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Guarding Your Way
Posted By Jennifer
We go to church on Sunday morning. Always. Well, always when we are home, not usually when we are on vacation or away from home. In fact, just last week we were recalling how we have always gone. From before we were married when we attended church together and through those young married years, parenthood, etc etc. It has been a rare occasion when we stayed home just because we wanted to sleep in, or it was too cold or too hot or too rainy. In fact, I can’t really remember many specific times, but I’m sure that there were some, especially in those younger married years.
Last week we patted ourselves on the back for our exemplary attendance record. This week. . . .
Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.Proverbs 16:18
This week, our kids were sick. The idea that we would all just stay home was seriously considered. Honestly pondered. Generally when a child is sick, one of us goes to church and the other stays home. When we decided that our little one should definitely stay home, we had to decide which of us would stay home. I will be honest and say that it is nice to stay in your PJs for a few extra hours on a Sunday, so we are usually fighting about who gets to stay home, since it’s doesn’t happen all that often.
Why has being in church been the rule for us, rather than the exception?
The highway of the upright avoids evil;
he who guards his way guards his life.Proverbs 16:17
We have guarded our way. We’ve always gone where we were needed. As an engaged couple and into our first year of marriage, we attended a small-ish Sunday School class focused on preparation for marriage. Before we were twenty-five, we were both teaching Sunday School to the junior high kids. When we moved to Portland, it was kind of a dry season for us church-wise. In the three years that we lived there, we attended one church for less than six months, another church for about a year and a half, and another for a year. We tried. We persevered. We got involved. None was a perfect fit, but we didn’t give up.
The highway that we have chosen to avoid evil is one with built in accountability. We didn’t give ourselves the choice to stay home. We were either serving, or in a situation where at least one person would probably notice our absence and miss our presence.
I am not trying to say that not going to church each and every time the doors are open makes you a bad person. I am also not trying to say that going to church frequently makes you a good person. Jesus has taken care of that, if we have trusted in Him. God’s grace takes care of those times that we are out of church by our own choice as well. However, I will stand behind the idea that regular church attendance should be a priority for a lot of reasons: time to worship God, an opportunity to be taught from God’s word, fellowship with other believers, an observance of the Lord’s Day.
How do you safeguard your time with the Lord? What benefits have you reaped from regular church attendance? If you’re struggling with it, what can you do to guard your way?
Feb 14th, 2007
Hey Jennifer-
I try to make sure that my time in church is time praiseing and worshipping the Lord. So…I have to close my eyes when singing. I don’t want to be worried about how others perceive my voice. I just really want to feel what I am saying.
I also have started taking notes during the sermon. I have found it really helps me focus on what my God is trying to say to me through my pastor.
Blessings to you on this Valentine’s Day,
Jennifer
Church attendance is a priority for us too, although we’ve had some seasons where it wasn’t easy to be consistent. We currently go to a very large church, where it would be easy to be missed or easy to remain uninvolved, so we’ve made specific efforts to be serving in some way (even when it would be easier to just show up Sunday mornings and that’s it). For us, probably the biggest benefit is that we are passing along an outlook and a value to our children: being involved in Christian community is important, it’s a necessity, not just an option.
Great post Jennifer and it gives one a lot to think about. Church attendance is a major priority for us. In fact we use to go more often - Wednesday, also Sunday night, morning prayer, etc… than we do now, but it is still a major priority. I also like the fellowship and accountability of attending. I like the people who are willing to pray for me and my family if we have a need. I like connecting with God in a different way than I normally do at home. I like hearing a different perspective of a scripture passage that I have read. There are so many reasons why I attend church and make it a priority. Thanks again!
I almost always attend church, but sometimes it just isn’t possible. When I had two little ones under the age of 2, I didn’t go much at all. Now that they are all older, it’s a little bit easier.
I always feel so much better after a service. I don’t believe that you have to attend church to worship the Lord, but the sense of community it gives me is wonderful.
Going to church is a priority for me, too, as is serving. I think the most important thing for me about going every Sunday is to connect with the body of believers that has become my family. The corporate aspect of worship means something to me and has since I first began going. To sit in a room filled with others who believe and agree and listen to the Word of God - that’s a privilege I’m thankful for here.
We go to church unless we have sick children. And then, depending on who is sick, one or both of us will stay home. However, for the past six months, it has been a pretty empty experience and has taken a lot of discipline. We are members of a (very conservative) United Methodist church, and we had a change-of-pastors (chosen by the Bishop) over the summer that has not gone well. We are struggling with the possibility of making a change - like about a quarter of our congregation has already done.
Good day to you!
Church attendance had dominated my life since my conversion to Christ (2 May 1976). Having made several moves and changing churches, we’ve had a lot of different church experiences. Church (the building), is not a totally bad thing (I was saved in a Church building). It is NOT, however, THE Church. The people make up the church……..not necessarily those in attendance in the building, but TRUE believers.
After MUCH study of the TITHE, and coming to the realization that the “church” has been perpetuating the lie of its part in the Christian life, I’ve taken up further study of the various laws in the Old and the New Testament.
Unfortunately, the pastors of today, following mainstream religious orders (Presby, Method, Luth, Bapt, and even the Disciples of Christ), are not telling the truth on many issues. They have distorted the Gospel to the point of NO freedom in Christ is apparent. Since leaving the church two weeks ago, I’m finding a renewal of the Spirit I received so many years ago. I’m also finding folk to minister to (one on one) outside the church building.
Just as people go to school and spend years under a tutor, then go out, get jobs and go to work; Christians need to grow up and get out in the world with their completed knowlege, being led by the Holy Spirit, sharing, helping, and spreading the Word.
As I searched for TRUTH in the Church (building), I found UNtruths preached from the pulpit, Children’s stories giving the youth incorrect conceptions of our Deity, and I got to the point of dang near screaming at the crap I saw going on. Worship for me was no longer to be had in the formal church setting. It seems that whenever a group of people meet together, the first thing they do is Make Rules. As far as the Bible goes, there are enough rules already made……..but people just aren’t satisfied with the Bible alone.
Seek Truth, read scripture, and pray for guidance……………see if you’re not lead out of the “Church”, too!
dwaddles@aol.com