Are You a Sunday Morning Only Christian?

Intro:

Good morning.

I hope everyone is having a SUPER Sunday this morning!

Hopefully as Christians, EVERY Sunday is a super Sunday!

I thought I would preach something surrounding one of the most talked about days of the year — Super Bowl Sunday.

I believe we have a lot of sports fans here with us.

Maybe some folks not as much.

But even the casual fan or someone who’s not typically a big sports fan oftentimes will watch the Super Bowl.

It has become a cultural phenomenon in our country that many people look forward to with great anticipation every year.

That brings me to an important point:

Worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth is the farthest thing from many people’s minds today, unfortunately.

But even those who DO take time out to worship God today may find it hard to stay focused, hard to pay attention to the Word of God that is proclaimed, because pizza and wings and finger foods and party favors are on their minds.

Furthermore, I have noticed a disturbing trend in the last decade or two — Congregations modifying or canceling altogether their worship service schedules for Super Bowl Sunday.

For congregations that DO meet on Super Bowl Sunday night, there is often a noticeable drop in attendance as many Christians choose to watch the big game instead of meet with their brethren.

Now while it is true we could have a discussion about congregational autonomy, and somebody might be quick to point out — “Well, Scripturally we meet the requirement to worship on the first day of the week if we meet just once on Sunday ...”

I’m not interested in discussing that tonight.

I’m interested in pointing out — What kind of PRECEDENT does it set when congregations say, “Now normally it’s really important that you attend worship services on Sunday morning and Sunday evening, to spend twice as much time in the Word, twice as much time encouraging your brethren, etc. .… .… .… But tonight, eh, that’s the exception! We’ve got a football game to watch!”

Is that really the precedent we want to set?

Is that the kind of dedication we want from Christians in our various congregations? Is that seeking first the kingdom of God? (Matt. 6:33)

So with all of that said, this morning I want to ask the question — “Are you a ‘Sunday morning ONLY’ Christian?”

Preliminary Thoughts:

Now before I get in trouble, let me point out that I do realize there are some who for whatever reason may have some hardships that prevent them from attending on Sunday nights.

There may be health reasons — For many of the elderly it is a tremendous struggle just to sit in a pew for an hour on Sunday morning.

(Of course, let me remind all of us of the wonderful example of many who attend regularly in SPITE of this difficulty).

One great example would be our sister Loonita who we lost recently.

There may be difficulty because of travel distance, or maybe because of work reasons for some who have to work on Sunday nights.

But generally, these exceptions are fairly rare from what I’ve seen, and I think we would all agree that most people who do not return for Sunday night worship services COULD return if they wanted to … They just choose not to.

Church, is this a problem?

Well, let’s not ask if Chase thinks this is a problem — Let’s ask if GOD would think it’s a problem?

And I personally can’t see there being any other answer then — Yes.

Why Do Christians Not Return on Sunday Night?

The obvious occasion for this sermon — Maybe it’s Super Bowl Sunday, right?

Well, what other excuses might people give?

And they ARE excuses, aren’t they?

And as they say about excuses — everyone has one!

So what excuses might people give?

(Some of these are going to be a bit tongue-in-cheek).

“I would rather watch my favorite TV show than worship with the family of God.”

(Nowadays, you can DVR anything, so maybe this problem has gone away slightly).

But for the longest time, this was not the case.

I remember when I was a kid — 10 years old or so — there was a brand new show that came out that was ALL THE RAGE — It was a reality TV show that was a new genre at the time, and the name of the Show was SURVIVOR.

I looked it up, and the first ever episode of Survivor came out on May 31, 2000 (my 10th birthday), which was … a WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

Which meant that in those days, if you wanted to watch this popular new show, you had to watch it on Wednesday night!

Now, we’ve said this morning — Are we Sunday morning only Christians — And we’ve focused a lot on Sunday night — But what about Wednesday night, too?!

Can someone please tell me WHY a Christian would NOT want to spend time with his brethren in worship and Bible classes 3-4 times a week instead of just once?!

So, some may say — “Well, I’m a Sunday morning only Christian because I want to watch my favorite tv show.”

Others may say, “I’m a Sunday morning only Christian because Sunday is my day of rest.”

Well, Sunday is a day of rest for many of us, and rest is an important concept in the Bible — Jesus said to His disciples in Mark 6:31 - “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and REST a while.”

Yes, rest is important — But at the expense of worship, study of God’s Word, and extra time with your brethren?!

Still others may say, “Well, I just don’t see the point in having a second worship service.”

To that I simply say:

Would you say, “Well, I just don’t see the point in showing love and devotion to my wife more than once.”

(The old saying comes to mind — “I told ya I loved ya when we got married, and I’ll let ya know if I change my mind!”)

Would we say, “I just don’t see the point in EATING more than one meal a day?!”

Or for those of us who have small children — “Aright, kids I’ll get down in the floor and play with you one time a day — THAT’S IT! You’ve got 5 minutes! Okay, time’s up!”

We wouldn’t say stuff like that! — Why?!

Because we CARE about our spouse, we’ve GOT to eat more than once a day, and we LOVE our children!

Do we care about God? Do we love God and His people? And do we partake of nourishment from His Word frequently?

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God!” (Matthew 4:4 quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3)

Church, when the elders ask us to be here for Sunday morning Bible class, for Sunday morning worship, for Sunday evening worship, and for Wednesday night Bible study, if we CAN be here, we need to be here.

Super Bowl Sunday included!

Conclusion:

We’ve covered a subject this morning that is a vital topic.

I am amazed at so many congregations I am aware of that have a certain attendance on Sunday mornings, but then that number drops by HALF or more on Sunday and Wednesday nights.

It’s more common than you may realize!

We don’t have that problem here thankfully, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t noticed a dip in our Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services the last several months, because I have …

(Kind of can’t help but notice from the vantage point of a pulpit).

The question is — Why?

Again, I ask you this morning — “Are you a Sunday morning only Christian?”