One of the greatest problems facing the church today is that of absenteeism. There are church members present at the Sunday morning worship hour who are not present Sunday night, Wednesday night or for the Bible study period on Sunday morning. There must be some reason for this deficiency in attendance. This author believes it is because due emphasis has not been placed on the importance of at tending all services of the church in order to be faithful to the Lord. In some cases encouragement is given to this fault by endorsement to those in the church who hold prominent positions. It makes no difference who is guilty, the sin is the same. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25). This is connected to "wilful sinning" (v. 26).
The effect of absenteeism on the preaching of the gospel to the outside world is greater than most of us realize. We cannot expect to convert people to Christ when our lives speak against his religion. The empty seats on Sunday night and at the mid-week services speak loud against the power of God to save. It is the earnest hope of this speaker that this lesson will do much to call attention to the seriousness of being unfaithful in attendance to services of the church. "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).
Must I Attend Every Service of the Church?
Mysteries confuse us mightily! Of all mysteries, the behaviour of men and women purchased by the blood of Christ is the greatest. If any people on earth should rejoice on the Lord's day to attend public worship and service to God, the Lord's people -- Christians -- should. Yet, apparently, they are the ones most indifferent. It is an open sin, as will be shown in this lesson, to neglect the opportunities and blessings afforded in all services of the church of our Lord.
Absenteeism is a term that well defines the conduct of many church members. Various excuses have been offered by those who are guilty of this sin; many not worth a mention, while others sound so "reasonable" as to require attention here.
Absenteeism falls into four well defined classes: (1) The physically handicapped. (2) The vacationers or visitors. (3) The business people. (4) The pleasure seekers. A few words on each of these should be sufficient.
1. The physically handicapped include those who are ill, feeble or stranded. Only those who are so ill that they are unable to carry on the other necessities of life, such as business, play, housework, etc., are released from the responsibility of worship to God. Many have a chronic illness which might be called "Sunday morningitis." This illness comes on the patient about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday only, and lasts until about 12:00 noon. Then it reoccurs about 6:30 p.m. on the same day and lasts for about two hours. Again on Wednesday about 6:30 p.m. the same illness comes on the patient again, and lasts about two hours. At no other time does the patient suffer. This kind of illness does not excuse one from service to God. The illness that will keep one from work, play, etc. will hinder him from public worship to God, and only that kind of illness.
The feeble are those who have reached the age or have such weak bodies that they cannot go anywhere. If one is not too feeble to go to ball games, parties, visiting, etc., he is not too feeble to go to church. His duty is to be there, and he sins if he isn't.
The stranded are those who are unable to attend church services for reasons they cannot help. Floods, earthquakes, fires, such weather that would keep one from work, school or play; imprisonment (for the cause of Christ, which is unlikely in this land and day), the care for one who is really ill: one who must depend upon you, and then arrangements should be made so that you could attend one service on the Lord's day. These hindrances would keep one from one or more of the services of the church.
2. There are many who select the Lord's day to go visiting or take short vacations. In some cases it may be the only time one could go visit relatives or friends, but to do so at the expense of public worship to God is certainly sinful. If you must go visiting on Sunday, be sure to attend worship. Christ does not mean much to the person who will go visiting and neglect his worship to God.
3. Business keeps many from public worship one or more times each week. The greed for money drives thousands to hell each week. Any man or woman who puts his business ahead of his duty to God is in a bad way. He is just too busy to go to heaven. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you"(Matt. 6:33). This means just what it says. When one selects his business before his duty to God, he might as well mark this passage out of the Bible; he doesn't really believe it. Some day you will die, then what will your business mean to you? It is a reflection upon the intelligence of men to excuse one from any service of the church by saying "He was just too busy to come." Any business, as such, that interferes with public worship to God is too much business.
