Midweek Challenge

In most of our type of churches there is the tradition of a Wednesday evening service.   It’s a good tradition and affords us the opportunity in the middle of our week to “recharge” the spiritual batteries as we meet again to fellowship and worship.  As a pastor, I enjoy reconnecting with our folks and they encourage me in the Lord seeing them faithful and hearing of what’s going on in their lives and to hear the concerns of their heart as we pray.  What do you appreciate about your church’s midweek service or for that matter the Sunday one?

It is easy to look at the negatives (and with any institution with which man is involved they certainly are there) but what are you grateful for? As you study Paul’s letters, he was often personally and verbally thankful for the local churches he knew of and the people that assembled in them. Imagine if the whole congregation routinely met in YOUR home?  “And to our beloved Apphia and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house.” (Philemon 2).   How positive would you be after making your “crib” your church’s sanctuary week after week?   Maybe its why Paul continues: “GRACE to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ HA !!

But note how the apostle continues his letter: “I thank my God , making mention of thee always in my prayers. Hearing of your love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, AND toward all saints.” (vss.4-5).  I think one of the things we can be grateful for when you think of your church’s midweek service is the folks who love the Lord enough to make His house a priority in their homes. We can personally thank them and keep them upheld in prayer (as Paul did his friends)  who come out week after week and worship Him, often in the midst of a busy week.   And your pastor who studies hard to feed his flock then as well as Sunday. Have you thanked him lately for providing you and your family with spiritual nourishment?    God has used the appreciative comments of my flock many a time at just the right time to pick me up, your pastor is human and goes through trials just as you do and Satan is on his case, so a word spoken in due season can be so helpful.

But most of all our appreciation should verbally be extended to the Lord Himself for even allowing us the grand privilege of having a place to worship Him with others and learn more of Him.   There are many still in our world who would absolutely love to have what you enjoy in this or as Mom and DAD used to admonish some of us “clean up your plate and be grateful, there are kids in Africa who would to be eating that !”  Why not take a moment to stop and thank God for what you do have Wednesday night (or even Sunday) and do your part to be a positive spiritual force in your congregation just as Paul was to those to whom he wrote?!