Looking at the life of Paul, and we are on his third missionary journey. He is on the downhill side. He's headed to Jerusalem. He spent a couple of years in Ephesus. He has spent a year or so in Europe, and now he's headed to Jerusalem, but he goes by way of Troas, and he's going to sail down the coast of Asia, and then across to Jerusalem. As we see him in Troas, we started this last Wednesday evening just looking at what the Holy Spirit gives us, what Luke writes about that. Luke was an eyewitness now. He's back with them. He had been with Paul on his second missionary journey. When Paul made his way from Troas over to Philippi on his second missionary journey, Luke joined him there. And then when Paul left Philippi, Luke stayed. And he doesn't rejoin him until at this point on his third missionary journey, because he says in verse 6 of Acts chapter 20, we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came to Troas in five days and we abode there seven days. We noted the fact that the days of unleavened bread would be right after Passover. So it's the spring of the year, March, April, that timeframe that Paul is beginning his journey. They didn't travel in the wintertime. They didn't sail in the wintertime. It was dangerous to do that back in those days. And so as soon as it was possible in the spring, they would sail again and throughout the summer and early fall, and then cease again for the wintertime. So Paul's beginning his journey just as soon as he can get going in the spring of the year. But as he comes to Troas, we get a glimpse of a church service that Paul participated in, beginning in verse 7. And so we're looking at that. I've entitled it Simple Church because when I look at what goes on there, it is their service and the services of the early church were very simple. Let me just briefly review what we talked about last Wednesday evening. And when it comes to church, we tend to be traditional and pragmatic. That is, there are certain things that we do that we've just always done and they're traditional. They're not necessarily mandated in scripture. They're not necessarily wrong. The Bible, I think, gives us a lot of latitude on how we structure our worship service. But we are more formal than the early church was. And we're used to that. That's traditional. We're accustomed to that. And that's OK, as long as it doesn't hinder our ability to minister to people. We tend to be pragmatic in the sense that we take that traditional and it works. And so we just keep doing it because it works. And there's no reason to change just for the sake of change. But we do need to acknowledge the fact that much of what we do, or some of what we do, is traditional. And it has worked. but we need to be willing to change when necessary in order to minister to people, as long as the change is not unbiblical. And church can be very simple, as we see here. We get this glimpse. It was their gathering, and we see similar things when we read about the church at Corinth, as Paul talks about some of the abuses that were taking place in the ministry of the church at Corinth. We get a glimpse into the gatherings, the worship services of the early church, and it's very simple. As you think about it and look at it, it would be more like a small group or Bible study of today. That's the early church services. They weren't formal. They were very simple and more like small groups. The only difference is they did include communion. I mentioned that I have a book in my library called The Simple Church, and they contrast what they would call not a simple church, a complicated church, and a simple church. But the simple church had as its theme and purpose loving God, loving people, and serving the world. And that was their very simple statement of what their church ministry was all about, loving God, loving people, serving the world. That church, it was said, is committed to making disciples, recognizing that the purpose of the church is to make disciples. go into all the world and teach all nations, and that word teach there is the word for disciple, to make disciples, to make them followers of Jesus Christ, to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe, to do all that God has commanded. So making disciples is what we're ultimately about, getting people saved, leading them to Christ, getting them baptized, and then teaching them to follow Christ and live for Christ. This church is committed to that and their weekly programs has helped them fulfill that purpose. Their worship service helps them love God. And since very little connection occurs in the worship service, they decided to use small groups to help people connect with one another or to love others. And finally, it was said that each member is encouraged to be involved in a ministry either to the church or to the community. I thought it was interesting that when people come to inquire about membership, when they indicate their desire to join the church, they are told, prospective members are told, don't join if you don't plan to serve. Because that's ultimately where we are leading you. Because that's a part of our purpose. Loving God, loving people, serving the world. That's part of who we are. And that's where we're going to lead you. And so each part of that, when you come to worship service, you're encouraged to get involved in a small group. When you get involved in a small group, you're encouraged to get involved in service. And their ministry is very simple. I mean, that's it. Worship service, small groups, and ministry. And it was said that, you know, looking at their calendar, there's very little other stuff on their calendar. Because they're focused on making disciples, teaching people to love God, love people, and get involved in ministry. And it works for them. Now every church has to find out what works for