Make the Most of Sunday

The week's been hard, finally Sunday arrives and we land at church feeling beaten up by circumstances.  In spite of how we feel, how can we make the most of Sunday and bring our best to God, worship him and hear from him?

 Here are some ideas of how to make the most of Sunday!

Sunday starts on Saturday night

• Prepare your heart: listen to worship music; read your Bible; pray; ask God what he wants to say to you.  If you can, pray with someone else, too. 
• Make practical preparations like getting your Bible, bag and offering ready and setting your alarm clock.
• Don't stay up so late that you won't be able to get up in the morning! 
• Work out how much time you need to get ready and what time you need to leave the house to get to church on time. 
• Identify what keeps you from coming to church and see if you can remove the obstacles in advance - ask God and others to help you.

Before 10.30

• Before you even arrive at church, choose your attitude!  Are you ready to worship the Almighty God or are you out of sorts before you even get there?!
• Come early, drink tea, chat with others, enjoy being part of the family.  If you arrive at 10.30 or later you will miss out on vital fellowship (and tea).
• If you are struggling, ask someone to pray with you before the service starts.  We all struggle at times and it's good to know we're not in it alone.
• If you are feeling good, look out for someone who needs encouragement or offer to pray for them.

During the service

• Bring your heart to God in worship.  God is not interested in fancy prayers or religious pomp - he is the pursuer of our hearts.
• Recognise that true worship starts when you stop worrying about what everyone else thinks and start thinking about what will please God.
• Open your heart to Jesus and ask him to come to you afresh.
• Ask yourself "what is God saying to me today"?
• If you find yourself easily distracted, come and sit on the front row. No one will mind!
• Let God open your mind to the Scriptures - he did it for the early disciples, he will do it for you too.
• Respond to the message and receive ministry.  We tend to default to "if in doubt, stay where you are" - challenge this mindset by saying "if in doubt, I will go forward to receive prayer".

After the service

Stick around!  Socialise, chat, make friends, invite someone to your house for a cuppa, or make plans to meet up during the week.