"Cancelling Worship."
By: Pastor Jack Scneider
“Come, let
us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.” [Ps.95:1-2,NIV]
“Seven
days with no worship makes one weak!” That was a favorite saying of an early
mentor from our Nebraska pastoral circuit, Rev. Henry Nierman. Any farmer not
in church on Sunday could count on a mid-week visit from Henry; there was
nothing subtle about his shepherding. I thought of Henry last Sunday morning…
Cancelling
worship last weekend with the ice storm was weird for me. I know it was the
wise thing to do, and we made that decision [pres, vp and elders] only with
prayerful consideration. Still, it has been rare over these 40 years that “my
church” has felt God gave us reason to keep the doors closed on Sunday morning.
We know any prolonged time away from one another in fellowship and worship
does, indeed, make us weak.
So what is
one to do when travel, illness, weather or work unavoidably calls?
Once upon
a time, there were reasonably sound alternatives available on tv or radio. Not
anymore. The only source I will unhesitatingly recommend each week is The
Lutheran Hour, broadcast locally out of Irving on 100.7, KWRD at 9:30 each
Sunday morning. If you’re traveling you can search your iPhone for a local
station to listen to either Pastor Greg Seltz or Pastor Ken Klaus, both of whom
are outstanding speakers from the Word. Additionally, Lutheran Hour Ministries
website has a great lineup of other resources for you and your family,
especially coming up here at Christmas. Check it out -- it’s a lot deeper than
“the island of cast away toys,” trust me!
Something
else that we tend to forget is the resource spelled Y-O-U. That’s right. Take
the time to sit down with one another, the members of your family/marriage, and
look up/read the appointed Scripture lessons for the day. Where do you find those? Right on our Synod
website: www.lcms.org. On that home page see
the tab marked “resources”? Click it, and then move down and to the left column
to “lectionary readings.” This year you’ll see we’re in Series A, and you can
download the entire series -- or if you wish, you can always grab one of the
old blue LW hymnals from here at church [it will have the readings in the front
of it].
Finally,
take advantage of your social media skills to connect with other families and
host a worship/study time together. What better excuse to sit around in
‘jammies and sweats when the snow is blowing, or while you’re propped up at the
end of a business day and there’s just enough time for family devotions before
bedtime. FaceTime is a great way to end the day, and even better when it’s in
Christ.
This is
the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! [Ps.118:24]
- Jack
