Why Is It So Important?
Encouragements for faithful church attendance and observance of the Lord’s Day
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
The Problem with Early Christians by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Acts 2:46
"These are characteristics of the true members of the Christian church. They gather together daily, steadfastly, continuously. The truth about them is not that they attend the worship of the church once a year on Easter Sunday morning. It is not that they just attend now and again. It is not that they attend when somebody is seriously ill in the family or when there has been a death or when there is a wedding or a christening or baptism. No, No! They meet together constantly and regularly. We do not read that the apostles have to go round visiting them and reminding them that they have not been in church recently and they really must be true to their responsibilities as members and put in a more frequent appearance. They do not have to be whipped and intimidated and coaxed, as it were, into coming to church. No. No. The difficulty with these early Christians is sending them home! They want to spend all their time in the church.”
Taken from Setting Our Affections Upon Glory: Nine Sermons on the Gospel and the Church by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
What You Are Missing When You Miss Church Services by Pastor Casey Kuhlman
1. Opportunities for Spiritual Growth
Messages are different every service and provide nourishment for different areas of life Like a healthy variety of food nourishes the body, a healthy variety of sermons nourishes the soul. You grow spiritually through a consistent, healthy diet of God's Word, but cannot expect to be well-nourished if you are regularly skipping "meal- time.”
2. Getting the "Whole Picture"
Neglecting services not only distances you from others on a spiritual level, it prevents you from getting the "whole picture" of the life of the church. You miss out on what is happening at church, spiritual needs and prayer requests, upcoming events, and news of blessings that God has provided.
3. Mutual Encouragement and Edification
The less you frequent the church, the less you know the needs of others and the less they know of yours. It is difficult to edify and encourage one another in the body of Christ (as God commands) if you spend little time together.
4. Unity in the Church
It makes sense that if all the members of a church were to faithfully attend together, feeding on the same spiritual truths and benefiting from each other's encouragement, that they would more naturally be in unison with one another.
5. Impact on Your Family
Your spouse and your kids can tell how important church is to you by how much of an effort you make to attend. Even if you tell them church is important to you, they will know otherwise if you let other things (sleep, sports, activities, family, work, etc.) take precedent over church. And if they perceive that church isn't really that important in your life, chances are...t won't be that important in their lives either.
6. God's Blessing
God commands believers not to neglect the times set to meet (or assemble) together. How can you expect God to bless your life when you disregard His command?
Habitual Failure to Gather with the Church by Earl M. Blackburn
From Chapter 14 of Jesus Loves the Church and So Should You: Studies in Biblical Churchmanship
Habitual failure to assemble yourself with Christ's people at all stated meetings for worship, unless you are sick or legitimately hindered, says several things about you:
It reveals a cold heart and a lack of fervent love to Christ who instituted visible churches (Revelation 2:4, 3:20).
It shows disregard for the apostolic example and command of God's holy Word (Acts 2:41; Hebrews 10:25).
It robs you of blessing and help for the days ahead.
It cheats your fellow Christians of blessing and help they would receive from your ministry to them (1 Thessalonians 5:14; Hebrews 10:24).
It grieves the Holy Spirit who dwells in each believer individually and in the church as a whole.
It steals the joy of pastors who oversee you and minster the Word of God to you (Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).
It can influence others to become unfaithful, lazy, indifferent, and selfish. Many young Christians have said, "Brother or Sister So-and-So does not come regularly; why should I?" God tells us in His Word that you are a letter known and read by all men (2 Corinthians 3:2-3a).
It discourages brethren in the body with whom you are joined because you are not with them. They miss your person and presence.
It is a poor testimony of the world of unbelievers (John 13:35; John 3:13-14).
It demonstrates your lack of vision for the future of the particular church of which you are a member (Jeremiah 29:10-11).
It makes you a covenant-breaker in your commitment to God and to the church of which you are a member.
It is a dreadful step toward backsliding and apostasy (study Hebrews 10:25 in its context of verses 19-39).
It shows disrespect for the best and brightest day of the week - the Lord's Day, the day in which the Lord Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
Honoring the Lord's Day
The following is a compilation of quotes from preachers of the past regarding the observance of the Lord's Day:
J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)
"Let us never forget that our feelings about Sundays are sure tests of the state of our souls The person who can find no pleasure in giving God one day in the week, is manifestly unfit for heaven. Heaven itself is nothing but an eternal Sabbath. If we cannot enjoy C few hours in God's service once a week in this world, it is plain that we could not enjoy an eternity in His service in the world to come.
