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The Necessity of Connecting
- Pastor Joe
- Sep 3
- 2 min read
I recently had a conversation with a friend, who told me he started going to church on Sundays. As not only his friend but a pastor, I was naturally delighted to hear that! So I asked him if the church he was attending had any additional activities, such as Bible studies or small groups— to which he looked at me like I had two heads!
He then replied, “Hey, I’m showing up on Sunday, isn’t that enough?” Not wanting to discourage him, I told him that going to church on Sundays was awesome, but that was only one part of living a fulfilling Christian life, albeit a big part.
Many churches rightly call their Sunday services “celebrations,” in that we are celebrating what God has done, and His continued work in the life of every believer. It’s a joyful gathering centered on the victory of Jesus Christ. Coming together as God’s people, we celebrate His grace, His Word, and His presence among us through prayer, praise, and fellowship. For this reason, I believe Sundays are the best day of the week!
But our Christian lives do not cease after Sunday. It’s actually what we do between Sundays that really forge our faith. For example, the spiritual disciplines. These are activities that Christians are to practice regularly, throughout the week. They include Scripture reading, study, memorization and meditation; worship, prayer, fellowship, fasting, serving, stewardship, silence and solitude. Some of the disciplines are best done with others, like fellowship. Some are conducive to being alone with God, such as Scripture meditation, journaling and solitude. Then they are those disciplines that can be practiced alone or with others. This includes Scripture intake, prayer, worship serving, even fasting. The point is, practicing the spiritual disciplines are utterly necessary for spiritual growth.
In our church, we are continually encouraging our congregation to be in the Word and prayer regularly. These two disciplines are really the granddaddy of all those others, in that the rest have their basis in them. Another factor in living a fruitful Christian life is found in the encouragement of others. God made us to live in community with one another. Throughout the pages of Scripture, especially in the New Testament epistles, are various “commands” to love, serve, encourage, forgive, greet and welcome one another—just to name a few.
This is why living the Christian life is more than just attending Sunday service. Sure, that is wonderful, but really just the beginning. Going hand-in-hand with growing in our faith, is a commitment to connect to others, as we connect with God. We do this by participating in His church through serving Him and loving others. He made us that way!
On September 21, I will be starting a new sermon series called, “Connect.” This message from the Book of James’s will remind us that our Lord created us not to walk alone, but to belong to a loving community of faith, and to participate in the work and movement of God!
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