We listen to God’s voice through his Word, that is, the Bible. Imagine you live in a world exactly like our own but with one exception: The Bible does not exist. Armed only with the natural knowledge of God, discuss what you would know about the following questions and then contrast that with the answers you know the Bible gives to those questions.

How does God view me?

What do I know about God?

How do I get closer to God?

What does God want me to do with my life?

How do I get to heaven?

We need encouragement and to encourage

Although individuals have personal faith, the Bible speaks of our life with Jesus as communal. Christianity is about the church’s relationship with Christ. Just add up all the “one another” passages in the New Testament. Nearly 60 of them tell how to act toward each other!

We are baptized into the body of Christ. So, when we address having a “relationship” with God, we need to also address our relationship with God’s people.

Read Matthew 18:20 and Exodus 20:24.

What happens when we worship together with our fellow Christians?

Read Hebrews 10:25.

List some ways that we encourage one another in worship. (The word translated “meeting together” is literally “going to synagogue,” which was a weekly event.)

The blessings of gathering with fellow believers

Take a couple of minutes to think of examples that demonstrate how God designed humans to face life not as rugged individuals but with the encouragement and assistance of others.

Read Acts 2:42-47.

The early church is a great example of the blessings that come from gathering with fellow believers. List all the blessings God provides as a result of joining together in worship.

Author: David Scharf
Volume 107, Number 11
Issue: November 2020

Facebook comments

Comments