Church, the point of it all

10:49 AM

As many of you rightly guessed, the point of the show, staring Mary Beth, Anna Joy and Maria Rose several weeks ago, was to point out all that distracts us from going to and enjoying church. I personally have struggled a lot with this issue for a number of reasons. To be honest, even though we go to a really neat church with homeschooling families and elders who preach straight though books of the bible, I often find myself wishing I could stay home.

Sometimes, when one of our elders is teaching on a familiar passage of scripture, I want to pipe up that I have heard all of the point that he is making plus some instead of listening and hearing the message that God wants me to hear. One of the things that I have learned about sermons, even boring ones, is that if I will just open my ears and listen, I will learn something. Sometimes it has nothing to do with what the elder actually said.

Another reason that I have sometimes dragged myself to church, is that there are very few people with whom I feel connected. Most people are too busy to see us any other time other then Sunday mornings and that is hard sometimes. Sometimes I just am tired of feeling left out so I just don’t want to go.

Another reason we often find ourselves not wanting to go to church, is that we stay up late the night before. Saturday, for many of us, is one of our only free days of the week. During the week we have school, chores, activities and a thousand things that we have to get done. On Saturday we often have at least a few hours just to relax and enjoy ourselves. There is nothing wrong with staying up late to play a game, watch a movie, or reading but we need to make sure that we are not making ourselves totally unfit for church the next morning.

So what about you? What distracts you from fully enjoying church? What can we do to overcome that?

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Sarah Holman lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Scott. When not working on her next novel, she can usually be found hanging out with her family, reading, or hiking at state parks with her husband. If there is anything adventuresome about her life, it’s because she serves a God with a destiny bigger than anything she could have imagined. To keep up to date on releases, join her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/bitBIf

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2 comments

  1. JessicaJanuary 23, 2009 at 11:24 AM

    First off, before I say anything to what you actually wrote, I wanted to correct one spelling mistake you made and one word that you missed. (Because you said you wanted us to do that.)

    "One of the things I have learned about sermons, even boring ones, IS that if I will just open up my ears and listen, I will learn something."
    -You forgot the word "IS"

    and...
    "There is nothing wrong with staying up LIGHT to play a game..."
    It should say "Late" not "Light."

    Now to actually comment on what you wrote. I have problems with not wanting to go to church for that exact same reason. That I don't really have any friends to talk to. I mean, I have plenty of elderly people that I love and talk with, and I have one girl the same age as me who I talk to because I want to be an outreach to her and bless her because her family doesn't really make her feel special, but that is it.

    I don't really have problems with the staying up late problem because, especially on Saturday's, I try hard to get in bed at ten o'clock. which means I start getting ready normally at around nine-thirty. Brushing my teeth and getting into my pj's. Giving my hair a quick brush, etc. I do stay up late sometimes, but hardly ever on Saturday's.

    Some of the things that distract me during church are...
    1. Little kids. Sometimes when a family with little kids sits in front of us, I have a hard time concentrating on the sermon. Little kids are just so cute!
    2. My brothers. As long as they are separated, they will behave; but sometimes they are antsy and just can't sit still.
    3.cloudy days. For some reason on days that are cloudy, even when I slept all the way through the night, I end up yawning a lot and not being able to fully focus even when I am not tired.

    So, those are some of the things that distract me during a sermon. Normally, I don't do them intentionally. For the most part, I take notes for every sermon. But sometimes, I just can't seem to concentrate. :)

    Glad to have you back!
    Jessica

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  2. RachelJanuary 23, 2009 at 3:03 PM

    Things that distract me are not having the right attitude when I come to church. If I have had an argument with a family member before coming in to church, I can still be a little angry/annoyed. Then I will continue to think on it during the service. Other things are my headaches from allergies and migraines, lack of interest in the topic or passage, worries or things that need to be done later, etc. I try to take a few minutes before the service to get my mind and heart in the right place by praying and quieting my heart and mind down. That really helps me. I also take notes on a little notepad I keep in my bible case and that really helps me to focus and concentrate. It also helps me to remember the bible more and what I have learned from the sermons. =:)

    Hope those helped!

    Blessings!
    Rachel

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