Twelve Ways to Order Your Week by the Son (Part 2)

Last week, in application of a recent sermon, I outlined six ways to set your watch by the Son. In order, these included.

1. Start your day with God.
2. Consume God’s Word on the way and make plans to feed on his faithfulness.
3. Pray without ceasing.
4. Make a midweek gathering a priority.
5. Preserve and protect the altar.
6. Make space in your calendar to meet with other Christians.

By and large, these six orientations were given as guides for making the most of the time between the time you gather for worship on the Lord’s Day. Today, I am adding six more ‘Helio’-centric orientations. Here they are.

7. Enter the darkness of the city with the light of Christ.
8. Lead others (family, friends, peers, strangers) to the altar of God on the Lord’s Day.
9. When home (on Sundays), look for ways to bless the people who gather at your altar.
10. When traveling (on Sundays), look for other faithful altars to visit and encourage.
11. When sick (on Sundays), lament your absence.
12. In each season, solidify your schedule and guard your time with God.

As you can tell, four of these orientations are directly related to the Lord’s Day (8–11). And three of them are directed to ways to make the best use of the Lord’s Day (9–11). In all, I hope these 12 orientations help you reflect on the best ways to order your week in a way that is centered on Christ. For a further reflection on these twelve points, you can listen to my Sunday School lesson.

Six More Ways to Order Your Week by the Son

7. Enter the darkness of the city with light of Christ. In Matthew 5:14–16, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” In this setting, Jesus’s words identify his disciples as a city of light. This imagery picks up the city of Jerusalem (see Psalm 48), where the light of God dwelt. Now in the New Testament, Jesus could call himself the light of the world (John 8:12) and in Matthew, his kingdom was a source of light for his people (see Matt. 4:12–17). Today, the light of Christ is seen most visibly when the sons and daughters of light gather for worship. That said, the light of a Christian does not go out when we scatter throughout the week. Rather, we take the light of Christ with us wherever we go. Still, it is possible to be fearful, slothful, or unintentional in bringing Christ’s light into the world. And so I want to suggest three practical ways to bring the light of Christ from the altar to the city.

1. Share what you learned, heard, read, sung with others that need the light of Christ. This could be sharing a song, a sermon, a Scripture, or an act of service. But as you leave from the friendly confines of the church to go into the unfriendly spaces of the world, look for ways to befriend others with grace and truth of Christ. This could be accidental, as you go about your days, ready to share with others. Or better, this could be intentional. Think about who needs to hear what you heard this Sunday, and then prepare to share it with them.
2. Be prepared to give answer for the hope that you have in Christ. This is Peter’s language, when he tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 to sanctify Christ in our hearts. Indeed, when we are filled with the Spirit of Christ, we will often conduct ourselves in ways that leads others to ask questions. And if and when someone asks a question about why we do what we do, do not hide the light of Christ. Equally, in your home and workplace, look for ways to promote conversation about Christ. Pray for ways to bring the light of Christ into the dark. And wait and see what God does.
3. Look for those who you can invite to church the next week. In our area there are new people moving in all the time. Look for new neighbors, soccer families, coffee shop friends, or home school moms to invite to church. Equally, consider ways to invite non-Christians into your homes, or out for lunch, or over for to watch a ballgame. Sometimes the first invitation is not to church, but to something more relational. But don’t lose the centrality of worship. Pray for and look for ways to invite people to church.

During the week, one way to abide in the light is to see embrace your role as an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), bringing his light into the darkness. 8. Lead others to the altar of God (family, friends, peers, strangers) on the Lord’s Day. In so many ways this orientation extends and expands the last, but I offer it again, because of how easy it is to move through the week driven by other events, activities, and assignments. In fact, I cannot point the finger at others without first pointing all ten at myself. As a father of four, our lives are regularly filled with activities from Monday through Saturday. And while my eye is always on the next Sunday, it is easy to focus only on the practice schedule and weekly church events when I am not directly working on the sermon. When I do that, I can easily forget the rhythm of life that God punctuates with weekly worship. In other words, the high points of the schedule are during the week, while Sunday is merely a break. Yet, such a way of thinking, as I have tried to argue in this sermon series, actually makes Sunday a valley and the week a series off hills. But the opposite is true. Sunday is the highpoint, as we gather for worship. And it is something that I (and we) should prepare for throughout the week. Here are three practical ways to lead others to prepare for Sunday.

