TEXT: ‘Not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25 AMP). Recently I helped a 93 year old lady up the steps out of a church and along the gravel path to the car. She needed to use a walker with wheels on it. The gravel made the journey even more arduous than the steps. I asked her why she still attended church as she surely had a good reason not to go. She replied, “Because the Bible commands us to go and not forsake meeting together with other Christians!” I was so pleased with her reply and determination to obey God. In Part 1, we studied three reasons for attending church regularly: a declaration of our faith; to be fed spiritually; and to fellowship with other believers. Today’s Teaching highlights three more reasons for going to church. 4. Function God never designed church to be a one-man band and the congregation as mere pew-fillers. The church is a body and individually we have different roles to function in. The Bible says, ‘When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach,...
Learn MoreTEXT: ‘Not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25 AMP). Attending church has always been a problem for some Christians, ever since the first church started on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. This is why scripture addresses it with our text. Jesus was faithful to attend the synagogue1, as were the early Christians meeting together for the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer2. In many parts of the world church attendance is thriving but not in Western Europe and Britain, fuelled by affluence and a desire for anything but Jesus. It’s easy to find fault with your local church and use that as an excuse not to attend, but no church is perfect and if it were, once you started attending, that perfection would cease! Today’s Teaching focusses on some key reasons for regular and faithful church attendance. 1. Faith Attending is a declaration of faith. Before I became a Christian I usually frequented pubs and clubs on a Sunday. After receiving Christ as my personal Saviour, the desire to go to church grew. I couldn’t be in...
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TEXT: ‘I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears’ (Psalm 34:4). It’s wonderful when God speaks to us personally. Sometimes His voice comes unexpectedly when reading the Bible and a verse or passage speaks to us just as if God was there in person. When He does that it makes us feel really special. Other times we may be facing a crisis or need a specific answer. How thankful we are that God said, ‘Call to Me and I will answer you’ (Jeremiah 33:3). From Adam and down through the ages, God has always wanted to talk to us. One of the names of Jesus is, “The Word of God”. When we read what Jesus said and did, it’s little wonder we hear His voice. Sometimes as a comfort, other times as a challenge, correcting and directing our lives. Reading again about Elijah’s experience on Mount Horeb (See 1 Kings chapter 19), there are three points I want us to consider which will help when we are in need and want to hear God’s voice. 1. Desperation Elijah was on the run and needed answers. Why do our emotions fluctuate so wildly? A few days earlier Elijah had been fearless and full of...
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TEXT: ‘For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more’ (Jeremiah 31:34). Hallelujah! What a wonderful promise. It sounds too good to be true. So often people regard God as the one who, because of our past, brings down judgment but this scripture reveals God in a totally different light. There are three things I want us to consider: 1. The Problem We can remember what we have done – ‘I remember my faults’ (Genesis 41:9) King David wrote, ‘For I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me’ (Psalm 51:3). The conflict between Russia and Ukraine will trigger memories in those who have been involved in warfare in the past, particularly if they have killed someone. The guilt of such actions never easily goes away. In Exeter I visited a house and spoke to the wife. When asking about her husband, he shouted from the kitchen, “God can’t forgive me, I’ve killed someone”. He explained he was ex-military and knew the Bible said, ‘You shall not kill’.1 He was amazed when I corrected him by saying, “It says you shall not murder. You did not kill in a pre-meditated way but were only following orders”. A look of relief spread across...
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TEXT: ‘So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned first-hand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind’ (Ecclesiastes 1:17 NLT). When God told Solomon to ask for what he really wanted, he replied, ”Wisdom, so I can be a good wise king judging God’s people”.1 His request pleased God and was granted. Solomon started off as a wise king and his kingdom excelled. People came from all over the world just to listen to his wisdom and knowledge. Kind David wrote many of the psalms but his son Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes and there is a fundamental difference between those books. Psalms is about worship but Ecclesiastes is about the goal to know wisdom. David had a heart experience about God but for Solomon it seemed to be head knowledge. This comparison reminded me of when two people were asked to read Psalm 23 to the congregation. The first person pronounced every word faultlessly and spoke with perfect diction, whereas the other spoke every word with a heartfelt meaning. Someone remarked, “The first knew the psalm, but the other knew the Shepherd!” Not content with relying on his God-given wisdom, Solomon turned his attention to understanding madness...
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