David was a man
after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). He wrote, “I was glad when they said to me,
‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’” (Psalm
122:1). What about you and me? Do you enjoy meeting with your fellow
Christians for Bible study, worship, and fellowship? What about Sunday afternoon and Wednesday
evening? What about other events and
activities when we meet?
Many Christians
just “go to church.” They find no real
joy and meaning in meeting with their fellow Christian brothers and
sisters. Others start out well enough,
but quit before long. Some people won’t
even try.
God expects His
children to come together. Do we not
realized just how blessed we are? Are we
not encouraged and challenged when we gather together? What can we do to help ourselves and others
to find joy and meaning through worship?
When you read Hebrews
10:23-25 in the Bible you find that; 1) God commands that His church meet
regularly, 2) Meeting together keeps us
spiritually healthy, 3) Meeting together keeps us strong and encouraged, 4)
Every church meeting has its purpose: encouragement and the strengthening of
our faith, and 5) We honor God when we meet together.
So how can we
learn to enjoy our assembling together and reap the wonderful benefits of Bible
study, worship, and fellowship? I’ll
share a few of suggestions that I hope will help us all. First, we must PREPARE FOR WORSHIP. Sunday
mornings can be rushed and stressful or planned and peaceful. When we prepare for the day ahead, we find
that the Lord’s Day can be a blessing to us and to God. I remember my mother preparing our family for
worship. Our preparation began on
Saturday evening before bedtime. She
came into our room and had us lay out the clothes we were going to wear to
church the next day. She had us place
our personal Bibles next to our clothes.
On Sunday morning she allowed us to sleep in later than usual. This allowed her time to prepare a light
breakfast for our family and ready herself for worship in peace before 3 boys
and an older sister…well let’s say, made life a little more complicated. Children need breakfast in order to learn and
grow. I remember my mom, dressed already
and my dad sitting in his chair reading as I walked into the kitchen to eat
breakfast on Sunday morning. After breakfast
we would get dressed and after a motherly inspection leave the house for Bible
class and worship. Cindi and I chose to
follow a similar Sunday morning pattern for our family. I have found that my children, now grown are
following a similar pattern for their family.
How about you
and your family? Create your own pattern
of preparation and see if your Sunday mornings can be a wonderful experience
for your family.
Now that we have
considered preparation as a key to a better worship experience, what else can
we do? We should BE MINDFUL OF OTHERS who are present with us in the assembly. We are not alone. When someone arrives late or leaves early
(especially during the hymn of invitation) or when someone fails to silence
their phone, these distractions often hinder worship. Of course, there are times when arriving late
or leaving early is our only option. And
certainly forgetting to silence our phones before worship is just a sign of
being a human being. However, these
distractions should be the exception and not the rule for us. Jesus taught every Christian to love one
another as He loves (John 13:34-15). And
so we understand when a fellow brother or sister in Christ shows their
humanity. And when we show our humanity,
we hope that our fellow Christians understand us. Decide now that you will do everything within
your power to arrive early for worship and stay until the final “amen” is said,
that you will even stay a few minutes longer to meet and greet your Christian
brethren and our guests. Decide that you
will make it a habit to silence your phone long before the service begins. Let’s not be in such of a hurry in worship
and fellowship. Let’s relax, breathe
slowly and deeply, and take the time that is needed for God’s rich blessings to
flow over us, around us, through us, and from us. Try something different this Sunday. Prepare.
Consider others. Slow down. Stop and smell the roses. See how it goes.
More suggestions
to follow…