it, as far as programs and structure within the guidelines set forth by the Bible. But when we're looking at what happened at Troas, we realize that church can be very simple. And I believe that if things continue as they are in America today, that there's coming a day when we're going to be forced to get back to the simplicity of the early church. Because we're not going to be able to just freely worship God. We're not going to be able to come here again. I think I said last Wednesday night, I think the day is coming, if things continue as they are in America, when the government one day is going to confiscate our buildings. And we won't have a building to meet in. And we're going to be forced to find other places to meet. It may be that we become anathema and second-class citizens in America that it's even hard to find a place to rent because they'll find out you're a Christian. No, we won't rent to you. We don't rent to Christians. So there may be challenges that we face. We're not there right now, but we may be there. But we need to understand that if we ever find ourselves there, it's OK because When you boil it right down to what the Bible actually tells us to do, it is very simple. So, as we were looking at this, we just noted, first of all, when they met, upon the first day of the week, verse 7, when the disciples came together to break bread, they met on the first day of the week, Sunday, and that's because that's the day that Christ rose from the dead. The early church did gather at other times, but they regularly came together for worship on Sunday, when Paul was giving instruction to the Corinthian church about collecting the offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem. He said, upon the first day of the week, lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. They would come together on the first day of the week for their weekly worship service and they would collect this offering and set it aside so that when Paul came they could give it to him, he could take it to Jerusalem. We also noted the fact that Not only did they meet on Sunday, but Sunday was for them a work day. The Gentiles didn't observe a Sabbath like the Jews did. Under the law, the Jews observed a Sabbath, Saturday, and they met in their synagogues or in the temple on Saturday. But the Gentiles didn't have that observance. And so when the Gentiles get saved, They're meeting on the first day of the week, they're not observing the Saturday Sabbath rest, and Sunday is just a work day for them, and so they're coming together at the end of the day, probably because they've worked all day, and that's when they get together, that's when it's possible for them to come together, at the end of a work day. And again, possibly that's why Eutychus fell asleep, because he's tired. First of all, he's young. He may have been a teenager, a young teenager, or perhaps late teens or early 20s. But he's a young man. He's worked hard all day, and he's tired. And he's sitting in the window where there's some airflow, because not only is he tired, but it's hot in that room. They're in the third level, third floor of the house, in that upper room, the lights, the torches maybe, or the lanterns, or whatever. There's flames. They don't have electric lights. There's open flames. And so it's hot up there. And he's probably sitting in the window to get some air to try and stay awake. And he's trying to stay awake. But ultimately, he falls asleep. He fights it until he just can't. He loses the battle, falls asleep, and then falls out of the window three stories to his death. And of course, Paul raises him from the dead. And everybody rejoices in that. But it was a work day for them, and they're coming together at the end of that day. Gentiles didn't observe a Sabbath. They worked seven days a week. It wasn't until 321 when Constantine, who made Christianity the official religion of Rome and messed everything up, really, that Sunday was instituted as a day of rest. And that's why it's seen that way today. We are not commanded in the New Testament to make Sunday a day of rest. We may choose to do that, and that's good, and that's fine, but we're not commanded to do that, nor are we commanded, I didn't note this last Wednesday night, but I think it's important we understand this, we are not required to make the world observe a day of rest. There used to be, in America, there used to be blue laws, I remember as a kid, down in the Atlanta area, that on Sunday afternoons, my grandmother would take my sister and I to the mall, and we would drive around the parking lot as kids. She'd let us drive around, because there's no cars there, because the mall's closed on Sunday. It was a day off. The only thing that was open was some of the restaurants, but the stores were all closed on Sundays. I'll never forget the first time I went to the mall on a Sunday afternoon. It was after we moved to Alexandria. And some of the guys in the youth group were going out to the mall Sunday afternoon. And it was like, this was just a strange thing to me. I was allowed to go, but it was just odd to me. It just felt so strange that I would go to the mall on a Sunday afternoon. Why would I do that? Today, I choose, other than maybe going out to eat, I generally don't. Go anywhere on Sundays unless it's needful. Don't usually shop on Sundays. Don't think it's necessarily wrong, but I choose not to do that. You may do the same, and that's all fine and good. But understand that that's what's going on here, that they're meeting on a Sunday. For them, it's a work day, and that's why they're meeting at night and why they're tired. And yet, they've gathered together at the end of a hard day of work, and they're gonna worship God together at the end of that day. We noted, secondly, where they met. They met in homes, and in this case, that's where