In the last newsletter we looked primarily at Hebrews 12 to understand why Christians should physically gather for worship each week. This month I want to look at a handful of other reasons for this.

Gathered Worship Is Christ’s Body Made Visible

Much of Christian doctrine feels intangible. We speak of grace, but it’s harder to experience it. We know we are part of Christ’s body, but it’s hard to feel it. At the end of April, I preached on 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 and I was struck by the idea that giving is God’s grace made visible. Grace is like electricity: we can’t see it, but we do experience its effects. A room with a hundred light sockets but no light bulbs will still be dark. It takes screwing in those lightbulbs for electricity to be made tangible.

In a similar way, God’s grace often requires a conduit to be made visible in our world. This conduit can be creation – experiencing the beauty of the mountains – but it can also be believers caring for each other. 

As I thought about this, I realized this is a key reason the church exists. We exist to make the body of Christ visible in the world. It takes Christians physically gathering to show people what Jesus looks like. Why? Because it’s in our gathering that we can observe the grace and love of Christ as we care for each other. When Christians don’t gather for worship, they miss out on an opportunity to make Christ’s body visible to a watching world. We miss out on an opportunity for others to have a tangible experience of Christ on this earth. A church that doesn’t gather is about as effective as a 100 sockets without light bulbs.

Gathered Worship Is Where the Means of Grace Are

Question 88 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism reminds us that the way we grow as Christian is through God’s means of grace, “especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all of which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.” The only place you receive all three of these means of grace is in gathered worship. The sacraments in particular require a physical gathering; you can’t have communion over the internet. You might wonder, “Can’t each person get their own bread and wine and partake together over Zoom?” But to do this misses out on one of the essentials of the Lord’s Supper. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:17, “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.” One of the ways that we show we are part of the one body of Christ is by eating from the same loaf of bread. He took the bread and broke it and said, “This is my body.” Physically gathering as one is a visible manifestation of us being one in Christ. 

It Shows Christian Unity

While age- and gender-segregated Bible studies have their place, there is something uniquely special about gathering with people who are unlike you; it reflects the diversity of the body of Christ. It shows a watching world that it’s Christ who has brought us together. Paul writes about this unifying effect in Ephesians 2:14, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” The gathered church is a beautiful picture of the unity that Christ has brought. While none of us at JVC were enemies, we certainly were a group of people that would not naturally have connected. In a world that is rapidly dividing over so many issues, it’s all the more important for the church to demonstrate how Christ brings different people together. 

It Allows You to Use Your Gifts

Paul describes individuals in the church as members of one body (1 Cor 12), and just as a body has different parts for different purposes, so the church has people with a variety of gifts and ways to serve. And, while there are many opportunities to use your gifts Monday - Saturday, there is a particular need for each other's gifts when we gather for worship. There are so many needs during Sunday worship; it couldn’t happen without our volunteers helping with everything from greeting people to praying before the service to operating the sound system. Gathering for worship is one of the easiest ways in which you can make the gifts God has given you visible in the local church. 

It’s a Dress Rehearsal for Heaven

As I said, the gathered church is a primary way the realities of the gospel become visible. One of the most powerful ways this happens is that gathered worship is a dress rehearsal for our gathering in heaven. You just need to read Revelation 7 to see that corporate worship is a central activity in heaven. There is no better way to express our longing for heaven than to come to the dress rehearsal–public worship. 

Moreover, Hebrews 12 contrasts the Israelites’ worship at the base of Mount Sinai with our New Testament worship, saying, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.” The author is speaking about Christians gathering for worship, yet uses the language of heaven. When we worship together, from God’s perspective, we are actually worshiping in heaven! We are among the angels. Gathered worship is actually more than a dress rehearsal for heaven; in many ways it’s the closest we get to heaven here on earth. 

Worship Shapes Us

Psalm 115 teaches us that we become like what we worship. Just as a teenager’s clothes might imitate their favorite celebrity, so too all humans imitate the things they worship. Advertisers know this. It’s why ads don’t just list facts; they hold up your object of worship and say, “If you want to be that, you only need to buy this.” Thus we can see why gathered worship of God is so essential. If we are to become like God we must righly worship him. And in a world where we are bombarded daily with alternate things to worship, it’s all the more important we carve time out of our schedules to worship the true God to continue being shaped and prepared for heaven. 

It Shows What You Value

Any salesperson knows you can’t count the sale until the money shows up. There is often a gap between what someone says about a product and their willingness to spend money on that product. It’s similar to how we spend our time. You instinctively make time for what you value; it’s hard to honestly say you value God if you don’t make time to worship him with his people as he has commanded. 

My hope in providing you this list isn’t to guilt anyone, but to show you the real benefits of gathering. It is essential to the Christian life, and it’s one of the best reminders of what is ultimately important. 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon