In Hebrews 10:24-25, the author writes "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." That passage is meant to remind us of what a precious gift our time together is. When we gather as the body of Christ for weekly worship, it is a time to express our love for God, to learn and grow, and to experience Christian community. It is a place where we are loved, supported and encouraged, and where we can love, support and encourage others.
It seems like we are living in such a busy time that there are more and more things that would rob us of our time together. Work, travel, sports, recreation, vacation and more all potentially rob us of the great blessing God has given us; the opportunity to be together as the family of Christ. So I have a crazy idea. At the end of 2018, I am going to have a very nice prize (still deciding what it will be) for anyone with 90% or higher attendance. I will also have a special additional gift for anyone with perfect attendance.
Since I didn't announce this last week, we will start tracking that this Sunday. To be counted as in attendance, you must be at one of these experiences: Sandown 8:45, Plaistow 9:45, 11:11 or 6:00 PM, Amesbury 10:10 or Tuesdays night CR worship, or Newburyport Thursday nights. The other thing we really need is for you to fill out your connection card each week. With so many locations and times, there is no way we can do this by memory.
Now to be clear, this isn't a competition. It is just a fun incentive to remind ourselves how important it is that we not miss out on God's gift of gathering. So, I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. We've just launched a new series entitled "God's Great Plan~From Creation to the Cross." It is a little bit longer series than we sometimes do. But I promise you, if you are with us each week for this teaching series, at the end you will understand your Bible better than you ever have. It is going to be GREAT!
God Bless,
Pastor Steve