they're meeting. They come together. They've been scattered throughout the week, but they come together as fellow believers. They met in homes. According to Wikipedia, if you can trust it, it was not until the late third century that churches began to meet in their own buildings. So the early church met at Holmes, they met at the temple when they were in Jerusalem, they met in the synagogue. Paul started there when he went to a new town to preach the gospel and as Jews got saved, they just continued to meet in the synagogue and Paul preached the gospel and taught the new believers there. And then they also, Paul, in Ephesus, Paul moves the church into the school of Tyrannus, which was possibly either rented space or borrowed space. We don't know which, but it just reminds us that there's no set meeting place for the church. The church can meet wherever there is a facility available, and if there's no facility available, the church can meet outside. You know, there's a picture over, I think it's still over in the other building, but it was of a group in Russia, a church in Russia that's meeting out in the woods in the snow. They've got communion set up. They were having their church service outside in the woods in the snow. and even observing the Lord's table together. And you talk about simple, that's simple. But that's what they could do. And so that's what they did do. We are commanded to meet together. And God's people, in an effort to be obedient to that command, will gather together wherever they can. Right now, again, we have the opportunity of meeting in a building that is set apart for that purpose, and that's great. And it helps us because, like it or not, in America, people identify the church with a building. And it helps bring people in if there's a place designated to meet. And we understand that, and that's okay. But if the day comes that we don't have that opportunity, that's okay as well. But then, why did they meet? And this is where we were dealing last Wednesday night as we had to wrap it up and didn't quite get through with it. Let's go back and let's talk about this. They met for fellowship, okay? So, upon the first day of the week, verse 7, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and he continued his speech until midnight. There were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together, and there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep. And as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep and fell down from the third loft and was taken up dead. When Paul went down and fell on him, and embracing him, said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him. And when he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till the break of day, so he departed. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. They came together, verse seven tells us. And by the way, the word there is the word for synagogue. It's the public gathering of the church. Again, there's this emphasis that when we're commanded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, it's talking about the public gathering of the church. When the church comes together, not just two believers or three believers having fellowship over a meal. That's not the command in Hebrews 10.25. That's not what's happening here. This is their public worship service. This is when they're coming together You know, though it's an informal service, it's their formal time, if you will, to meet together. And that's what we've been commanded to do. They shared conversation. Verse 11 tells us that Paul talked a long while, even to a break of day. And that's the word, the word talk there is the word for conversation. So after he raises Eutychus from the dead, they come back up together into that upper room, and for the rest of the night, they're talking back and forth. And no doubt Paul is using this as an opportunity to disciple them, to talk about spiritual things, but it is a conversation that's going on. They're enjoying fellowship, much like we might sit around a table with other believers and talk about spiritual things, talk about the word of God, talk about what God is doing in our lives, encourage one another in the things of God. That's what they're doing there. in verse 11, as Paul talks a long while, even till the break of day. They also shared communion in verse 7, where it says that they gathered together to break bread. That is speaking of communion. And they did that every week. The early church, every Sunday as they came together, communion was part of their worship service. We're not commanded to observe communion at any definite time. Jesus said, as often as you do this. And he didn't say how often we have to do it. So we're free to determine how often we do that. We want to do it as often as it is helpful. One of the concerns that we sometimes have is if we did it every week, it would lose its meaning. I don't know if it would or not, but that is a concern. And so we choose not to do it every week. We do it every couple of months here. Some churches do it every month, some every quarter, some maybe once or twice a year. But we gather together around the Lord's table. And by the way, we're commanded to do that as well. Jesus commands us to gather with the church and to observe the Lord's table. When we are having communion, we ought to want to be here because that's something that God has commanded us to do, and we ought to want to be obedient to him. And so when the church gathers together to observe the Lord's table, we ought to want to be here. As we do that, the idea of breaking bread speaks of the bread that was broken, it symbolizes the body of Christ. And I want to stress this too while we're talking about this, that when we come to the communion table, the Lord's table, we're gathering together as a church to observe the Lord's table, and