Hebrews 10:22-25- “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 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, (let us) 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.”
The Old Testament saints had many regulations for their worship with many ways that people could be declared unclean and separated from tabernacle/temple worship. By contrast, we can and must draw near, knowing Christ has cleansed us and given us a new nature, so now we have full access. It is a privilege to draw near to God along with other believers which we are commanded to do with the “(let us”) not neglect meeting together.
Also, our faith is not simply a personal belief system; it’s a corporate and familial experience. After all, we pray “Our Father” as we live in community together. So it is a corporate, “let us draw near” rather than an individual drawing near. There is something important in God’s economy for us to gather together to worship God that strengthens our faith. God has promised from the beginning that He would provide a “place” for worship for His people. The first place is in Him…in Christ but then there was the tabernacle, temple, synagogue and then the church. Like no other place, church is the place to worship God with one another…the sacred assembly that we see time and time again talked about in the Old Testament in which Israel too often forsook to their demise. We, like them, are commanded to continue to meet together, encouraging one another as we see the Day drawing near.
So for us and our children, we need to remember that it matters that we go to church. It is important for us and it is important for our children so that they grow up knowing and understanding that our faith is more than personal it is also corporate. God means for us to be together in worship otherwise He wouldn’t have commanded it. It is in church that we can truly worship and teach our children the importance of proper worship: praying, hearing His Word preached, participating in the sacraments and singing praises to Him. The church is the place of worship…we all need to be reminded of that from time to time.
God Bless y’all today.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