1. Read the passage of Scripture that is coming up for the next Sunday. If you don’t know what is coming next, this might indicate a disconnect between your week and your worship. Or, it might indicate a way that the church can grow in preparing its people for worship. If you don’t know what the Scripture will be, ask. And if it is randomly selected, ask again: Shouldn’t those worshiping on Sunday be able to prepare for worship, by way of knowing what the sermon’s Scripture will be? Equally, pray for the church and its members and the ministry of the Word that goes on Sunday. And in this prayer, don’t just pray for the sermon. Pray for the children, the teens, the teachers, and the musicians. Truly, there must be planning, study, and preparation for Sunday’s services to honor the Lord. So, let’s pray for those who labor, and lets pray for ways we can serve too.
2. Lead worship at the family altar. If we are preparing for the Lord’s Day, we can also imitate the Lord’s Day worship at home. In homes with children, especially, family worship should be a routine that is practice. If not every day, then multiple days through the week, fathers should lead their families to read Scripture, pray, and sing. Truly, before inviting others outside of our families to church (the next point), we should be faithful to prepare our families for worship.
3. Invite others. We should pray and consider who we might invite to church, or pick up (if there are shut ins), or encourage to come. While we often think about inviting unbelievers, we would do well to also ‘invite’ fellow members to church or to lunch after service. We might also encourage a struggling member to make it to church early for Sunday School. Between Sundays, we should consider who we can invite to worship.

