Disciples Assemble

Errrrr … Christopher are you using an upcoming movie as a cheesy link to something you want to talk about?

Yes.

First thing’s first. I do hope to watch the sequel to Avengers Assemble. I really enjoyed the first movie, I am invested enough in the storyline to be intrigued as to what happens next. There you go.

More importantly, however, is why I am bothering to make the cheesy link in the first place. I saw an update that shared how the individual found that whenever they didn’t attend a church service they tended to get weaker in the faith, especially because of the company they were likely to fall into whilst they were away. The point being that as long as they turned up to church service they felt stronger to deal with issues beyond the service.

Something about the nature of the church in its inception, however, was their commitment to regular assembling. Whether in a synagogue or in a home they were committed to the gathering to dedicate themselves to teaching and prayer. Just as with the regularity of breathing in and breathing out whatever happened to lead them to know Jesus propelled them to make Him known in their community.

That has not been lost today. That is not out of reach today. Regular assembling can help us in our growth in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. It’s just that the regular assembling need not take such formalities as some of these that we’re used to.

Just as an occasion called for different heroes to assemble and make the most of their skills and abilities to combat a common foe, so the Son calls those who follow Him with the variety of skills and abilities to accomplish a common goal – the declaration and demonstration of the Kingdom of God in the good news of Jesus Christ. Each individual disciple gets to play a part. They have a role to play and as we assemble we can be encouraged, stirred and provoked into activating their gifts and abilities in the good works that draws attention from on-lookers to the Father.

Those times of assembling can take place in a formal church facility, or in a boardroom, or in a canteen, or around the hospital bed of a loved one, or in the allotted area where the prisoners congregate, or in the classroom left spare for the extra curricular activity, or in the living room while you watch the game, or in the store while you choose which colour blouse to buy.

There’s got to be an exciting liberty of close encounters of the divine kind that can be shared and expressed as we assemble whenever and wherever we can as the family of God. We do ourselves a disservice to the Master who calls us to assemble when we limit the expression of the assembly to a few individuals and never get to see any of the abilities or skills of other gifted members of the family. We do ourselves a disservice to the Master who calls us to assemble to restrict the concept of the assembling to one day in one location.

We have the family and the expression of the example Jesus to see that we declare and demonstrate His Kingdom in all walks of life.

Hey we could even agree to demonstrate and declare Kingdom reality whilst going to watch an upcoming movie. It’s not about the movie (though it will certainly be good seeing if it lives up to the standard of the last one). It’s about the reality that believers don’t need powers. There’s something even greater in knowing that the power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in us.

We get to see that every time we choose to take good advice – Disciples Assemble!!

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden