The realities of making a living and the often distressing struggles of human society have a way of eroding joy and hope. Without turning to God for spiritual refreshment, our souls are soon as parched as this year’s California countryside. To break such a spiritual drought we need the refreshing rain of God’s grace at regular intervals. A downpour here and there won’t quench our soul’s thirst.
The author of the book of Hebrews celebrates God’s forgiveness of sin through Christ’s life, teaching, death, and resurrection. He says we should enter the sanctuary for worship and “approach with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience…”
Feelings of guilt after a long absence sometimes keep persons from coming back to church. This fear, guilt, or embarrassment which threatens to separate persons from Christ and other believers is what the author describes as “an evil conscience.” Don’t let an evil conscience keep you away from your church family. Don’t let it hinder your spiritual growth and relationship with God. The author then goes on to describe how God blesses Jesus’ followers as they gather for worship.
Worship builds Christian community and nurtures the faith of individual members. It offers opportunities to express our gratitude to God, to receive encouragement, and learn from the wisdom of countless believers, both past and present. We hear of God’s love for all persons; we reach out to those who are facing difficulties and share in others’ joy; and we “consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.”(1) Such mutual support and exhortation allow
Christians to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering.”(2)
Worship is a weekly opportunity to deepen our faith as we come to a more mature understanding of our relationship with God. Especially in difficult times, it is important that followers of Jesus worship regularly “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day (of the Lord) approaching.”(3)
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1 (Hebrews 10:24)
2 (Hebrews 10:23)
3 (Hebrews 10:25)
– Pastor Derek French