Author’s Note: This coming Sunday will be our first BASECAMP experience for High School students at First Trinity. (FInd out more about this program here.) Each week on Thursday or Friday, I plan (we’ll see if I can stick to it) to have a summary of what we’ll be talking about in that coming Sunday along with some discussion prompts that parents of students going to BASECAMP might be able to use. It is my hope, though, that these posts will be crafted in such away that ANYONE who reads them will benefit and be able to have the discussions with others around them.
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It seems that every where I turn lately I’ve run into conversations about worship and what it really means to gather together as the family of God. Whether gathering is in worship, studying God’s Word, or prayer, what does it look like to truly share together in that experience? Basically, what does it really MEAN to “go to church”. Perhaps the better question: “What does it mean to BE the church.”
In a busy world with so many demands, deadlines, and expectations, it can be a challenge to set aside time to gather with other believers in worship, prayer, and study. Sports schedules, work deadlines, concerts and activities all seem to overcrowd that time of Sabbath that God calls us to continually throughout Scripture… a time of rest. The truth of the matter is that worship, prayer, and study are the VERY things we NEED in order to be able to journey through the joys and challenges of daily life.
This week in BASECAMP we’ll explore “The Original” base camp for believers as we explore what the church looked like at it’s beginnings in Acts as well as God’s call through the book of Hebrews to continue to draw near to each other and to Him and not give up that habit.
As YOU prepare for worship and study with others this week consider discussing these questions with your family or friends or commenting about them below:
- Why do you come to church? (Not why do you think you “should”, but really why do you come … or not come?)
- What does it seem the purpose of “church” is from those Acts and Hebrews passages (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:19-25)? Where do you see what is described in those verses happening or not happening in the church of America in 2013?
- Is worship for us or for God? Explain your answer.
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