Live Streaming Is On Hold

As you might have heard in our services, we are putting our live streaming of Sunday services on hold for now. You might be wondering if this was a good idea. But there are a couple reasons why our leadership has decided to move in this direction. Here’s the main one:

No doubt the pandemic has played a role in keeping us in isolation, and some of us have to really consider public interaction because of health concerns. But God created us for relationship and fellowship within the community of believers. How do we merge obedience to this truth in the best way considering the current cultural condition? That’s the question we have faced. However, here is one passage we cannot get out of our heads in the midst of this argument:

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Let’s be honest, it is very difficult to spur each other on to “love and good deed” if we are not in fellowship with one another. The encouragement we crave and desperately need as we live in the world comes from our interaction with fellow believers. We need the challenge and inspiration from others to help us keep going as we struggle or thrive through life. What we clearly see in scripture is that our meeting together needs to be the habit we develop.

Further, Kent Hughes mentioned “that giving up meeting with other believers hampers one’s theology and doctrinal understanding.” That is a pretty strong claim and might seem a little harsh, but it is true. If we are not around each other to sharpen one another for the spiritual battles in life, giving God more ground in our hearts becomes a strained effort. It becomes easier to make excuses to obey when alone than when in a group.

The “Day” the author of Hebrews is commonly understood to be referring to judgment, or the eschatological realization of God’s covenant promises. So as we get closer to the day in which Jesus returns, we should rather be found in community with the believers instead of in isolation. As the world continues to head toward an array of destructive patterns and as it feels like things continue to get progressively worse in a polarizing society, we need one another for strength as we stand confidently in the face of opposition waiting for the coming of our Lord.

With this in mind, our hearts go out to you! We want to see you! We want to engage in table fellowship with you and don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to receive from you the blessings of God you’ve experienced, the encouragements and challenges you can give.

Allow me to encourage you to come and join us in person. Feel free to wear a mask, move a chair, bump elbows with us, or whatever. You are missed.