In Acts 20:28, elders are reminded of the seriousness of their role in the Church when Paul by inspiration says, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” The magnitude of this responsibility becomes even more apparent when we take time to realize that each and every member of this body has a soul that is precious to God and to us, and also that each soul will eventually spend eternity somewhere. Our goal and our aim is to shepherd the Glenpool church of Christ toward spiritual maturity and understanding and by example to lead each person to fully accept the Will of God through obedience to the Word in order that we can, with great anticipation, look forward to that eternal home with Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Lately, we have become concerned with the attendance at our Sunday morning service. We know that this period has been filled with illnesses, travel and work related situations, so we can account for a portion of the numbers being down. We do, however, feel that some encouragement and some reminders are appropriate as we look at the significance and importance of the Lord’s Day. Please know that these thoughts are given with a heart-felt love for each and every one of you.
Years ago, it seemed to be a bit easier to make Sunday a priority and to be in worship. There seemed to be fewer distractions for people to consider. Today, Satan is working much harder to change our priorities. Today, our youth sports programs treat Sunday like any other day to engage our kids in tournaments and even regular season games. Our golf courses are full on Sundays. Many good wholesome activities now are offered on our weekends. Also, with busy work schedules today, many look for family activities on the weekend or just a time to “sleep in.” We are not knocking any of these activities. We just want each member of the body of Christ to give thought to the commitment made when we were baptized into Christ and determine where our real meaningful priorities should be.
Why should we want to be in worship on the first day of the week? First and foremost, we come together on the first day of the week to remember the greatest event in history, the death of Christ. That event becomes even more meaningful when we realize that God raised Jesus from the dead as He said He would, and that because of Jesus, we have the hope of eternal life and can have our sins forgiven through obedience to His will. We also have the wonderful opportunity to build up and edify each other. When we fail to attend, at least two things are missing. We lose the opportunity to share and build up each other, and others have no opportunity to build us up.
Brethren, we need each other and the Christian blessings we can be to each other. We are blessed with wonderful teachers and a very knowledgeable and capable preacher who share God’s Word each week. We all certainly need this instruction and the encouragement that the wisdom of God brings us. The songs we sing allow us to praise God with our hearts and through our lips. Our prayer time allows us to share with God the innermost needs for our lives. God gave His only Son for us because He made us in His image, He loves us and he wants to share His home with us eternally. Shouldn’t that make the Lord’s Day special? Shouldn’t we do our best to give of ourselves back to Him? Please think on these things.
— The Elders
4/3/13