4. Pleasure seekers include the greater portion of absentees from the services of the church. Many do not have enough love, knowledge, faith and care, to attend to their duties as Christians, thus filling the atmosphere of the church with lukewarmness. Everything that appeals to the lusts of the flesh, or the comfort of the body, entices the pleasure seeker to absent himself from one or more of the worship services of the church. There is not a reasonable excuse under the sun that can be offered by this class of people for their sin. Condemnation hangs over their heads. The wages of sin will take its toll on this class of absenteeism.
Man has three separate obligations: (1) to himself; (2) to his fellow man; (3) to his God. Futile is his attempt to escape either of these three. We want to turn our attention now to an examination of each in order as given above. But first a few remarks.
Most people have the strange idea that it doesn't make any different whether or not they attend any service of the church other than the service on Lord's day morning. Many have offered excuses for this idea, varying in extremes, but when the facts are presented we see the utter fallacy of every one of them.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:21). In all religious matters the word of God is the standard for proving all things. Whatsoever can be proved by the word of God is good for all to do. What is not proved by the word of God is not a matter of faith, and sinful if practiced religiously (Rom. 14:23). We must hold fast to all that is proved good.
We do many things by habit. The forming of habits is good if the habits themselves are good, but to form habits that are at variance with the will of God is a dangerous thing. Much of the failure to attend service Sunday night or Wednesday night is due to habits formed by church members. When we learn that any habit is wrong, we should immediately give it up. Some say: "I am out of the habit of going to church other than on Sunday morning. That is the reason I do not come." But does that excuse you? Will that make it all right because you have formed a habit of not attending services? Certainly not! Would that be said about an immoral sin? Would you say a person is all right because he has formed the habit of stealing? Why no. If that is the only excuse you have to offer, never use it again. Be more consistent.
Christianity is a reasonable religion. Peter says: "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Pet. 3:15). Paul writes the Romans: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1). We, therefore, are obligated to show the reasons for attending all services of the church.
Again, Christianity is a religion of "do" and "do not." It commands and forbids through divine principles set forth in the New Testament. The warnings are given to all who add or take from the Book. Inasmuch as Christianity is positive and negative, and inasmuch as God is no respecter of persons, we conclude that we are obligated alike to the same standard. If one Christian does right in attending all services, then it follows that it is right for all Christians to attend all services. But if it is wrong for one member of the church to fail to attend all services of the church, it is wrong for all. The word of God speaks to all alike. Another thought on this before we pass on. We will all be judged by the same standard on the judgment day. What one is required to do, all are required to do. This, of course, is gauged by the ability of the individual. We all have the same responsibility in service.
There are certain duties that I owe to myself in attending every service of the congregation where I regularly worship. We shall list some of them here.
1. God's people are a called-out people from the world. They are called out for a purpose; that purpose being to serve God in spirit and truth. Having been called out of the affairs of this world, we have certain obligations to the institution into which we have been called. These obligations continue as long as we live on this earth. Could one continue in these obligations and be absent one or more times each week from the assembly? Could I claim to give my full support to that institution into which I have been called when I fail to attend the appointments? It is folly to make sure a claim, and yet a great many do.
Many young men have answered the call of the government to enter the armed forces. They are a called-out group; called from civilian life to military life. Do these called-out have any obligations to the forces into which they are called? We know they do. They are compelled to conform to every command alike. The church is called-out on the same principle. Every member is a soldier of the cross, each having the same duties as to attendance and worship.
2. Food is essential to our physical bodies. The same is true with our spiritual being. It must be fed the good things of the word of God that it might grow. 1 must digest all the spiritual food possible to grow properly (1 Pet. 2:2). This food can be had at every service of the church. When I miss a service, I deprive myself of the spiritual food that is so vital to my spiritual growth.
Some say, "I can get that food at home by reading my Bible and praying and singing God's praises." That is true to a great extent. But how many do it? Where is the man who fails to attend Sunday evening service who will do that? If he has enough desire for the spiritual food to read his Bible and worship otherwise, he would have enough care to attend the Sunday evening service as well as all others. It is not a matter of what we are permitted to do in this respect, but what do we do? If a Christian really desires the spiritual food for his soul, he will attend every service of the church.
