Does the Bible “require” people to attend church? Or put another way, is it a sin to miss church? (Check out the article “Church Attendance – A Requirement?” for a balanced perspective.)
The gathering together of God’s people takes us all the way back to the beginning of redemptive history when Israel “gathered together” for worship in the desert of Sinai. This pattern of faithfully gathering together, giving one day of the week for the purpose of rest and worship, was later codified in the Decalogue (the “Ten Commandments”). The tabernacle was built and later the Temple as a place for gathering. In addition, several annual gatherings for celebration were made mandatory and those who violated these gatherings faced censure by the priests or even excommunication.
When God blessed his people with a land of their own, these regular gatherings continued – the priests regularly read and taught the scriptures, worship leaders wrote and led songs (see the Psalms) and the Sabbath was upheld as a day of rest, worship, and celebration. However, as God’s people strayed from him, their regular gatherings became more sporadic. In fact, it was the “desecration of the Sabbath” that was one of the primary causes of God’s judgment upon his poeple (see Ezekiel 20 and cf.). This desecration was a sign that other things were more important than God - typically wealth (working to make money), pleasure or family. The observance of gatherings for worship was revived during the exile when God's people were scattered around the world and Synagogues were built to serve as "local Temples" in various cities for this purpose. (The Greek word Synagogue literally means, "place of gathering.")
The early church took this “pattern of faithfulness” seriously, eventually changing the exact day of celebration to Sunday, signifying the day Jesus was raised from the dead, and Sunday was established as an empire-wide day of rest and worship in the Roman world in the fourth century AD – a pattern that remains with us in much of the world today.
My concern is that this pattern of rest and worship is slowly eroding, especially in the Western world where there are so many “things to do” on Sunday other than worship (Europe’s worship patterns are at an all time low). Polls indicate that 40% of American's report that they actually attend worship regularly, while other studies indicate that this number is as low as 20% due to exagerated self-reporting. (In other words, 40% of Americans say they attend every week, which is understood to mean that 40% plan to attend, but they have "other" things that often interupt attendance.)
So, are we in danger of repeating the sins of our forefathers and incurring God’s judgment? Do you think God brings “personal” or “individual” judgment on people for neglecting a pattern of faithful worship? Do you think we are too preoccupied with “this life” to set aside an hour of our week for worship? If so, what does this say about us as a culture?
As someone who is in church 51 weeks out of the year (I did miss one Sunday this year), perhaps I am not the best to comment since my children don’t ask “Are we going to church today?” any more than they ask during the school year, “Are you going to make us go to school?”
The gathering together of God’s people takes us all the way back to the beginning of redemptive history when Israel “gathered together” for worship in the desert of Sinai. This pattern of faithfully gathering together, giving one day of the week for the purpose of rest and worship, was later codified in the Decalogue (the “Ten Commandments”). The tabernacle was built and later the Temple as a place for gathering. In addition, several annual gatherings for celebration were made mandatory and those who violated these gatherings faced censure by the priests or even excommunication.
When God blessed his people with a land of their own, these regular gatherings continued – the priests regularly read and taught the scriptures, worship leaders wrote and led songs (see the Psalms) and the Sabbath was upheld as a day of rest, worship, and celebration. However, as God’s people strayed from him, their regular gatherings became more sporadic. In fact, it was the “desecration of the Sabbath” that was one of the primary causes of God’s judgment upon his poeple (see Ezekiel 20 and cf.). This desecration was a sign that other things were more important than God - typically wealth (working to make money), pleasure or family. The observance of gatherings for worship was revived during the exile when God's people were scattered around the world and Synagogues were built to serve as "local Temples" in various cities for this purpose. (The Greek word Synagogue literally means, "place of gathering.")
The early church took this “pattern of faithfulness” seriously, eventually changing the exact day of celebration to Sunday, signifying the day Jesus was raised from the dead, and Sunday was established as an empire-wide day of rest and worship in the Roman world in the fourth century AD – a pattern that remains with us in much of the world today.
My concern is that this pattern of rest and worship is slowly eroding, especially in the Western world where there are so many “things to do” on Sunday other than worship (Europe’s worship patterns are at an all time low). Polls indicate that 40% of American's report that they actually attend worship regularly, while other studies indicate that this number is as low as 20% due to exagerated self-reporting. (In other words, 40% of Americans say they attend every week, which is understood to mean that 40% plan to attend, but they have "other" things that often interupt attendance.)
So, are we in danger of repeating the sins of our forefathers and incurring God’s judgment? Do you think God brings “personal” or “individual” judgment on people for neglecting a pattern of faithful worship? Do you think we are too preoccupied with “this life” to set aside an hour of our week for worship? If so, what does this say about us as a culture?
As someone who is in church 51 weeks out of the year (I did miss one Sunday this year), perhaps I am not the best to comment since my children don’t ask “Are we going to church today?” any more than they ask during the school year, “Are you going to make us go to school?”
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