Hebrews 10.19-25

I came across this poem the other day…“Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone. For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth, But has trouble enough of its own. Sing, and the hills will answer; Sigh, it is lost on the air. The echoes bound to a joyful sound, But shrink from voicing care. Rejoice, and men will seek you; Grieve, and they turn and go. They want full measure of all your pleasure, But they do not need your woe. Be glad, and your friends are many; Be sad, and you lose them all. There are none to decline your nectared wine, But alone you must drink life’s gall. Feast, and your halls are crowded; Fast, and the world goes by. Succeed and give, and it helps you live, But no man can help you die. There is room in the halls of pleasure For a long and lordly train, But one by one we must all file on Through the narrow aisles of pain.” The poem is called Solitude. Striking because it highlights the difference between why the world chooses to gather, and why we, as the church, as those who follow Jesus, choose to gather. The world gathers when it benefits them, when it makes them feel good, when it’s fun…when it serves “me”.

Contrast that with what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 4.9-12, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. 10For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. 11Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” There is a synergy that exists when we run after Jesus together…when we gather together. Synergy simply means that the total is greater than the sum of the parts. 1+1=3. It’s the way God’s designed it. We run faster, jump higher, reach more folks…we do better together.

Let me challenge you this year…in 2019…to make the weekend services a priority. It’s the time that we gather as a body to worship God together, to be encouraged and to be challenged, to be recharged and equipped. But let me also challenge you to come expecting God to do something. Come expecting to worship…to give rather than just receive. Come looking for the opportunity to serve those around you…maybe a kind word, a warm handshake/hug, a prayer…to provoke one another to love and good deeds…but come. And when you come, why not bring the one that Jim talked about with you?

My prayer for us as a church in 2019 is that we would continually draw near to God, intentionally pursuing Jesus with reckless abandon, and that we would hold fast our confession, being a light and a beacon of hope in our community, and that we would always provoke each other to love and good deeds, anxiously awaiting the return of our King.

May your 2019 be marked by an ever deepening experience of contentment, joy and confidence in your everyday life with God.

pro rege

This post is based on a sermon from our January series, Fresh Start. Download the podcast at: Central Christian Church Main Service, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @ccclancaster