bobyoungresources.com

With freezing rain falling all day and ice-laden limbs hanging low in our yard, Jan and I spent all of yesterday indoors. We commented more than once on the beauty of God’s creation and the picturesque scenes God was creating.
This morning those same scenes are still amazing–even though much less visible with the moonlight, the light from our front yard lamppost, and the yellowish glow of the streetlight at the end of the block. God’s ice looks more challenging today because we will not stay indoors. We will spend time this morning assembling with our spiritual family and celebrating God’s goodness in sending Jesus to handle the sin problem we cannot handle on our own.
I am glad the earth and all of its fulness is God’s! I am glad he is in control. We needed the moisture–God provides. He gives us every day what we need. Let us praise him, worship his holy name, thank him, and glorify his name!

I do not like the change that some calendar publishers have popularized. Especially on calendars designed for the business world, the week begins on Monday and the weekend is an afterthought in the far right-hand box–usually including both Saturday and Sunday in one box. (I suppose that six boxes saves money over seven boxes.)

Think with me. Let us ponder in our hearts the things of God. Let us rejoice and celebrate. Today is the first day of a new week. It is Sunday–the Lord’s Day. It is Resurrection Day. I will begin the week in worship to God and fellowship with the spiritual family. I will do today what I have done on Sunday throughout my life. The number of Sundays that I remember having missed assembling with God’s people during my lifetime I can count on one hand–two or three times for illness and once due to being in the remote high mountains with my family. Even on those Sundays when I have not been able to attend the assembly, I have spent time in worship, meditating on spiritual things.

The book of Revelation says John was “in the spirit” on the Lord’s Day. It is likely that the book of Revelation begins with visions that occurred on Sunday. What did John see? In chapter 1, he saw in a vision the power and presence of Jesus. In chapters 2 and 3, he received instructions to write letters of warning and consolation to the churches to remind them that Jesus was present among the persecuted churches. In chapters 4 and 5, he saw a heavenly vision that assured him that God was on the throne and in control of the outcomes of the history of the world.

As we today begin another week, here are three great principles. Jesus is who he claimed to be, in all of his glory, splendor, and power. Jesus walks among his people even in difficult days. God is in ultimate control.

After five consecutive Sundays of international travels and time away from Park Plaza, today I am ‘at home.’ In October I worshiped and preached at a house church in Chile with no more than 30 present; last week I was at an area-wide worship assembly in Guatemala City with almost 4000 present on Sunday morning.
On Friday evening in Guatemala I taught the Bible study at a new church established less than a year ago. This church has about 35 present each Sunday and is being established by Guatemalans without U.S. financial support.

Here are some things I want to remember today and every Sunday….
God is among his people wherever they worship, in both small and large assemblies
The gospel is being proclaimed in many different places around the world by God’s people
The gospel bears fruit when it is proclaimed
God is growing the church in marvelous but often unseen ways
The Supper binds us together each Lord’s Day as saints around the world share remembrance of what God has done to redeem and unite a holy people for his glory

Yesterday I wrote about home and family. This morning we are traveling and are “away from home.” As we prepare to worship with the family of God, I am thinking about how the reflections I wrote yesterday apply to God’s family and our spiritual home. Our spiritual home is usually defined most sharply by our relationships in a local congregation, but Christians have family in many places.

Reflections….
Spiritually, our family is larger than the part we experience regularly in the context of our daily lives.
Our spiritual family is a major part of our identity. Through our church family, we know who we are and are continually reminded of our significance, that others love us, and that others care for us and want to be with us.
In our spiritual family we learn the value of sharing and we become more like Jesus as we serve others. In the deep relationships of a spiritual family, we willingly serve, knowing that others have done and will do the same for us.
In our church family, we invest ourselves in others, seeing the beauty of the past and the hope of the future.
Church is a place where we give without asking how much it will cost or whether we will get anything back in return.
Church is a place of encouragement and strength, a place of laughter and life lived lovingly.
Church is a place where we share life fully, a place where we know that others will welcome us and accept us.

