It's a dreary Saturday morning, but tomorrow's Sunday!  Do you look forward to Sundays?  I do, and not just because the Steelers will be playing.  I look forward to worshiping the Lord with those who have become closest to me in life.  God's plan from the beginning was that we would live together loving and serving Him and relating at the closest level.  Sunday mornings give us an opportunity to connect with Him as a group, a family, a body.  They give us an opportunity to connect with each other, to make new friendships and reinforce longstanding ones.

If you're thinking, "You can't make a friendship in fifteen minutes on a Sunday morning," I'd challenge that thinking.  Many of my closest friendships in life occurred because of a fifteen minute meeting.  Case in point:  one morning  I needed a ride from Princeton Seminary to my apartment, which was four miles away.  I asked a group of students I didn't know, "Is anyone going to CRW (the Charlotte Rachel Wilson Apartments where we lived.)?  A guy named Andy Ross said he was and would give me a ride.  By the time we got to CRW, we were friends, and for the next two years we were the best of friends.  It started with a question of whether someone could meet a practical need.  It continued with a conversation during a ten minute car ride.  It grew into a relationship in which we got together every day of the week to pray for each other, play racquetball or ping-pong together, study together, and enjoy fellowship with each other and our wives.

You never know when saying, "Hi!" to someone on Sunday morning before, during or after worship may lead to a lasting friendship.  In addition, in those brief meetings we find out those with whom we want to invest more time in a L.I.F.E. group, or as families, or just to go to a football game or work on a project together.  The thing about making friends at church is you know that you have the most important matter in life in common--Jesus!  Sometimes we meet folks at church who seem to have nothing in common with us except Jesus.  That's enough.  I've made friends at church over the years who have not shared my interest in sports, carpentry, reading, or science fiction movies and shows.  The only thing we seemed to have in common was Jesus, and a desire to know, love and serve Him more.  When we have that in common, relationships naturally follow.

I'd encourage you to prepare for worship tomorrow, by asking God to prepare you to be a friend. After all, as the old saying goes, to have a friend you have to be a friend.  That's not the main reason we gather at the South Butler Primary School every Sunday morning at 8:45 and 10:15, but it sure is a great benefit of being part of a body of believers who are committed to sharing the new life of Jesus Christ with the world--one person at a time!  I hope to see you there tomorrow!  

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, as I prepare to worship You with other believers at New Life tomorrow, prepare my heart to be a friend, to welcome others as part of Your family.  Fill us all with Your Holy Spirit that we may glorify You today, tomorrow and every day You give us.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.