The Church is not the Sermon

I believe that when we are able to gather together physically it is important and it is one of the marks of a Biblical church.

I am not telling people that it is necessary for them to be back in the church building, it’s not a law. The church is not the building. But we also should see that the church is not the sermon. I’m not saying that church services live-streamed are wrong, but I am saying that online church is not the best way. 

I believe the breaking of bread, prayer, fellowship, and the one another passages lend themselves to face to face meetings and are preferred and recommended.

Ekklesia, the New Testament word for ‘church’ literally means the assembling of yourselves together and this is clearly the pattern of the Scriptures.

God’s design and pattern for the *fullness* of the weekly church assembled together cannot be achieved by merely live-streaming a sermon. The blessings and all that the church meeting entails is so much more than just the sermon. 

Of course for those who are unable to assemble with the church in person on a weekly basis, there are many other ways to still be in fellowship with the saints throughout the week and this might include a recorded sermon, but let’s not make the live stream a full replacement for the koinonia of the body. 

My concern is not for those who cannot meet with the church in person, but for those who will not.