LEARNING THE ART OF ATTENDING CHURCH

/in /by

Sometime along life’s way I read an article about how to develop and refine the “art” of attending church each week.

I agree that there is far more to know about church attendance than the average person realizes but church attendance that benefits the attender is something that must and can be learned and constantly developed to be effective.

There are certainly several categories of churchgoers. How about those who attend Sunday Morning worship out of habit, those who attend because a sense of community and friendships and finally, those who attend expecting and receiving an encounter with God. Personally I am determined that the last category is the one I want to be.

But as we work to refine the “art” of getting the most out of church attendance, here are 7 recommended steps to weekly church going success.

  1. Beginning each Saturday night prepare yourself for church the next day. Get your bath, select your clothing, try to follow a specific routine on Saturday night so that your Sunday morning will not be filled with pressure and haste. Also try going to bed a little earlier than usual, you’ll find the extra rest beneficial.
  2. Arise early enough on Sunday morning to give yourself, and your family a calm and unhurried journey to the Lord’s house. This step is not easy but if it is put into practice over and over it will eventually become a natural occurrence.
  3. Try to attend church with a clear purpose in mind. It may be to rid your heart of fear, anger, bad emotions or many other things. As you journey through your personal life, changes will happen each week, so your purpose in hearing from God will change as well.
  4. Ask God to speak to your heart in a clear and definite way as you attend church. He may speak to you in a song or a sermon. It may also come from a scripture read within the service or a Bible Study group or even in a time of silence before Him. When you are in His house with His people, His voice often becomes clearer to your heart.
  5. Carry your Bible with you. I know we have iPhones, iPads and who knows what additional contraptions that have Bible apps, but there is nothing like holding your own personal copy of God’s Word. It will contain your personal study notes, marked scriptures etc., that enhance your Christian life.
  6. Leave the thoughts of the world and its troubles on the church steps and enter the building focused on the fact that God loves you and wants to meet you there. It’s almost impossible to worship with a cluttered mind.
  7. Don’t watch your watch! Don’t try to put God on a clock. Yes, the music may be long, the sermon longer, but you are there for an encounter with the Spirit of God and not just to fulfill a weekly obligation or fill up an hour to help a guilty conscience.

Anything worthwhile takes a little time and so does effective worship!

I challenge you to try these steps for at least 4 Sundays in a row and I believe you will discover the real “joy” of attending Church.

 

Dr. Richard Lee
There’s Hope America

 

SOBER UP

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When we hear the words, “sober up” most of us think of someone who is drunk from alcohol that needs to get out of their drunken stupor and regain their proper senses. We’ve all seen folks who are drunk and do stupid things.

As I think of that and reflect upon the stupid and senseless things that go on in America today, our nation seems to have become like a drunken man who is staggering down a dark and dirty alley trying to find his way home.

We are a nation with more than our share of folks drunk from the confusion and deception of these days.

Personally, I know how each and every day I have to fight my own battle not to be consumed by the things that others convince me are important for life.

Those “things” that most of us cling to, or think that we cannot live without, in reality, only make us drunk with the stuff of this world.

Therein lies my problem, and a challenge for many, and that is: to put aside the cravings of this momentary life and open our eyes once again to the true importance of that which is eternal.

The lines below have helped me through the years. They are a simple poem, packed full of truth, that has shaken me sober time and again. If you need it, it might help you too!

WHAT THEN?

When the great busy plants of our cities
Shall have turned out their last finished work;

When the merchants have sold their last order,
And dismissed their last weary clerk;

When the banks have all counted their monies
And paid out their last dividend:

And the Judge of the earth wants a hearing
And asks for a balance – what then?

When the choir has sung its last anthem,
And the preacher has prayed his last prayer;

When the people have heard their last sermon,
And the sound has died out in the air;

When the Bible lies closed in the pulpit
And the pews are all empty of men;

And each stands to uncover his record –
And the Great Book is opened – what then?

When the players have played the last inning
And the runner has made his last run;

When the movie has shown its last picture,
And the bartender’s job is now done;

When the pleasures of sin have all vanished,
And gone into darkness again –

And the trumpet of ages has sounded –
And we stand there before Him – what then?

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”  2 Corinthians 5:10