Mark Twain in chapter five of his book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, wrote of Tom at a church service: The service began with a list of announcements which he thought would go on “to the crack of doom.” He talked about the prayer which was generous in its detail and he resented it whenever anything new was added in. The preacher’s sermon “droned along [so] monotonously… and was so prosy that many a head began to nod.
This reminds us of what happens when we come together to worship. The announcements are a little long, the songs aren’t to our liking, the preacher is a little boring. Some of us even do things to keep ourselves awake. We are at a different time. Forty years ago people didn’t ask, why do I have to go to church (worship)? Things have changed, culturally and intellectually so that we look at life a little differently. Sunday morning is now seen as a time to relax. If we don’t like the way things are where we presently worship, we will look for a place where things are the way we want them to be. Most people when they think about worship do not think about it as essential or the most critical thing they will do during the week.
We come together every Lord’s Day to be in the presence of God. Even though it may not look like much, and even when we don’t leave with a feeling of excitement, what happens during worship is of great importance because this is where we approach Mount Zion and we offer our praise to the One who is worthy of all praise. May we never as Christians take this opportunity in a light manner!
“Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes [tactics] of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). We are participants in a…
Have you ever sat in front of a fire place or around a campfire? In the midst of that fire the embers continue to burn brightly. However, if you drag one away from the fire, its glow will eventually fade away. In the same way, you and I as Christians need to gather, as often as possible, with our brothers and sisters in Christ in order to keep our own spiritual fire burning.
Last week we looked at Jesus’ words to His disciples in the upper room and how, according to Him, we may know that we truly love Him. As we noticed…
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I think most if not all of us enjoy a story with a good ending. The physician, Luke, records for us in the third chapter of the book of Acts,…
There are three verses in John 14 that I would like for us to examine this evening. These are among the most interesting verses we find in God’s Word. I…
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