The 1st service of the year
The 1st service of the year
How time zoom by! It's already the 7th day of the new year! Today is the 1st Sunday of the year and somehow, usually the first service of the year sees more people than usual in attendance, isn't it? However, I was somewhat "disturbed" by the fact that even at 9am when the service begins, the usually filled-up pews are not yet so - why is that so? Because people are LATE!! I can understand some do have genuine reasons for the lateness, but it kind of prompted me to think, "Why is it that people can be early at certain events/exhibitions/clinics/free food give-away/mega-sales, etc, and queuing patiently waiting to get in, but not the case when it comes to attending church service?"
What does it speak about us? Are we so complacent about the fact that "Oh, come on, God is gracious and forgiving ..." or "well, there's no need to worry that there's no seat for me during the service ..." or we are attending services out of routine, habit and duty? Little wonder why many non-Christians feel that there's no difference between them and the Christians, so why change religion and believe in Jesus? Sad, isn't it ...
Rev PK spoke about "return of the lost ark" - he highlighted how we had these days replaced the ark of God (which signifies His presence) with the "ark" we glued ourselves to everyday, which is usually placed in the centre of our living room, or even in our bedrooms. Our focus has shifted from God to the TV set ... our values which should have been godly ones have been swapped with what the TV programs are teaching us ... - high time to get God's presence back with us and begin the year on a right footing.
Psalm 145:18 "The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."
How time zoom by! It's already the 7th day of the new year! Today is the 1st Sunday of the year and somehow, usually the first service of the year sees more people than usual in attendance, isn't it? However, I was somewhat "disturbed" by the fact that even at 9am when the service begins, the usually filled-up pews are not yet so - why is that so? Because people are LATE!! I can understand some do have genuine reasons for the lateness, but it kind of prompted me to think, "Why is it that people can be early at certain events/exhibitions/clinics/free food give-away/mega-sales, etc, and queuing patiently waiting to get in, but not the case when it comes to attending church service?"
What does it speak about us? Are we so complacent about the fact that "Oh, come on, God is gracious and forgiving ..." or "well, there's no need to worry that there's no seat for me during the service ..." or we are attending services out of routine, habit and duty? Little wonder why many non-Christians feel that there's no difference between them and the Christians, so why change religion and believe in Jesus? Sad, isn't it ...
Rev PK spoke about "return of the lost ark" - he highlighted how we had these days replaced the ark of God (which signifies His presence) with the "ark" we glued ourselves to everyday, which is usually placed in the centre of our living room, or even in our bedrooms. Our focus has shifted from God to the TV set ... our values which should have been godly ones have been swapped with what the TV programs are teaching us ... - high time to get God's presence back with us and begin the year on a right footing.
Psalm 145:18 "The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."
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