EVERYONE Gathering
Hebrews 10:19-25
Rev. Brian Bill
April 15-16, 2023
I get a kick out of church signs. Here are some of my favorites…
• Be the kind of person your pet thinks you are.
• You think it’s hot here? Revelation 20:15.
• Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet Him.
• Having trouble sleeping? Try one of our sermons.
• CH CH. What’s missing? UR.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people missing from churches today. Two decades ago, it was common for Christians to meet together three times a week – Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights. Prior to the pandemic, church members were considered active if they gathered twice a month. Now, according to researcher Thom Rainer, the once-a-month churchgoer is the fastest growing segment of church life.
A recent Gallup survey found that only 20% of Americans attend church once a week, down from 32% in 2000. The “nones,” or those who are religiously unaffiliated, now make up 30% of Americans. On top of this dire data, the most troubling finding is the number of evangelicals who never attend church has increased from 25% pre-COVID to 33% today. One pastor lamented, “The great task of the church is not only to get sinners into heaven, but to get saints out of bed.”
One of the saddest things I hear when I’m out in the community is when someone says, “I’m a Christian, but I don’t really go to church.” Eric Davis writes, “Churchless Christians. Flockless sheep. Bodyless body-parts. First century Christians would not have had a category for such a thing. It would have been one of the most bizarre phenomena imaginable.”
Another pastor laments, “Many have untethered themselves from the ministry and mission of the visible church. Instead, they prefer to cobble together a highly personalized spirituality from websites, books, podcasts…many have grown partial to online worship instead of in-person, for reasons of convenience and autonomy. They envision Christianity on their own terms without accountability, discipline, or shepherding care. The glaring problem with this approach is nowhere in Scripture do we see this kind of privatized faith. It’s utterly foreign to biblical Christianity…a Christian without a church is like a lone sheep in the wilderness, exposed to countless dangers.”
Before going much further, I believe Edgewood is an outlier in this regard. I have never been around so many committed Christ-followers in my life! You guys are countercultural in your commitment to gathering with God’s people. Having said that, in a church our size, there are some who have not yet made this commitment to gather with God’s people on a weekly basis.
I was so moved by how Pastor Kyle and our Mainspring Ministry led our three-hour Good Friday Reflection time. And I’m still replaying elements of our Resurrecting Hope Easter services. Special thanks to Pastor Chad and Dave Bennett, along with our worship and tech teams, to Pastor Ed and our Guest Services team, and to Sheila Kuriscak and Liesl Parks for the incredibly creative and gospel-grounded EdgeKids Ministry. Over 1500 adults and children attended our four services.
As a way to celebrate the incredible depth of our members, and to spur others on, I’m going to share some quotes from the Edgewood Facebook page throughout this message. These insights came in response to a question I posted: “We’re conducting a survey about the blessings and benefits of gathering with God’s people for worship. Would you take a minute or two and share why you gather for worship?”
During 2023, we’re encouraging everyone at Edgewood to be all in. The word everyone is used at least 200 times in the Bible, and it means:
1. All.
2. Every.
3. Whole.
Our assignment from the Almighty is for everyone be on mission by gathering, growing, giving, and going with the gospel, all for the glory of God.
Today, our focus is on EVERYONE gathering. We want to see everyone connected every week. Here are our four action steps:
• Prioritize in-person worship.
• Maximize Guest Services.
• Develop an assimilation process.
• Add a Good Friday prayer and reflection time.
To set up our passage, I want you to think of a group of Christ-followers who were living in a culture which ostracized and persecuted Christians. Some of these Jewish-background believers were ready to bail on their faith because it was becoming too difficult to identify with Christ in a society which was headed south. On top of that, some were compromising their convictions while others had simply allowed other pursuits to crowd out the primacy of Christ and the priority of gathering with other Christians.
Let’s give our attention to Hebrews 10:19-25: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
We’ll begin with a few observations.
• The word “therefore” is a word of conclusion which links this passage to all that has come before. Up to this point, most of the Book of Hebrews has been doctrinal. In verse 19, the writer moves from doctrine to duty.
• The word “since” is found in verse 19 and verse 21 and indicates that based on these positional truths, we’re called to put our faith into practice.
• The three virtues of the Christian faith – “faith,” “hope,” and “love” are prominent in verses 22-24.
• This passage celebrates the importance of Christian community through the use of 12 plural words like “brothers,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “one another.” One member captured it like this: “Corporate worship is different from worshipping alone. I love to see and visit with my forever family, and to enjoy worshiping with fellow believers.”
Here’s our main idea: The church is God’s plan A. There is no plan B.
Our Position
Because of our faith in the Lord Jesus, we are tethered to two transforming truths:
1. We have access to the Almighty. Listen to verses 19-20 again: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh.” The word “brothers” literally means, “from the same womb” and speaks of our relationship as forever family members in the faith. The word “confidence” refers to “boldness of speech, liberty, and freedom.”
