SUNDAY MORNING BEHAVIOR

We understand the concept of behavior and manners. There are acceptable and unacceptable ways to behave in various situations and settings. There is also the fact that our behavior often has an impact on the success or failure of the activity. I believe this is true concerning our worship. There are certain manners or behaviors that can contribute to our time together being effective.

ARRIVE BEFORE TIME TO BEGIN. If you are attending a sporting event, concert, or some other social event, how late do you arrive? Most of us get there early. Those who arrive right on time or a little late are generally unconcerned. This isn’t about those who are occasionally late for unforeseen reasons, but those who are habitually late. For example, the Bible class teacher who is seldom on time is saying to his or her students that the class is not really important when in reality every precious minute of a Bible class is most important.

GREET ONE ANOTHER. “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you” (Philippians 4:21). Greetings are a way of saying that you care about a person. Two-thirds of the epistles or letters of the New Testament speak about greetings either by sending them or by instruction. The apostle Paul spent nearly an entire chapter sending greetings to various ones (Rom. 16). All of this indicates the importance of greeting one another.

DRESS APPROPRIATELY. In our culture, we tend to underestimate the importance of proper dress. People with training and knowledge in this area can tell you a great deal about a person by the way he/she dresses. As we worship God, we should give Him our best. Should this not also include what we wear? Would you dress any differently for a funeral, a wedding, or other events than you do for worship? We show our respect and attitude by the things we wear.

HAVE A PROPER ATTITUDE. I would rather be anywhere than here. Has this ever been your attitude during Bible study and worship? The song leader was off key, the crying baby got on my nerves, the preacher was boring and long winded. In John 4:24 Jesus not only said that we must worship in truth (according to God’s word), but also in spirit (attitude).

PREPARE YOURSELF. Start early enough that you are not rushed (refer to previous remarks about arriving early). Sometimes we are so rushed and out of sorts coming to services that the last thing we are ready to do is worship God. Spend time in prayer beforehand. Pray for the teachers, song leader, preacher, and everyone else participating in the worship (including yourself). If you have a class book, study the lesson. If you know the topic or text, spend some time studying ahead of time. Finally, as you approach the doors to the building, leave the world and its cares outside. By focusing our minds on God we can improve our time together.

BE ATTENTIVE. Give God your undivided attention during this time. Why is it we want to sit as close to the action as possible at a baseball game, but as close to the back as possible at worship? As a general rule, those sitting closer to the front are more interested, more attentive and less distracted. How many times have you been distracted by the behavior of someone seated in front of you? Sitting closer to the front reduces the possibility of this simply because there are not as many people in front of you. Follow along in your Bible and take notes. These suggestions will help our concentration.
--Lamar