Join Us as We Celebrate ‘Back-to-Church Sunday’
This Sunday we will celebrate “Back-to-Church Sunday” — an effort to rekindle our enthusiasm for regular attendance at worship services after the pandemic and other distractions derailed our routine for the better part of a year and squeezed us out our Sunday morning regimen. Equally important is our effort to reach out to others and invite them to worship with us.
Now in its 12th year, National Back-to-Church Sunday has never been more critical. People have been distracted, dismissive, detached, and ultimately disconnected from their houses of worship. Even as our world grows more divided and dangerous, we seem to have a hard time getting back to making our faith a top priority.
Ironically, we will celebrate the occasion, not in church, but in nature. We will gather at the Grossniklaus Pavilion, located at 185 Cherry Lane (about a mile from the church, just off of Warner Hill). The service will be followed by a picnic lunch, courtesy once again of our men’s group. We also ask you to help us make the meal complete by bringing a covered dish or dessert. In addition, we invite you to bring a lawn chair so that you can enjoy the service in a casual and comfortable way.
So, why bother getting back to church? Well there are a host of reasons, including a variety of Scripture passages, beginning with I Chronicles 16:29, which states, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” God wants us to be in fellowship with Him and with other believers, and He will bless us when we are obedient to His call.
The Gospel of John offers further incentive with this passage from Chapter 4, Verses 23-24: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth”. God does, indeed seek us, and we find Him when we worship.
The Book of Romans (12:1) suggests an even deeper commitment by urging us to “offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God [because] this is [our] true and proper worship.” Giving of ourselves totally and completely to God is what asks and expects of us.
Hebrews 12:28 offers more encouragement with this passage: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
And finally, from the Gospel of Luke (4:8), Jesus himself says, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
So, as we can see, there is great value in getting “Back to Church,” to a place of safety, comfort, tranquility, assurance, and fellowship to love and worship God.
Please join us this Sunday (and many Sundays that follow) as we prepare for what we firmly believe will be a fruitful and prosperous year of service to the Lord and fellowship with one another.
Until We Meet Again, Be Blessed! – Pastor John