Why do we gather?

Rhythms

TLK 2

Bottom Line: We were designed to follow Jesus with one another

Intro

In week two of our Rhythms series… tackling the why behind some of the rhythms we should have as Christians… when we have a better answer to why than “it’s just what we do” we begin to understand, appreciate, and apply the rhythm more consistently

The “it's just what we do answer” is one I got a lot as a kid concerning the question we are asking today…. In fact you probably asked it as you were woken up as a teenager on a Sunday morning, or on your way to AWANA or whatever mid-week program you had as a kid if you grew up around Christianity… Why do we get together? Why do we gather?

The actual answer to this question is multi-faceted and would take all day to fully unpack…. So we are going to tackle the most practical/ most pressing part of this answer… my prayer this whole week has been that God would stir in us a new passion to gather

Is it essential to my faith to have a consistent rhythm of gathering with other Christians?

Truth

Before we get to the heart of this thing, I want us to gain a critical perspective to understand why we gather… God’s people gathering together is a rhythm established very early on in history→ God creates→ 7th day rests→ sabbath→ a day set aside for God…

Festivals, Sabbaths, Feasts→ all over the O.T

400 years of silence→ post O.T, pre N.T Sabbath services in temple on Saturdays

Jesus comes→ resurrects→ N.T church adopts this rhythm but moves it to Sunday and it looked similar to what we do today→ “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit;” - Justin Martyr (155 AD)

I share that so we have understood that gathering together is a modern practice of our faith… but is it essential to your faith?

Hebrews 10:19-25 → Written by an unknown author, but we know a few things… The author was Jewish and so was the audience… to understand Hebrews fully, one has to have a decent understanding of the ancient Jewish faith and cultural practices of the day… Hebrews 7-10 is explaining that Jesus is the superior high priest –think lead spiritual leader and intermediary between God and man – and his sacrifice was superior to the O.T sacrificial system→ Jesus fulfilled and accomplished finally what the O.T sacrifices did temporarily→ The work necessary to reconcile sinners to God has been fully accomplished by Jesus

Hebrews 10:19-20→ Therefore→ important because of the point made before→ following Jesus does not begin with “here’s what you need to do for God” but rather “ here’s what God did for you” and then “here is our response to this reality”

Brothers and sisters→ family language→ belonging→ following Jesus is not a life of isolated religious consumption– “Jesus and me” perspective… It is a life of belonging to a family, His family– “Jesus and we” perspective

Through the blood/curtain→ important to understand Jewish temple worship in the day→ picture→ holy of holies and curtain→ Jesus is the way to have access to God… not a way… the way!

Hebrews 10:21→ high priest→ advocate intermediary, defender… House of God→ reference to God’s people not a structure… the church is not a building but a people→ God’s presence is not contained to a building but inst amongst His people… We do life together as God’s people… not a solo sport

Hebrews 10:19-21 tells us two important truths… 1) We have access to be present with God through Jesus… 2) We have a new family with whom our lives are molded together through Jesus

Hebrews 10:22-24→ our response to these truths

Draw Near→ worship language→ reinforcing that God’s people now have intimate access with their God through Jesus→ Jesus has cleansed us so that we can confidently approach our God… this is incredible… we can stand before Him not condemned but as beloved children→ speaks to our identity and God’s faithfulness

Hold on→ maintain a firm grip, refusing to let go→ salvation is obtained in a moment but sanctification is maintained through ongoing faithfulness→ Not ours, but Gods→ God is the one who our hope is anchored to… not our own works… Hebrews urges its readers to not shrink back, abandon their faith, or drift away

Consider one another→ carefully pay attention to, think deeply about→ following Jesus is more about others than yourself→ stir up, encourage, challenge, exhort one another towards Christlikeness

Following Jesus means you are a part of a family who help one another follow Jesus faithfully→ no way around the fact that we are designed with one another in mind→ following Jesus without Christian community is like eating Oreos without milk… incomplete and lacking

We were designed to follow Jesus with one another

Hebrews 10:25→ not neglecting→ abandon, forsake, leave behind… habit→ a rhythm of disconnecting– not because of sickness or traveling every so often– but intentional habit of not gathering→ Rhythms impact spiritual life and well-being→ we need encouragement→ accountability, challenge, stirred up to continue to live out the gospel

We need to be with one another to be reminded to keep trusting and obeying Jesus, fighting sin, persevering, hoping→ keep focused on Jesus so that we can draw near to God, hold on to our hope, and consider one another in this life→ is it essential to gather? Yes!

We gather because we were designed to follow Jesus with one another→ it is why one anothers are part of our small groups values→ Jesus talks about it, The Bible talks about it!

Application

My challenge to us this morning is simple→ Don’t neglect getting together→ physically, not over a screen…

Sunday mornings matter→ Not because you earn special favor… it helps you draw near to God as we face an enemy who wants us distracted… it helps us hold on to our hope by hearing the truth proclaimed in a world full of deceit…it helps us consider our family as we fight back self-centeredness

Small groups matter→ Stir towards God, confess sin, remember truth… bearing burdens, praying for each other…. Encouraging, knowing, and challenging each other→ SG push to sign up

Following Jesus is not an isolated consumption of religious materials and activities… it is a lifestyle of surrender and belonging to King Jesus and His family

Christian→ you will not flourish in isolation… NC→ this is what you are invited to- gospel moment

We were designed to follow Jesus with one another