Holy Activities of the Church

The great awaited "tsunami of salvation" broke out 2,000 years ago with the advent of Messiah Jesus, his death, resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit. But the thousands gathered into the kingdom of God needed training and discipleship. So the Lord Jesus led the apostles to form groups of believers around Jerusalem. Acts 2:42 describes the holy activities of these discipleship groups: "they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." Why do Christ's churches gather weekly? It is to be instructed in the faith as Jesus passed it on through his apostles, it is to fellowship with Christ and his people by the Holy Spirit, it is to be reminded of Christ's suffering for our sins at the Table of the Lord, and it is to present our praises and petitions to our God in prayer with one mind and heart. The local church gathering is the only place on earth where this happens - it's why the Christian needs to be there and must be there when the saints gather for corporate worship.