3. The Lord keeps a complete and perfect record of all my works. That record has my failures as well as my good works. When I appear before the judgment seat of the Lord, that record will face me. Could I claim to have been faithful over that which has been given me if I fail to attend the services of the church? Could I say: "Lord, I have kept the faith"? I am certain I could not.
If you were confronted with a record of your attendance for the past year, you may be astonished at the number of times you were absent from services. Yet a more accurate record will face you in the judgment. It behooves us then to take care that we keep the record as clean as possible for the judgment. Our excuses there will be of no avail. I ought to attend every service because God keeps a perfect record, and I will be judged according to all that I have done in the body, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).
4. We ought to attend every service because we need a closer association with other Christians. How can we be of the same mind when there is no fellowship between us? The encouragement received at mid-week service is worth more than the association of a thousand men and women of the world. How can we love each other as we are taught to do in the Bible unless we are together more?
The idea that the less we are together the more we love each other is not true. Paul taught that evil companionship will destroy good intentions. The opposite of that would be good companionship will build character and reputation. Those who are weak will grow stronger in the fellowship of strong characters. We ought to attend every service of the church because there will be found the best people on earth.
5. When I attend every service of the church it helps me to overcome temptations. Sin enters by yielding to temptation. To defy sin we must resist the temptations that come to us daily. These temptations are the weapons in the hands of the devil to destroy us. There are enough temptations that come to us without inventing more. By being absent from any service we expose ourselves to the temptations of the devil to add more sin to that which we are already committing. It is easier for us to neglect other duties to God.
A failure to attend any service when we are able to do so is yielding to a temptation of the devil. If we resist that temptation all others become weaker and weaker. Just remember, when you neglect to attend a service you are playing right into the hands of Satan himself.
6. Another personal reason for attending all of the services of the church is that I do not miss work, school or play unless I absolutely can not help it. Most men go to work six days every week. They do not think of missing even one day. Is a man's daily work more important than the Lord's work? Should I put the temporal things of life above the spiritual things that are eternal?
The average man puts in about 40 hours each week working. Few congregations have more than four services during the week, lasting about one hour each. It takes not more than 8 hours, counting the time going and coming, to attend every service scheduled in the average congregation. Is that too much time to give to our spiritual development? Consider this seriously. One can not be considered very faithful to the Lord who will put the material things above worship.
We have considered thus far only those things that are personal, or that involve our own person, for attending every service of the church. If there were no other reasons, these are sufficient. But let us turn to others.
Reasons For Attending All Services And My Obligations To Others
Not only are there personal reasons why I should attend all services of the church, but I owe certain obligations to my brethren and others that compel me to be faithful in attendance.
1. I have a duty to the congregation where I am a member. This duty respects others as well as the Lord. I owe to my fellow man the encouragement and help that I expect from him. There is a command of Christ found in his Sermon on the Mount that is affected when we fail in this duty. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matt. 7:12). This is often called the "Golden Rule" of the Bible. How can I follow this instruction of my Lord when I shirk my duty to help my fellow man by failing to attend the scheduled services of the church? The answer is evident: it can not be done. We expect the preacher, the elders and deacons to be present at every service, and they should be -- must be -- but do not they expect each of us to be just as faithful in atten dance? If each member followed the "Golden Rule" as Christ laid down, we would have no problem such as absenteeism.
Another thing. We have many duties to be done in these services. Certain obligations rest upon each member of the church, no matter how small he may be, and when one is absent from his duty the burden becomes heavier on someone else. When one so neglects his duty and places a greater burden on his brother, he is in direct disobedience to the rule Christ gave. As we want others to take their part of the obligations in the public worship, we ought to be sure that our duty is not neglected by our absence. This is a vital issue.
