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INTRODUCTION
ILLUS: When Soviet President Khrushechev came to the USA in the 1950’s for his famous and
notorious visit, his stay was over a Sunday. President Eisenhower invited him to attend church
with him at Gettysburg Presbyterian. The Red leader declined - but Eisenhower went anyway, he
wouldn’t miss church.
I trust that going to church is a priority for you. You are here today. It should be a priority
for everyone. But going to church is not like going to a ball game, or a Doctor’s appointment,
or to work, or a meeting of some sort. Something’s are very different about going to church -
spiritual nature, divine purpose. Which presents unique tasks that we need to do to get the most and
give God the most out of going to church. TEXT: James 1:22-22.
1. What to do Before Church
- “Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of
wickedness...”
- Getting ready for church is hectic if you have family, alot to do by 9:15.
- In our busyness of Sunday, as we put on our Sunday best, we must put off our weekly
worst.
ILLUS: “putting aside” talking off old dirty clothes -
farmers chores clothes.
- To put on our Sunday best is more than good clothes, but a clean heart. Psalm
66:18 “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear”
- Thus, worship requires time of confession. “putting aside all filthiness”
- Sin is a serious barrier for worship, fellowship, instruction from God.
- When you prepare in the morning at home, as you come to the church, and as you
enter the sanctuary, prepare for the service to come, put aside sin. Make an
active prayer time of confession.
- Have you taken off your sins today? Have you a time of confession?
2. What to do During Church
- “in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save... souls.”
- An illustration from Parable of the Sower, the Word is the seed, human heart the
soil.
- The word is great and powerful. It saves our souls. Hearing the word is a matter of
life and death. If we don’t hear it we can’t save our soul.
- The human heart is the soil. We need to let God’s word be planted into our hearts,
to become a part of us. Humbly open ourselves to the teaching, listen and accept its
truthfulness. To hear the word carefully, be open to it, allow it to digest in your mind
and heart, and obey it.
- There are so many things to do in church
ILLUS: You can watch others, day dream, sleep, play with cell phone, text, kids
read S.S. paper. Fill in the “o” in the bulletin
- Do you hear the word in church? Hear the word in the music, see it lived by the
saints, hear it preached and taught.
- Preaching is not discussion, dialogue, or a speech, but an earnest charge. Old
timers spoke of “unction” = earnestness - mean what we say, do what we
say, and feel what we say.
QUOTES: G. Campbell Morgan: Three essentials of a sermon: “truth, clarity,
passion.” John Stott: the preacher must “marry truth and eloquence, reason
and passion, light and fire.”
ILLUS: I enjoy preaching, saw some computer terms applied to preaching
Cyberspace - where people go when the preaching is boring. Co-processor
- the pastor’s wife who edits the sermons. Database - the people in the
church who know all the stats of the church and tell you when you get them
wrong in a sermon (I know who you are). On-line where your job will be if you
don’t come to the pulpit prepared. And this week PC “Please
come” - when you can’t find your sermons notes on the computer.
- Preaching is not offering a series of opinions, but answers from God Himself. Preaching
is loud and clear, the listener goes away knowing what he heard, it rings in his ears
and heart. This is not sensationalism or emotionalism, but straightforward proclamation.
- The listener needs to feel what is said - mind, emotions, and your actions are to be
challenged and changed.
- But the preacher is only the instrument; the Holy Spirit is the empowerer
- During church receive the word humbly - it will change your life, save your soul.
- This is to be better than any meeting you ever attended, because God spoke to you through
His Holy Word. The Word permeates your soul with God’s eternal message. Take notes,
write in Bible.
- “Preach the Word” 2 Tim. 4:2; “we preach Christ crucified” (I
Cor. 1:23); “preach the unfathomable riches of Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 3:8)
- Do you attend church to hear the Word of God? Do you let the Word speak to you during church?
3. What to do After Church
- “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who
delude themselves”
- There must be results that count. Results is the bottom line.
ILLUS: Business world - plan, strategize, market - all to bring results. Sales,
profit, pay shareholders. Expand and grow. Business are reworking their plans now.
- Before church we put off sin, during church we humbly hear the powerful eternal word
of God SO THAT it will bring results in our life - we are to do the word. We actually
practice what is preached.
- Hearing is the midpoint, but not the end. - Doing the Word is the end!
- This is often where the contemporary church is lacking - we are spectators being feed
but poor practioneers. Too much spiritual education is dangerous if not followed by
obedience, life changes, life application. People can be “Bible Studied to death”
ILLUS: Audit courses in college - just sit and listen, don’t have to do work.
Sure was nice to do that in August with Pastor Jeriah in Counseling class.
- You can not audit Christianity: “prove yourselves doers of the word”
- What do you do with what you hear here? Just hearing doesn’t change you, you must
act!
- Study Psalm 119 - 176 verses filled with action words on how to respond to the Word:
keep, serve, walk, live, observe, cleave.
- Don’t walk out of church nonchalantly, like nothing happened, or will. Walk renewed,
with a calling to answer, a new gift to use in your everyday life, a new promise to claim
as yours.
- What are you going to do this week differently because of God’s Word you heard today?
ILLUS: Maybe: Confession time before Church, start taking notes, read notes, etc. Reading
faithfully the Bible, thinking about message on Wednesday for checkup.
CONCLUSION
The Bible really gives us very few details about going to church. It gives us spiritual boundaries
and characteristics, but a lot of freedom of form:
Nothing about dress, or the time, order of worship, size of pulpit, or how to do music, how to take
the offering, how many times to pray, preach with a tie or in Hawaiian shirt, nurseries,
children’s church, pews, S.S. materials (David Cook vs. RBP), bulletins, how to do powerpoint...
None of that - up to culture, freedom of community
QUOTE: Late Francis Schaeffer, treated at Mayo for cancer died in 1984, Great Christian thinker
ahead of his time, wrote: “anything the New Testament does not command in regard to church
form is a freedom to be exercised under the leadership of the Holy Spirit for that particular time
and place.” (20th Century, 66)
Our text today gives us NT principles for going to church, James tells us how to get the most of out going
to church.
-- Confess sins, listen intently, and practice what you heard - get results.
How well do you attend? What do you do before, during, after church?
Let us also add by NT command, that God must get the most out of our going to church also.
Ephesians 3:21 “to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all
generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Church Theme Verse: 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.”
Thanksgiving and Christmas season special time of year. 2008 is at our doorstep. God is at work
at FBC, let us make the most of what God want to do.
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