1. Meeting together to become more like Jesus
19 Feb Keep meeting together Hebrews 10:23-39
26 Feb Gift Day 1 Corinth 16:1-3
05 Mar Work-Life Balance Exodus 20:8-11; 31:13
12 Mar Doing good on Sundays Matthew 12:1-23
19 Mar Interdependence Romans 14:5-7

2. Hebrews 10
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 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.
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

3. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

4. 32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

5. Thank God for his written Word to us
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,
“In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”
38 And,
“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Thank God for his written Word to us

6. Hebrews 10
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 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.
What we do here today matters. It matters that we are here, we are not here to sit unchanged by this morning. Especially in the light of His day approaching. In one sense this is part of the ‘night’ and we see the Lords day approaching – there is so much pain around us. The majority of our residents do not know the Lord or what he commands but we do. We work today to do the good we can before he arrives. We don’t have long, we have a finite window and we see the day approaching when pain is gone. If there were any regrets when the Lord comes it would be this – that we didn’t work harder when pain existing that more people could benefit, that more people would feel love in action. Since we see that day approaching lets act accordingly: lets encourage each other to love and good deeds. We are told in 24 to consider how we could do this in light of the fact that Jesus is faithful and gives us the hope of His day approaching. So we know that time is finite, a different sort of life awaits us after this one and the opportunities will not be the same. Lets make the most of now. How can you encourage those near us and promote love? Firstly by being here. It is encouraging to talk to you and only by meeting together can we raise the needs of our church community and meet them. By meeting together we can listen to each others sorrows and pray together – how great a need it is that people hear us and we are heard by God. This is why we are described in the bible as a community of priests, we are to lift our needs to God together. We also spur each other on to practical action – the church meets needs daily. We do give money and time and service to those in distress. We don’t just listen - we do. But we’re only able to do that so long as people keep meeting together and keep encouraging each other to love, to serve, to give.

7. Hebrews 10
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 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.
If we didn’t it would stop. And don’t think you aren’t part of this - you are, each one of us. There is something you are doing here or that you could do here that will be of great value – make sure you do it, people are depending on it whether or not you know it. One of the things that encourages me to serve here vs an earlier church that was far bigger is that I can see my contribution taking effect. Don’t be decieved what you do here matters. If you maintain the church you help people hear the lord. If you talk to someone in distress you give strength to a friend. If you attend despite ill health you inspire others to bold action though you may be unaware you are a great example. If in frail health you make church a priority, though you do nothing else and don’t consider it great, you become an example of faithfulness to be copied. If you serve the poor through providing food or the elderly through company or the young through word or through deed because you know the love God showed you, you act out the love he has for you and invite others to share it. Lets do it! Lets do it more! Consider how you can! How does Jesus encourage us towards love and good deeds? Is it not by his example? If you want to encourage others be here and consider how you can serve. There’s a pancake party for the kids next week – its not by accident, Jessica, Stuart, Ben, Oliver and Salvador considered how they could help and did something – it happened to be something new. Its encouraging. They are not the only ones by a long stretch. How can you faithfully put love into action and encourage others to do the same? Perhaps you can see how someone could serve but they don’t have the confidence – encourage them to try it – carefully. And do so all the more knowing time is short there will not always be people to help and what we do will be rewarded – don’t stop now.

8. “Do we give to God as much as we give to our own pleasures
“Do we give to God as much as we give to our own pleasures? Do we give Christ's service as much time as we give to many of our trifling amusements? Why, we have professional men of education, men of excellent training and ability, who when they once get into a church, feel that they could be very active anywhere else, but as Christians they have nothing to do. They can be energetic in parish vestries or in the rifle corps, but in the church they give their name, but their energies are dormant...
I think as we fall down before his feet and worship him, if we could know a sorrow, it would be because we did not bring him in more jewels for his crown—did not seek more to feed the hungry, or to clothe the naked—did not give more to his cause, and did not labour more that the lost sheep of the house of Israel might be restored. Live while you live; while it is called to-day, work, for the night cometh wherein no man can work.” Spurgeon - The Wailing of Risca -
Here’s a challenge from Spurgeon that I think strikes the same tone:

9. 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot…?
But what if we don’t? What if, knowing God’s love, knowing that he lived a faithful life and died a painful death to rescue us we chose to ignore that? What if having seen the great and painful death that Jesus suffered because of our wrongdoing we chose to continue as if nothing had happened? Well then, what more could God do? No sacrifice remains, if having rejected the all sufficient sacrifice of Gods own son they resolutely want nothing to do with him, they shall indeed have nothing to do with the mercy of God. What remains is judgement and punishment. After all mercy and love is rejected that is what remains and it is indeed horrific – it is part of our motivation – it is included in scripture and we are not wiser than the God who includes it. We are not more merciful either, the God who includes judgement does it when all attempts at reconciliation is rejected and we don’t know the depths of agony he suffered so that we would choose otherwise – but we don’t. We fail so often – let us not ignore this scripture or assume we can outdo God’s mercy because we don’t understand his wrath.
Lets also not make it what it isn’t: forgiveness is real and God desires to give it. We fail daily but lets bring that failure to the one who loves us on the hope He will make more of us as we make more of Him.

10. 32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
Perhaps you have been a Christian a long time. The message is this – endure. I remember once I was being asked to fast and did not in the least feel like it but I accepted. I felt God say to me in a prayerful moment that he only desires to take things from me that are not good for me. It is the same with each of us. Something that feels good or is usually good may not in fact be best for you now. Look at the verses, look at the red. These Christians had been exposed to insult, had been persecuted, had property taken, been put in prison or were alongside them. Is this what God longs to give us? Only for so long as it creates opportunities to be like Him, the things he gives us in green are better by far! We receive the light, joy and finally better and lasting posessions. So don’t give up, keep going! The opportunities God wants you to have by regularly putting time into his teaching is better by far than whatever pastime or work would otherwise present itself. Not that we shouldn’t work or have hobbies but that Mary chose what was better by listening to her Lord when he was available. Mary was too busy to listen then and she suffered for it. You may have to give up things to be here, but what God wants to give you is better. I’m aware of exceptions but to my mind this is the rule give Him time just to listen and learn. We are told to remember how it was in the beginning – how did you feel when His love was fresh? Would anything prevent you meeting from Him? Do not throw away your confidence, stand in what has already been achieved and keep going – it counts.

11. Thank God for his written Word to us
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,
“In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”
38 And,
“But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Lets keep going, lets keep meeting together. We will be resued when we have done the will of God – are we doing that now? If we are meeting with God to sort out our lives then yes. If we are serving as we are able then yes. If we are always putting it off then no we haven’t. Loving God involves action. Then we have the promise of a deliverance… He will come and not delay.
Thank God for his written Word to us

12. What did I miss in Church today?
 "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him?” Deut. 4:7
(NASB)
Imagine an absent friend asks you this: what did I miss in church today. I would suggest the answer is this, no idea. How would I know! I know what I would have missed if I were not in church but what you missed? That’s not for me to say. I know the strength I get from being here, I know the grief I feel if I’m not here but what opportunities anyone else is neglecting that’s not for me to know – as Jesus said to Peter when he questioned him about Johns destiny - what is that to you? You must follow me! I know random conversations that happen with me that allow knew ministries or people to be served and I know some of those that have happened with others but I couldn’t say what has not been but could have been. Similarly when Jesus appeared to His disciples Thomas was missing the first time and because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be he missed out. Imagine if Thomas had asked his friends – what did I miss at the last prayer meeting? Well Jesus came and stood amongst us! He didn’t believe his friends because He hadn’t been there and hadn’t experienced it. What we need to know will not be fed to us by proxy and we may not believe it even if people told us, if you want to know the Lord be where he is talked about and press Him to talk to you. See Him and know Him yourself. Let’s not miss anything, let’s be alert and present to the Lord who is amongst us.  As it says in Deutoronomy 4 verse 7"For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the LORD our God whenever we call on Him? Whenever is dependent, just like us.