2. By every act of my life I am influencing someone to serve either God or the devil. No one lives without leaving some trace of his having been here. All Christians (some of them so called) are either glorifying God or disgracing him before others. Christ said in the same sermon mentioned above: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5: 16). By failure to attend every service when it is possible to do so, am I letting my light shine as to glorify God? Is it possible to glorify God with an influence that breeds neglect? I do not believe any would affirm this, yet they apparently think so, for they practice this very thing. We ought to attend every service of the church, and by so doing we glorify God before men in our conduct. Our influence is a mighty thing. It reaches where we can not go. Generations to follow may be influenced by the very things you do now. Your influence will reach great grand-children you may never see. What a terrible thought! Many may be lost because I was not faithful to my duty to God and my fellow man.
3. Would you tell your brother in Christ that he is pleasing to God when he has no interest in the mid-week service, or in Sunday evening service? Could you conscientiously encourage a young Christian to stay away from the Sunday morning Bible study, the Sunday evening service, or the midweek service? Could you tell the weak church member that he doesn't need such teaching and encouragement as is given in these services? You would answer these questions with a big "no." Then if one would not say these things, why will he act them? One's actions speak as loud as his words; sometimes louder. The life that one lives teaches as much as his tongue.
To the Romans Paul wrote: "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?" (Rom. 2:21) Are you guilty of doing the very thing that you would tell others not to do? You could not claim to be faithful in your Christian duty and so do. Therefore, in order to teach others to do the right thing, I must attend every service of the church.
Every father and mother has a responsibility that is most important. The children must be taught the way of the Lord. Children untaught in Christianity are to be pitied above all others. Now could I as a faithful Christian father bring up my children to be in the Way of the Lord when I do not set the example before them? Could children really believe in Christianity when the parents care so little that they don't attend the scheduled services of the church? These questions invokeserious thought on the part of every father and mother.
If there is one on earth in whom we ought to be interested it is our children. We brought them into the world, and it is our solemn duty to care for them in every way. The spiritual being of our children is by far the most important. Thousands of parents come to preachers, weeping that their children have grown up and now have no interest in the church. Some weep and grieve away their lives because their children are lost forever to the sin of the world. What is the matter? The right example was not set before them in earlier days.
Paul said, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right" (Eph. 6:1). Then in verse 4 he says: "And, ye, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Can this possibly be done without setting before them the right example? Absolutely not. I must attend every service of the church so that I can properly influence my children to obey the way of the Lord. These are obligations we owe to our children.
5. We also have a responsibility to the preachers, teachers, elders and deacons. We expect them to be present at every service, and would disown them if they didn't. You would say: "A preacher, teacher, elder or deacon who will not attend all the services is not qualified for his position; he is not interested in the Lord's work." How many times has this been an objection to someone being appointed to the eldership or deaconship? It is certainly right to object in such cases, but where does the Scripture say that a preacher or eider must attend every service of the church, but others do not have to attend every service? Just what Bible principle would apply here? God requires exactly the same thing of you in attending all services of the church that he does of preachers, teachers, elders and deacons.
Then, too, you owe an obligation to preachers, teachers, elders and deacons to work with them to the building up of the church in your locality. Every work of the church is made to include you, and if you fail in this duty you impose upon these men. Even men of the world frown upon such conduct. If one does not intend to perform his work in the church, please tell me why he ever obeyed the gospel? The Lord did not add anyone to the church just as an ornament or special guest, but every one has a place and duty to perform. Certainly he can not expect to gain heaven while behaving himself in such a manner. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). We all contend that it is the will of God for preachers, teachers, elders and deacons to attend all services of the church, and if one must do the will of God to enter heaven, we conclude that each one of us must do just as we expect the elders, preachers, teachers and deacons to do in doing the will of God. We owe these men and the church our presence at every service.
