It’s Friday, 17:00, work for the week has been concluded and you are looking forward to some relaxing activities on Saturday. Or maybe your kids have sport, and you need to get up early on Saturday to drive them. You might have decided to work in your garden or go cycling and afterwards plan a nice dinner or a braai with friends.
And just like that, the day is at its end, and it is Sunday. The day of rest.
Exodus 20:10: “Six days you shall labour, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.”
The Bible states that Sundays are for resting. So, you rest, sleep a little bit later than usual, spend the day in your pyjamas and watch a movie or series.While they were still at school, my grand- parents used to go to morning church which started at 09:00.
I remember that it was terrible having to get up early, dress in my Sunday best and sit in church and literally have the preacher talk me to sleep. I could not keep my eyes open.
I would snuggle up to my grandfather’s shoulder to try and catch some sleep on the sly. And it would succeed, for about 5 minutes. I am sure the preacher would stare and then my grandad would realise what’s going on and wake me.
It didn’t help that we sat in the third row. After the service my fatigue would miraculously disappear.
For a long time, I associated attending church with boredom and even punishment. In high school I lived with my grandparents in George and one holiday while visiting my parents in Randburg, they invited me to church. I groaned at the thought of having to suffer through a service.
To my surprise this church wasn’t like the conservative church I attended in George. People wore jeans, they were relaxed and no one frowned at you for sitting on their seat.
Praise and worship was not the loud boring organ music. It was music with a beat and the words were beautiful and normal words I could understand. By the time the service ended we had been there for almost three hours, but it felt like 30 minutes.
What happened?
I could not understand this for a very long time. I searched for a long time for a church where I would experience the same feeling.
Years later and now that I am older, I realise it wasn’t so much the church, but the presence of Jesus.
The words of the songs came from the heart and resonated with each person attending. In services like that one can feel the message. It’s simple and it’s for everyone.
To me the fellowship with believers attending a service, time spent with like-minded people who are happy to be there fills up something that is empty. I can read my Bible at home or at work, and I can listen to worship music, and I can feel close to His presence. But there is something different in corporate worship, fellowship and service.
And for that reason, it is important for me to go to church. Church doesn’t have to be in a big building with a bell and gargoyles staring at you. It can be in a hall, a coffee shop or even someone’s living room.
Hebrews 10: 24-25: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Why is it important to attend church?
The magnificent St Judes Anglican Church, Oudtshoorn Photo: Tieneke Maritz