Preparing our hearts for Sunday?

This is a little bit of an add-on to the last post, I suppose. I've been thinking through what we should be doing to purposefully prepare our hearts for a Sunday morning, whether we're serving in music, or just preparing to be involved in people's lives. Really, whether we happen to be singing on stage or not, we are responsible to do ministry if we're Christians.

So what should we be doing to prepare for a Sunday? Here are a few things I've been thinking through. Hope they're helpful!

1. Find your joy in God.
In Psalm 73, Asaph writes,
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Do we desire God like Asaph did? Do we see Him as the only One who will satisfy us, or give us joy, or make us happy? Saying "find your joy in God" might sound cliche, causing us to respond with, "well, sure! I knew that." But it was no small matter for Asaph to write those words. To live and think that way requires a fight on our part, and the full enabling of God's Spirit in our hearts to do it. But if we're not finding all our joy in the God we claim to be worshiping, how will we lead others to do it? Finding our joy in God is what we sing about every Sunday. And, it's what will feed everything else we do as a Christian.

2. Saturate yourself in the Word.
Are you in the Word on a regular basis throughout the week? I need this reminder as badly as I'm sure you all do too. I cannot grow in my knowledge of God, or the joy I experience in knowing Him, if I'm not a diligent student of God's Word. Martin Luther said, “Let the man who would hear God speak, read Holy Scriptures.” I've got to know my Bible, and go to it desperately throughout my week to find what God would teach me.

3. Think and pray about the people you'll see on Sunday.
In Colossians 1:28,29, Paul says that he "toils" to "present every man complete in Christ." Also, 1 John 3:14 tells us that "we know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers." Do we love the people God will put us into contact with on Sunday morning (not to mention other times during the week)? Are we looking for opportunities to build up someone's faith, and encourage them to go on loving God for another week? Are we helping others bear their burdens, and fight off their sin? We need to be encouraged this way, and we need to be seeking out opportunities to encourage. This is ministry.

Again, these are for you (and me) to pray through and think through, whether you're singing in the music team, or just showing up ready to do some ministry.

Praying for you as you prepare to worship God together with the gathered church on Sunday!

Josh