Because of the blood of Jesus, we can come boldly into the “holy places.” As we learned two weeks ago, the most holy place in the temple had a “Keep Out” curtain in front of it. When Jesus died, this temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom, giving us unlimited and unfettered access. Our EdgeKids ministry learned about the torn “Keep Out” curtain Easter weekend. Here’s a picture.
God has now made a “new and living way.” The word “new” means, “newly slain” or “freshly slaughtered,” which would have made these new believers think of the crucifixion, while the word “living” would have helped them remember the resurrection. It would have been a radical thought for someone with a Jewish background to even consider going into the very presence of God with confidence.
2. We have an Advocate. In verse 21, Jesus is called a “great priest.” The word “great” is the Greek word “megas,” meaning “superior in stature.” The earthly high priest could only go into the holy place once a year, after making sacrifice for his own sins first.
Our Practice
Now, let’s look at how we can put our position into practice. We’re given three specific actions, all introduced with the phrase, “let us.”
1. Let us draw near. This call to action has to do with our relationship with God. Look at verse 22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” To draw near is an imperative command. We must do what it takes to get as close to Christ as possible. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
When we come, we don’t have to worry about being rejected because we have full assurance of our faith. To have “full assurance” literally means “to be under full sail.” Born again believers are clean because Christ has washed us in His blood.
Are you making it a practice to draw near to God?
2. Let us hold fast. This exhortation has to do with our relationship to the world. We see this in verse 23: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” The present tense calls for us to keep on holding fast to the One who will never leave us nor forsake us. In the midst of our society’s slide into sin and its deplorable depravity, we must hold fast, which means, “to hold down, retain.” We can have hope and not waver or capitulate because we serve a God who is totally trustworthy and forever faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”
Are you holding fast or are you being swept away by our society?
3. Let us consider. This command concerns our relationship with others. In verse 24 we’re called away from our own self-centered desires: “And let us consider…” To “consider” means to “contemplate, notice, and observe.” In Hebrews 3:1 we’re implored to “consider Jesus.” In this context, it’s the idea of being aware of our surroundings by taking note of those around us.
This was fleshed out beautifully by one member who wrote: “I love to look at others ‘up close’ through God’s eyes; I love to see facial expressions, hear the chatter and laughter before and after service; I love to observe the faces and body language as we worship together through song. There is no substitute for feeling the Holy Spirit move among God’s people who are gathered together.”
This week, Beth and I listened to part of a podcast by Jen Wilken in which she said there are “two I’s” Christians need to gouge out:
• Individualism. It’s just me, the Lord, and my Bible.
• Instant gratification. I need what I need right now and if I don’t get it, I’m leaving.
We need to restore delayed gratification and renew our commitment to a covenant community.
The church is God’s plan A. There is no plan B.
In our considering of other Christians, we’re commanded to do three things.
• Stir up one another to love and good works. To “stir up” is a strong phrase which means, “to provoke, sharpen, and stimulate.” We’re not to stir up trouble, but we are to provoke love and labor in one another. Most of us don’t operate this way because we’re prone to think about what we get out of a service, a song, or a sermon. We’re called to be contributors, not consumers. We’re to be stimulators, not irritators, or fault finders. A good word doesn’t cost more to say than a bad one.
The Amplified Bible renders it this way: “And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and excite) to love and helpful deeds.” I like how the New Living Translation puts it: “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.”
Let me say it strongly: There’s no way to live out the 59 “one another” commands in the New Testament unless we are in close community with one another. It’s also interesting that the word “saints,” which refers to Christians, is used 62 times but is never once used in the singular. We are designed to gather together in community with one another for the glory of God.
One of the reasons we’re to gather for worship is to help motivate our brothers and sisters to love better and labor more fully in acts of service. Here the emphasis is not on what we get from church, but on what we can give to fellow Christians. Hebrews 3:13 says we’re to “Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Instead of focusing on ourselves, we’re to consider our brothers and sisters and ask, “How can I help them grow in love and good deeds? How can I help stimulate spiritual growth in them?”
• Develop the habit of meeting together. We’re to work together and we’re to worship together. In the first part of verse 25, it seems like some believers had bailed on church or had become less committed: “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some…” The word “neglecting” is quite strong and means, “to abandon, leave in a lurch, desert, forsake.” J.B. Phillips paraphrases it like this: “And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do…” Attending and being involved in a church is not optional for the follower of Christ. Not being part of a church is an act of disobedience.
Having said that, I know there are legitimate reasons why some people are unable to attend and I’m glad they have the option of livestreaming our services. Luke 4:16 tells us Jesus made it His practice to gather for worship on a weekly basis: “And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day…”
Years ago, when the west was being settled, roads were often just wagon tracks. These rough roads posed serious problems for those who traveled on them. I’m told there was a sign posted next to one of these roads: “Avoid this rut or you’ll be in it for the next 25 miles!” Bad habits are like comfortable beds – easy to get into but hard to get out of.
