Getting Ready for Sunday Morning

Here I am again on a Sunday morning, waiting to take off for church. Unlike most pastors, I have a list of churches that we visit on a rotating basis. Each one has its own time, schedule, and location, of course, which dictates when we leave, how long it takes to get there, and so forth.

Normally, this gives me the opportunity to contemplate, to think about things. When I get there, what will the circumstances be like? Will they invite me to preach? That’s always one of my hopes. Will I be able to minister in some way? What does God want me to do this time?

My hope and desire are always to do what God wants me to do. I wish that were true of every single moment of my life, but, being human, I know that I fail at times. Yet every time I head off to a church, my mind is on the possibilities God may have in mind for that particular day. One of the things that really excites me is that I’m always prepared for whatever I think may happen. At the same time, I’m open to what God may have in store for me that I don’t anticipate. Sometimes that is even more exciting.

Every Sunday morning, it’s the same process for me: a new church, or rather, a different church, a different congregation, new ministry possibilities, and a different location. Because I’m 74 years old, because I’m not in the best shape I could be, and because I have a few extra things that give me aches and pains along the way, one of my concerns is where I’m going, how long I’ll be sitting, how it will affect me, and things like that.

I go to church wanting to minister to others while, at the same time, I guess, needing ministry myself, needing someone to pray for me. I believe that happens often anyway; there are people out there who pray for me regularly. Still, the physical aches and pains I deal with are one thing that constantly draws my attention.

Before I go to church, I get my Bible, get ready, get my spirit, mind, and heart in line, and work at not paying attention to the aches and pains and things of that nature, so that I can just focus on whatever God has for me. That becomes my preparation for Sunday mornings.