Sunday is a comin'

There is a famous Resurrection Day sermon called "It's Friday but Sunday is Comin'" originally by S. M. Lockridge. The conclusion of the sermon is a great riff running down all the sad and scary things that face us on Good Friday but remind us that the Resurrection and Christ's victory over death is coming. You can listen to it here if you like. It is REALLY good. 

My point is that Sunday is coming for us as well. Are we prepared for the gathered worship time? Most times we dutifully show up at church on Sundays and go through our standard ritual of pseudo-worship. Oh, we love God alright. I do not doubt that. But we are dangerously close to a heart condition that Jesus saddled the Pharisees with in Matthew 15:7-9...

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, buttheir heart is far from me, in vain do they worship me'

In order for our hearts to be not far from Him, we must prepare for worship. No, we do not prepare the way the saints did in the Old Testament for God does not delight in sacrifice, but He does delight in a contrite heart that approaches Him humbly, seeking his grace and desiring his glory. 

So... Sunday is a comin'. Are you going to prepare your heart to worship corporately?

What I will try to do every Saturday is provide a short reminder to us by giving a brief introduction to the sermon so that you can begin to marinate your heart in the text. That way we can show up Sunday morning expecting to encounter God and receive his grace!!

Our text for tomorrow at New Temple Baptist is Colossians 4:7-18. 

Have you ever wondered why the Bible contains all these lists of greetings at the end of many of the New Testament letters? Well, tomorrow we are going to answer that question. 

As you prepare your heart to receive the Word, ask yourself this question: Am I a worker for the Kingdom of God? 

Grace and peace,

Chris