Vol. VI
No. 2 Feb. 4, 2007
Written By Christopher
Mentzer
Sunday morning you walk outside, get the morning newspaper and there on the front page, in big bold letters, you read the title of this article. The story goes on to say that the NFL decides to cancel or rather postpone the Superbowl until Monday night so that everyone might attend church services. They also go on to say that it will only be this year and that they wanted to try something different. Could it happen? No, I don’t think so but I personally would find it neat! I might actually watch the game then. Besides the number of complaints they’d get all across the country, not to mention threats, etc., it just wouldn’t happen.
And yet the opposite happens every single year. People choose to miss evening service on account of the Superbowl. I even read one time of a Catholic church canceling an afternoon mass so that people might watch the Norte Dame game on television. Where is the scriptural authority for such a thing? Not in my bible and definitely not in yours.
Some churches even offer Superbowl parties; an excuse to come to church and not have to miss the big game. Is that any different than not attending at all? No, of course not. The main reason they would go is for the game itself. Oh sure they’ll sing songs of praise and pray and maybe offer a short sermon but that doesn’t happen until halftime. Again the focus is on the game and not the worship of God.
People say, “It’s just one Sunday a year.” For a wrestling fan, like myself, one a year can turn into one a month. Pro Wrestling offers Pay-Per-Views on Sunday every month. But that’s just one organization; another has PPVs on a monthly basis on the preceding Sunday as well. Now I’m up to two Sundays a month without attending. Then you add in vacations, family gatherings, and others, and the next thing is that I’m attending only on Christmas and Easter.
There’s really no difference in missing one Sunday a year versus attending only twice a year. The reason is your attitude toward the Lord. If you know you need to attend and chose not to, why do you make that decision? Is the Superbowl really that important to miss a service? Or what of the World Series, the Stanley Cup, Wrestlemania? Are these events going to bring you closer to God and get you into heaven?
Paul wrote in Col. 3: 1-2, “If
then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
2. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that
are upon the earth.”
Another way to look at it is what James wrote in Jas. 4: 17, “To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” If you know attending worship is more important and decide not to do it anyway, it is a sin!!
Jesus said in John 4: 23-24, “But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers
shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to
be his worshippers. 24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship
in spirit and truth.”
Finally the write of Hebrews states, “and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; 25. not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting `one another'; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh.” (Heb. 10: 24-25).
As often as the saints assemble during any given week, you should be there as well. God understands the need to work or illness, etc. However, if you miss because of the Superbowl or simply because you don’t feel like going a second time on Sunday, you should seriously consider the focus of your life.