In New England villages, the steeples of the church stood above all the other buildings in town, so that villagers and church members could be reminded of the church. With or without seeing a steeple in our daily life, we should maintain a vision of Sunday worship, and we should pray and plan for ways to lead others to the place of God’s worship. At the same time, by taking small steps to prepare for Sunday, it helps us take seriously the command to seek first the kingdom of God, even as we help others to do the same. Therefore, as you go from Sunday to Sunday, don’t forget the rhythm of worship and how you preparing for Lord’s Day means helping others prepare too. 9. When home (on Sunday), look for ways to consistently gather and bless the people who gather at your altar. One result of helping lead others to worship is that it centers our mind on the responsibilities we have at the Lord’s altar (see #5). Another result is that it makes it difficult to skip church or to skip around. One aspect of church life that I have seen in some younger believers (or older believers who haven’t learned the value of the local church) is the way they can be tempted to skip around to different churches. Yes, they are in church on Sunday, but their inconsistency has a negative effect on their worship and (without their intention) a negative effect of the church too. Truly, there is something stabilizing and strengthening about members who commit themselves to one another. I call this the “ministry of presence,” and it has a powerful effect on the church. When I was in high school I started going to church, and every Sunday I was greeted by the same elderly gentleman. He took time to learn my name, my place on the basketball team, my interests and so forth. In short, by taking less than 2 minutes every Sunday, he greeted me and made feel welcome. Each Sunday, I went to hear the Word and to sing the songs, but also I looked forward to talking to him. When I had never had a habit of going to church (until 17), his presence served to keep my interest and lead me to see more of Christ. Indeed, one way to build up the body of Christ is to gather consistently and to serve faithfully. Certainly, there is freedom to visit a friends church—especially if their child is being baptized, or if they are preaching their first sermon. But the normal pattern of worship should be devoted to worship at one place, until and unless the Lord moves you someplace else or the teaching becomes unbiblical or the leadership becomes sinful. Still, even in such instances when the teaching suffers and the leadership lacks, the faithful member of the church has a responsibility to help pray for and work for change. I am amazed by the testimony of a woman who prayed for years for Christ to be exalted in the preaching of her church. She was a member of a church that believed the Bible, but apparently the excellencies of Christ were not extolled in the sermons. During that time, she could have left and found another church, but instead she stayed and she prayed. And in time, a change came in the pulpit and along with it a greater focus on Christ. What is the lesson? Just because something happens at church to make it less than desirable does not mean an automatic escape. Local churches are covenant communities, where the members commit themselves to Christ and to one another. And thus, every Lord’s Day, the church that is growing in Christ is one that sees its members assembling to praise God and plead for his mercies upon them. In this way then, whenever you are home, look for ways to gather and bless the people who are gathered at Christ’s altar—which is your altar too! 10. When traveling (on Sunday), look for others faithful altars to visit and encourage. In our mobile age, work, family, and various travel will lead people to be away from home more than a few times each year. And sometimes, this in includes Sundays. In such instances, don’t miss the chance to gather with other saints. Wonderfully, there are faithful churches all over the world. And when your travel takes you away from your altar, find another one. Yes, you might find that traveling early on Sunday morning is an easy time to drive, but alternatively, why not schedule your travels to visit a good church on that morning? In fact, why not plan vacations with a good place of worship in view? Just as I would urge any family or single who is moving to a new area to buy a home or rent an apartment near a good church, so I would urge traveling saints to check out a church known for good preaching and faithful worship. After all, visiting other faithful churches is one of the best ways to connect the body of Christ and to learn from other churches. Countless are the ideas I have found when visiting another church. From the order of service, to the bulletin, to the bookshelves, to the bathroom stalls, there are things that I have seen in other churches that have spurred me on toward love and good deeds in my own church. Sure, as a pastor, I may visit another church with our church on the brain, but if you, as a member, want to see your church grow, and specifically, if you have particular place of ministry to oversee, why not see what you can learn by visiting a good church. Now, as I told our Sunday School class, if you work with children, “Don’t just walk into the nursery.” But you might seek a conversation with a church leader. Few are the churches who wouldn’t enjoy your visit and answer your questions. I am always delighted when visitors come to our church, because their pastor told them to visit. One way churches encourage one another is by members visiting one another. Indeed, when visiting other churches on vacation or during job training or a family emergency, you can be a blessing to the church you visit. Often pastors are the ones who connect local churches, but church members can do the same. Again, locally that might look like shared missions or equipping (e.g., Simeon Trust workshops), but nationally or internationally, churches can be connected (and mission-efforts can be started) by members who take seriously the call to visit other churches. So, when the Lord orders your steps to be away from your local church, don’t miss the chance to visit another good church. Oh, and do avoid the bad ones. Thankfully, there are many good internet searches to identify good churches today. And with less than 30 minutes work, you can probably find a faithful church in the area you are going to. Or, if you can’t, then you know that when you travel to a place where the gospel is absent, then you need to pray for the Lord to plant an altar, where his people can gather and worship him. In fact, it could be the case that your own home church takes up a mission to plant a church to an area where the gospel is not preached. But such awareness only surfaces as Christians, who are away from home, are looking for faithful churches. 11. When sick (on Sunday), lament your absence. Finally, with regards to the Lord’s Day itself. Don’t miss the chance to grieve your absence, when circumstances prevent. A few years ago, I was in the ER with a tonsillar abscess at the very hour I was supposed to preach. By means of technology, I was watching the service until the doctor came to lance the abscess. Literally, at the same moment I had a needle shoved in my throat, the church was praying for me. I missed being at church that morning, but I did not miss God’s grace—namely, the answer to prayer. That said, there really is a heavenly grace that we miss when we are absent from church. While God ordains circumstances where his saints are missing, it is not a light thing to miss the blessing that comes by being gathered for worship. This was reinforced during COVID, and it is something that should continue to stick with us. Vibrant faith requires regular worship. And it is not the same to watch a service on a screen. Therefore, the next time injury, emergency, illness, or a flat tire prevents your presence with God’s people, pause and reflect on the absence. Don’t assume business as usual or that one week away is no small thing. Instead, marvel at the grace of God that you have been given so many Sundays to gather. Likewise, if you miss one Sunday, you won’t have to wait a month or a year to commune with God again, as was the case under the old covenant (Leviticus 23). Ponder your need to be with God’s people and give thanks for the access you have to a local church. Let your mind imagine what it must be like for shut ins and Christians who don’t have access to a faithful church. Pray for them. Again, it is possible to make too much about gather with God’s people, and to miss the omnipresence of God and the gift of being heard wherever we are. But don’t undervalue the gathered church. And when you are absent, take time to ask God to increase your love for him, his church, and the gathered worship that comes at the altar on the Lord’s Day. In a word, lament your absence from church and pray for a speedy return. 12. Solidify your schedule and guard your time with God. Last, once you have set your orientations in place, do all you can to solidify them. As anyone who has ever started a workout regimen and finished it knows, gains comes with consistency. Similarly with Christ, the more you can retain a consistent schedule with reading Scripture, praying, gathering with Christians, and making plans for the Lord’s Day, the more growth you will see. As I stated at the outset, every person will need to order their week differently. And over the seasons of life, you will need to make adjustments too. But don’t let the freedom of your schedule make it endlessly malleable. Rather, with the necessary margins in place, set a schedule that orients your days and your week around the Son. Remember: putting Christ first in the day means waking with a plan and going to bed at night with a purpose. For me, (most days) I am ordering my waking hours by reciting the Lord’s prayer, listening to the Bible or a book about the Bible (as I make coffee), reading a section from a theology book, and reading a chapter in Matthew. At night I am reading the Old Testament, and working to go to bed earlier than I used to. As my wife and my body tell me, I can’t run on five hours of sleep like I did in my 20s and 30s. Instead, I need to adjust my schedule accordingly and make every effort to solidify my schedule. And I am encouraging you to do the same. To reiterate an earlier point, aside from Sundays (the Lord’s Day), the pastor has no biblical warrant over your schedule. But God does. And my final word for you then is to prayerfully consider how to set your watch by the Son. If you need help, talk to your pastor or a trusted friend. Ask for prayer and discipline yourself for godliness. Wonderfully, God has not made the Christian life complicated. He just asks that we be consistent. For in fact, that is what it means to abide in Christ—to order our days in a consistent manner, such that we would know and enjoy him more. Truly, we cannot do anything without him, so let us set our days by the light of the Son, and trust him for the results. Soli Deo Gloria, ds