Regular Meeting Attendance—Essential to Our Standing Firm
1 The apostle Paul urged us to remain “healthy in the faith.” (Titus 1:9, 13) At congregation meetings we consider wholesome thoughts and are instructed in how to keep ourselves fully clad in spiritual armor so that we can “stand firm against the machinations of the Devil.”—Eph. 6:11; Phil. 4:8.
2 Meetings Provide What We Need: Attending congregation meetings regularly is essential to our standing firm. (1 Cor. 16:13) At meetings prayers are offered to thank and to praise God, as well as to petition him in behalf of the congregation and its needs. (Phil. 4:6, 7) Joining in Kingdom songs uplifts us and enables us to express our sentiments and feelings as we worship Jehovah. (Eph. 5:19, 20) Our fellowship together at the Kingdom Hall before and after meetings encourages us, builds us up, and refreshes us.—1 Thess. 5:11.
3 Last April the special talk, “False Religion’s End Is Near,” forcefully impressed upon the minds of truth lovers the urgency of taking immediate action to get out of Babylon the Great. (Rev. 18:4) During June and July, how stimulating it was to cover three Watchtower study articles on the flashes of light that have enlightened the path of the righteous! (Prov. 4:18) Think of what we would have missed had we neglected to attend those meetings.
4 At our “Joyful Praisers” District Convention, stress was laid on the need for education that enhances our ministry. As Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry points out on page 72, the Theocratic Ministry School is a provision for the ongoing education of the entire congregation. Currently, one feature of the program helps us to become better acquainted with the modern-day history of the organization by using the Proclaimers book. We cannot afford to miss out on this education.
5 Our Service Meeting equips us to be more effective in the ministry. This was illustrated by the meeting in which we received instructions for sharing in the wide distribution of Kingdom News No. 34. Jehovah’s blessings on this work were abundant, as seen in the exceptional results worldwide. (Compare 2 Corinthians 9:6, 7.) Those regularly attending the meetings were encouraged, and they helped generate the support that was given the campaign.
6 At the Congregation Book Study, our sense of urgency is heightened by the things we are learning from God’s Word with the aid of the Revelation Climax book. With events moving swiftly on the world scene, we need to understand the fulfillment of the deeper prophecies of Revelation.
7 Give Priority to Regular Meeting Attendance: In many lands where our brothers are suffering trials, they still recognize how vital it is for them to come together each week. For example, in Burundi, Rwanda, Liberia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, so many new ones are at the meetings that two or even three times the number of publishers attend. In this way Jehovah helps the brothers to remain firm in one spirit.—Phil. 1:27; Heb. 10:23-25.
8 Any who may have been neglecting regular meeting attendance should take steps now to rectify this trend. (Eccl. 4:9-12) In order to stand firm, we need the mutual interchange with mature ones, as provided by regular meeting attendance.—Rom. 1:11.