Hi Friends:
This came to me on Facebook yesterday in my news feed and I share it with you! It’s one of those cartoons that makes you think as you look at it and ponder the deeper meaning. In this case, it’s about the priority of God and worship in your life. It is a picture of a young man in football uniform telling his coach he can’t make the game Sunday morning because he is going to be an acolyte at church (an assistant for a worship service).
Sunday morning I was with a delightful group of people at their church as the substitute pastor. They have a long history in the community but have struggled lately and do not have a full time pastor. Attendance was about “half full” Sunday and as I drove home I went by a soccer fields and I had to look twice! It was two fields put together and it was packed! There were kids running every which way and parents on blankets and lawn chairs. The church I attended was half empty, the soccer field was full! And I thought how sad that the soccer people have finally found an opening in the week when practice and matches can be scheduled: SUNDAY MORNING! And it’s not just sports that have long infiltrated Sunday morning….it has become just another morning in our world. People work, the retail world is open and ready for you, youth sporting events are scheduled, people sleep in, and life carries on. (Now, to be fair, any number of those soccer families could have attended earlier that morning, the night before or another service at another day/time!)
I remember “back in the day” when stores were closed on Sunday. It used to be a day of rest, where you went to church Sunday morning, had a home cooked meal and then rested for the week ahead. We do have one of the Ten Commandments teaching us “Remember the Sabbath (rest) day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath.” (Exodus 20:8).
So I celebrate the Sunday (or other day) gathering of God’s people for worship! I love a cartoon that gives us a solid reminder of what is important. And I want to add that whether you have a church home or not, God is still love, and God still loves and forgives you. It’s just nice to hear about that love and forgiveness in a Sunday morning church service!
Peace to you,
Pastor Doug
NLS SD
P.S. Don’t forget “altar call” as part of the 4th day spiritual life! Go to the altar to be altered before or after church, or even better when not many are around in the building, and have your prayer time. You will feel the spirit of God.
Eric is our current Webmaster and works on the NLS Communications Team. Raised in Judaism, he found Christ and the New Testament at age 16 in a Southern Baptist Church. He searched many denominations for the real church, only to find the Holy Spirit is present in all of them. He's worked for One for Israel, a group of native Israeli believers who are sharing the gospel in the holy land in Hebrew and is part of the only Hebrew speaking seminary in Israel.
