What Does The Bible Say About Church Attendance

What Does The Bible Say About Church Attendance? You'll be surprised at the answer in this online Bible study about Christians worshiping, praying and learning together.

Online Christian Discipleship School, LifeCycle Series B4

What Does The Bible Say About Church Attendance?

Instructions: You can use the course online or print each lesson and fill in the blanks. If you're taking these courses with the goal of receiving a diploma or becoming a member of Web-Church, you must answer and file a copy of each lesson to submit to Web-Church once you've completed all lessons. If you wish to make a file copy, you can highlight the text and paste it into a text file. Pay close attention to any affirmations, commitments or Bible memory verses at the end of lessons. These are included to help cement the lesson content into your life.

What does the Bible say about church attendance? Nothing! Now...stay with me for a moment. In fact, when the New Testament was written there were no church buildings, no trained professional ministers, no music leaders, no Sunday school, no youth groups, no men's-women's-singles-seniors ministries, no denominations, no weekly services. Tell me, please, how the Bible could tell you to attend something that didn't exist? What this lesson is about is what the Bible does say about spending regular time around other Christian disciples. Because we see so many commercial buildings, called churches, with people going in and out we make the mistake of assuming this is the place to be with followers of Jesus. Oh, how I wish it were so! The fact is, it isn't that easy. By the time you finish the LifeCycle Discipleship School, you'll know God's Word well enough to judge whether a particular group of people is focused on following Jesus or something else. Until then, please don't make the mistake of assuming because a building says "church" that it is. There are often many agenda's other than following Jesus in a typical "church" today.

So, "how do I spend time with other followers?" That's what this session is all about...growing in "The Soil of His People". If you follow Jesus, you're already part of His Church. He is in you. When you gather together with just one other Christian, you're doing church the way He set it up. Mt 18:20 "For where ___ or _____ are gathered in __ name, there am I with them." Based on this verse, how many people do you need to have a "gathering"? (Gathering is the literal modern English translation of one of the New Testament words for a local church.) We're going to devote this lesson to how and why God set up Gatherings, with emphasis on how you can have regular Christian fellowship in your home or coffee shop or wherever else you spend time with people you love, rather than in a commercial building with strangers.

1. Why Gather With Other Followers?
a. God said to: He 10:25 "Let us not give up _______ together…"
b. It's necessary for growth: Col 3:16 "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you _____and ________one another with all wisdom…"
c. Can't follow Jesus without others: Bible uses the term "one-another" 55 times. What are the five things in these Scriptures we must do for one-another? 1Th 5:11 _________, Ro 15:14 ________, Ga 5:13 _____, Col 3:13 _______, Jn 13:34 ____. You'll just have to find the other 50 things by reading the Bible.

2. Where Do We Gather? Guess how many years after Jesus was born the first church building was constructed? ____ a. 30, b. 50, c. 100, d. 250, e. Over 300 (Hint: The answer isn't in the Bible). Based on these Scriptures, Ro 16:5, Phm 1:2, I Co 16:9 & Col 4:15, Where did the churches meet when the New Testament was being written? __________ Can you think of anywhere the Bible says that the church met, other than the Jewish Temple and homes? _________________________ (if you can, please tell me!)

3. What Happens When We Gather? In Acts 2:42, what four things did the early church devote themselves to? ________ ________, __________, ________ __ _____, ______. In Col 3:16, what six things did Paul instruct the Church to do as they gathered?__________, __________, __________, __________, __________, __________. In I Co 14:26, what 4 things must be done to strengthen the church? __________, __________, __________, __________. Who does these things?___________________.

4. Who Regularly Teaches And Leads Music? In Col 3:16 & I Co 14:26, who teaches and leads music at the Gatherings? E_______! According to I Jn 2:27 Who is our teacher? ____ ______. In I Co 2:10-16 Who's mind do we have? ______. In Eph 4:12, Who does the works of ministry to build up the body of Christ?_______. In I Pe 2:9, who are the priests he is writing to? ________

5. What Is The Chief Characteristic Of The Church? _________ Read the following verses to check your answer to this question: Jn 13:36, I Th 4:9, I Pe 4:8, I Jn 4:7-8

Conclusion at Church Attendance-2

What Does The Bible Say About Church Attendance

I'm honored that you've allowed me to be a part of your Christian life. Please return often for fellowship, study and prayer. Thank you very much for visiting.

Love & Hugs,
Glen

What Does The Bible Say About Church Attendance? You'll be surprised at the answer in this online Bible study about Christians worshiping, praying and learning together.