C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)
"We gather together on the first rather than the seventh day of the week because redemption is even a greater work than creation and more worthy of commemoration and because the rest which followed creation is far outdone by the rest which ensues upon the completion of redemption. Like the Apostles, we meet on the first day of the week and hope that Jesus may stand in our midst and say, "Peace be unto you." Our Lord has lifted the Sabbath from the old and rusty hinges where on the law had placed it long before and set it on the new golden hinges which His love has fashioned. He has placed our rest day not at the end of a week of toil but at the beginning of the rest which remains for the people of God. Every first day of the week we should meditate on the rising of our Lord and seek to enter into the fellowship with Him in His risen life."
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1753)
"By a strict observance of the sabbath, the face of religion is kept up in the world. If it were not for the sabbath, there would be but little public and visible appearance of serving, worshipping and reverencing the supreme and invisible Being. The sabbath seems to have been appointed very much for this end, viz. [namely] to uphold the visibility of religion in public, or among professing societies of men; and by how much greater the strictness is with which the sabbath is observed, and with how much more solemnity the duties of it are observed among a people; by so much the greater is the manifestation among them of respect to the Divine Being. This should be a powerful motive with us to the observation of the sabbath. It should be our study above all things to honour and glorify God. It should be the great thing with all that bear the name of Christians, to honour their great God and King, and I hope is a great thing with many that hear me at this time. If it be your inquiry, if it be your desire, to honour God; by this subject you are directed to one way whereby you may do much in that way, viz. [namely] by honouring the sabbath, and by showing a careful and strict observance of it."
Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
"The world is a great inn; we are guests in this inn. Travellers, when they are met in their inn, do not spend all their time in speaking about the inn; they are to lodge there but a few hours and are gone. They speak about their home and the country to which they are travelling. So when we meet together, we should not be talking only about the world; we are to leave this presently. We should talk about our heavenly country”
Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899)
I honestly believe that this commandment is just as binding today as it ever was. I have talked with men who have said that it has been abrogated, but they have never been able to point to any place in the Bible where God repealed it. When Christ was on earth, He did nothing to set it aside; He freed it from the traces under which the scribes and Pharisees had put it, and gave it its true place. 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' It is just as practicable and as necessary for men today as it ever was-in fact, more than ever, because we live in such an intense age. The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. The fourth commandment begins with the word remember, showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote this law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding? I believe that the Sabbath question today is a vital one for the whole country. It is the burning question of the present time. If you give up the Sabbath the church goes, if you give up the church the home goes; and if the home goes the nation goes. That is the direction in which we are traveling. The church of God is losing its power on account of so many people giving up the Sabbath, and using it to promote selfishness.
Show me a nation that has given up the Sabbath, and I will show you a nation that has got the seed of decay.
Richard Baxter (1615-1691)
"What fitter day to ascend to heaven, than that on which He arose from earth, and fully triumphed over death and hell. Use your Sabbaths as steps to glory, till you have passed them all, and are there arrived."
Thomas Manton (1620-1677)
”Keeping the Sabbath day holy. It is a sure mark of an ungodly person to be a Sabbath-breaker, as a conscion-ableness to celebrate it to God's glory is both a mark and a work of godliness. It is the description of the godly eunuch, Isaiah 56:4 "Thus saith the Lord to the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant." Mark, it is one of the chiefest things that is taken notice of there, the observance of God's own day. If you would exercise yourselves to godliness, this is a great means. Profaning the Lord's Day is the cause of profanes all the week after; and so a careless keeping the Lord's day is the cause of the carelessness and formality you are guilty of in the business of religion. God hath appointed this day for a repose for the soul, that by a long uninterrupted continuance in worship, it might be more seasoned, and fit to converse with God all the week after. Dost thou love Christ? Then observe his day. Ignatius calls it the queen of days. The primitive Christians were very careful of the Sabbath, they would run all hazards rather than not keep the Sabbath day. When thy were accused as guilt of Sabbath-violation, they would answer, I am a Christian, how can I choose but love the Lord's Day? This is the day wherein we do most solemnly and publicly profess the worship of God; therefore, it is to be celebrated with all care. Thus, much for the description of godliness from the disposition of the heart, and the duties about which it is conversant."
Book Recommendations
Jesus Loves the Church and So Should You: Studies in Biblical Churchmanship by Earl M. Blackburn
The Church: Her Nature, Authority, Purpose, and Worship by Jeffery Johnson
Setting Our Affections Upon Glory: Nine Sermons on the Gospel and the Church by Martin Lloyd Jones
Ten Indictments Against the Modern Church by Paul Washer
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever
