A great excuse for not going to church

Jesus was in his home town and he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He read from the Bible and said a few words but things didn’t go well after this.

Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

If you need a good excuse not to go to church today here it is. Jesus went to the Jewish equivalent of church and the members tried to kill him. Read about it for yourself in Luke 4.16-30.

What’s amazing about this is that the gospels give examples of  Jesus knowing what was going to happen. He went to the synagogue knowing that people would attack him and being in a place of worship with other believers was that important to him. He went to worship where he knew he would not be welcome. He went to praise his father in a public place despite the hostility he would face.

I hope you go to church today and I hope you are blessed by going, but sometimes we need to go even when it feels hard just because it is good for us and the church community.

The Bible teaches us to encourage one another. As you meet with other people today, who can you encourage? Can you tell someone what they mean to you or thank someone for something they have done for you? Can you pray for someone and then ask God to speak to you to give you something to pass on to that person such as a Bible verse?

Our gatherings are with other people, but really they are about God. Jesus said that where 2 or 3 of us gather he is in the midst. I don’t think he was saying that it takes 2 or 3 of us to make him turn up because he is everywhere already. He was reminding us that he is there with us too and that he should be at the centre of our gathering. May we worship God in the way that he deserves.

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