The Power of Consistency
I remember an awkward conversation that I had with a friend who mentioned that he thought I should preach a sermon on a specific topic/passage of scripture. He emphasized that it was a topic that he believed our church family really needed to hear. It was awkward for me because I had preached on that topic the week before. In the back of my mind I thought, “You are right! We do need to hear that message!” When the Apostle Paul wrote that we should avoid “neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” (Hebrews 10:25a ESV) I think that he understood the value of consistently meeting together as a church family.
At Hope on Sundays, our messages are on a series through a book of the Bible (like our current “Follow” series on the book of John) or a Biblical “topical” series. A large majority of the time our sermon series builds on the message from the week before and anticipates the message the week after. My intent with the message is to give clarity and understanding to a book or theme in the Bible, so that we can apply it accurately to our lives. When we miss out on consistency, we might miss out on the truth that God desires for us to receive from His Word. My guess is like all good investments, the more you put into them, the more you will get out of them.
If you do miss a Sunday, I want to invite you to join us through our livestream which provides a window into our Sunday morning services. Most of us agree that it is certainly not the same as being together in person but If you are traveling or unable to join us one week, I encourage you to check out the livestream or the archive of the sermon (click here). I think that this will help keep you connected to the church family and give the larger context of the sermon series. That being said, I encourage you to make a habit of joining us as often as you can so that you consistently hear what God has for you each week.
I appreciate these two recommendations by Christopher Ash to help us be more consistent (Adapted from Christopher Ash, Listen Up):
Keep count for six months or a year of how many weeks you are in your own local church to hear the sermon. Make a note of the different reasons why you’re not there.
If you find you’re away more than you realized, and more than you ought to be, take some practical action to make sure you’re there more regularly. Come back from holiday on a Saturday. Request off from work on Sundays, etc.
Expectantly,
Shawn
P.S. I hope that you are able to join us tonight for our time of worship at 6:30pm and then stay for the prayer meeting, our “Chosen” viewing discussion, or our parenting connection. It is better at Hope when you are here!
