St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

What for and how often?

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:25)

Dear Church Members,

The quote above comes from a letter written to Jews who had heard about Jesus, realized Jesus was the Messiah, and put their faith in him, thus becoming Christians. Having done so, they suffered various discriminations and persecutions because of their faith, and their Jewish friends and families disowned them. So they were tempted to return to Judaism, maybe with the thought that “I can be a Christian in private, and if I stay away from meeting other Christian believers (i.e. “church”), that won’t stop me being a Christian inside.” The hard truth is that if we stop off church our faith dies within us.

What for? - Church is for keeping our faith alive within us, and although you can become a Christian without reference to church, you can’t continue to be one without churchgoing.

How often? - But vicars are famous for organising extra meetings besides Sunday services - so how much does the vicar expect his congregation to attend besides just coming on a Sunday?

The short answer is - as well as the large church service, which is too big for us to get to know all the people, we also need a smaller group in which we can make good friends who will support and help us personally. So I think we should all aim to come once on Sunday and once to a midweek meeting (e.g. a house-group) every week.

While I’m on the subject, I think we should also all aim to take part in some piece of Christian service for others’ benefit (maybe helping with a lunch club?), and also to have at least one “non-church” activity which brings us into contact with people who don’t yet know Jesus.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. October 2000, Page 1.
Home Page. Index of articles. Vicar's Letters: index, Visiting, Settling in. One body What for? Pilgrims. In this issue: (October 2000) Vicar's Letter, Money & Missions, 11.15am changes, Question.	What for and how often? "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:25) Dear Church Members, The quote above comes from a letter written to Jews who had heard about Jesus, realized Jesus was the Messiah, and put their faith in him, thus becoming Christians. Having done so, they suffered various discriminations and persecutions because of their faith, and their Jewish friends and families disowned them. So they were tempted to return to Judaism, maybe with the thought that “I can be a Christian in private, and if I stay away from meeting other Christian believers (i.e. “church”), that won’t stop me being a Christian inside.” The hard truth is that if we stop off church our faith dies within us. What for? - Church is for keeping our faith alive within us, and although you can become a Christian without reference to church, you can’t continue to be one without churchgoing. How often? - But vicars are famous for organising extra meetings besides Sunday services - so how much does the vicar expect his congregation to attend besides just coming on a Sunday? The short answer is - as well as the large church service, which is too big for us to get to know all the people, we also need a smaller group in which we can make good friends who will support and help us personally. So I think we should all aim to come once on Sunday and once to a midweek meeting (e.g. a house-group) every week. While I’m on the subject, I think we should also all aim to take part in some piece of Christian service for others’ benefit (maybe helping with a lunch club?), and also to have at least one “non-church” activity which brings us into contact with people who don’t yet know Jesus. John Hartley
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