What was it like to assemble with the church in the first century? What were the attitudes of the Christians as they came together on the Lord’s Day? What did they talk about? What did they think about? Some of the places of assembly may have been public buildings; more often the church assembled in the homes of members.
Did some came early and spent time together before those with work obligations arrived? (Thus the practice in Corinth to partake of the Supper early and separately before the body was totally assembled.) How did they integrate the Lord’s Supper and the agape feast? How much time did they spend together? Did the early church take note of those who were not present? (The Hebrew writer reflects the awareness that some are not assembling regularly.)
Was it during the Sunday assemblies that the letters from Paul and other missionaries were read? How much did the church at Rome think about and pray about Paul’s ministry (Romans 15:14-33)? Did they consider his ministry as their ministry? How did they fulfill the request of Paul for their prayers? Paul obviously hoped that his plans would become the plans of the Roman church.
As I read the text in Romans 15, it occurs to me that Sunday is a great time to prepare ourselves for the ministry or ministries God will present to us in coming days. As we pray about the doors God is opening and will open, we depend on God’s power for his work and prepare ourselves.

Today I am thinking of several things that the church and each individual Christian can accomplish during the praise and reflection of this day, in the assembly and in the way we use the Lord’s Day.

First, we can use this day to prepare our hearts for service in the kingdom. We can be reminded of the priorities of life and refreshed in spirit.

Second, we can use this day to plan our own kingdom service. We can identify specific actions that we want to do in the coming week; we can plan how we will be involved in God’s eternal plan and purpose.

Third, we can use this day to pray about the ministry and mission work God enables through us. The church assembled corporately can pray about its mission and ministry, and individual Christians can pray about their personal mission and ministry. Both the church and individuals can pray about the work others are accomplishing as colaborers.

Fourth, we can use this day to establish priorities in our ministry. We can identify those things are most important and bring those before God’s throne in special ways.

Fifth, we can use this day to purpose or recommit anew. At times the dream becomes dim, the energy flags, the commitment wavers. This is a good to day to renew faith and hope.

Finally, we use this day to praise God for what he has done for us and in us and through us in the past. We remember the cross, we rejoice in the changes Christ has brought to our lives, and we celebrate how God has used us to his glory.

Sunday is a day to look back, but it is also a day of preparation. The first day of the week–what will the week ahead hold? How will our future be devoted to kingdom things? Sunday is a good day to seek fresh preparations for the ministry God wants to accomplish through us.

Matthew 25 is usually quoted to remind us of the importance of “benevolent work” or prison ministry. The text says, “Insomuch as you did it unto one of the least of these, you did it unto me.”

Today I am thinking about a different application of this text. How do I treat my brothers and sisters in Christ? Am I sensitive? Do I recognize their needs, their frustrations and hurts, their challenges and doubts? Do I barge ahead in the name of ‘principle’ or do I in the name of compassion resist the temptation to get everything right?
God lives among his people. The Bible says that Jesus inhabits our hearts and that the Holy Spirit lives within us. How we treat one another is how we treat God. How can we say we love the unseen God when we mistreat our spiritual family whom we see each week? How can we have open hearts to God when we have closed and restricted hearts toward those around us?

Many of us (myself included) are good at process over people, transaction over transformation, developing projects more than developing people. Matthew 25 serves as a reminder that becoming like Jesus includes how we treat other people.

Today we share spiritual family reunions with two families that are an important part of our spiritual history. We served in ministry with the Plymouth church of Christ almost 40 years ago (1974-1976). Today the Plymouth church celebrates its 75th anniversary and we are thrilled at the prospect of worshiping this morning with our spiritual family at Plymouth as they look back to the past and forward to the future. We are a small part of that history and will rejoice with them as we remember what God has done among his people and and look forward to what he will do in the future.
This evening we will be with the Holmes Road church in Lansing. I have been asked to speak on the importance of mission work in the development and growth of the local church. We will enjoy renewing friendships and our shared love in Christ. We ministered with this church for slightly over 11 years in a time of marvelous numerical growth as God blessed our efforts.
In the midst of sharing special times, we will not forget today that it is all about God. On this Lord’s Day, we will worship and praise him as we do each Sunday. God is the one who enables his people to accomplish his will and purpose. We work where he places us and in our generation we fulfill his purpose for us. To God be the glory as we remember his grace freely extended to include us in his family and to enable us for ministry and the building up of the body of Christ.