Why Do We Gather On Sunday?
Church is so much more than Sunday. We don't want to play church on Sunday; we want to be the church Monday through Saturday!
It can be very easy to be lulled into a church reality that has us checking the attendance box on Sunday and not engaging the mission of the church throughout the rest of the week.
Acts 2 is pretty clear that church was an everyday reality for those followers of Jesus. Verse 42 says, "And they devoted themselves...". This word devoted means to continue to do something with intense effort. So what were they intensely putting their energy into:
God's Word - "the apostles teaching."
Fellowship and Breaking of Bread
Prayer
Church was something they were intensely committed to, and it overflowed into what I call their everyday life. It was not just a Sunday reality. They gathered all together on Sunday, yes, and this is very important. Still, they also gathered throughout the week committed to God's Word, praying together, eating together, and doing life together.
Look at the result of this intense effort in verse 43, "And awe came upon every soul...". John 17:23 backs this truth up when it says, "...that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." When we live unified and devoted, our world will stand in awe and drawn to the person of Jesus Christ. Church is about so much more than our faith development. It is a Kingdom Building organization that utilizes togetherness as a way to produce awe and draw people into the Kingdom of God.
Sunday is immensely valuable, and I believe that Hebrews 10:25 applies to it. But what is the purpose of Sunday? I believe the purpose of Sunday is for us to gather to:
Remember that God is bigger than our individual story.
Remember that God is at work in a significant way in hundreds of people's lives all at once.
Remember that God is bigger than any circumstance we may face.
Be encouraged through our worship of God.
Be equipped through the power of His Word.
But, while Sunday is essential, it is not enough. I also believe that we are to live the rest of the week in close relationship with a smaller group of believers eating together, playing together, serving together, praying together and studying God's Word together. We need to live within a community of believers Monday through Saturday that help us live out the mission of God together.
Imagine if we are living in this type of community Monday through Saturday how much more impactful Sunday Gatherings would be. Sunday becomes the day we celebrate a God who has gifted us life, friends, family, joy, belonging, and purpose. We celebrate his Kingdom and his provision. We present ourselves to His Spirit for equipping to live the mission within community for the coming week.
So let me ask you, "Are you willing to become intensely devoted to a community of believers that are living out the mission of God together?" If you are interested, sign up here!