How do we prepare for church and the activities that occur on Sunday? For those who have a teaching or leading responsibility then preparation and prayer for the meeting is essential.
Those who teach God’s word will have spent hours preparing the passage in the Bible as well as praying for the people he or she will be teaching. Those who teach God’s word have a great responsibility to present the passage from the Bible in a truthful and interesting way. This will vary with the age and background of the listeners.
Those who will lead the congregation to the presence of God will prepare the order of service so that we will all acknowledge that we are meeting in the presence of the Lord. This is a solemn moment when the service leader begins the service either by reminding us from the Bible that God is present or commending our meeting to Him and our own preparation.
Bible readers will practice reading as well as understanding something of the context of the passage. When Paul wrote to Timothy he said he was to ‘devote himself to the public reading of Scripture.’ (1 Timothy 4:13). The word ‘devote’ implies, ‘the previous preparation of the passage.’ I come prepared to read the ‘words God breathed.’
As we gather together we recognise that we are the people of God. ‘He is our God and we are the people of his pasture’ as Psalm 95 says. This Psalm also reminds us that we come into His presence with singing and joy for, ‘The Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods.’
As we gather together old and young we will find, from time to time that we may not like a song or something in the service. It is good to remember then that like a family, we will appreciate and enter into the action or song that is appropriate for other members of the family. We could think of ourselves as a grandparent appreciating something that one of our grandchildren enjoys. We enjoy it with them. Likewise the young person will appreciate that this is something that another person may like.
It is a good practice for everyone to prepare for the service. One way to do this is to read the passages of Scripture that will be taught at the service or lesson.
Of course the gathering does not come to an end with the last prayer. Our after service meeting time is an important part of serving one another. This could be in the form of welcoming new people, beginning new friendships with other people and looking out for people who may be standing alone.
Another opportunity to serve is to discuss with the Bible teacher the passage of Scripture or talking with one another about Scripture or a sharing in the work of God.
We do not want church to become a routine. It is the meeting of the people of God with the Lord of the Universe. What we are doing is preparing for the eternal meeting with God and His people for eternity.