Let's Go To Church! Series

“LET’S GO TO CHURCH!” Hebrews 10:24-25

FBCF – 10/4/20

Jon Daniels

INTRO – FB post: “The deepest level of worship is praising God through the pain, thanking God during the trials, trusting Him when we are tempted to lose hope, & loving Him even when He seems distant.”

Next tool in “My Spiritual Growth Toolbox” is the tool of worship, specifically corporate worship – what we do here each Sun. & Wed.

EXPLANATION – Open Bibles to Hebrews 10:24-25.

Let’s talk about JESUS!

- Hebrews 1:3 – He is “the radiance of God’s glory & the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right of the Majesty in heaven” (NIV).

- Hebrews 3:6 – “But Christ, God’s faithful Son, is in complete charge of God’s house. And we Christians are God’s house—He lives in us!—if we keep up our courage firm to the end, & our joy & our trust in the Lord.” (TLB)

- Hebrews 4:14-15 – “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” (NLT)

- Hebrews 7:25 – “[Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, b/c He always lives to intercede for them.” (NIV)

- Hebrews 9:27-28 – “Just as people are destined to die once & after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; & He will appear a 2nd time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” (NIV)

- Hebrews 10:10 – “…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (NIV)

The reason I read all these verses about Jesus is b/c the book of Hebrews is all about Jesus. The unknown author of this book wrote it to encourage new believers who were about to give up. They were being tested, persecuted, & abused for their faith, & the writer wanted to exhort them to not give up. “The writer’s solution was to demonstrate that Jesus was the zenith of God’s redemptive plan” (David Jeremiah, The Jeremiah Study Bible, p. 1739).

If Jesus is the zenith – the culmination of God’s plan to save us – then He is certainly worthy of our worship!

- Our private worship – Time alone w/ God

- Our public worship – corporate worship w/ our church FAMILY

APPLICATION – Every Christ-follower should get connected & stay connected to a church FAMILY.

Friend’s child diagnosed w/ failure to thrive. It’s a condition that happens when a child is undernourished & their weight gain is significantly below other children their same age & gender. They’re just not gaining & growing like they should. Lots of reasons for it – some physical, some emotional, some social/behavioral. Whatever the reason, the child is at risk due to a lack of healthy nutrition that is so important for their development & growth.

To disconnect from your church FAMILY when it gathers for corporate worship will ALWAYS lead to a failure to thrive spiritually.

- Weakness

- Shrivel up

- Atrophy

- Sickness

- Lethargy & apathy

- No energy for the things of God

Always be those who say, “I don’t need to go to church to be Christian.” True that sitting in a church bldg doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a McDonald’s makes you a Big Mac. But the issue is not that you have to go to church to BE a Christian, but you want to go to church b/c you ARE a Christian.

- The issue is not that you’re going to hell if you don’t go to church, but that, if you know Christ & He has saved you from going to hell, then you’ll want to go to church to worship Him & express your gratitude to Him.

- The issue is not that the church is full of a bunch of hypocrites, but that, if you are saved, then not going to church is hypocritical b/c it shows that you truly don’t believe what you say you believe.

The issue is JESUS! Is He worthy of our worship? And the answer is a resounding YES!

- When you’re weak, He is your Strength.

- When you’re lost, He is your Way.

- When you’re confused, He is your Wisdom.

- When you’re in the dark, He is your Light.

- When you’re sad, He is your Comfort.

- When you’re afraid, He is your Courage.