6. We are in debt to our brethren and fellow man to do good at all times. For one to fail to do that which is good, when he knows what is good, is to rob others and God of the virtues he has. I believe without a doubt every reader will admit that all men ought to prove what is good and do it. The opposite of good is evil. All things are either good and right, or else wrong and evil. If it is wrong for you to attend every service of the church, it is wrong for all Christians to attend. But if it is right and good for others to attend, it is right and good for you and me to attend every service. James says it in this way: "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (Jas. 4:17). Then if you know it is good to attend all services, and fail to do so unless health prevents, it is sin; and sin when it is finished brings death.
These are obligations we each owe to our brethren in the Lord, to our children and to others with whom we come in contact. No one can fail to attend every service of the church where he lives and be faithful in these requirements.
Reasons For Attending All Services And My Obligations To God
Not only are there reasons relating to ourselves and our fellow man for attending every service of the church, but we have certain obligations to God that demand our faithful attendance to every service.
1. Every child of God must present his body a living sacrifice unto God (Rom. 12:1). This does not mean in contrast with the dead sacrifice of the Jews, for the Jews did not offer a dead sacrifice. They killed a living sacrifice in their offering. There are two things involved in this plea of Paul to the Romans.
(1) They must present their bodies to the Lord as a resurrected body from the grave of sin. One who has been made dead to sin by repentance, and who has been buried with the Lord in baptism, arises as a new creature, a living creature in Christ, to present himself as a sacrifice to the God of heaven. "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Rom. 6:13). But more:
(2) As a resurrected creature from the watery grave, he must present himself a perpetual sacrifice, a living sacrifice, unto God. A living or continuing sacrifice unto God every day and every hour. Now how can one present himself a perpetual or living sacrifice when he fails to attend the place of worship at the appointed time? If I present my body a living and perpetual sacrifice unto the Lord, I am obligated to attend any and every service that will glorify Him.
2. The last statement leads us to the next reason. I must glorify God in the church. "Unto him (God) be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Eph. 3:21). Now, we either glorify God or we do not. If we glorify Him it will be as a member of the church of the Lord.
The word "church" is from a Greek word meaning "a called out" people, or an assembly. The word is one sense means all the Christian men and women in all ages who have been redeemed by Christ. This is the meaning of the word when Paul said Christ purchased the church with his own blood (Acts 20:28). But there is another sense in which the word is used. Several letters were written to churches. These were local churches or congregations, composed of members living in the same locality. Inasmuch as it is impossible for all the redeemed to meet at one place, it follows that we can give glory to God in the congregational sense only. Of course, we, as members of the church, give glory to God in the general sense, but we can not express public worship to God except in the local sense. Without the local church we can not glorify God in the worship, for this worship requires an assembly of two or more together in the name of Christ.
From the foregoing we see that if we glorify God at all we must be a member of the church. As a member of the church of the Lord we must glorify God in the congregation where we live. Now what sort of glory does God get when I fail to attend a service of the local church where I belong? The only answer is: absolutely none. How can one imagine he is glorifying God when he doesn't think enough of the blood bought church of Christ to attend the services? 1 know not how. Then we must attend all services to glorify God as we should.
3. We are taught by Christ to "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). That the church and the kingdom are the same is plainly shown by the statement of Christ to Peter in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. He said, "I will build my church." Then to Peter he said: "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom" (Matt. 16:13-19). He had in mind the same institution -- the church.
Can I be seeking first the kingdom or church when 1 allow other things to come between me and my attendance to the services of the church? Again we must answer no. The failure to attend services, when physically able to do so, is a direct, wilful disobedience of this command of Christ. No one can be saved when he lives in disobedience to the Lord.
4. I must be faithful unto death to receive the crown of glory. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2: 10). Is it possible to be faithful unto death, and at the same time fail to assemble with the saints to worship God at the appointed time? I do not believe any would so contend.
