Formed Together: Why the Sunday Gathering Matters

Some parts of the Christian life are obviously impossible to do in our own strength. But other parts feel deceptively doable. We can show up. We can volunteer. We can build routines. We can keep a calendar and make plans. From the outside, those things can look like faithfulness.

But Scripture keeps pressing a deeper question: Is there real spiritual power and lasting fruit—fruit that reaches beyond our lifetime? That’s why our series keeps returning to a foundation that does not change: “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). The cross is not the doorway into stewardship and then something we move past. It remains the only place we boast—because it is the only source of lasting life and lasting change.

Pull quote: The church is not a self-improvement project; it’s a blood-bought people learning to hold fast together.

Those who have been brought near by Christ are formed through a consistent, intentional life of worship together—so let us prioritize the gathering of God’s blood-bought people.

This week, that truth was anchored in Hebrews 10:19–25, with special focus on Hebrews 10:24–25.

Hebrews 10 does not begin with a command. It begins with a gospel announcement.

We have “confidence to enter the holy places” not because we are strong, consistent, or put together, but “by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). The “new and living way” into God’s presence is not something we carved out—it is something Christ opened for us (Hebrews 10:20). Then Hebrews continues: we have “a great priest over the house of God” (Hebrews 10:21). In other words, the Christian life is built on access and advocacy—God welcomes us, and Jesus shepherds us.

That context matters because it leads to an honest command: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope” (Hebrews 10:23). Holding fast is not always easy. Weariness comes. Doubts come. Grief comes. In our setting, it may not look like direct persecution—it may look like slow drifting and quiet apathy. And Hebrews speaks directly to that reality: you are not meant to hold fast by yourself.

This is where the gathered church is a gift. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 paints the picture: when one falls, another can help lift them up; strength grows when life is shared.

The church is not an add-on to individual spirituality. It is part of God’s provision for endurance.

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” That “stirring up” implies something important: our hearts need help. We forget. We lose focus. We wander. And one of God’s primary tools for steady, long-term formation is the regular gathering of His people.

The Weekly Rhythm Shapes Us
Before a single song is sung or a sermon begins, the rhythm itself is forming us. A weekly marker that orders our life is quietly discipling our priorities—what we protect, what we plan for, what we say matters. Scripture gives language for this kind of rhythm in the call to remember the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8).

The Gathering Itself Shapes Us
Then there’s what happens in the gathering. Colossians 3:16 describes a church where the word of Christ dwells richly as believers teach, encourage, and sing with gratitude. The aim is not to “fill time on a Sunday.” The aim is deep formation—week after week—through repeated, embodied worship.

Even the word liturgy simply means service order—a planned pattern of worship. The point is not rigid tradition for its own sake. The point is that over time, a gospel-shaped pattern teaches us what is true about God, what is true about us, and what grace has made possible.

Over time, week after week, God forms us through ordinary, shared worship.

Hebrews 10:25 brings the practical charge: “not neglecting to meet together… but encouraging one another.”

 This is not about earning God’s favor or proving ourselves. It is closer to a loving warning: don’t live spiritually undernourished. The gathered church is one of God’s means of grace—an ordinary, steady way He keeps His people close, fed, and strengthened.

That leads to a few honest questions worth sitting with: Do I treat the gathering as optional, or as essential for spiritual health? Do I come mainly to receive, or also prepared to encourage and serve?

• Prioritize presence. When you’re able, protect the Sunday gathering as a weekly rhythm of worship and formation.
• Participate with intention. Come ready to sing, listen, pray, encourage, and look for simple ways to bless someone around you.
• Take one step toward deeper connection. Worship is central, but it’s not the only context for discipleship. Step into community beyond Sunday in a practical, specific way. 
• If you’re exploring faith: being around church life is not the same as belonging to Christ. The doorway into the family of God is grace—through faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

The church exists because of the cross—God “obtained [the church] with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

And because the church is blood-bought, the gathering is not a random meeting. It is a gift: a place where weary people learn—together—to hold fast, to hope, and to be formed into the people we were made to be.