Better Together 

👤 Geoff

All of life has a rhythm, from the beating of our hearts to the passage of the sun, the pull of the tides to the passing of the weeks. And, for me, the high-point of my weekly rhythm of life is the opportunity to meet, worship, pray and share my life with others who love Jesus in Christian community. To borrow the words of Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields from their 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity (in the song The Rhythm of Life) gathering with other Christians on the first day of the week ‘is a powerful beat, [that] puts a tingle in your fingers and a tingle in your feet’. Well it does for me!

Throughout my life Sunday morning worship has been the bedrock of my week, gathering together with other people who love Jesus for public worship. It’s a rhythm of life I have never regretted. I was thinking of this the other day when a sentence from an old Christian magazine – one that had belonged to my Grandfather, dated October 1947 - caught my eye:

Attendance at the Sunday morning service indicates how popular the church is; attendance at the evening service indicates how popular the Minister is; attendance at the prayer meeting indicates how popular God is.

Now I reckon there is just about enough truth in that statement to be uncomfortable! Many churches no longer have evening services (so much for the Minister!) and, more importantly, prayer meetings are no longer as well-attended as I remember. Of course God does not judge us by attendance at a church meeting or anywhere else. Nevertheless it is true that when it comes to being a Christian WE is better than ME. We are better together; in fact, God has planned it this way – we were meant to be a community, God’s family, the body of Jesus, the Church. Being a Christian is not about being a lone ranger but a team player. We are to walk together, to work together and to watch out for one another. The more we appreciate who God is and just what he has done for us in Jesus, the more we will want to spend time with Him in the company of other Christians, worshipping together, praying for His Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven, and working in partnership to make the Lord Jesus known.

I think that September always has that feeling of starting afresh - even more so than January. Maybe it’s the teacher in me, ready for a new school year after the summer holidays. (If you have had the chance to get away, then that’s part of the rhythm of life too!) It’s good to take a break, but it’s also good to get back to what we are called to do. This time of year is a good opportunity for us to renew our commitment to serving God together. We need one another.

Hebrews 10:19-25 says:

Therefore, brothers and sisters . . . let us draw near to God . . . Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess . . . and let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. 

It has been pointed out that snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them stick together they can stop the traffic. I can’t do a whole lot on my own, and you can’t make a very big impact on the world on your own either. But if enough snowflakes get themselves together, they can do something really worthwhile. And in this church, I reckon we’ve got more than enough snowflakes to make a pretty decent snowball. Your presence and your contribution is vital!

Mother Teresa said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” So with summer behind us, let’s crack on into Autumn and let’s offer the life, mission and ministries of our church to God in prayer afresh. And let’s do it together. Let’s see where we fit in, and make sure we’re all playing our part. It’s time to get back to work, with a tingle in our fingers and a tingle in our feet!