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Introduction:
Two weeks from today, the Franklin Church is making a huge change.
We are moving our Sunday evening assembly and attaching that time
to our morning assembly. That means instead of assembling to
worship God and edify one another for two hours separated by a six
hour break, we are doing so with only a ten minute break. We will
have one extended assembly on Sundays. Of course, we are all
looking forward to this with varying degrees of excitement,
trepidation or discomfort. But one overriding question probably
lingers with us all. What will I do with my Sunday evenings? I
recognize this is not going to be an amazing theological or
doctrinal discussion setting us on some right path of Christian
living. However, I think we should take a few moments just to
consider something very practical for our present course of
action. Discussion: I.
Foundational Tidbits A.
First, I want to reiterate that this change is absolutely
scriptural. Further, it is not an indication or indictment of
anyone’s spirituality. 1.
In Acts
20:7ff, the church in Troas only assembled once on Sunday.
Granted on this particular occasion, they met for a very extended
period. However, the text implies that incredible length was the
exception because Paul was with them and was departing the next
day. 2.
In I
Corinthians 11:17ff, the Corinthian church was meeting
only once on Sunday. Additionally, I might point out that they
were instructed to wait for stragglers to take the Supper not
supply them with a make-up opportunity later in the day.
Apparently, those who had a legitimate reason for missing, just
missed it without any guilt. B.
Second, I do want to offer a warning. I have assembled with
a congregation twice on Sundays for more than 35 years. I have
done so both as a Baptist and as a Christian. On three occasions
in those 35 years I have spent a Sunday where the congregation met
only on Sunday mornings. Each time, I felt weird. I felt as though
I was violating some kind of law from God. I had to remind myself
I had assembled with the congregation. I wasn’t forsaking an
assembly, because there was no assembly to forsake. Having said
this, I am well aware that two weeks from now at this very moment,
most of us will feel weird. Some of us will have to fight down the
rising sense that we are disobeying God. That will be a very
natural feeling. However, as we often point out, our feelings are
not the great indicator of truth. I will share with you that every
single person I have spoken to whose congregation have made this
very same choice has told me they believed it increased their
spirituality, their devotion, their meaning for the edification
and worship in the assembly and even their connection to their
brethren. C.
Third, since I am presenting this on a Sunday evening, I
fear the ones who most need to hear this won’t. But I need to
say it at least for me to be satisfied that it has actually been
publicly verbalized. Hebrews
10:25 says we must not neglect our assembling together.
That means when the congregation is assembling, we are to be
there. This leads me to two statements. 1.
Those who have consistently forsaken the Sunday evening
assemblies of this congregation have a spiritual problem. Their
problem is deeper than just neglecting the assemblies. Their
neglect is merely a symptom of the real problem of spiritual
immaturity. When we
no longer meet on Sunday evenings, the brethren with this problem
will no longer be forsaking our assembly. However, that does not
suddenly make them mature Christians. If you have been forsaking
any of our assemblies, I encourage you to dig deep in your heart
and start maturing through the Word. 2.
As we have demonstrated, a congregation is not obligated to
have two assemblies on Sunday. However, if a congregation does
assemble twice, Hebrews
10:25 demonstrates it’s members are responsible to
attend. Over the coming years, many of us will move to other areas
and other congregations, especially our young people who graduate
and move elsewhere. If you become a member of a congregation that
still meets twice on Sunday, you will be responsible to assemble
with them at every assembly. Do not think our choice for this
congregation represents the limit of assemblies you ever need to
attend anywhere. D.
Fourth, the elders have made this choice because they
believed it was the best management of our assembly time. They did
not make this choice in order to lay some burden on any of us
regarding other responsibilities they expect us to fulfill on
Sunday evenings. Thus, I’m about to share with you some ways to
maximize our time and to ultimately benefit this congregation. But
I do not want this to be construed as the elders saying, “We
moved our evening assembly time so you have to do such and
such.” Just as the elders never directed the other 21 hours of
your Sunday when we met twice, they are not directing the other 21
hours of your Sunday now that we are meeting only once. I’m just
sharing some possibilities with you. II.
What can I do with my Sunday evenings? A.
