Some of my best childhood memories happened around a big table just off the kitchen in my childhood home in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A sign on a wall said, “Christ is the Head of this home, the unseen Guest at every meal, the silent Listener to every conversation.”
I was the youngest of 3 boys. Bill was 13 years older than me. Jerry was 10 years older. They both married young and started families early. So, when everyone came home for a Sunday dinner or a holiday meal, the table was full. Mom and Dad, my brothers, their wives, and kids.
I remember the southern comfort food. The stories. The updates. The laughter. (Sometimes at my expense!) And the love.
We shared not only our joys, but also our disappointments, setbacks, and troubles. When we gathered around that table, the joys were multiplied and the sorrows were halved.
The Church is a Family
Cuyahoga Valley Church is not just an organization to support, a club to join, or a mission to serve. The church is a family.
God is our Father. Jesus is our Savior and elder Brother. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are members of the household of God.
And one of the main ways our Father wants us to experience family life together is through the weekly gathering of the church for a meal on the Lord’s Day.
Acts says that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Hebrews tells us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.”
The church’s family meal – Sunday worship – is not optional, but essential. When His people gather weekly, God feeds us by teaching, strengthening, correcting, comforting, encouraging, and forming us into Christlikeness.
Pastor David Mathis of Cities Church in Minneapolis writes, “Corporate worship may be the single most important means of God’s grace in the Christian life because it brings together all three essential principles of His ongoing kindness: hearing His voice (in His word), having His ear (in prayer), and belonging to His body (in the fellowship of the church).”
This is why CVC’s Sunday meal matters so very much.
Come to the Table
It was hard on my family when my brother Jerry joined the Air Force and was away from Chattanooga for 6 years. We were proud of him and grateful for his service to our nation. But we missed him at the table. It was a joy when he was discharged and he and his wife, Linda, and the kids were regularly back with us at the table once again.
It’s not good for the family when church members regularly miss gathered worship services without good reason.
Sure, there are times when illness, vacation, work, travel, or an outside CVC ministry opportunity will keep us from a Sunday service. But choosing laziness or hobbies or ballgames over the family meal? May it never be!
What about a church member who serves in a ministry of the church on a Sunday morning and then skips the worship service? That is treating the family meal as negotiable.
Imagine a family meal at your house. Everyone is around the table except for a one of the teenagers in the family. What if that teen decides to order a pizza, sit in the basement, and watch Netflix while eating alone? No good dad would say, “No big deal.” No loving mom would say, “I don’t care if my teenage child doesn’t eat with the rest of us.”
Why? The point of the meal is not just calories, but care. It’s not just about food, but family. The conversation matters. The shared experience matters. Giving and receiving love matters.
What’s on the Menu?
The elders at CVC have given Pastor Joe the responsibility to create our menu. Recently, we have been feasting on the Person of Jesus Christ as we’ve studied through Mark. Now, we are finding spiritual nourishment together from the book of Titus, learning how to live the good life. This fall, we will come to the table hungry to learn more about how all things will come together in Christ as we study Revelation.
Week after week, the Lord spreads a table before us through the faithful singing of doctrinally sound songs and the preaching of the Word of God. And it matters whether we show up for the meal.
We need to experience the same sights, sounds, and smells – the same tastes, truths, and touch points. The shared meals build unity, giving us common history, vision, mission, and language.
When the Meal Isn’t What You Like
Back in those days around our table in Chattanooga, sometimes the burgers were burnt a little. Sometimes the pot roast was a little dry. Sometimes, the green beans were overcooked. And I never did learn to like collard greens or salmon patties.
But even when the meal wasn’t to my liking, it was still good to be at the table. I still wanted to know what was going on with everyone. I still needed to love and be loved. I still needed to belong. And if the meal was less than appetizing to me, it was still nourishing.
You won’t like every song we sing. Some sermons will not move you much. Not every Sunday will feel memorable. Some services will feel tasteless. But the ordinary means of grace taken in consistently will make extraordinary women and men of God.
Sometimes, the meal is exquisite. You’ll get comfort – the arm around the shoulder when you need it. You’ll get conviction – the kick in the seat of the pants when you need that. You’ll be inspired and motivated and helped. We thank God for those times.
But even when the Sunday family meal isn’t to your liking, you will find nourishment.
Don’t Miss the Family Meal
Please – for God’s glory and for your good – do everything you can to be in your place at worship on Sunday mornings.
Come hungry. Hungry to worship. Hungry to listen. Hungry to pray. Hungry to encourage someone. Hungry to bear burdens and share joy. Come ready to receive the meal God’s servants have prepared for you from the Word of God, which is your bread, your honey, your milk, your meat.
The Sunday family meal is not an optional add-on to your life. It’s a gift from God for your sustenance and for sanctification. The table that is set for you each Sunday is preparing you for the Feast that is to come – the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Family meals are good for you. And for all your brothers and sisters. Don’t miss them.
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For further reading…
Scripture references: Hebrews 10:24–25; Acts 2:42–47; Ephesians 2:19–22; I Timothy 3:14–15; Ephesians 4:11–16; Colossians 3:16; I Corinthians 12:12–27; Galatians 6:2; 1 Peter 2:2; Revelation 19:6–9; Psalm 122:1; Acts 20:7
Articles: The Gospel Coalition
