The Habit of Worship

Sunday, July 14, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”

Luke 4:14-16

Though Jesus was always God during His entire earthly life, He was also human and had to learn and grow. One of the things that He learned from childhood was the importance of hearing God’s Word preached and taught, and the importance of following God’s commands regarding gathering to worship Him. Joseph and Mary set this example for Jesus in their own lives. “Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover” (Luke 2:41). It is no surprise then to read that Jesus as an adult made a custom of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath. It is critically important, not only for our own sakes but also for the sake of our families, that we are faithful in gathering to worship each time we can.

Dr. John Rice wrote, “At our home as a boy we always expected to go to church. My father, my step-mother, the whole family (too many to ride in one carriage!) went to church. We went when it was cold, we went when it was hot. We went when it rained, we went when it was dry. It was rare indeed that any were so sick they could not go, and if that were true, the rest of us went to church, and just one stayed home to care for the sick. We went to church and Sunday school on time. We went to prayer meeting. I thank God for the happy memories that proved to me the sincerity of my father’s faith in God.”

Today's Growth Principle: 

Both for ourselves and for our families, it is imperative that we be faithful to church attendance.