I often tell people that you can have good habits or bad habits. It’s better to have good habits. Most Christians I know who are not going to church on a regular basis haven’t made a conscious decision to unplug, they just got out of the habit. Look at it this way. If you came to a service on Easter weekend, you are now in the habit of coming!
This week, someone gave me a copy of an article called “A Habit.” Here’s one section: “I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure…show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.”
The New Testament from Acts 2 to Revelation 3 is either about a local church or written in the context of a local church. Of the 114 times the word “church” is used, at least 90 refer to specific local gatherings of believers who have banded together for fellowship and mission. The word “church” never connotes single, individual, or lone ranger Christians. We don’t see free-agent believers roaming around the New Testament.
In a letter to the editor of a British newspaper, a man complained that he saw no sense in going to church every Sunday: “I have been attending services quite regularly for the past 30 years, and during that time…I have listened to no less than 3,000 sermons…and I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a pastor’s time might be more profitably spent on something else.”
The letter sparked many responses. One, however, was the clincher: “I have been married for 30 years. During that time, I have eaten 32,850 meals – mostly of my wife’s cooking. I’ve discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them I would have starved to death long ago.”
Seven days without church makes one weak. Let’s not attend “Bedside Baptist” or “Church of the Inner Springs” any longer. Those who unplug will eventually unravel because faith withers in seclusion. Christianity is meant to be covenantal and communal, not individualistic or isolated.
• Encourage one another with urgency. The last part of verse 25 says, “But encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” An encourager is one who comes alongside to give aid, such as an advocate who pleads your case in a court of law. To say it another way: It is impossible to encourage others if you are not engaged with others.
We’re to have urgency in our encouraging because the return of Christ is getting closer and closer. We need to encourage each other even more because the time is short.
As we get closer to the return of Christ, it will become harder and harder for us to live holy lives and it will become more and more important for Christians to do life in community with other Christ-followers. I see two movements taking place. Many Christians are becoming even more sold out to Christ while others have unplugged and they’re unraveling. Christ could return tomorrow, so let’s make the most of today. Let’s live with urgency, passion, and commitment.
Let’s remember when we gather, it’s not primarily for ourselves. We gather with God’s people to meet with God. We gather for praising; we gather for preaching and we gather for praying.
The world will try to pressure us to fit into its godless mold.
That’s why we need encouragement to keep our hearts from growing cold.
It helps to be reminded how committed our persecuted brothers and sisters are to gathering for worship. Listen to what one American pastor wrote about an experience when visiting Christians in another country:
“We visited a site where believers had been bombed during a worship service and many had died. Months later, they heard there was going to be another bombing at this church. One church member told this pastor, ‘I have a wife and a young son. I was scared for them. I thought, maybe we could just miss [church] tomorrow. It’s okay, we want to stay safe.
“But I couldn’t sleep too well that night. I was struggling and praying. In the morning I said to my wife, I will go alone. She said, ‘Let’s all go [together] to the early service.’ I agreed, ‘We should worship the Lord, we will go – even if we are the only ones there.’ On the way there, we nearly turned back a few times, but we said, ‘We will go and worship, even if we are the only ones there. And when we got there, there were not enough seats. Everyone was there!’”
God wants everyone to be all in because the church is His plan A, and there is no plan B.
Blessings and Benefits of EVERYONE Gathering
I thought it might be helpful to list some blessings and benefits which flow out of gathering with God’s people for worship on a regular basis. This list may come in handy when you hear someone say, “I’m a Christian but I don’t need to go to church.” And it might be helpful when you don’t feel like coming. Because I wrote down 40, I’ll go through them quickly. We do have copies available in both lobbies.
1. God is glorified when His people gather to give Him praise (Psalm 29:1-3).
2. We are humbled when we realize He is God, and we are not (Psalm 100:3). Paul David Tripp writes, “Corporate worship is designed to humble you by pointing out the depth of your need and enthrall you by pointing to the glory of God’s provision…”
3. Gathering together helps keep us grounded in our faith (Colossians 2:6-7). One EBC member writes, “With my busy schedule things can take precedence and make me more anxious and worried. It’s important to me to come to church because I find it keeps me grounded in God’s Word and deepens my relationship with Jesus.”
4. When we meet together for worship, we’re impacted again by the glorious message of the gospel (1 Timothy 1:15).
5. Gathering together gives us courage in witnessing (Romans 1:16). Listen to what one young woman writes, “Taking the messages and lessons we receive helps me to speak to friends and family and give them insight of how much God loves us and that He is intricately weaving each aspect of life for our good and for His will!”
