I am “linking” a very interesting and insightful article I read today. The title caught my eye. It is a provocative title, and - I would propose - it is accurate. Full disclosure: as the pastor/preacher, I’m biased towards the “supremacy” of worship service in the discipleship-life of the church. That’s why we labor diligently in unfriendly weather to be able to gather on Sunday mornings. I’m biased, personally, because I am most pleased in my ministry when I am preaching God’s word. I’m also biased, pastorally and biblically, because I believe the Scripture supports the author’s premise. Though Sunday School wasn’t designed or intended to compete with the worship service, the gathering for corporate worship is more important than small groups (for HHBC, small groups = Sunday School classes).
I greatly appreciate our Sunday School hour. I share your sense of encouragement as you gather in small(er) groups to share instruction and explanation and opinion (hopefully influenced by instruction and explanation) and fellowship and feelings with one another. Gathering for Sunday School is one of the greatest joys of the week for believers at HHBC and all over the world. I have said very often how grateful I am for our S.S. teachers because they faithfully lead these gatherings. I cut my teeth in vocational ministry working in the Sunday School (discipleship) arena. I love it. Nevertheless, if someone forced me to choose between whether or not we should have Sunday School OR Worship Service, it would not be a hard choice for me – worship would win out. I hope that you would agree. By God’s grace, except for the very rare occasion when the weather forces a choice (like this past Sunday J), I’m thankful that we don’t have to choose.
I encourage you to read the article linked below. If you have any occasion to wrestle with which of the two events/activities are more important to the believer, I hope the article will help you settle on the supremacy of the worship service.
Here’s the link: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2015/03/03/worship-is-more-important-than-your-small-group/
(Most of you should be able to just “click on the link” and call up the article. For those of you who can’t do that, or who – like me! – still prefer to read words on a page more so than on a computer screen, I will make several copies available for Sunday morning.)
It is my joy to stand alongside others who are careful thinkers about critical topics, so that you may be increasingly committed to having “God’s word abide in you”. Reading to disciple you and to learn with you,
Pastor Gary