While driving through a nearby town, I read the following on a Bojangles Restaurant board, “Sunday Buffet, 11-2, Eat All You Want.” This got me to thinking about what happens in churches across the country every Sunday from around 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or so. Every Sunday when you attend Sunday School and the morning and evening services, the following ought to be true:
1. The teaching in SS and the preaching in the services should be a buffet that is well-prepared, presented and prayed over.
Therefore, the pastor needs to spend time alone with the Lord early in the mornings each day to know the heart of God and His Word. He must pray through the passages that he’ll be preaching from in the coming days. He needs to study the text, dig for the meaning, seek the Spirit of God to reveal the Truth, and come to the “table” ready to deliver the goods!
If Bojangles invites you to eat their food until you are full, they had better have the food prepared. So should the pastor and teachers.
2. The attenders should want nothing more than to leave having eaten all they could hold.
Now, since losing my weight, I do not have the capacity to eat like I used to. There were years that buffet and happiness were synonymous in my book. Sad to say, too many Christians have a greater capacity to eat temporal food than they do eternal manna. Hence, it’s like the old hair gel commercial’s tag line, “A little dab will do you.” We eat hardy at the world’s tables, but are satisfied with a light snack of God’s Word. The reason I return to a restaurant is due to the good food. When I heard a restaurant I love was opening in my town, I was excited! We should be in the Word so much outside of church that when we attend, we eat until we are full and are looking forward to the next time!
Think on these truths:
Psalm 19:7-11
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
Psalm 119:97, 103
Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
How sweet are Your words to my taste,
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
So, are you faithful member of the Eat All You Want Church? I’ll pray, prepare, and present; you eat all you want!
From A Pastor's Heart 