Christian Character - Assembling Together

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 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.

Quick question. If we never went to class, would we have graduated school?

If we never graduated school, would we ever have gotten a job and earned a living?

Now, big question. If we went to work as often as we attended church, would we have been employed for long?

Ouch.

Think about that again. Would we have been able to keep a job if we attended our work if we attended it the same way we attended church? I am afraid many of us would have been fired soon after employment.

So why is it we feel church attendance as less of a priority, no priority, or as an “attend when it’s convenient” or “when I feel like it”?

Why is it no longer a priority in our lives?

And I do understand we are busier today than ever. Or, are we? According to a study by Worldcrunch  “Why Modern Life Feels So Busy Even If We Work Less” they state It’s about multiplying choices, not vanishing time. Overall, people work less today than they did 100 years ago. And there is no clear evidence that the pace of life has accelerated.

So if it’s not more hours or faster pace, what’s changed? The answer is that the institutions that used to regulate our time have all but vanished.

Think about it. In the 1950s, what did the average American or Canadian do on Sunday morning? They didn’t spend much time wondering whether they should watch Netflix in bed or go to brunch. The only option for many was to go to church.

Jonathan Abbamonte writes in the article “The Great Falling Away: The Decline in Religious Services Attendance in the United States Over the Past 50 Years” Weekly attendance of religious services has significantly declined across most demographic groups including women, men, all age groups over 18 years, married adults, never-married adults, and Americans with a high school diploma or less. Today, nearly half of American adults either rarely or never attend religious services. Frequent religious services attendance has been linked to numerous individual, familial, and societal benefits, including improved mental and physical health, greater life satisfaction, and higher likelihood for volunteering and charitable giving. Consequently, society has much to lose when people of faith cease attending religious services.

Adherence to religious values is strongly tied to active and regular participation in religious practice. More than any other type of religious practice, frequent attendance of religious services is the most reliable predictor for individuals to act on their religious principles. Numerous studies have provided supporting evidence for what most people of faith already know: Frequent attendance of religious services has countless spiritual, emotional, psychological, and physical benefits for the well-being of individuals, families, and society.

But it is not just weekly attendees who showed a decline in religious participation. The religious services attendance of Americans who attend one to three times a month were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The percentage of Americans attending on a monthly or multi-monthly basis had remained stable for nearly 50 years, but after the pandemic, there was a sharp decline in religious services attendance for this group.

Reasons for the decline in religious services attendance are numerous and complex.

Since the 1960s and early 1970s, society has become broadly more accepting of divorce, sexual relations outside marriage, contraception, abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, assisted suicide, gambling, and recreational drug use. All of these activities are contrary to the morals, teachings, and values of most religious traditions. The fact that many Americans have come to accept and participate in these sorts of activities has changed personal values and philosophies and has caused people to distance themselves from religious institutions and the observance of religious services.  

Society and culture have also changed in other ways. For one, society has become increasingly obsessed with getting ahead in life both materially and in terms of status. After the Baby Boom, family sizes shrank and parents began placing more value on spending more time and resources on fewer children. With more attention from their parents, children have increasingly grown up in a climate in which they are pushed to achieve and in which they feel that they are, in a sense, defined by their material achievements and status.

The increasing role that digital and social media have played in people’s lives during the past 25 years has amplified the effect, making people more aware of what the Jones’ have. This has driven adults and adolescents today to gain ever more external markers of achievement. The increasing appetite for worldly achievements has increased the amount of importance Americans place on money, as surveys have shown, as well as the amount of time and the value Americans place on leisure. The cultural pressure to achieve more has gone hand-in-hand with an increased focus on individual autonomy and personal choice in the U.S. Many young adults, in pursuit of educational and material achievements and financial goals, have increasingly put off marriage and family—two institutions that often bring people back to regular church attendance.

Declining religious observance in the United States may also be occurring as an unintended consequence of the ease of modern life and increasing per capita wealth. When life is good, some people take their blessings for granted and fall away from religious practices. On the other hand, people tend to return to them when times are hard.

Between work, school, meeting up with friends, getting homework done, and shuttling kids to soccer games, Americans are increasingly pressed for time, and the cultural shift in priorities means there is less time for religious observances. Because religious practice tends not to fit into the priorities of contemporary society, fewer Americans see religious practice as relevant to their lives.

Church, we have the same hours in a day we always have had, but how and what we SPEND that time on has severely shifted. What is even more concerning is the cultural shift of not feeling the need to encourage our own family to prioritize church attendance as a way to grow and bond with one another. Plainly spoken, we put more emphasis on what people think of us and our achievements than what God thinks of our obedience.

So - we wonder why no one attends, but yet we won’t ask or encourage them to attend. THATS makes great sense doesn’t it.

But switching gears, let me ask you this question - HOW are we to expect to know God’s Will, to learn more about God’s Will, or to be able to hear and discern God’s Will if neglect God’s house?

The Apostle Paul, as he is encouraging the believers in Hebrews to look after the spiritual needs of one another. Stir up one another to love and do good works.

What an exhortation to believers!

⇒ Give attention to one another.

⇒ Fix your attention upon one another.

⇒ Give continuous care to one another.

⇒ Watch over one another.

How different the church would be—how much stronger we would be in Christ and in life—if we actually did what we are called to do!

I think we need to look at our priorities, and get back to encouraging one another in our faith. This isn’t only encouragement, it is accountability. You see, we must hold one another accountable - not only to one another, but to God.

One of the ways we do that is through encouraging one another to come together as the corporate body of believers. Paul reminds us to not forsake the assembling together so we can worship as a body of believers, for prayer and supplications (needs) of one another, to study God’s Word, and to do God’s ministry and witness in our communities.

Believers need each other—the presence, fellowship, strength, encouragement, care, and love of each other.

But note: some had forsaken the church even in the day of the early church. How like some in every generation. The need is just what this verse says: exhort one another, and so much the more, as you see the day approaching. What day? The day of the Lord’s return. His return is immediately upon us. Therefore, we must exhort those who have fallen away, lest they miss the salvation of His coming and have to face His judgment.

Closing

So what keeps us from coming to church? Is it out of fear? Fear of ridicule or criticism. Is it fear of our lifestyle? Maybe we think we aren’t good enough to go to church, people may recognize our shortcomings or our failures. Maybe we haven’t given our time a good look and scheduled in our time with the Lord first. Maybe, just maybe we think we don’t need the church. Thinking we live a good life, we can worship alone, we can worship at home, we can even watch a church service online and “attend church”. But folks, this takes away the intent and purpose of gathering together - to support one another. I guarantee you, if you are in a good place in life one of two things is happening. 1) you aren’t doing anything for the Lord anyways and Satan is letting you do whatever you want to do and justify it. 2) The good is going to change and you will be heading into a dark spot. Encourage others when they are struggling. Let others encourage you when you are struggling. This is the family, the body, of Christ. But, we must be a part of the body. An ear cannot hear if it is not attached to the head. The brain cannot think if it is not attached to the body. The finger cannot feel if it is not attached to the hand. You get my point. You cannot function as God intended without being a part of the body of God - and the church.

Think of it this way, if God were like your employer...would you still be employed as a Christian?

As we transition into the time of reflection and prepare the table for the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded to do so in a manner that is worthy of the Lamb. In this time, I encourage each of us to reflect on our own actions, our own deeds, our own Salvation so that we, as believers, may take Communion worthily.