"I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122:1 NIV) Preachers hear many excuses for why parents do not bring their children to church services and Sunday School. Here are some "actual" excuses heard by schoolteachers as to why a child was not in school. I found this good humor at this web site: http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh This writer has supplied the words in brackets. (1) "Jerry was at his grandmother`s yesterday, and she did not bring him to school because Jerry couldn`t remember where the school (church) was." (2) "Ronnie would not finish his work last night. He said his brain was too tired of spelling." (Probably not too tired to watch cartoons or play video games on Sunday morning) (3) "Eric hurt his knee in a karate tournament over the weekend. He won his age group, but was in too much pain to do his math assignment. (To do his memory verse) " (4) "Amy did not do her homework last night because we went out to a party and did not get home until late. If she is tired, please let her sleep during recess time." (No problem, preachers are used to folks sleeping through sermons) (5) "Henry stayed home because he had a stomach ache from eating too much frosting." (Could you please repeat that?) (6) "It was my fault Mike did not do his math homework last night. His pencil broke and we do not have a pencil sharpener at home." (Guess what, you can come to church without your homework!) (7) "Scott didn`t practice last night because he lost his tooth in the mouthpiece of his trumpet." (Should we put Scott on our prayer list?) (8) "Diane was late on Wednesday. She fell asleep on the bus and was taken back to the bus yard." (Poor thing, God understands) (9) "Cody was absent yesterday because we were out bowling until 2 AM." (Do you always have to bowl on Saturday night?) (10) "Tommy wasn`t in school (church) yesterday because he thought it was Saturday." Friend, have you ever seriously thought about what you are missing by not being present when God's people gather for worship on Sunday? It really will not require that much of a sacrifice from your weekly activities. There are 168 hours in each week. If you are sleeping 8 hours a day, that still leaves you 112 hours for work and other activities. If you work 10 hours a day, that still leaves you 42 hours for hanging out at the Jiffy or Cypress Station, or running back and forth to Chiefland, Gainesville or Crystal River. If you exercise an hour each day, that still leaves 35 hours for smokin' and jokin' with your buddies, or cow-tipping, or keeping everyone informed about all the excitement in our town. If you read, meditate, paint, wet a hook, or just ride around for an hour a day that still leaves 28 hours for other activities like waiting on your food at a restaurant. Is there something wrong with my math? I may have miscalculated, but it looks to me like we can find at least one hour for God each week. I promise you that if you will commit one hour on Sunday morning beginning at 11:00 you will be taking a major step to renewing your life. You will be on the road to finding purpose for living with joy and genuine hope. Friendly and familiar faces will greet you and welcome you. You will hear and participate in good congregational singing of some old familiar hymns and some newer praise songs. We express prayers of faith to God on behalf of sick people in our community, and for our country, for those serving in the war on terrorism, and other needs on our hearts. We partake of the Lord`s Supper because Jesus commanded, "Do this in remembrance of me." The preacher will deliver a sermon from the Bible that we believe to be the very Word of God. At the conclusion of the sermon, we offer an invitation to anyone who needs to respond to Heaven's call. (If you need to slip out early to get back to some of that important other stuff, we understand and wait to greet you with the love of Jesus next Sunday) Jesus invites you to come home and rediscover church this Sunday. You are invited to attend the services of the Church of Christ at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. Write me with any questions or comments David Binkley, Sr., P.O. Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or E-mail at dgbinkley@aol.com. You may also request to receive the daily WORD OF THE DAY by e-mail. Check out our web site at http://www.cedarkeychurchofchrist.com. | 