Time
for Rest and Rejuvenation:
I imagine starting with this one is a bit of a shock. I’m sure
some will see this as confirmation that going to one assembly is
about our own personal convenience. That, however, is not the
case. I bring this up because of the Old Testament Sabbath. The
Sabbath was a day of increased spiritual devotion for our Old
Testament counterparts. Exodus
20:8-11; 31:13-17 says the Sabbath was dedicated as holy
to the Lord. However, notice it was also a day of rest. Sunday is
not the New Testament Sabbath. This Sabbath law does not apply to
our Sunday. We are not put to death if we do any work on Sunday.
However, I simply want us to note that a day can be holy, devoted
to God and also be used as a day for us to rest and be
rejuvenated. Remember, our Shepherd is the one who makes us lie
down in green pastures and leads us beside still waters (Psalm
23:1-2). Frankly, I’m excited about this because for my
family, Sunday has often been the least restful and rejuvenating
day of the week. I believe our new schedule will help us with this
no matter what we do with our Sunday evenings. B.
Additional
Personal Study Time:
In Acts
20:32, Paul commended the Ephesian elders to God and His
word. James
1:21-23 demonstrates that the Word, if heard and then
applied, will save our souls. II
Timothy 3:16-17 explains that the Word will teach,
reprove, correct and train us in righteousness so we may be
equipped for every good work. These passages and numerous others
demonstrate we need to spend personal time in the Word of God.
What better time to do so than our Sunday evenings? For me, this
change actually provides more than an hour for this kind of work.
I don’t know about you, but there are numerous things I never do
on Sunday because in the afternoon I think, “There is no point
getting started because I’ll just have to quit in a little while
to get ready for our evening assembly.” Then afterwards I think,
“Well, no point in getting started now because it’s so
late.” This provides me good time to get real work done in
whatever endeavor I choose, especially if it is personal study
time. C.
Additional
Family Time:
We do have very hectic schedules throughout the week. That makes
it really tough to have decent family time then. Our schedule in
the past has made it equally hard to have good family time on
Sunday. In fact, for my family, our Sunday family time was usually
spent frustrated with each other because somebody was making us
late for getting to both assemblies. Our new schedule provides a
great opportunity for our families to spend more time together as
a family. Granted, not all family time has to be about some
specific spiritual task. But I will remind you of the principle
taught in Deuteronomy
6:5-9. We need to spend time with our families and
especially our children passing the word on to them, not merely
relying on the congregation to teach our kids. But we also need to
spend time just talking with our families, playing games with
them, enjoying them. These times often pass on great spiritual
truths just by modeling healthy family interaction. D.
Spiritual
Time with Other Christians:
In Acts
2:46-47, the first Christians spent time with each other
from house to house praising God. In Acts
12:12, Christians gathered at Mary’s house to pray for
special needs. What better time for Christians to decide to get
together to sing, study, pray, encourage, confess, share, bolster
and teach than on our newly opening Sunday evenings? Whether we do
this on Sunday evenings or not, we need to be doing it sometime. E.
Increased
Hospitality:
In Acts
2:46-47, the brethren were not just gathering in each
other’s homes for spiritual purposes. They were also practicing
hospitality, accepting one another into their homes and feeding
each other. I
Peter 4:8-9 demonstrates hospitality is part of loving
each other. Hospitality is not just for those people with really
nice homes or for those who have it all together and keep their
homes really neat and clean. Hospitality is a responsibility every
Christian has. Now that we don’t have to worry about people not
being able to come over because they will have to leave so early
to get the kids ready for the Sunday evening assembly and now that
we don’t have to worry about people being able to stay for a
while but being out too late that they can’t get enough rest for
work and school the next day, what better opportunity than Sunday
afternoon to show hospitality and just have some together time
with our brethren? F.
Increased
Evangelism:
I know this one sounds odd. But one of the brothers here plans on
taking this opportunity to visit some of the churches in the area
that teach error and try to set up Bible studies. I’m sure some
would not feel comfortable in such an arrangement. However, what
better opportunity to follow the example of Paul in Acts
16:13 than to go someplace where you know folks are
meeting to discuss spiritual things but they are in error? Conclusion: As I said, the elders did not make this change in order to lay another burden on us with our Sunday evenings. As they have not ever directed the other 21 hours of our Sundays before, they are not beginning to do so now. However, with this remarkable change we are about to undergo, I simply thought it might be good to think through some things that will maximize the spiritual benefit of this change. For my part, I do hope none of us simply allow this change to give us more time to fritter away on useless endeavors. However, that is not just a hope for Sunday evenings but for all our time. Whether we are talking about Sunday evenings or any other time of the week, let us keep Ephesians 5:15-16 in mind: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (ESV).
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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