More than a meeting

Sunday was a big day for my church.

Instead of meeting at our little storefront building, we piled in cars and headed out to the lake for a celebration. It was a milestone day for our church, as we officially turned one year old.

In this past year, God has been gracious to fill our seats with people and develop a community like few I have ever experienced. We have seen lives changed by the gospel, and lives given in surrender to the great commission. Most of all, we have seen a group of people who did not know each other a year ago, become a unified body. In this past year, a church was born.

Needless to say, it was reason to celebrate.

In the middle of all the celebration, a realization hit me. Corporate worship is, itself, a celebration. Let me demonstrate my point.

Have you ever considered why churches meet for worship on Sunday? This tradition is so widespread, that many simply think when the Bible talks about the sabbath it is referring to Sunday. However, in Jewish tradition, Saturday was actually the sabbath day.

So, why would the church have such a long-standing tradition to meet on Sunday instead of the sabbath?

The answer lies in the early Church’s understanding of the corporate worship service. This gathering was more than an opportunity to hear someone preach. It was more than a chance to see friends and dress up. It was more than a weekly responsibility to show you are a good Christian. This Sunday worship was a chance to remember each week the significance of that day.

For, it was on a Sunday that the world was changed.

One dark Friday in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago, a man was hung on a cross. Three days later, on Sunday, death was conquered, hell was defeated, and a grave lay empty in the Middle East.

Needless to say, it was reason to celebrate.

And the early Church seized the opportunity to mark Sunday off as a day of celebration. It was a day to remember the resurrected Christ. It was a weekly reminder that our God is not dead.

What would our weekly church service be like today, if we also saw it as more than a meeting?