Hebrews 10:19-25

Hebrews 10:19-25 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Last night Rachel and I were talking about the epidemic of loneliness that's sweeping the country.  It was about a year ago that Britain announced the creation of a Minister of Loneliness, a position that might have seemed outlandish years ago but now seems strangely fitting.  It starts young but is very real for adults, too, and the mental and physical health impacts can be devastating.  How did we become so lonely?
  Now, this is highly influenced by my belief system, but I don't think it's a coincidence that the epidemic of loneliness is spreading as the influence and attendance in the church is dwindling.  At it's best, the church is a community place where broken people gather together and find true community, defined by the honest sharing of our joys and concerns.  In the church, we should find a community that celebrates with us at life's highest moments and grieves with us in the moments of our deepest sorrow.  In a pastor, we should find an individual willing to be honest about the challenges of discipleship but also encouraging the community to gather together and remind one another of the common hope we have in Jesus Christ.  In the church, we should be stirring up one another to love and good works, encouraging one another through regular meetings, and developing true, lasting community in Christ. 
  Without the church as a regular gathering point, where people from all walks of life gather to find strength and comfort in one another, where people point to the strength of the Holy Spirit as something beyond themselves and tell our stories, offering encouragement as we point out where we have found grace and healing in our past, it's easy to see how we can become lonely, because there is something deeper at the church.  There, we find a lasting hope, and we point beyond the struggles to the redemption.  We share a hope.
  So let us strive to ensure our churches are places where people from all walks of life and where men and women both find open and welcoming community, where we are supported and encouraged, and realize we are not alone on the walk of discipleship.