We have all been there.  We go to church on Sunday morning, hoping to cram all of the things that we do into that short hour. 

           

We then go home to a wonderful meal and then spend the afternoon digesting what we have eaten as we recline on couches, easy chairs, and beds.  Some return for the Evening Service, and even fewer return on Wednesday nights.  More and more the days are growing evil, and we are neglecting the fellowship of the believers.  In a given week there are 168 hours.  49 hours are taken for sleeping, at least 4 hours for church, leaving 115 hours to work and play.  Those figures break down to 29% sleeping time, 68% working/playing time, and 2% church time.  Many preachers are faced with the insurmountable challenge of adequately communicating the Word of God in 20 or 30 minutes that is allotted them in the service.  That means that after spending 10 (5% of the week) or more hours a week in study they are given . 2% of the week to preach the message.  Let us take it one step farther.  Assuming that we spend an hour for each church service – Sunday School, Morning Worship, Evening Worship, and Wednesday Night Bible Study.  Those hours translate into .5% for each service.           

Yet, with such a short amount of our time spent in the place we need most, we tend to complain a lot about gathering together.  There is not a preacher preaching that has not heard the complaint that the preacher preaches too long.  Most preachers go 5 to 15 minutes past the hour.  Most preachers are given 20 to 30 minutes to pack in 10 hours of study.  Those that are irritated by the overtime preacher grumble and growl to anyone who will listen.  The Spirit of God is quenched because people are in such a hurry to get out and get one with their lives.  Imagine if they were in the congregations of the great preachers of the past who preached for hours.  Paul, Peter, John, Jesus, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and many more.  In fact one of the longest sermons found in the Bible began  sometime before midnight and ended at day break, with a short interlude for the Apostle Paul to bring someone back to life (Acts 20 : 9 - 11).  Imagine the complaints he had!

 The point is this.  Our world is fast falling into the rot and decay of sin.  It is plummeting into the Abyss.  The world with its philosophy and practice swarms the Christian every day.  Television, radio, coworkers, and advertisements pummel the mind with their warped morality.  Everyday, sin crouches nearby, waiting to pounce in the weak moments.  Our best defense is the Word of God.  For some, the only time they open God’s Word is when the preacher reads it.  We need the fellowship of believers.  We need the preaching of the Word of God.  It is the only thing that will save us from floundering in the 115 hours that we spend in the world.  A solid, Bible - believing, Bible - preaching church is there for the feeding of the soul, the edification of the heart, and the fellowship of the believers.  Maybe we should stop watching the clock on the back wall and start feasting at the Table of God.  If the preacher is boring – so what!  That is his problem.  It still is our responsibility to gather from the Word what we will need to survive the upcoming work week.  The Word of God is powerful and has what we need for the battle we will face.  Church is for fellow believers to come together and worship God, but all we end up doing is complaining about the preaching.  How sad.  Maybe it is time to stop worrying about the roast burning and start worrying about how we can worship God and learn from His Word.  Maybe it is time that we spend a little longer in the church service.  It certainly will not kill you, after all, we can spend 3 hours at a football game in poor weather conditions and not complain at all. If the pew is hard and uncomfortable, stand for a little while.  If the roast is burnt when you get home, eat peanut butter and jelly.  Enjoy the fact that you had the opportunity to meet with God on a corporate level.  Make the most of that meeting.