Corporate Worship and Gathering
Christians are called to gather regularly for mutual encouragement and worship.
Hebrews commands, 'Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another.' Corporate worship provides what private worship cannot—encouragement, accountability, the witness of others' faith, and the unique presence of Christ promised where two or three gather. Early Christians gathered on 'the first day of the week' to break bread and hear teaching. Pliny reported to Trajan around AD 112 that Christians met before dawn, sang to Christ, and bound themselves by oath against theft and adultery. We need each other; solitary Christianity is an oxymoron.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's 'Life Together' describes the irreplaceable gift of Christian community where God's Word is shared and embodied.
Epistle to the Hebrews