Community, Pt. 3: Church
Take Communion
Leader: Begin your gathering by taking communion together, whether as a full meal or some version of the bread and the cup before or after dinner. If you don’t already have a Communion plan, have someone read these words from David in Psalm 133:
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
Review the Last Practice
During the last Community Guide, we talked about setting aside intentional time to pray for our city, asking God to move us closer to our neighbors and open up opportunities for us to engage in witness. Before we talk about tonight’s Practice, let’s take a moment to talk about how this went.
If you spent time praying for our city, did you sense God say something to you or move you in any way towards your neighbors? If not, what would you want to ask God for?
Did anyone work through the Family Guide? If so, how did it go?
Read This Overview Aloud Together
Throughout Scripture, we find story after story of God’s people gathering together — around tables, in gardens, at prayer meetings, in tabernacles, in churches, and more.
The authors of Scripture exhort us time and time again to make a regular habit of gathering. In Hebrews, the author calls the church to persevere by not giving up on gathering together as a way of encouraging each other to remember that Jesus is going to return (Heb 10v25). Or take Paul, for example, who exhorts us not just to attend church, but to participate in it (1 Cor 12-14). Even Jesus himself regularly gathered with his community in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
Made in the image of the trinitarian God, we are built for relationship; our need for others is core to our humanity, and that doesn’t change as we follow after Jesus. There is something sacred and good about the church gathering.
Today, God’s people meet all over the globe to worship together in churches, whether they be in middle school gyms, big buildings, or secret locations to guard from persecution. At Bridgetown, we encourage all to participate in the rhythms of attending both a Bridgetown Community and a Sunday gathering. Together, these two practices represent something of a tide of God’s presence: coming in together every Sunday at church, and scattering out to cover Portland’s neighborhoods around dining room tables throughout the week.
Alongside our recent conversations about life together within this Bridgetown Community, we also want to direct focus toward life together as Bridgetown Church, by talking about the Sunday Gathering.
Do This Practice Tonight
Making time to prioritize a weekly Sunday gathering can be challenging for all kinds of reasons. Some of us may simply be out of the habit post-pandemic. Others of us attend a Sunday gathering regularly, but are trying to find a way to participate more intentionally. Wherever we find ourselves, let’s take some time to explore what invitations are on the table for us to engage in the life of Bridgetown.
Attending Sundays: For those who haven’t yet rebuilt the rhythm of attending the Sunday gathering, perhaps we would like to commit to doing so. If we only attend once per month, maybe we could try for twice or three times.
Hosting: A gathering can be a pretty intimidating place to be, if we don’t really know anyone on a Sunday. For those of us in Communities, Bridgetown is our home, which means that we get to welcome new people at the Sunday gathering. This could look like intentionally meeting and engaging with the folks around us and hosting the space with prophetic hospitality. Think about the way we do or don’t interact with people at a Sunday gathering, and consider committing to being more present to the people around us.
Embodied Worship: Another way to participate in the Sunday gathering is to engage in worship in an embodied way. The Bible often connects worship to our bodies, encouraging people to sing, lift hands, bow down, dance, and shout. Think about how we currently engage in worship and consider whether or not we sense an invitation to a more embodied response.
Serving: It takes so many people to make a Sunday happen – people to serve with Kids, make coffee, help people find seats, switch slides, play instruments, pray for people, etc. A great way to participate in the Sunday gathering is to help make it happen by signing up to serve. Consider committing to an area of serving by signing up at bridgetown.church/serve
(Leader: Take some time to discuss the following prompts.)
For those who do attend the Sunday gathering regularly, why do you do it? What do you experience or participate in that you would miss out on by not being there?
If you used to attend regularly, but haven’t in a while, what do you miss about the Sunday gathering? (e.g. meeting people, worshiping with people, listening to the Spirit in prayer together, having the response time after the teaching, etc.)
What makes regularly attending Sunday gatherings difficult? Is there anything we as a community could do to make getting there on a Sunday easier (e.g. carpooling, sitting together on Sunday, saving seats, etc.)?
As you reflect on the Sunday gathering, is there a way you would like to grow in your participation?
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
(Leader: The following can be a whole group discussion, if you have time, or you could split into smaller groups.)
Before we go, let’s talk about the Practice for the week ahead. Each of us is likely in a different place regarding the Sunday gathering, so each of us will have a different next step. As we’ve already spent some time discussing what it could look like to grow in our Practice of the Sunday gathering, let’s each commit to trying something new this next week. Perhaps we want to try to attend more regularly, or to commit to meeting one new person each Sunday, or to be more embodied in our worship, or to sign up to serve. Whatever it is, let’s name this to each other, discuss what might help us keep this commitment, and then take some time to pray that God would help us take this next step.
End in Prayer
Leader: Close in prayer, asking God to help you not just engage but participate in the Sunday gatherings, remembering the privilege and gift it is to gather together with others who love Jesus.