I Corinthians 11:18
Today, people are gathered in public assemblies all across the country,
and they have been doing so for many years. But what is the purpose of our
public gathering as a church? One obvious answer to that question is that God
has commanded it. We must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. But
that is only a very minor reason for God's true children as they gather
together. It is true that we love the fellowship of the saints, and that we need
this fellowship for our own spiritual growth. But this is not the primary
reason for our public assembly.
Whether
we gather on Sunday morning, Sunday night, or Wednesday night, the purpose for
our public assembly is that we may worship God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Brethren, we have met to worship,
And adore the Lord our God.
As often as we come together, let us celebrate the praises of our
Covenant God. In our singing, our praying, our preaching, and our hearing, it
should be our goal to praise our Triune God for his grace and glory. For
another thing, when we come together, we should come seeking a message from
God. Our hearts long to hear the Lord speaking to us through the Word. We want
a message from Christ to comfort and challenge, assure and search, abase and
uplift, wound and heal our hearts. And when we come together as a church, let
us come to be instructed by God. Beloved, we need to be constantly taught of
God. We need to be taught our weakness and sin. We need to be taught Christ's love
and grace, his ability to redeem, his willingness to forgive, his power to
save, his promises to comfort, his strength to preserve, and his merits to
glorify.
As often as we
gather in the public assembly of worship may it please our God to fill our hearts
with praise to Him for his covenant grace, his redeeming love, his sanctifying
presence, and his saving fulness.