Student Message on 3/4/07 To read additional sermons, click here. Come Together by Scott Downing Pastor Barnett has been speaking the last few weeks about living your life at the boiling point. A few weeks ago, he mentioned the importance of coming together in church. This is something that can not only positively affect you, but also the people around you. This has always been a topic that has been important to me over the years, so I decided to look at examples of how this concept affected the New Testament church and how if can relate to us today. Let me start with an example. Let’s say there is a person you know, Chris. Chris is hard worker, going to work 5 days a week and punching the clock at 8:00am. Chris rarely misses a day of work and is given praises for the hard work performed. Maybe you know someone like Chris. Or, maybe you know someone like Chris who goes to school instead of work. Maybe you know someone like Chris who has a family and faithfully takes care of them during the week. Or, maybe Chris is someone like you. Whoever this may be, too often I see a troubling pattern emerging. When Sunday comes around, Chris, who is faithful doing activities all throughout the week, decides to skip a week of church to get some extra relaxation time. This pattern starts out one week every few months, but then it starts to happen more and more until Chris no longer attends church. I am surprised when I see people who never miss a day of work, never miss a scheduled appointment, or never miss a day of class begin to cut out the ultimate source of all of their success. If you truly want God to be the priority in your life and live at the boiling point, how can you be constantly be putting God aside to pursue other things? So, what are some of our excuses for cutting Church time out of our weekly schedule? You know we all have them . I have used them at times. -My alarm clock broke (is this really a good excuse when most people wake up earlier for work that they would for church?) -I’m sick (it seems like a lot of people get sick just on Sundays…it most be a new disease, Sunditis) -I was out late last night -Relationships -The big game is on today -I work the whole week, I need free time With the exception of being sick, none of these things seem like good excuses. Try using the rest of these excuses when you don’t show up to work and see what happens (you may get fired). In my life, if I am in town of Sunday, I will be at church Sunday morning…period. You may think this sounds extreme, so let me give you a little background on where I come from. My family would always go to church on Sunday morning. The question wasn’t “if” we were going to go, it was a given. It was the same thing for attending Sunday night service. After I moved out of the house to go to college, I began to miss Sunday night service more often. I would rationalize it by saying that I had to get my schoolwork done. But looking back, it was all just an excuse. I would do nothing on Friday and Saturday, and wait until Sunday at about 5pm to start some homework which I obviously couldn’t finish by the time church started. One week missed turned into two. Each time it got easier and easier to miss a week until at some point, I was only coming one week every month or two. Looking back, I think this really hindered my personal growth with Christ. I am not saying that everyone has to attend church every Sunday night, but for me, this was an important change. It was if I tried to take back something I had given to God at one point. This brings up about people attending service out of ritual rather than to pursue growth. I wish I could tell you that this never happened in my life, but there were many times when I came to church even when I did not actively want to pursue God. I would sit through a service or message, and leave without much change. So, was this a waste of my time? I don’t think so. If I have lost some of the fire I had before, coming to church is something can invigorate me once again. It may not happen in the first week, but it is a good starting point to get back on track. That’s why we are always encouraging people to get involved in ministry. Getting involved not only increases the likeliness of you coming to church where you build strong relationships with other believers, but it also improves your personal growth with Christ. And when you are involved in a ministry like Edi Phi, serving God becomes a weeklong process rather that just a Sunday experience. So, we have seen how coming to Church can improve your own personal growth with Christ. But what about the growth of others? Let me give you some examples from the early church in the New Testament and the impact of coming together. Acts 2:4 – “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” -Holy Spirit filled them -3,000 added to the church in one day Acts 2:44 – “All the believers were together and had everything in common” -Many miracles performed -Needs were met -People accepted Christ daily Acts 4:32 – “All believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had.” -Acts 4:34 – “No needy person among them” Acts 5:12 – The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. -Again, miracles occurs -Acts 5:15-16 “As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.” Matthew 18:19-20 – Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” You being here is a major encouragement to the leaders and other members of the group. I remember when Pastor Barnett asked us awhile back to sit near the front of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings. Seeing a good group of young people was encouraging to him. Who knows, maybe that encouragement sparked him to preach with more passion that day. You may have sat through the service just like normal, but that extra passion caused someone else to come and get saved. Your presence is important! The same goes for a smaller group setting like Edi Phi. Small groups like this are important to build relationships with others. Maybe there is someone new to the group still deciding on if they want to stay or not. Maybe all you did was introduce yourself and say hello, but this may be something that makes them decide to come back. Also, just seeing a full room can often affect the impact that a message has on someone. Ryan has mentioned this before. At Pastor’s School, given the opportunity to put 50 people in a room for 40 or 50 people in a room for 100 can really affect people’s expectations. Ephesians 4:14 – “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. What it boils down to is that this ministry is made up of people. We all have our unique talents and gifts and we need to use those for God’s glory. When I think about this group and think back to its humble beginnings, I am reminded of the many people that have contributed to the success and growth of this ministry. Thank you to all of you here today for contributing to the success of this ministry.