It's mid-June, and we are well into summer. School is done for the year, and all the school activities like football, basketball, track, volleyball and all the rest are on a break, at least for most.
With summer break also come trips to the lake, family vacations, and with all those things to distract us, Sunday morning worship tends to be put lower on the priority list than other things.
I think we all understand that the break from school gets shorter and shorter each year, and we need to fill our days with family activities. It’s important that families spend time together as that’s the way they bond and that is what family is about.
In Luke 4:16 it is said about Jesus, “Then he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.” We are called to imitate Jesus so it should be our “custom” to worship regularly.
And as Christians we are instructed to worship our God together as a family as often as possible. For those of us who have a home congregation, we meet there as often as possible, but when we are on the road, it is more difficult to worship because we are not familiar with the congregations in the areas in which we vacation.
Our church communities are our families, and in order to get to know them better, we should spend as much time with them as possible, just as it is with our biological families.
Worship is much more than just spending time with your church family. It gives us the opportunity to thank God for all that we have been given, to pray for those in our circle and the world, and to take some time to step away from the challenges of life and spend the time with our Creator.
So, this summer, as you travel and camp and do all of those things that families do, I would encourage you to find a congregation with whom you can worship. And when you’re home, return to your church family and see what God is doing every day in that place.
I can tell you that your church family misses you when you are not there.
May God bless you this summer as you reacquaint yourself with family and friends and as you take the time to pray and to worship and to thank God for all that God has given you.
Blessings to you all this summer. Be safe, have fun, and see what God can do in your life.
