If you have ever sat and watched a football game in the rain, this one is for you!

A lot of people really like football.  They get a ticket, and they go. 

It doesn't matter if it's rainy or sunny, they go. 

It doesn't matter how many times they've been before or how long it's been since they last went. 

It doesn't even matter if the band is still playing the same songs they played the last time they were in the stadium. 

It's a football game, so they're going to go.  Period.  

I recently ran across a list of reasons somebody wrote about why he won't go to football games anymore. 

Now, don't take it too seriously.  Just keep in mind that the person who wrote it was also quite a churchman, so you might see some similarities. 

Here are the top ten reasons, he says, why he stopped heading for the stadium:
 
  1.  I can stay home and watch the game on television.
  2.  The band always plays songs I haven't heard before.
  3.  I played when I was in junior high, and I disagree with the way they coach now.
  4.  My parents made me go to football games when I was a child.  I'm going to let my kids decide for themselves.
  5.  They're always asking you for money when you go to the stadium.
  6.  Sometimes you have to stay late because the game goes into overtime.
  7.  There might be someone at the game who's wearing the same thing I am.
  8.  I'm not going because it's too hot or too cold.
  9.  People at the game are unfriendly and don't speak to me when I go.
10.  They keep changing things.  They change the uniforms, the stadium, the plays, the coaches.  I just don't like change, so I'm not going to go.

In the context of football, these excuses all come across as ridiculous, don't they? 

But in the context of going to church?  Unfortunately, they're all too familiar. 

It can be easy to find an excuse.  Someone's always asking for money.  Nobody will speak to you.  Things keep changing. 

And besides, can't you just stay home and watch a service on TV?  You're not the first one to have thought it, and surely, you won't be the last.

I think it's important for us to meet together on a regular basis. 

Attending worship service, remember, allows us to encourage each other, lift each other up, teach each other and praise God together. 

There is an old Burmese proverb that says, "In time of test, family is best."

Consider the fact that we can only find our meaning and function when we're part of a larger body. 

I personally don't think there's any way that a person can be a Christian by themselves. 

The whole nature of community and family is that we're in this together.

I think, collectively, something happens through a family that can never happen to an individual alone. 

But if we're not willing to show up - if we're so busy making excuses that we never even get our feet in the door - we miss out on so much that God intends for us to have. 

Ask yourself, "What kind of excuses have I made for not attending church?  How could my absence affect other members of the congregation?" 

Let's remember the words of the writer of the book of Hebrews: 

"Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:25)

Remember, we're all in this together!!!

Pastor Jim