Why We Meet
Why Do We Gather on Sundays? We gather together because:
- God is Worthy of our Assembled Worship.
- We Love Worshiping God Together.
- We Grow in Faith as God Reveals Himself to Us.
- We Serve One Another With the Gifts and Talents God Has Given Us.
- We Connect with Others Who Love and Encourage Us.
God is Worthy of our Assembled Worship.
- Deuteronomy 5:15: And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
- Psalm 34:3: Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
- Psalm 35:18: I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
- Psalm 109:30: I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.
- Philippians 2:9-11: Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Revelation 5:11-12: Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
We Love Worshiping God Together.
- Psalm 84:1-2: How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
- Psalm 84:10: For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
- Psalm 122:1: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
- Psalm 147:1: Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
- Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
- Hebrews 2:11-12: For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I [Jesus] will sing praise to You.”
We Grow in Faith as God Reveals Himself to Us.
- As we study the Bible together, we grow in understanding of Who God is, what He has done in history, and His purpose for us.
- Psalm 27:4: One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.
- Psalm 63:1-3: O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.
- Romans 15:16: . . . that I might be a minister (servant) of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel (good news) of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 14:3-4: But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. . . . he who prophesies edifies the church (gathering / assembly).
We Serve One Another With the Gifts and Talents God Has Given Us.
- 1 Corinthians 14:12: . . . since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
- Hebrews 10:24-25: 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, . . . .
We Connect with Others Who Love and Encourage Us.
- Romans 1:11-12: For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established – that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
- Romans 15:24: For I [Paul, a missionary] hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18: [we] endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you . . . .
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12: And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all . . . .
- 1 John 4:20-21: If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
- Hebrews 13:17: [Elders] watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.