Gathering Together for Church was Jesus' IDEA!

“When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.” ~Luke 4:16 NLT

This morning while I was preparing for the new series I am about to teach at Discovery Church of Ridge Meadows I was reminded of the verse above. What struck me deeply was the phrase… “he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath…”

Now why was this so striking… so challenging… so amazing?

Well quite simply, over the past twelve years of ministry I have had way more than my share of conversations with people who believe (falsely) that they can be a person of faith without the church!

You see… the reality is the church and gathering together was something that Jesus prioritized in His own life… and it was the very thing He gave His life for! The problem these days is we have unfortunately over-emphasized the whole perspective of a personal relationship with Jesus as the main priority of our faith and we are now reaping the results of that difficult teaching and theology!


The TRUTH is… we are called to a personal faith commitment to the faithfulness of Jesus on the Cross and the redemptive realities of God’s sending of His Son into this world! BUT it was never intended to be in isolation from the one thing that Jesus came to establish on this planet and that is the community of faith known as His CHURCH!

In fact I believe it was Jesus who said…

“Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” ~Matthew 16:18 NLT

The REALITY is… Jesus came to establish a new way of living that incorporated a new community called the CHURCH which was the gathering of believers in a certain place and time for the sole purpose of HONOURING God and building each other up so that the CHURCH would be all that Jesus envisioned for His bride!

So… here’s the deal… what is holding you back from following Jesus’ LEAD?

Is there a hurt you can’t forgive? Well, remember you were forgiven and because of that you are called to forgive! (READ Matthew 6:14)

Is there a teaching you can’t seem to accept? Well, how about reading 2 Timothy 3:14-17!

Is it because the things of this world have somehow become more attractive? Well, check out 1 John 2:15-17!

You know… in this seemingly simple and unassuming verse in the gospel of Matthew we are reminded… and told… that Jesus made it a USUAL custom… a NORMAL part of His world to gather together with others on the Sabbath!

So WHY do we take a pass… WHY do we feel like we can let another Sunday go by without connecting with other believers on this thing called the journey of faith where there is accountability and challenge?

I guess that is something we all need to ASK of ourselves… Jesus saw it as a NO-BRAINER… and that is my desire for us all!

SEEKING Him first in everything…

Rev Trev