11-30-18 Today in the Word

The Church and Its Ministries
WHY WE MEET TOGETHER
Friday, November 30, 2018 | Hebrews 10:19–25

Al hadn’t attended church regularly for several years. He read his Bible avidly and liked to discuss theology, but he found church disappointing. One day he read Hebrews 10:24–25: “Not giving up meeting together . . . all the more as you see the Day approaching.” What struck him was the message that the closer it is to the day of Christ’s return, the more we need one another. He went back to church.
The original recipients of the letter to the Hebrews had experienced persecution for their faith, and many had experienced the loss of all their possessions (vv. 32–34). Whether from poverty, persecution, or internal conflict, they were in danger of abandoning their regular gatherings for prayer and worship. The author encourages them not to forsake assembling together, because Christians need one another.
Missionary advocate and the former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said, “The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members.” It is a powerful statement—but it is not entirely true. The church does indeed exist for the benefit of those who are not yet a part of it, but in order to carry out its mission, the church must also tend to itself. We cannot be all that God intends us to be without one another.
One of the reasons we meet is to “spur one another on” (v. 24). According to New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce, this verse has the idea of provoking someone. When it is used in a negative sense it often means to irritate. Here, however, it speaks of a positive agitation. Bruce explains: “Our author exhorts his readers to continue meeting together the more earnestly because he knows of some who were withdrawing from Christian fellowship.”
APPLY THE WORD
We can easily find reasons to be irritated with one another. We need to be intentional and prayerful if we want to agitate one another in the direction of love. As we conclude our study this month, pray that God will strengthen your church and strengthen your love, commitment, and service to Him there.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-17-23 Not in a Billion Years

Not In A Million Billion Years :: By Dave Hubley Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles (There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.) Several years ago, I had a conversation with a guy in a waiting room while getting an oil change (in the car, not me). I don’t recall exactly how the conversation originated or how it progressed, but I have never forgotten it. As I recall, it had something to do with evolution and an article that was contained in a “waiting room magazine” that was available there. He made the observation that God was “something that man had made up.” I can’t recall the exact reason he used to justify his opinion, but it had something to do with the usual reasons people give: Weak-willed people needing a crutch, and blah, blah, blah. I engaged him in a “witness,
Read more

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th
Read more