met me in high school, there were a lot of parts of my character that were not very pastoral. In fact, if I met myself as a high school kid today, I would probably think he was an arrogant little punk. I would like to think I grew up a little bit when I went to college, and I did, but there were still a lot of parts of my character that were not very pastoral. Then I went to the Seminary. The summer before I went, my dad gave me some advice that really worked out for me - he told me to join a team sport because “that’s where the normal guys would be.” I don’t know how much time you’ve spent with Lutheran pastors, but we’re an odd bunch.

The team sports at the Seminary when I was there were basketball and soccer - and since I can’t dribble a basketball without watching it - I joined the soccer team. That’s where I met Sean, probably one of my best friends in the world, Andrew, who was the best man in my wedding, and they introduced me to Ian, Ryan, and Father Ted - these are all guys who I still video call about once a month. We would all grab lunch together more days than not, we’d sit around bonfires, we’d hang out all the time - and it was in those times that my character was formed in really impactful ways. We talked about our class material and brainstormed about how our learning might play out in real world ministry, we challenged each other when we had gotten into habits we shouldn’t have, and we encouraged each other to have mindsets and attitudes that reflected the ministry we were all preparing to go into. And here’s the thing, you can’t teach that stuff, because just knowing the “right” answers doesn’t mean that your life, that your reactions will reflect that. But spending that time being formed by each other, that made a profound impact on my character and shaped me closer to who God wants me to be.

We Are The Church

That’s exactly what our reading from Hebrews is talking about, it’s describing the church and what we should like like as the church of God.

The church looks like all these rows being filled every Sunday as Christians sing God’s praises together, as we pray together, and as we receive God’s gifts in Word and in Sacrament together.

The church looks like people showing up before worship and standing around with coffee and donuts, talking about what’s been going on the past week.

The church looks like people standing outside with the random pillars, talking about the week ahead and spending time in each other’s company.

The church looks like the Tuesday night group at Matt’s place - a bunch of guys who show up early just to talk and connect, who then are encouraged to sit around and have deep conversations about God’s Word, some of whom linger afterward until 9 or 10 or 11.

The church looks like the Wednesday morning group meeting up at a pancake house to celebrate a birthday around coffee and pancakes.

The church looks like a bunch of guys gathering at a random house in Temecula to spend a weekend together, or like a bunch of ladies gathering at a local home for a whole day together.

The church looks like guys gathering on Mondays for steak and to watch the Monday Night Football Game, the church looks like a fantasy football league that Trevor is inexplicably winning, the church looks like kids gathering for VBS, the church looks like a bunch of Christians hanging out at a hockey game.

We are the church when we come together, when we encourage each other to be faithful, when we spend time in God’s Word together, and when we just experience life together. We are the church and God works in powerful ways whenever we are together.

Town Halls, Walls, and Towers

And what do we gather around? What brings us together? It’s the confidence we have in the sacrifice of Jesus for us. We trust, we believe, we know that Jesus died to make peace between us and God. And the reward we receive for the work He did, Hebrews tells us it is great - it is an eternity in a perfect new heaven and earth, it is an eternity walking with God.

It makes me picture something from a phone game that I play a lot when I’m in waiting rooms and such. It’s a game called Clash of Clans. You start the game with a Town Hall - it’s the most important building in the whole base. So, naturally, you build some walls around the Town Hall to protect it. Then you add some defenses like cannons and archer towers. But here’s the thing, the better your base is, the better the attackers become. You defend against barbarians with walls, attackers start using wizards. You defend against wizards with cannons, attackers start using bomber balloons. You defend against bombers with archer towers, attackers start using dragons. Now, eventually, you unlock something called an Eagle Artillery that makes it almost impossible for people to get to your town hall.

Our faith is the most important, central thing in our lives. It is the gift that saves us. But the devils and the world want to attack and knock down that town hall - so God give us walls and towers to help us protect our faith. The time we spend together in worship, the little conversations that happen before and after, the time in small groups, the time just hanging out with one another, the time doing retreats and fellowship activities - each and every one of those things is a gift that God gives us to support and build up our faith, to protect it from the attacks of the devil, of the world, and of our own broken humanity.

Get Involved

So we listen to the author of Hebrews when he encourages us

Hebrews 10:23–25 (ESV)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

And you might ask “how do I do that?” Well, first, don’t overthink it. Show up in worship on Sunday mornings - if you only come once a month, start coming twice; if you come twice a month, start coming three times. Come early for Bible Class and for conversation. Be willing to stay and chat with folks instead of racing for your car. If you aren’t involved with a small group, let’s get you connected. Come to the Chili Cook-off this afternoon, come to the hockey game next month, be involved with the fellowship and community events - just because there isn’t any formal teaching doesn’t mean you don’t learn important things there.

Get involved, meet together, encourage each other, and stir one another up to love and good works.

Cling to Christ’s Confidence

And as we get more and more involved with one another, we will be more and more formed into the image of Christ. And the incredible thing about forging that formative community, that real picture of what it means to be a church, it becomes magnetically attractive. Inviting people to join us becomes natural as breathing, acting like Christ calls us to becomes increasingly automatic, and support is always there for the difficult times in life.

God gives us faith that is our confidence, let us cling to that confidence and encourage each other to do the same. Amen.