Worship With Me

January 31, 2011 by Susan Shay 12 Comments

Is there anything spiritually sweeter than worshipping with your Christian family? (Whether you’re together or apart, near or far.) There may be, but I haven’t found it yet.

Yesterday was no exception. I’m trying not to miss a Sunday at church this year, but I seem to be an every-other-week Sunday School attender. I got out of the habit of going to SS for the two or three years that my hip was so bad. Not a good thing!

Next time, I think I’ll switch to the SS class at the front of the church. It might be geared for our Senior Saints, but if I promise not to slow them down, they might let me come.

I’ve wanted get back into Sunday School each week, but I hate starting in the middle of a study because I feel as if I’m asking questions that have probably been answered already. So I asked Dick, the teacher, what they were studying.

When he answered “Philippians,” and I nearly jumped up and down. (That’s against the rules with my new hip or I might have done it. LOL) 

I love Philippians. One of my favorite books (I probably say that about every book I study.) One of my favorite verses is there–Philippians 2:15: “So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which YOU SHINE LIKE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE.”

Those last seven words are the part I like best. An encouragement by Paul. Even though we’re just tiny points of light, with Christ as the center of our lives we can (and should) shine in a universe of darkness.

I’d missed the first few weeks of his study, so I was afraid I’d missed my verse. Wrong! LOL.  

Dick is a wonderful teacher. You can tell how many hours he’s spend in study and prayer preparing for his class. The way he teaches reminds me of the way Grandad Ray ate chicken. (Stay with me here.)

Grandad was born in 1900, married Grandmother when she was 17, so that was 1922 (I think.) All four of his children were born by 1930, when the Great Depression was in full swing.

I’m not telling you they starved or stood in bread or soup lines, but I know things weren’t easy for anyone at that time. So they wasted very little. When Grandad ate a chicken leg, he didn’t leave much. He ate the meat around the bone, then off the ends of the bone. Right there, more people are finished, but not Grandad. He’d crack the bone, break it in half and suck out the marrow.

As kids, when we asked him about it, he answered, “That’s the best part.”

When Dick teaches, he talks about the parts that every other book talks about, then he goes deeper. He sucks the marrow out of The Word–the best part–and that can’t be done in a hurry.

So far I’ve made it to Sunday School every other week. Don’t ask me why. I made it the first week, but the next I was an hour late and just in time for church. (I’m not sure how it happened, but it made #4 laugh when I told her about it.)

Made it the next week, but not the next. *Sigh* But that’s not so bad. When I miss a week of what Dick’s teaching, I can quickly catch up. 😉

Did you make it to worship yesterday? (Or Saturday, if that’s the day you go.) Do you go to Sunday School?

Do you have a favorite scripture in Philippians? A favorite scripture? What about your SSMT?

If the answers to all those questions are no, post a comment and just say hi.

God is who he says he is.