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!
A few years ago, April 2000 to be exact, Bruce Wilkinson took a prayer from 1 Chronicles and wrote a book on it. The book isn't long, only 96 pages,…
Following the conquest by the nation o f Assyria, most of the people of Israel were deported to Assyria. In their place, Assyria imported captives from other countries to live…
Life's great moments rarely receive a glance from the world. Positive things go unnoticed by the masses while negative events make the news every hour. If you want to make…
I believe that if you were to ask a number of people on the street to describe "the ideal woman," you would get an equal number of answers depending on…
A remarkable event in the ministry of Jesus was His transfiguration. He was transfigured before Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:1-2). Joined by Moses and Elijah, then exalted by the…
When we are young, our lives hold so much promise. Those of us who are older have seen young people who we believed would accomplish great things, but who because…
It is easy for us emphasize one side of David's character and ignore or minimize the other. The truth is, David did have many weaknesses. Can we imagine the selfishness…
False teachershave plagued the work of God in every age in the history of the world. Satan was the first false teacher telling Eve that God did not really mean…
What's the first thing you do in time of trouble? Everybody has problems from time to time, but not everyone tries to solve their problems in the same way. What…
As Christians we celebrate Christ's resurrection, but we do it every Sunday, not just one Sunday out of the year, because our faith is centered in this event of history.…
