Before I was saved, my family and I slept in on Sundays. We didn’t go to church and weren’t interested at all in attending a religious service. Our young son Eddie would watch cartoons and we would sleep. That’s just the way it was.
When we were born again things changed. Immediately, being with other believers to sing, learn the Bible, and serve one another became a high priority. Our whole attitude changed and Sundays became a very special day in our week. We weren’t just at church on Sundays but on Wednesday nights and often a couple of other nights a week too. We were living out a couple of truths Jesus taught us.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.”
We were hungry spiritually and were continually filled and fed and built up in Jesus. While the Bible is clear that any day and every day is a time to worship King Jesus, Sundays, the first day of the week has been an important day of worship for the church since its birth. It’s the day that signifies the resurrection of Jesus. As the first day of the week it signifies a newness and freshness just as the resurrection speaks of new life and fresh hope in the life of Jesus. Here at Calvary we have larger worship services on Saturday night, Sunday morning, and Wednesday nights. We so enjoy the gathering of the saints together.
Acts 20:7 (NKJV) “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”
We are taught in the Scriptures that skipping out on worship services, forsaking them, is not God’s will or desire. It will only hurt us and stunts our spiritual growth.
Hebrews 10:24–25 (NKJV) “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Often the first step away from a growing vibrant relationship with Jesus is the neglect of the corporate worship services with other believers. Simply put, people stop going to church regularly. That often leads to a slowing down in their desire for spiritual things. It’s accompanied by a lack of prayer and Bible reading. They stop giving regularly and disconnect their hearts from the giving God who saved them. They then find themselves not too far from where they were on Sunday mornings before they were saved, sleeping in and watching cartoons. Their lives aren’t making a difference for Jesus anymore. When they look back to when it started, they can point to the time when worshipping together wasn’t that important anymore.
I’m not saying that “going to church” saves you or even keeps you saved. I am emphasizing though that you can tell a lot about your personal hunger and thirst for righteousness by your desire to be with other believers and joining them to worship regularly.
I love the gathering together of the saints. As soon as our services are complete on Saturday and Sunday I’m already thinking ahead of the group that will gather Wednesday night.
If you’ve been away for a while, it’s time to return. Get back into regular fellowship and service in your church. You’ll be blessed when you do.