we are coming together. And there needs to be a sense of oneness as a church when we come to the Lord's table. On the one hand, yes, it's an individual thing, and we're to examine ourselves individually to make sure that we are right with the Lord, that we observe in a worthy manner. But we are coming together. In 1 Corinthians 10, Verses 16 and 17, Paul wrote, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? When we partake of the cup, we are speaking of our connection, our interconnection with Christ, we are part of Christ, we are part of His body, we are one with Him. And the bread which we break, it's the communion of the body of Christ, we are one with Him. So as we observe the elements, we're reminded of our connection to Christ, that we are in Christ, that we are one with Christ, we're united to Christ through our faith in Him as our Savior. But Paul went on to say, for we being many are one bread and one body. For we are all partakers of that one bread. Not only are we as individuals connected to Christ, we are united to Him, we are one with Him, but we are also one with one another. And when the Lord instituted the Lord's Table, communion, whatever you want to refer to it as. I hope my wandering around a little bit is not messing up the camera back there. I didn't think about that Sunday morning. But when he instituted the Lord's Table, he took a loaf of bread, actually it would have been a flat, unleavened bread, but he took a loaf of unleavened bread, if you want to call it a loaf, but anyway, a piece of unleavened bread, one piece, and tore it up to represent the tearing of his flesh, if you will, the whip that would tore his body, the nails that tore into his body, the cross, the crown of thorns that tore into his head, the cross that would have torn into his body. He symbolized all that by the breaking of that one loaf of bread and giving a piece of that one loaf to each of the disciples. And I say that because I think sometimes we miss some of the symbolism in the way that we do communion, and we're pragmatic. We do what works. But if we really wanted to do it and maintain the symbolism that Christ intended in the communion table, we would have a loaf of unleavened bread, and as the pastor, I would tear it into little tiny pieces, And then the deacons would come around and you'd get a little tiny piece of that one loaf of bread. But we'd be all eating from the same loaf of bread because it symbolizes the fact that Christ's body is one. We are one. We are all partakers of that one body. We are all that one body. That's the symbolism that's supposed to be there. When I was a kid, the church that I grew up in, they used saltine crackers broken up. And that was their way. Now, saltine crackers have 11 in them, so it messes up the type a little bit because 11, but that was their way of trying to at least symbolize the broken body of Christ by breaking the crackers. And everybody got a little piece of saltine cracker. You know, I'm not, I'm okay. I'm okay with what we do. I'm not going to change anything, I don't think. But anyway, I'm not saying this because I'm fixing to make a change. I don't like what we use because it loses all symbolism. We get these little bitty, you know, pre-made unleavened wafers and there's no connection whatsoever. You know, it's just all individual and all that, and I get it, and it's okay. But just understand that though we're using that and it works, and I get it, okay, and it's okay, but just understand what we really are symbolizing when we come to the Lord's table, and don't let what we use cause you to lose sight of really what's going on. You know, in the old days, not only did they have, not only, and when Christ sends to the Lord's table, not only was there one loaf of bread that he tore into little pieces, or 12 pieces and gave to the disciples, there was one cup. And they passed the cup around and everybody drank from the same cup because we are all one body and one bread, there's one cup. And again, it symbolized the unity of the church, that we are one In our connection to Christ, we are all partakers of the same blood of Christ that cleanses us. And in the old days, by the way, in a lot of churches, they used one cup. I've said this, I don't know, again, I think we still have a communion cup that a lady that I did yard work for in Greenville when I was in college, her husband had been a pastor, and they had a communion cup from one of the churches that he had pastored. It's a silver cup, and it's not solid silver, but it's a silver cup, and that's what they used for communion. And they passed it around, and everybody drank from the same cup. I went to a, I think it must have been a funeral in an Episcopal church one time, and they observed communion, and they had one cup. And the priest, when the people came up there to partake of it, they would take a drink out of that cup. And then the priest had an alcohol cloth. And he would wipe it to sterilize it for the next person. You could choose not to. You could come up there and choose not to have the juice. Probably it was actual wine. And then you could get the bread, which was a little wafer that they put on your tongue and go on or whatever. But they all drank from the same cup. And again, I get it. We don't do that today. I get it. But again, let's don't lose sight of what it's all about. That we are one. And that's why it's critical that when we come together to observe the Lord's table, that not only do we need to be right with God, but we need to be right with one another. That body needs to be whole. And if there's a schism in the body, if there's a rent in the body, it's not right. And though we can't all know everybody's relationship to one another, that's why we stress, if you're not right, not only with God, but your fellow believers, don't partake. Because