As God’s people we gather to hear God’s Word and scatter to live God’s Word.

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“The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.”
Act 13:44 English Standard Version

I enjoy talking with people, which is probably not a surprise to those of you who know me. I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy a quiet evening by myself, but given the choice between reading a book or sharing a conversation with friends, most of the time I will choose the latter.

Whether you’re like me or not, one day a week we gather with other Christians for worship looking something like these people on the shore of the Ucayali River.

Pucallpa, Peru

I don’t know why all these people gathered in this place next to the river. From my vantage point it looked like they were buying and selling bananas, plantains and other foods. One man was carrying a duck, another a fish. The people of Pucallpa gathered only to scatter not long afterwards.

Each Sunday the Holy Spirit gathers Christ followers to hear Scripture and to participate in his meal. It’s what we do. Through the Word spoken and the Word digested we are fed by God. We gather for the purpose of letting God speak to us through his Son.

Paul had preach Jesus Christ crucified in Antioch and the people wanted to hear more. That’s what the message of Christ does, but it also causes controversy as others spoke against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.

The church gathered is also the church scatter. Living our faith isn’t easy. It often comes with opposition. That’s why we continue to gather, so that we can live as God’s people scattered among others who don’t know the love of God. We are their Bible. They see in us the truth of the message of the gospel.

The more we gather and are fed on the Word, the greater our impact as we scatter in the world.

Copyright Douglas P. Brauner