6. Our worship through song fulfills the command for God’s gathered people to sing praise to Him (Colossians 3:16).
7. Our singing together reinforces God’s truth in our lives (Ephesians 5:19).
8. We’re reminded we’re not alone as we receive support and encouragement (Romans 12:15). One young mom writes, “We gather for many different reasons. One is to connect and to develop relationships with others who love Jesus.”
9. We’re equipped for ministry and mission (Ephesians 4:11-16).
10. We grow in our love for our neighbors and the nations (Mark 12:31). One EBC member writes, “We prayerfully and intentionally unite for the glory of God as we go with the gospel and are blessed as we see God at work.”
11. We have the joy of supporting and praying for missionaries (Colossians 4:3).
12. We get to grow in our compassion and care for believers in need (Galatians 6:10).
13. We have the privilege of celebrating communion in union with other believers (1 Corinthians 11:23-34).
14. We have the joy of witnessing believers declare their commitment to Christ through baptism (Matthew 28:18-20). Our next baptism weekend is May 20-21.
15. We get to focus on the oneness we have in Christ instead of our generational, ethnic, racial, or socioeconomic differences (Ephesians 2:14).
16. When we gather for worship here, we get a foretaste of heavenly worship to come (Revelation 7:9-10).
17. We allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and conform us to the image of Christ (John 16:8).
18. Non-believers will observe our worship and conclude God is in our midst (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).
19. Hearing the preaching of God’s Word allows us to be discipled corporately (2 Timothy 4:2).
20. Our joy is rekindled even when we go through hard times (James 1:2-4). One member writes, “It is very hard during difficult times to praise the Lord alone at home. Going to church allows the worship and praising of others to lift your heart, allowing you to praise God throughout difficulties and suffering. Having a routine or habit of going to church for worship makes it easier to go during difficulties.”
21. We experience the power of corporate prayer (Acts 2:42-47).
22. Our gratitude will grow as we rehearse the gospel through song and sermon (Psalm 107:1-3).
23. Families are strengthened when they come to church together (Joshua 24:15). One mom writes, “We also hope that by consistently attending with our children we allow for them to make solid godly friendships that will last and help them grow in their walk with Christ as they get older.”
24. Worshipping together is an opportunity to grow in generosity (1 Timothy 6:18).
25. We learn how to bear with people who are different from us (Ephesians 4:1-2).
26. We get to practice forgiving and asking for forgiveness (Ephesians 4:28).
27. We’re reminded of our identity, our purpose, and our meaning (Genesis 1:26-27).
28. We receive teaching that will help protect us from unbiblical beliefs and behavior (James 4:4). An EBC member writes, “We also appreciate the opportunity to hear from God’s Word, which fuels discussions that we otherwise may not have had and points us back to studying the Bible for ourselves.”
29. We’ll teach our children that God is more important than sleep or sports (Exodus 20:4). To learn more, check out a Facebook post I wrote called, “When Ball Becomes Baal.”
30. We’ll grow in gladness and joy (Psalm 122:1).
31. We’ll be assured of Christ’s triumph over the devil, over death, and over our own depravity (1 John 3:8).
32. Gathering together will help encourage us about the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
33. When we worship together, we’ll be reminded that because Jesus rose again, we can hope again, but only if we are born again (John 11:25-26).
34. Gathering together reinforces our position in Christ while propelling us to put our faith into practice (James 1:22).
35. When we gather together, we do so as brothers and sisters in Christ as adopted members of God’s forever family (1 Corinthians 15:58).
36. We learn together that the cost of following Christ is worth it (Luke 9:23).
37. We have the joy of telling the nations about the reign and rule of God (Psalm 96:10).
38. When we gather with one another we’ll have multiple opportunities to obey the “one another” commands (Romans 12:5).
39. When we worship together, we can offer up a continual sacrifice of praise to our worthy God (Hebrews 13:15).
40. We’ll have a front row seat when God brings revival to our church (Psalm 85:6).
Team, when everyone at Edgewood gathers together on a weekly basis, we’ll be reminded we have a purpose to live for, people to live with, principles to live by, a profession to live out, and power to live on!
Hershael York writes: “The easiest act of obedience is gathering with the church for [weekend] worship. It only requires that you get up, get dressed, and get there. Yet many Christians today will not do the easiest thing—and wonder why they struggle with the difficult things.”
Oh, I want to share one more church sign. Perhaps you saw it when you drove in today: The church is God’s plan A. There is no plan B.
Are you ready to make a commitment to gather with God’s people every week, unless you are sick, or out of town?
We’ve been developing a new habit at the end of our services where we’re encouraging each of us to spend the first couple minutes greeting one another. We’re following the model found in the closing chapter of four New Testament books where Christians are commanded to “Greet One Another.”
Please stand for our closing benediction from Romans 15:5-7: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
