We all know the feeling: we’re trying to make a plane and we’re late. The minutes fly by as we speed through traffic. We spill out of the car and race to check-in and then security before we make the final sprint to the gate. Why is it that the gate we want is always the farthest one from the main terminal! We arrive moments before the flight is closed for take-off.
Sweating, huffing-and-puffing, clothing askew, dragging carry-on items, boarding pass clenched in our teeth, we make it with seconds to spare. We bump and crash down the aisle to the angry glares of the other passengers, who have settled in and are eager for the flight to depart. As we finally fasten our seat belts, we promise ourselves that next time we’ll leave much earlier so we won’t have to rush.
This scenario isn’t limited to airports, of course. Train stations, concert halls, movie theaters – we can find it any place where there is a scheduled start time. And that includes churches – people racing into Sanctuaries as the Call to Worship is being offered, or as congregants stand to sing the Opening Hymn, or even most notoriously, as prayer is offered.
When we come before God to worship, we should be attentive, focused and filled with a sense of purpose. We should come before God ready, with hearts and minds turned and tuned to God. Rushing into the Sanctuary after the service has begun is no way to come before God.
Five minutes is all it takes. Coming into the Sanctuary just five minutes before the service begins provides you with time to focus and prepare yourself. We offer a Voluntary, as well as a Text and Prayer for Preparation to help you get ready to worship. Worship bags help children settle as well.
The five minutes before Worship begins are so important. Those five minutes are a time to transition, and time even for transformation. Five minutes provides us with time to be mindful of God’s words to us spoken through the Psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Add just five minutes to your schedule on Sunday morning so you can come to Worship calm, ready and attentive to God. Add just five minutes so that you can come “worship the Lord with gladness and come into his presence with singing.” You don’t even need a boarding pass!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Skip
