No Worship?
Should worship be deleted the last Sunday or the
last two Sundays of the year? Should worship be cancelled because Christmas crowds everyone’s
schedules? Many churches last year deleted worship on Christmas day and some
are deleting worship the last weekend or two of the year. There are arguments
in support of this.
Christmas is such a busy season. Shopping, planning,
cooking, parties and special music events lead up to Christmas. The staff works
hard and long through out the holidays. Church members are tired and need time
off. Everyone needs a rest, so why not cancel church?
Christians in countries where the church
is persecuted would wonder about this. Christians in China, India, Pakistan or
Saudi Arabia risk their lives to worship. They would not understand our
churches canceling worship. Why would a church that is able to worship in freedom
delete worship? Why would they do this on one of the most significant Holy
days? Does this keep Christ in Christmas?
Yet in recent years churches in the USA have
cancelled church in order to rest from busy holiday events and preparations and
to enjoy lavish family gatherings. Should the secular, economy boosting aspects
of Christmas take precedence over the true and holy meaning of the day?
Sunday is a day of rest set aside to
gather as a church. The Sabbath is to be kept Holy. We must spend time in
worship as a church every Sunday. To cancel this is unthinkable.
What about "Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy?" (Ex. 20:8) What about "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing?" (Heb. 10:25a)
What about New Year's Day? From 2006 on some
churches virtually did away with worship on the last Sunday of the year. Similar
plans are in place for this year. The end of the year and the beginning of a
new year is a special time to reflect on the past and make resolutions for the
future. It's a time to worship our Holy God with our brothers and sisters in
Christ.
Let's find a church that is open and
worship Christ the Lord.
Blessings, Dottie
The only time our church is not at worship on the Sabbath is when the weather is in-climate. Even on Wednesday nights, the services are not canceled. Now tonight, Dec 26, services have been canceled due to the blizzard we are having. I think this trend started when churches started suspending services on Sunday nights for the summer holidays.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Our current church doesn't close unless there's a blizzard! Some churches are doing so - adapting to the culture. Sad.
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