“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”— Matthew 4:4

I came across a fascinating statistic in the book Nourish: there is enough food produced in the world for every human being to have 1,500 calories a day. The issue isn’t production but distribution.

The same could be said of the American church. The issue isn’t a shortage of worship services—there are more choices than ever. Nor is it access to Scripture—we hold in our hands what most Christians throughout history never had. The problem is that many believers aren’t exercising their spiritual muscles on their own. Too often, they expect the church to do the work for them.

We may attend church, but fail to live as the church.

The word church—ecclesia—literally means “the called-out ones.” That means we are called out of old patterns, attitudes, and lifestyles into a new identity rooted in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Research from Daniel Im shows the #1 factor in spiritual growth is not attending worship, joining a small group, or even going on mission trips. It’s simply reading your Bible 15 minutes a day. Why? Because as you meditate, reflect, and wrestle with God’s Word, you will naturally seek counsel from others, and then public worship becomes the overflow of your walk with God.

Then, you don’t go to Sunday worship to “get filled up.” You come to glorify God, to give thanks, to join your voice with others in praise.

The problem is many of us fly in late, leave early, and expect that one hour to sustain our souls for the week. That’s why so many are spiritually anemic—starving for truth, weak because they rarely open Scripture for themselves (Hebrews 5:12-14).

So try something new this week, don’t wait until Sunday to eat. Feed daily on God’s Word. Come to worship not as a starving consumer but as a nourished disciple:

Chew on these passages

• Philippians 1:1–11
• Philippians 1:12–30
• Philippians 2:1–18
• Philippians 2:19–30
• Philippians 3:1–21
• Philippians 4:1–9
• Philippians 4:10–23