SITTING UP OR LYING DOWN?

A Red Cross representative was contacting local churches for planning purposes in the event of a disaster. Answering the phone, the pastor said, “Please, Ma’am, How may I help you?”

“I’m calling on behalf of the Red Cross,” she said, “and I would like to know how many people might be able to lie down and sleep in your facilities in the event of a disaster.”

Thinking for a moment about what might be possible, he responded with a smile, “I don’t know how many might be able to lie down and sleep comfortably, but I know that about nine hundred sleep sitting upright every Sunday morning.”

Sleeping in church is a byproduct for many tired Sunday morning worshipers. Whether it is a sermon that is not mentally challenging or spiritually stimulating or the result of insufficient sleep or rest is not the point. We go to church to worship God and recognize our need to gather together in His name. We set aside time and things when we attend church that normally concerns us and focus minds and hearts on the greatness of our Creator – His holiness, power and grace, and our unworthiness, our need for His grace, and our dependence upon Him to meet our every need.

Gathering together for worship is our duty and responsibility and must be done with a sense of expectation, eagerness, and excitement.

Prayer:  Lord, may we enter into Your presence with praise and thanksgiving, coming together to honor Your goodness, grace, and glory. May we do so with expectations. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:      Everything on earth will worship you; they will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs. Psalm 66:4