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1 Samuel 20:18

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

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1 Samuel 20:18

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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Our Seat Should Not Be Empty

  1. We Are Commanded to Be Here (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. “Not Forsaking”
      1. Translated:
        1. “Not Neglecting” (ESV)
        2. “Not Giving Up” (NIV)
        3. “Not Staying Away” (HCSB)

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Our Seat Should Not Be Empty

  1. We Are Commanded to Be Here (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. “Not Forsaking”
      1. Translated:
      2. Definitions:
        1. “To Cease, to Stop, to Forsake” (Louw & Nida)
        2. “To Separate Connection With Someone Or Something, Forsake, Abandon, Dessert” (BDAG)

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Our Seat Should Not Be Empty

  1. We Are Commanded to Be Here (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. “Not Forsaking”
    2. “The Assembling”
      1. Translations:
        1. “To Meet Together” (ESV)
        2. “To Gather Together” (CSB)
        3. “Worhsip Meetings” (HCSB)

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Our Seat Should Not Be Empty

  1. We Are Commanded to Be Here (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. “Not Forsaking”
    2. “The Assembling”
      1. Translations:
      2. Definitions:
        1. “The Gathering Together of A Group of (In the Active Rather Than the Passive Sense)” (Louw & Nida)
        2. “A Gathering Together of Or Toward At Some Location, Meeting, the Action of Assembling” (BDAG)

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Our Seat Should Not Be Empty

  1. We Are Commanded to Be Here (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. “Not Forsaking”
    2. “The Assembling”
    3. To Summarize: “Do Not Separate Yourself From the Coming Together (Of the Saints)”

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Our Seat Should Not Be Empty

  1. We Are Commanded to Be Here (Hebrews 10:24-25)
  2. If We Are Not Present (By Choice) We Have Left An Unnecessarily Empty Seat

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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Our Empty Seat Sends A Message

  1. When Consistently Present (Seat is Not Empty)…
    1. We Show God Comes First
    2. We Convey That Worship Matters
    3. Others Will Notice - We Will Let Nothing Within Our Control Keep Us From Being Here

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Our Empty Seat Sends A Message

  1. When Consistently Present (Seat is Not Empty)…
  2. When Absent (But Normally Present)…
    1. “Is Something Wrong?”
    2. “They Are Always Here”
    3. “If They Could Be Here, They Would Be”

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Our Empty Seat Sends A Message

  1. When Consistently Present (Seat is Not Empty)…
  2. When Absent (But Normally Present)…
  3. When Absent Regularly Or By Choice…
    1. We Communicate That God is Not First
    2. We Live As Though Worship is Optional
    3. We Convey That Other Things Are More Important to Us

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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Our Empty Seat Impacts Others

  1. When We Are Present - We Exhort One Another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. Especially When Present Despite…
      1. Fatigue
      2. Sickness
      3. Busy Schedules
      4. Etc.

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Our Empty Seat Impacts Others

  1. When We Are Present - We Exhort One Another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
    1. Especially When Present Despite…
    2. Our Presence Speaks Volumes

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Our Empty Seat Impacts Others

  1. When We Are Present - We Exhort One Another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
  2. Our Absence Also Speaks Volumes
    1. When We Are Absent Because…
      1. We Have Recreational Activities
      2. It Is Not Convenient
      3. We Just “Don’t Have Time”
      4. Etc.

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Our Empty Seat Impacts Others

  1. When We Are Present - We Exhort One Another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
  2. Our Absence Also Speaks Volumes
    1. When We Are Absent Because…
    2. We Are…
      1. Discouraging Those Present
      2. Telling Young Christians Worship “Is Not Important Enough”

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body

  1. As We Have Already Seen, This is Done By Discouraging Others By Our Absence
  2. We Also Hurt the Body By Not Doing Our Part
    1. We All Have An Important Role (1 Corinthians 12:12-17)
    2. No Matter How ‘Insignificant” Our Role Seems - It Is Necessary (1 Corinthians 12:22)
    3. While the Body Can “Survive” Without Us Meeting Our Role, It Cannot Thrive

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Body Will Survive - Not Thrive

Everyone Must Do Their Share (Ephesians 4:16)

Only When This Happens - Will The Body Function At Full Capacity

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Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body

  1. As We Have Already Seen, This is Done By Discouraging Others By Our Absence
  2. We Also Hurt the Body By Not Doing Our Part
    1. We All Have An Important Role (1 Corinthians 12:12-17)
    2. No Matter How ‘Insignificant” Our Role Seems - It Is Necessary (1 Corinthians 12:22)
    3. While the Body Can “Survive” Without Us Meeting Our Role, It Cannot Thrive
    4. When We Are Absent - We Cannot Meet Our Role

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Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body

  1. As We Have Already Seen, This is Done By Discouraging Others By Our Absence
  2. We Also Hurt the Body By Not Doing Our Part
  3. An Empty Seat Will Hurt the Body

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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“You Will Be Missed, Because Your Seat Will Be Empty”

  1. Our Seat Should Not Be Empty
  2. Our Empty Seat Sends A Message
  3. Our Empty Seat Impacts Others
  4. Our Empty Seat Hurts the Body
  5. Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

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Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

  1. Eventually We Will “Go the Way of All the Earth” (1 Kings 2:2; Joshua 23:14)
  2. When We Do, Our Seat Will Forever Be Empty
  3. Just Like In Our Life, Our Empty Seat Will Say Something
    1. Will We Be Remembered For Our Faithfulness?
      1. We Have Strengthened the Congregation
      2. We Were Always Present
      3. We, Like Dorcas, Have Left A Hole By Our Absence (Acts 9:36-42)

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Our Seat Will One Day Be Forever Empty

  1. Eventually We Will “Go the Way of All the Earth” (1 Kings 2:2; Joshua 23:14)
  2. When We Do, Our Seat Will Forever Be Empty
  3. Just Like In Our Life, Our Empty Seat Will Say Something
    1. Will We Be Remembered For Our Faithfulness?
    2. Will Little/Nothing Change?
      1. Our Seat Was Normally Empty While Living
      2. We Had Already Abandoned It - It Was “Forever” Empty Long Ago

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