And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another,

especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25

This passage reminds us not just of the second coming of Jesus but also stresses that we must not “neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some.” For the Christian there is nothing more meaningful and significant than the church of Jesus gathering together to worship Him in community and fellowship. I remember my parents would start preparing us for Sunday worship during the week. Whether it be memorizing our scripture verses for Sunday School or even going over the previous Sunday’s sermon or Sunday school lesson, we were constantly excited about being with other believers. I was reminded by somebody yesterday about being excited about vision. People constantly talk about something that excites them. Does weekend gatherings with fellow believers excite you?

I would suggest that if corporate worship is as significant as the Scriptures tell us it is (Ex. 19; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:17-34; 1 Cor. 14:26-39; Heb. 10:25) then we should prepare for it. Just as much as Pastor prepares hours at length for his message or the worship team members spend countless hours practicing the songs they sing, each one of us have a responsibility to prepare our hearts and pray for the presence of God to be revealed in the hearts of people. Pray that you will personally not be a stumbling block to worship. Prepare yourself to be engaged fully on Sunday morning. While worship is going on, don’t just be a bystander and observer; be a participant. Join in worship, respond to the move of the spirit. This response can happen through the lifting of hands or singing along with the worship team. When the pastor preaches, are your ears and hearts open to receiving the conviction of the Holy Spirit? Are you writing down notes in your journal or phone?

Start early: Practice family worship and personal worship throughout the week. This in-fact prepares your heart for corporate worship.

Get sleep: Sleepy heads make drowsy and lazy worshippers. Friday nights are usually filled with late night activity but believers should practice Saturday night quiet time by resting our hearts to be active for Sunday morning worship! This is being intentional about not turning on Netflix or catching up on your TV show late on Saturdays.

Be intentional about community: I am amazed when some of our nurses and doctors work all night till 7am and still show up to church at 10 with their kids ready to worship. I notice how they are also the most active and present. I love that! If you are not working or physically unable to come on Sunday mornings, I urge you to not “neglect meeting together.”

Show up early: There’s nothing more encouraging when we show up early and spend time praying over what God has in store for us. I love that all our Sunday teams arrive before 9am to get spiritually ready for the day. Preparing our hearts to receive from God makes a huge difference

The drive: Do you know the drive-time to church is the time the enemy uses to distract us. More arguments and misunderstandings happen on Sunday mornings than any other morning of the week. Don’t allow the enemy a foothold. On the car-ride to church, sing a song together, and have conversations about the Bible or the things of God.

The Sunday morning service is a part of our weekly activity hence there is a temptation to treat it as common and routine. I pray that we will teach our children and model for them the importance of community. Cease every opportunity to be in the house of the Lord as we declare with David, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Listen to this message by Jason and Ashley