If you are a regular church-goer then Sunday, more than likely, is the day when you gather with others who are on the same spiritual journey as you.
There are many reasons why we do this. To learn, be challenged, and fellowship with others, are to name a few. There are, however, times when this does not happen. It is quite easy to walk away from a Sunday service and feel, was that it?
Whether you have felt like that or you always walk away satisfied, there are three things you can do before Sunday ever happens so that you can get the most out of Sunday (or whichever day you meet).
I break them down to heart, body, and mind.
1) Heart
This may seem obvious, but to get the most out of Sunday, you need to prepare your heart. But what does it mean to prepare your heart?
To prepare your heart begins with prayer. Prayer is about repentance, thanksgiving, petition, lament.
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Consider prayers like this the tenderiser and your heart the meat. Now the Sunday becomes the grill. While not the perfect analogy, I hope you can get the picture.
Sunday is a time when God speaks to His body corporately, which you are a part of. As Greg Boyd writes,
“…our heart conditions our ability to see and understand spiritual truths…”
You need to do your part to set aside the weekly distraction in order to hear what God is saying, which leads us to the second one.
2) Body
I’m not talking about spiritual jumping jacks or shoulder exercises so you can hold your hands up longer. Body has nothing to do with your physical body.
As mentioned previously, your part of the body of Christ. As a member of that body, you need to help the body get ready for what God is saying to His Church. You have just as much of a responsibility to help prepare the body for game day (to use a sports slogan), as anyone else.
Call someone up form your church have coffee, maybe lunch, or a someone for dinner and discuss spiritual matters. If your church has small groups, engage in them. Proverbs states that we are to be,
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17.
A great way to get the most out of Sunday is to engage others with what God is doing in your life, their life, and the church as a wholes life.
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3) Mind
Depending on your tradition, this is either over or underemphasized. In most cases, it’s the latter. Surprisingly, it is almost demonized. Yet, Jesus told us to love him with all our mind (Mark 12:30, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27).
Here’s the thing, it’s easy to be lazy. When you are lazy with your mind on spiritual matters, you do your self a disservice. Most churches nowadays do series. That means you can know the topic of the series and the Scripture before it ever comes. Pick up a commentary and do a little study. Even if you’re not a reader, it’s easy to either read a verse or listen to it. Once you do that, think about it, talk about it, pray about it. You can even find other sermons or podcasts on that Scripture.
Even if you don’t know what is coming next, you know what has happened. Engage the previous Sunday. Talk, pray, and think. Do as much as you can to engage the text and hear what God is speaking to you through it.
If you do these three, I guarantee that you will get the most out of your Sunday experience.
Checkout the resources used in this blog
joshtrombley.com 