Preparing for Sunday Worship
The Sunday Gathering
Since Jesus Christ miraculously and victoriously rose from the dead on the first day of the week, his faithful followers have gathered together on the same day to glorify God and encourage one another through preaching the Word of God, receiving the sacraments, praying together, singing songs of praise, and sharing testimonies of God’s goodness (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 14:26; Col 3:16; Eph 5:19). In corporate worship, the Holy Spirit reminds our hearts and minds of his incredible grace and our new life in the Kingdom of God, and we get to respond in gratitude as we recenter our lives on Jesus for the coming week. This time is so crucial to the life of Christians that Scriptures implores us not to neglect the gathering of the saints and to actively stir up one another to love and good works (Heb 10:24-25).
If we consume sports news all week leading up to a game or watch movie trailers before heading to the theater, how much more should we prepare our whole selves — body, mind, and spirit — before this infinitely more significant gathering? We require preparation even more since the devil and our own sin seek to distract us from the work of God. So what might preparing for our Sunday gathering look like practically?
Preparing the Body
Get some sleep! Safeguard your Saturday night from late-night activities so that you can be well-rested Sunday morning. Worship requires attention, and tiredness transforms us into absentminded zombies.
Be present. Plan to show up, and plan when to show up. Take into account your family situation and how long it will take everyone to be ready so that no one is frazzled by rushing to get to church. You just might arrive early and have some time to fellowship with others before service begins.
Play worship music as you get ready and drive to church. Singing along will warm up your vocal chords, preparing you for singing with the congregation, but more importantly, music can help focus your mind and soften your heart to worship.
Preparing the Mind
Read the Scripture beforehand. We almost always preach through books of the Bible verse by verse, so you should know what passage will be preached next. Having some ideas about the text by reading it the night before or several times throughout the week will allow you to hone in on the preaching and be more receptive to the Word.
Reflect on your attitude. Have you felt frustrated, angry, anxious, jealous, etc.? Have you felt at peace, joyful, content, etc.? Knowing your state of mind allows you to commune with God more honestly. Consider whether you’re even looking forward to worshipping together, and if not, ask yourself why that is.
Keep your morning distraction-free. Work can wait. News can wait. Entertainment can wait. Social media can wait. So many things vie for our attention that we must vigilantly guard our mind. The God of the universe deserves at least a morning of our attention. (Though our whole lives would be better!)
Preparing the Spirit
Pray that your heart and mind would be attentive and receptive to God’s Word and Spirit.
Pray that the presence of God would draw you closer to him.
Pray that others would come to know the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Pray that you would connect with your brothers and sisters — those you have relationships with and one or two you have yet to meet.
Pray that God would be glorified above all else.