To be faithful is to be steadfast in the doctrine of Christ. The early church continued steadfastly in the worship as they had been taught by the apostles. All who do not continue faithful in worship and service have not God as their Father. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God" (2 John 9). This includes faithfulness in church attendance as well as all other things we are required to do. When before the Great Judge we stand someday, will we be cast out because we were unfaithful in our service to Him? Every man is unfaithful to the Lord who wilfully stays away from public worship. Let us think seriously on this matter.
5. As a member of the Lord's church I must follow the divine example of Christ and his apostles. Paul said: "Brethren, be followers together of me" (Phil. 3: 17). Paul, of course, was following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He then said in the last part of this verse: "And mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample." If we find examples of the church meeting for worship and study other than Sunday morning, we must follow their example.
(1) Sunday night example. "And upon the first day of the week (Sunday), when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow (Monday); and continued his speech until midnight" (Acts 20:7). It is strange indeed that some will forever complain about the length of the service of the church, crying for 15 or 20 minute sermonettes, when they are willing to set for hours to see a movie or ball game. We have an example here of an all-night service. Or, at least, until midnight. Verse 8 says "there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together." There is no doubt but that on Sunday night Paul was assembled together with the church, and this by divine approval.
(2) Example of week day services. "And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying" (Acts 12: 12). This was a prayer meeting of the church. Peter had been put in prison awaiting the wicked Herod to kill him as he had James. Peter was in prison until after the Passover, which was on Saturday. The night before the Passover Peter was freed by an angel of the Lord and led out of prison. When he came to the house of Mary, a young maiden by the name of Rhoda came to the door and found Peter. The church was inside engaged in a week-night prayer meeting. By these examples we see that it is right to meet and engage in prayer and worship during the week as well as on Sunday night.
6. As a Christian must grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. 3:18). I need spiritual food -- the word of God -- and exercise in order to properly grow in spirit. If I wilfully neglect to assemble with the saints at the appointed time, I am depriving myself of that food and exercise that I must have to grow. How can one develop his spiritual being and not exercise it in public worship? To answer these questions is to show the folly in claiming to grow while neglecting the public worship. The more one worships God, the more he grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
7. When I attend every service of the church I use my talents to glorify God. There is a story by which Jesus taught this lesson, recorded in Matthew 25: 14-30. One of the servants was condemned because he buried his talent in the earth and did not show increase when his master came and required of his work. Am I using my talents to the full advantage when I stay away from Sunday evening service, or Wednesday evening service? What talents may be mine to use to the glory of God can not be increased as long as I do not exercise them in worship to God. Just what do you think your Master would say to you if he should come and find you away from any service of the church, when you could have been there? It is certain that he would say the same thing that his master said to this wicked servant. It would certainly not be these words: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matt. 25:21). It would be these words: "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (v. 30). God gave you a talent (or talents) and he will require of you some day what you did with it (them). By attending every service, I can develop my talents to an increase, to be returned to my Lord when he calls.
8. This is the last reason I shall mention. It has to do with common logic. From all we have read in the Bible about the nature of Christ and the apostles, I ask this question: What would Christ, Paul, Peter, James, John or any of the other apostles do if it were possible for them to visit you in the flesh for about a month? When time came for the Sunday morning Bible study, do you suppose they would go, or would they just wait and sleep a little longer and go to the 11:00 worship? Then when the time came for the evening service would they attend, or just stay at home and "rest"? And then when the time came for the mid-week service would they be "too tired" to attend, or would they suggest that "we all" go to a "movie" instead? Would they say, "There are too many services of the church for me to attend all of them"? Can you imagine Paul saying, "Sunday evening service and the Wednesday evening service are not essential to our salvation, and there is no real need to go"? Just what do you think Christ and his apostles would do if they were here today?
On the other hand, what would you do if they were visiting you in the body? I'll tell you. You wouldn't miss a single service of the church. You know you would not. Just because Christ is not here in the body don't think he isn't present every time the saints gather in his name. He said: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."Attend every service possible. Jesus will be there. Your salvation depends upon it.