Ramblings from Retirement – Worship

Ramblings from Retirement – Worship

By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen

April 6, 2021

We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday, Easter for those of you who are biblically illiterate, and I noticed that we had several visitors even during our National COVID scare. And this got me to thinking about when I first began to Pastor and how frustrating it was when folks saw their church attendance as an afterthought. Attending their children’s sports programs, doing their hobbies, simply waking up and feeling like going to the beach or because it was sunny was an excuse to miss their church worship. It was frustrating because many of these same people would get their feelings hurt because they were seen as “visitors” by those who did show up regularly or when they were not asked to do certain ministries in the church because of their fly-by-night attendance.

Now if you are getting your feelings hurt by reading this what does it say about your church attendance and why you feel you have to make excuses for the lack thereof or your inconsistency? I know what I am writing about here is like trying to swim uphill in today’s society but far too many self-certified believers in our day and age have not been taught that belief results in actual change in one’s life that is reflected in how one lives out their Christian faith. The writer of Hebrews would write that “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:19-27 NIV)”

Notice the writer begins with the fact that “since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God” meaning that now that we enjoy a new relationship with God because of Jesus and what He did, shouldn’t we want to “draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water”? He began that last part with the “let us” meaning that we should want to do so. For you scholars it is the Greek word proserchomai

(pros-er'-khom-ahee) which is a command like our parents would use with us as children when they would say “come here” and we would respond immediately. So because of what Jesus has done we should immediately want to “draw near” to God “with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith”. A sincere heart means that with everything we are we believe and follow Jesus because we know our “hearts” have been “sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and… our bodies (have been) washed with pure water” of Jesus Himself. Therefore if this is true then “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (There is that Greek word proserchomai again and again.) We are commanded to “hold unswervingly” and we are commanded to think about “how we may spur one another toward love and good deeds” as fellow Christians. How can we do this? The writer relates “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Again there is that command and this time it is for church attendance! Say what? Yep. You see the writer knew people’s old sin habits would infect their relationship and then the excuses would come. But if you truly believe in Jesus and believe He is coming back then you will be in church worshiping because it is there you find the fellowship, the encouragement, and the cooperative strength to face the days ahead until Jesus does return.

To deliberately ignore, make excuses for, and relegate your church attendance to second place for the believer is sin. Not my words, the writer says so: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” What he is describing is that if you consistently make worship and church an afterthought to going to the beach, playing sports, hunting or fishing or any other thing that you consistently use as an excuse to miss then you are deliberately sinning. It is sin because you have professed your faith in Jesus but have relegated worshipping together with the body of Christ, fellow believers, as an afterthought. And he wonders that if you say you believe but continue to act as if you do not, are you really a believer, and if you are not a follower of Jesus then what awaits you when He does return: “only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God”?

Do not let next Easter, Resurrection Day, be the next time you find yourself in worship. Why not start going regularly as you know you should.

This article is copyrighted © 2021 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.