Transcript
We're in a culture where massive people have abandoned regular gathering of the church. We are now in this "instant pleasure" media age. We can get instant gratification from a variety of sites. Tiktok will give us that in fifteen seconds. We have accepted the name social media, but social media is anything but social. It's a completely privatized world. I only go where I want to go. I only listen to what I want to listen to. I do that alone on a screen that's almost impossible to share.
Individualism Is the Result of the Fall
Individualism is the result of the fall. What are Adam and Eve saying? "We don't need You. We can live without You. We can live without Your power, Your power, Your presence, Your grace, Your wisdom. We don't need it." The hook was individualized wisdom. Wisdom doesn't need community with God. In our generation, we have made individualism possible in a way it was never possible before, and that's a grave danger to us.
Ephesians 1 - 3 is one of the best gospel rants in all of the Bible, and it's very interesting. At the end, what follows is a very strong call to keep your relationships with one another unified and healthy. It's very clear from the earliest days of the early church, relationships were of the highest priority. I do think that when we talk about participation in the Sunday gathering of the church, we often present that more as an obligation than a beautiful welcome.
That's why I have talked about the way the Psalms presents it with just, "Wow, I get to be part of this. I've been chosen to be part of this group of people, to receive this good thing," so I bring that to a worship service. I know this is important for me. I know remembering my identity in Christ makes all the difference in the world. I know that I need instruction to break through my foolishness and the confusion. I know that in the heart of every human being is a desire to be loved and it makes a difference if I experience love of brothers and sisters.
It has been years since I've thought of the Sunday gathering as an obligation that I'm held accountable for. I just think of it as one of God's sweetest gifts to me. Between the "already" and the "not yet", what do I have? I have His word and His church. I cannot live without His word and His church, and I'm so thankful that my heavenly Father gave me these two gifts because I don't know where I would be without them.