you're not partaking in a worthy manner and you're eating and drinking judgment to yourself by partaking when you are either not right with God or not right with others. And if you're not right with others, you're not right with God. because that is all part of what it's all about. So not only did they share conversation, they shared communion, and they would have done it, the one loaf of bread and the one cup, symbolizing that they were one in Christ, but they also shared cooking. This is all part of the fellowship. In verse 11, when Paul had raised Eutychus to life, when they had brought him and Paul had come up again and had broken bread, that breaking of bread is a meal. They broke bread and they ate a meal together. Together. And we emphasize that, and I don't want to go into that a whole lot because we stressed it pretty strong last Wednesday evening, that fellowship meals should never knowingly exclude anybody. So, anyway, I'll move on. So they had, why they met, they met for fellowship, which included conversation, it included communion, and it included cooking, but they also met for instruction. Paul did preach and teach the word. In verse 7, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow. And he continued his speech until midnight. He preached. The word that is translated preach there means to reason or to discuss. It's the word that is most often used of Paul's preaching ministry. When he would go into the synagogue He would reason with the Jews. He would explain to them. He'd go through the Old Testament Scriptures and he'd say, here's what the Bible says about Messiah. That Messiah must suffer and he must die and he must rise from the dead on the third day. And then that Jesus is the Messiah. And that was Paul's message. And he would explain it and then there would be back and forth, question and answer. Matter of fact, this word is translated to dispute six times, to reason four times, to preach two times, and to speak one time. So it was preaching, but it also involved question and answer. So there was an opportunity for discussion about the message that Paul was preaching. But preaching is essential. And I think it's interesting, I do believe that when they gathered together, they probably sang, and they prayed. But the Holy Spirit doesn't tell us about that part of what went on in that service. He only tells us that they observed communion, that they had fellowship over a meal, and that Paul preached to them, that he instructed them in the things of God. He preached the Word. He charged Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 verses 1 and 2 to preach the Word, to be instant, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine, and reminded him that his ministry would be judged by Christ, that preaching was essential. By the way, that's why in Our churches, and churches like ours, the pulpit is front and center. There's a reason why it's here. Because what we're saying by the pulpit being front and center is that preaching is essential to what we do. It's not all we do, but it's essential to what we do. We pray, we sing, but preaching is essential to what we do. Instruction in the Word of God is vital. Because there are churches, usually liturgical churches, where the pulpit is off to the side. Because it's a part of what they do, but it's not really the focus. The liturgy is more the focus than the preaching of the word of God. But preaching is essential, it is emphasized in the scripture, and so it is a vital part of what we do. And though we may have some special services where we might just sing or share testimonies, we're never gonna get away from preaching the word of God if we want to be biblical. And that's why, again, we do it, we have three services where we preach the word of God every week, plus we have Bible studies, because the word is critical. We need to know what God says in his word. But there was opportunity then to discuss the message, what Paul had preached. And no doubt, as he taught and preached that night, in the talking that went on afterwards, there was discussion about what Paul had preached and how does that apply to us. There are churches now that have discussion times after the morning message. Some churches now are going to this model where they have a morning service with preaching, they have lunch, and they have an afternoon gathering where they talk about the message and they discuss it and how it applies to their life because preaching Preaching should lead us to a decision. Not every decision is a major decision, but when we are confronted with the Word of God, and we're taught the Word of God, and we see the truth of God's Word, we have to respond. It's not just to instruct us. to inform us, but it is to challenge us and to change us. We need to make application of the word to our lives. And that discussion just helps that, and it's not required, but it helped them, and some churches are seeing it as an opportunity to help the church apply the truth of the message to their lives, but there needs to be some application. So Paul preached and he continued his speech until midnight. The word speech there is a word for words. It's the same word that is used over in verse two when he had gone through Macedonia and had given them much exhortation. It's the word that's translated as exhortation. Verse 2 is the same word that is translated as speech in verse 7, and it's just the word for words. Paul gave them, as he went through the churches of Macedonia, he gave them much exhortation. When he preached at Troas, he gave them much exhortation, lots and lots of words. Matter of fact, we don't know what time their service started, but we know that Paul preached until midnight and would have gone longer if Eutychus hadn't fallen out of the window. Because when he raised Eutychus back to life and came back