Hebrews chapters 10 and 12 display a grand vision of Church. As we gather as God’s people, we’re also meeting supernaturally with the heavenly crowd already praising Jesus face to face. It’s the crowd which we’ll join fully one day in the future.
Since God is doing that when Christians meet together, surely we want to make the most of Church? Being part of the Church is a “Habit of Grace” essential for our Christian lives.
So when it comes to making the most of church, what advice can we share with one another? Here are two suggestions:
1. Take Church into your Week
2. Take a moment in your Week to prepare for Church
What do we mean by “Take Church into your Week?”
On Sunday we sing praises to God. Why not continue singing through the week? Christian music helps the truths of the Bible settle in our hearts. If you haven’t already got a Christian playlist, why not try something for all the family, or some songs we sing regularly at St Andrew’s?
Likewise, on Sunday we hear from the Bible. You could make meeting with Jesus in your week as simple as turning to the same Bible passage as Sunday, lingering on those verses and praying that God would help you respond as the sermon challenged you.
In the same way, we also pray for our world and ourselves when we meet. If you’re unsure how to pray in the week, why not pray for some of the same world issues prayed for on Sunday?
But we mustn’t forget we’re part of Church together. Perhaps the best way to be God’s people together is to join a Home Group or consider joining one of our Serving Teams. We need to be Christians alongside one another! Unsure of where you could serve? Just get in touch with the Office and we can arrange a chat with one of the Staff Team.
In all these ways, we continue praising Jesus through the week, together with his people.
But how can we also “Take a moment in your Week to prepare for Church?”
Turning our eyes and tuning our hearts to praise God can take practice. It’s too easy to arrive at church in body, but not in mind! Could you take a few minutes on Friday or Saturday to consider what’s coming on Sunday?
You could read the Bible passage ahead of Sunday and ask God your Father to help you be ready to hear from and receive from him on Sunday.
And you could consider church family members you’ve not seen since last week – or longer. Who do you want to encourage on Sunday? Who do you want to look out for? Who could you pray for?
As we spend time preparing for Sunday, we’ll soon find our Church and Church family – and its very centre, our Lord Jesus Christ – will become more precious to us.
With love in Christ
Tim
