Make the Most of Sunday
As Christians, the Bible makes it quite clear the importance of gathering together. As has been previously written, the church is an assembly of those called-out by God. Verses such as Hebrews 10:25 emphasize “not neglecting to meet together”, the book of Acts repeatedly shows Christians gathering together, and books such as 1 Corinthians give great instructions on how the church should act as they gather together for worship. So we know that it is common that the church will regularly gather to worship and to encourage one another in our following of Jesus.
Without intentionality though, the gathering together can begin to feel routine. We can move away from encountering God through worship, prayer, and hearing from His word. It can instead be replaced with obligation, or even duty.
If gathering with the Church on a Sunday isn’t a routine, the busyness or the concerns of everyday life can begin to crowd out a whole-hearted worship of God. You know you need to be with God’s people, but you aren’t getting everything out of it once you get there.
Here are some tips to make the most of a Sunday worship gathering.
1) Pray
Let’s begin with the basics. If you want to more authentically encounter God while gathering together, pray that He would help you to grow spiritually through it. “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). It’s a wonderful, God-honoring prayer to ask that God would help you grow in Christlikeness because of the ministry and the gathering of the Church.
2 ) Get Enough Sleep
I’ve said on multiple occasions that Sunday morning is a Saturday night decision. That is, if you stay out really late, or stay up late, on a Saturday you will likely wake up groggy and tired. It will hinder your ability to focus during the service, and to intentionally follow other suggestions you will find here. It’s quite clear from research that we are able to give our best (be it to an exam, presentation, work) when we are well rested. Should we not give God our best as well?
3) Be On Time
If something is important to you, you show up on time. If you had an important job interview you would get there on time. If it was an exam for further study (think GRE, MCAT, LSAT, etc.) you would arrive early and be ready when the exam started. If your boss expects you to work at 8am, if you routinely show up 10-15 minutes late it won’t be long before they are addressing this issue, or that you’ll be looking for a new job. Is the worship of God, and the gathering with God’s people high enough on your priority list that you will be there as the gathering begins?
Set your alarm early enough to let you wake up, eat, get dressed, get your family ready to go (if applicable). Leave early enough to arrive at church without feeling rushed. Anytime I rush to get to a meeting it always takes a few minutes for my brain to settle and allow me to focus on why I’m there. Get there early, and allow your mind and heart to be settled and ready to worship your God.
When you arrive late you also miss the opportunity to talk with, to encourage, and be encouraged by others in the worship gathering. Different elements of the service are also designed to help you better encounter God. The call to worship sets the stage, a theme from our first song of worship may influence how you respond to the following songs. Our congregational prayers help to process our worship and prepare our hearts for the hearing of the word. The whole service works together, and when you miss one part it can affect your experience of every other part of the service as well.
4) Worship Whole-heartedly
So many potential headings that could have been used, but all summed up in the phrase worship whole-heartedly. Sing loudly, raise hands, clap, even dance before the Lord. I think many people can think too much of what those around them will think if they respond in a particular way during worship. Ephesians 5:19-20 does say that one element of our worship is that we are singing to one another, that is we are reminding each other of what is true. So in one sense each other is an audience during worship, but of course God is our ultimate object of worship. When you worship, do so from your heart and let your actions and motions during worship match that of your heart posture before God.
5) Focus and Engage
Consider putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” to avoid any notifications, or things that can steal your focus during the service
During times of prayer, we’ve all experienced our mind wondering to other things at times. To guard against that, focus on what is happening in that moment: you and the rest of the congregation are going before the throne of grace. God in all of his glory is seated on it and together we are interceding for one another and praying for God to work in our lives. Follow guided prayers in your mind. The “amen” at the end isn’t just a formality, it's affirming your agreement with the prayer that was just uttered. So focus on the throne as the church prays together.
Listen and read. As God’s word is read, open up a copy and follow along. The emphasis during this part of the service isn’t on the one speaking, but is on God’s word that is being opened. So read along with the text, see how the one preaching is drawing understanding and meaning from the text, he’s even teaching you how to do it when you sit alone with your Bible throughout the week. And don’t just hear during the service, but labor to listen. Allow the words spoken to change your thinking, to encourage you, to provoke you to action.
Take notes if it will help you focus, or retain what you’ve learned. And I’m not thinking about the type of notes that you might take as you sit in a class, where you are hoping to capture every statement just as it is uttered. These types of notes can distract you from being carried along and to fully comprehend what you are hearing. At the same time, I’ve walked out of meetings without writing anything down and then quickly forgot what I learned or what the next steps I had to complete. As God brings to your mind a big takeaway, or a conviction is brought to your mind, or he prompts you to take a step of faith, jot that idea down real quick.
These could all be summarized by saying that the gathering of the church aren’t supposed to be a passive experience. Instead we very intentionally take actions, focus our minds on why we are there, and engage with every element of the service
6) Have Meaningful Conversations
It can be hard having conversations with others. The temptations are to stay on the surface level, or just to stick to talking with those who we already know and are friends with. How would our conversations be different if we were looking at ways to encourage others, to pray for them, or to encourage them to better follow Jesus?
Where else is there a community that genuinely wants to see each other thrive and remain faithful in all areas of your life? Yet if we aren’t willing to ask one another how we are truly doing, we can’t encourage each other appropriately as well. Don’t miss the opportunity to encourage one another both before and after a gathering of the church for worship.
7) Serve
This may seem a little counterintuitive because you are tempted to think that as you serve it might distract you from worshiping. That can be a challenge some weeks. At the same time, I read one Pastor describe it this way, “One of the reasons why we might think we’re not getting enough out of church is that we’re not putting enough in.” When you meet practical needs within your church, it has a way of increasing your commitment to it, you have some skin in the game. You sacrificed your time, your energy, maybe even your preferences, to see this gathering happen. As a result, you receive more out of it as well. So volunteer and serve shoulder to shoulder with others, that together you can grow in holiness and a love for God.
Conclusion
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is a great starting point. I pray for you that this coming week you will desire to make the most of your Sunday worship gathering. That this week you would be encouraged by the other Christians gathered, and that your holiness and love of God would grow as you intentionally take action, and seek him whole-heartedly in your worship.