PASTOR'S PENS:

SERMON SERIES:
Kingdom PrinciplesFollowing Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living

Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

PASTOR'S PENS 2008

August 24th I wish you folks would come to church, If only for a visit. For someday they will carry you in, And the Lord will say, “Who is it?”             No doubt you've heard of the dog who ate homework, but what about the cat who unplugged the alarm clock? In a CareerBuilder’s survey "Out of the Office," more than one-third of U.S. workers admit that they played hooky from work over the last twelve months. Thirty five percent of workers admit to calling in sick when they felt well at least once during the year and one-in-ten said they did so three or more times.             Could you get away with saying you had to go to your mother's dog's funeral or that you had brain cancer? Would you believe an employee who had the swine flu, forgot the way to work or was arrested because of mistaken identity? Think carefully the next time that you’re debating calling in sick. Here are some of the most unusual excuses workers gave for missing work: Ž I was sprayed by a skunk. Ž I tripped over my dog and was knocked unconscious. Ž My bus broke down and was held up by robbers. Ž I was arrested as a result of mistaken identity.  Ž I forgot to come back to work after lunch. Ž I couldn't find my shoes. Ž I hurt myself bowling. Ž I was spit on by a venomous snake. Ž I totaled my wife’s jeep in a collision with a cow.  Ž A hit man was looking for me. Ž My curlers burned my hair and I had to go to the hairdresser. Ž I eloped. Ž My brain went to sleep and I couldn't wake it up. Ž I had to be there for my husband's grand jury trial. Ž I had to ship my grandmother's bones to India. Ž I forgot what day of the week it was. Ž Someone slipped drugs in my drink last night. Ž A tree fell on my car. Ž My monkey died.             So why are they calling in sick? The top three motivators for faking include attending to personal errands and appointments, catching up on sleep and simply relaxing. The reasons also include attending a child's event, bad weather, making plans with friends and going on a job interview. Twenty percent of workers say they called into work because they just didn't feel like going into the office that day.             Over the years I’ve also heard my share of creative excuses for skipping church. Did you know, though, that some 70% of the people in our community rarely if ever attend church? But should that really surprise us? If someone does not know the Lord, would we really expect them to attend church? About the only reason that they’re going to attend church is if someone invites them.             What should shock us is how often professing believers will skip church!  If the Lord is truly the Lord of our life...if we love the Lord Jesus....if God’s Word is the road map for our life...if we are truly thankful for Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, shouldn’t we want to worship with other believers?  Shouldn’t it be a priority in our lives? Shouldn’t going to church be something that we look forward to?             Yet, sadly worshiping our awesome God is something that we often do not value. We’ll miss church for things for which we would never miss work.  If one of our children is sick during the week, both parents don’t stay home with little Henrietta. But if it’s Sunday, then it’s not unusual for both parents to stay home to make sure that their tyke survives the sniffles. If we’re going to catch up on our sleep rather than go to bed earlier or even use a vacation day, we’ll skip church.             While we wouldn’t be late for work or a movie, it saddens me that we’ll sometimes come in from 5 to 30 minutes late for church.             The greatest heartbreak is when church members, those who have made a commitment, are nonchalant about church attendance. Did you know that in the average church 30% of those who consider that church their home church miss each week? Can you imagine a football team trying to win a game if 30% of the team didn’t show up? How well would a company do if 30% of the employees missed each day?             Worship was important to our Lord. Scripture records that He was faithfully at the Temple. The early church would often have all night services. Not to mention that Scripture commands us to attend church faithfully.             Maybe the reason our spiritual lives are sometimes stunted and mediocre is that we don’t take seriously the things that the Lord takes seriously. Being a faithful, active member of a local church is vital to our Lord.             The Church is so important to the Lord Jesus that He died for it! How important is it to you? Do you value this church? Is faithfully attending as important to you as it should be? Do you come with your heart prepared to let the Spirit speak to you each week? Are you involved, seeking to use your gifts and talents for His glory? Christ loves the Church...do you?