up, he didn't preach any longer, verse 11, he talked, they had conversation. But prior to that, it was preaching, and it was a long sermon. John Phillips, in his commentary on the Book of Acts, said this, he said, in many of our churches today, Paul would have been told what time to finish. Paul, however, was not to be governed by the clock. On an occasion like this, he had much to say, and they might never see him again, and this was a golden opportunity never to come again. All too often in our fast-paced society, time is the deciding factor in our church service. It governs the pulpit with careless disregard for the moving of the Holy Spirit. Above all, the preacher must finish on time. The song service, the announcements, the special music, the liturgy, the offering, the greetings, and pleasantries all come first, and often each one runs a minute or two longer than planned, but the preacher must finish on time. The Holy Spirit may be moving, the message may be urgent, the closing moments, the invitation, the orderly close of the service may be imperative, but no matter. Cut it all short. It's time to close. It's lunchtime. I added that. He didn't say that. I added that. Is it any wonder a grieved Holy Spirit moves on to bless elsewhere? Paul, the most considerate and thoughtful of men on this occasion, with so much to say, simply ignored the clock and preached to midnight. A visiting preacher who did that nowadays would never be asked back. Don't you know, Paul, many of these people are slaves. They have been up since before sunrise, and they have toiled all day, and they are tired, and they had to get up again tomorrow at the crack of dawn. We hear no such complaints. It was a rare opportunity to have an apostle in their midst. Let him preach. Years ago, a lady said she was talking about a conversation she was having with some fellow church members. They were complaining about the length of the pastor's sermons, and she made this comment to them. She said, you know, God gave our pastor a message this week, and I want to hear all of it. I don't want to just hear part of it. Now, the pastor commented, I didn't come to church to go home. But we come to church and we're ready to go home and we have set times. Now, as a pastor, I understand, especially like tonight. Some of you had to get up early in the morning to go to work. I get that. We try to be sensitive to that. And it is lunchtime on Sunday morning and we have to be sensitive to that. But I think that we do have to be open to the Holy Spirit of God. Granted, sometimes as preachers, we can go on and on and not really say anything. But if the sermon goes long because there's much to say, and I realize too that, you know, we can only absorb so much. I've been in one of those services where the preacher kept preaching and he had something to say, but I just, I've had all I can take. It's not that I don't want anymore, I just can't absorb anymore. And pretty soon he's lost me because I've got a lot to think about and I just can't absorb anymore. So as preachers and pastors, we have to be sensitive to the people that we're preaching to and the circumstances in which they find themselves and not abuse the opportunity that God gives us. But when God is leading and the service goes long, it should be okay. We should be saying, you know what, whatever it is, unless you've got a commitment that, you know, like if you've got to be at the job and you're going to lose your job if you're not there, obviously that's important. Whatever it is, if it's not something like that, it's not more important than the word of God and the working of the spirit of God in our hearts. And we need to be open to the fact that God may take longer than our appointed time to get done what he wants to do in any given service. Now, let me just close this way. They met at night after day of work and they continued together all night despite the fact that they're going to have to get up and go to work the next day. Remember, they don't even go to bed. They're not going to get up because they never go to bed. They stay together all night, they listen to preaching, they have fellowship, they talk together until the break of day. Paul goes on his way and they'll go back to work for another day. And yet, they did it. They came together at the end of a work day, though they're tired. But it was important to them. This is when we can get together. And so they did. And the fact that Paul went all night, You know, it wouldn't be the normal thing, but it's what happened this time, and they're okay with that. Which says to me, they're hungry for fellowship and instruction in the word of God. So the application, I think, is this. Are we as eager as they are for Christian fellowship and biblical instruction? And the answer to that question is seen in our attitude when things go wrong. or when we're tired and we say, you know, I'm just too tired to go to church today. I've got things to do. I don't have time to talk to God's people today. I've got to go. Let's stand for prayer. Father, take the truth tonight. Lord, I need to hear it. We need to hear it. and we need to let it sink into our hearts and govern our attitude and our actions as we come together as a church to worship you, to encourage one another. And so, Lord, help us to have biblical attitudes about our church gatherings, that you would be glorified and the Holy Spirit could work in our midst as he sees fit. And Lord, help us to be committed to a biblical pattern for the church. And be willing to change, not for the sake of change and certainly not changing to conform to the world. But Lord, be willing to change, if necessary, for the sake of ministry. If that change doesn't conflict with the truth and the pattern that you've given us in your word. And we ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.