By: Rex Stump
Ask any coach to choose between home and away games, and they would typically choose to compete on their home court.
As a coach I didn’t enjoy riding the school bus, getting home later than normal, filling out bus slips, being in an unfamiliar setting, dealing with visiting locker rooms or no locker room, seeing a lack of our fans, or dealing with unforeseen issues that could arise in traveling.
I would rather be on my home court where I had practiced all week and I’m familiar with my settings. There is something right about being at home.
I believe God wants us to be to experience home court advantage on a consistent basis too. I believe every day we can worship God, no matter where we are. But one day out of the week should be set aside to worship God on His Home Court.
At least one day out of the week we should be gathering with our Christian brothers and sisters to worship God and God alone.
Why would we choose to not gather in as a church to worship, sing, and pray together? That’s our opportunity for home court advantage! It’s the one time we can gather on familiar turf to worship God.
In the book of Hebrews there is an incredible verse that should encourage you and I to meet together on our home turf! Hebrews 10:25 says; “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
The first part of this verse, “let us not neglect”, shouts out to someone who is extremely discouraged and depressed. This may be a person who feels left out, down, and far behind everyone else.
I think we could all agree that when we feel like we are failing or falling short of everyone else we don’t want to go to church. It is often during those moments when Satan whispers into our ear, “Oh, just stay home from church today.
You don’t need to go there with all those people. You know that you don’t feel like being with them today, so why not just stay home by yourself? You don’t need them. You can just read the Bible at home!”
You see, that is just like our enemy telling us in our times of need that we don’t need anyone. That’s a lie! We need our teammates – our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We need to gather in a familiar setting where our Heavenly Father, whom we worship, can instruct and encourage us.
We know the church is not just brick and mortar. The church is the body of Christ, believers who gather together under one name – Jesus Christ. In a sense, we are a team, as members of the body of Christ.
It says in the book of Ephesians 2:19-21; “You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets.
And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.”
We are a team, members of God’s family, together, joined together in Him! Apart from other believers we will struggle, and apart from Christ we can do nothing.
How can we find hope and encouragement, and how can we praise God for all He has done if we don’t gather together as a team to worship? We must meet together.
Regardless of where you meet, I encourage to you gather weekly to worship God. This is home court advantage. The rest of the week we are on the road on Satan’s turf – and it’s a battle.
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Rex Stump is the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves as a Pastor at True North Church in Wauseon, Ohio.