Principles To Prepare For Worship

For the Shema Community, Sabbath mornings when we meet and worship and get spiritually renewed and inspired are the most important hours of the week. It’s a special time to get closer to God, and to one another, and to build ourselves up in our Most Holy. To get the most out of this time, it should be treated in special ways:

Make meeting with your God and with your community a habit. Build this spiritual discipline into your life and the life of your family. Make this time a priority. You will reap much spiritual benefit if you sow regular involvement with God and His people.

Don’t stay up late on Friday nights so that you are tired Saturday morning. Get up on Saturday with plenty of time to prepare yourself and your family. Anticipate that there might be bad weather or traffic. Set your alarm an hour earlier if you have to. Plan on arriving – not on time, but 15 minutes earlier, “prayed up” and ready to worship the Lord and hear from His Word.

Don’t be late. It’s discouraging to the worship team and the rabbis when you are not there when we start. And, it shows disrespect for God. If you can make the effort to be on time for work or school, you can show the same level of respect for God and His people.

Come with an attitude of that you are not coming just to receive, but to give, to serve, to encourage someone else. Look for opportunities to do that.

Come with an attitude that you are not just “going to synagogue,” “going to church” or “going to services.” Come with an attitude that you are getting involved with Messiah and His Community of Salvation.