Shall We Gather At the River?

Are you familiar with the old song “Shall We Gather at the River”? My guess is that most of you are not. It is a traditional Christian hymn, written by American poet and gospel music composer Robert Lowry. It was written in 1864. The song is about heaven and the believer's hope of it. What a wonderful thought! On the heels of this blissful thought comes another one not so blissful – there are those that do not have that hope.
If we have the hope of “gathering at the heavenly river” it is because of THE CHURCH….and more specifically - a truth preaching local church. There is great value in the local, easily accessible church. How thankful we all are for the church that first brought us the message of Jesus Christ!

Paul, in Acts 16, is traveling with Silas and Timothy a missionary trip. They eventually end up in Philippi (which is a major city of Macedonia) after Paul was shown a vision of a man from Macedonia crying out, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” On the Sabbath the missionary team went to a prayer meeting that was held by a river. From this encounter the church at Philippi was eventually established, Lydia being the first convert. The hope of gathering at the heavenly river was given to those in Macedonia. They had received the best gift they could be given!

There are three things we need to notice about Paul’s life:

1. He had a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ.
2. He realized that the message of Jesus Christ was what the world needed most.
3. He committed to plant churches as the means of most effectively proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ.

Read Acts 9:1-10, Acts 9:17-19

• Paul was familiar with religion, but what he needed was relationship. In Acts 9, he had an encounter with Jesus that changed his life. Write about your own life-changing experience.

• Who do you know that needs a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ? Will you commit to pray for them?
  

Read Acts 9:20

• Paul acted immediately upon what he had received by telling others. Describe your own enthusiasm right after you came to Christ.
  

Read Acts 16:6-13

• The Macedonian man was crying for help. How will you reach those that are crying out to you for help?

Read Acts 16:14-34

• Make a list of the people whose lives where touched by the planting of the church in Philippi. How important was the missionary team's visit to these people?

• How important is it for you to touch the lives of those God has called you to reach?
  

Read Luke 19:10

• The Son of Man's gift to the world was Himself. Planting new churches costs. Will you give your best gift this Christmas to help plant new churches? If so, bring your wrapped monetary gift to church on Sunday, December 20.

• Listen to this song by Andrae Crouch: Jesus Is The Answer For The World Today