As I sit here with my wheels spinning and my keyboard clacking slightly less furiously than my wheels, my office window is open because the morning air is cool. It's actually kind of relaxing. The mood with which I enter the church during the week is usually quite different than the one I am in when I enter on Sunday mornings. As anyone with kids can attest, the process of getting the whole family to church on a Sunday morning is a little like trying to hang laundry on a clothesline in a wind storm while chasing the chickens back to the coop, but the dog is chasing them too. We may walk in the door at church all peaceful-like, but...well, praise the Lord for a family! Praise the Lord for the parents who determine Sunday morning that the struggle is worth it to make sure their children understand how vital being taught from the Word of God and "assembling ourselves together" is to our lives. In fact, they probably didn't wait until Sunday morning to make that determination. For many, that decision was made long ago. Showing up for Sunday is a good start, but is there anything else we can do to make the most of the Lord's day?
Preparation for an event often makes all the difference between it being a success or being a dismal failure. How sad for a Sunday to pass without the Lord having done something in our lives! Sundays are not only successful if someone gets saved, baptized, or joins the church, but they are successful if we come prepared and seeking for the Spirit to guide us into all truth. Here are four ways that we can prepare for Sunday:
1. Pray Up
I was greatly disappointed recently when I popped my bluetooth ear-protection in my ears the other day. I was expecting to listen to a podcast while mowing grass only to find out that I hadn't charged it. Now I had to mow in boring silence. When we show up to church with our hearts unprepared by prayer, we are not ready; we are not listening. Can the Lord still get ahold of us? Yes, but it's much harder when our ears and hearts aren't tuned in to His voice. If we've been feeding off of HBO all day Saturday, the Bible doesn't have much appeal. Do you want to be fed spiritually when you open your Bible and when you go to church? Pray. Pray before your Bible reading and ask God to open your eyes to something that you need that day. Pray before you go to church that the Lord would work mightily in your heart that day. Proverbs 1:20 tells us that, "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets." In other words, she can be easily found by anyone who is looking for her. God doesn't hide his desires for us, but we often will not see it until we are looking.
2. Get Up
There was one semester in college where I took physical fitness first thing in the morning. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Being that I didn't really have to get dressed, I rolled out of bed with just enough time to throw on PE clothes and rush to class still groggy. I, however, was not prepared for the intensity of what was coming. As a result, I did not get from that class what I could have had I been physically and mentally prepared. Don't let Sunday morning be just another weekend morning, with church as an afterthought. Get up and prepare yourself. It may be tempting to think that you don't need to do your devotions since you'll be in church that day, but you NEED them.
3. Dress Up
I'm not going to tell what you should and should not wear to church. I remember being told in speech class to dress with respect to what you are doing, who you are doing it for, and the level of respect you desire from others. Much of that is subjective, but I know what it means to me. I'm still going to wear my best, what I believe to be fitting to the office that God has called me. It will affect the sobriety with which I enter into the events of the day. I shouldn't dress simply with respect to others, but to please the Lord. I should dress modestly in all meanings of the word, not trying to impress or draw attention to myself.
4. Pick Up
Bring someone with you! Call or text them and ask them now. We can't just expect the pastor to do all the inviting. We can't just wait for them to feel the need to be in church. If they're unsaved, they may never feel that need; and if we're aren't excited enough about going to church to want them to go with us, they will notice. In John 1:41-45, Andrew finds Peter and brings him to Jesus, and Philip brings Nathaniel to Jesus. Who brought you to Jesus? Who have you brought to Jesus? Part of your preparations for this Sunday, and every Sunday, should be to think of who you can invite or bring with you.
Here are some great strategies that you can use this Sunday to make the most out of the Lord's day: Show Up- be faithful, Fuel Up- allow your spirit to be fed, Clean Up- routinely seek forgiveness of sins, Step Up- fill in the gap in the ministry, Warm Up- speak to the others and be a blessing, Look Up- get your eyes off yourself and see what God wants done.
Can the Lord do something great in church this Sunday? Absolutely, yes! Don't just watch for Him to work in someone else's heart, look diligently for what He has planned for you!
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