Christian Time

There is a very obvious sense that all time is to be used to God’s glory and so no time can be ‘Christian’ or ‘not-Christian’ time. A Christian is called to honour the Lord all of the time.
Nevertheless, how we use our time speaks volumes about our heart, maturity and spiritual progress. In Redeeming the Time, we explored what it looks like to not pass our time as the world does but instead to redeem it and use it for noble things and purposes.

Time is so important. Next to life itself it is the greatest gift. How we use it reveals who we honour, determine our spiritual health and chart the course of every other area of our life. Here I mean Christian time for ways in which we overtly spend our time engaged in public means of grace: weekly, monthly and yearly (there is of course daily too: personal and family reading of Scripture, prayer and singing).

(*What follows are the main public meetings of the church that we should intentionally build into our lives and is expressed in our church covenant pledge, “to attend all public meetings of the church.” 3.5). 

Weekly: The very heart of Christian time is the Lord’s Day, or as John’s contemporary Ignatius called it, ‘The Queen of the Days.’ It is the church’s main meeting. Our week looks forward in preparation and expectation to this “appointed day” of public worship (Statement of Faith, 12). Our new week dawns in the presence of God in public worship and seizing hold of all of the means of grace in faith. We gather as a church first in the morning in Resurrection light and then again in the evening, bookending or setting apart God’s special day. (Read here for more on Why the Evening). For those physically unable to join, technology makes connecting easy.
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Monthly: Each month we also have the monthly corporate prayer meeting. While we pray together in other ways, this is an opportunity to gather expressly to pray for the life of the church and revival, etc. This is rooted in Acts and has a long history in our Reformation movement. It is when the church not only worships but prays together that you can see her heart (and her heart is in turn transformed in a common experience). A praying church is always a growing church.
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Yearly: Our quarterly members’ meetings are our opportunity to not only gather in fellowship (and usually teaching and singing) but to discern God’s will for our church. As elders-led congregationalists this is very important. We want to hear from and help our elders. We want to discuss the largest matters facing our church. We want to hear and discuss things together before the Lord, our head. As members of a local body it is vital that all members gather under Christ to discern His will.

These are the appointed main public gatherings of our church, which we should prioritize to attend regularly before we consider other ministries. (We should also have at least one area of the church in which we are serving). When we ‘seek ye first’ (Mt 6:33) God’s kingdom and righteousness in these ways, our week, month and year have a solid foundation from which to do other things.

Other: Once we are engaging in the basics then ask, what other time might I have to devote to other ministries. Maybe a receiving ministry (e.g. a special teaching event)? Maybe a  giving ministry (serving at King’s Kids)? Maybe one that gives and receives (like discipleship at a Life Group. We also need to be free to have enough time to respond opportunities to help others, invest in relationships or speak with those interested in Christ as they arise

Yet when we are redeeming the time and our Christian time is firmly rooted, we won’t have less time but the Lord will anchor and bless us so that we still have time for other things (c.f. Mt 6:33).  
How do you spend your Christian time? Please prioritize our morning and evening worship gatherings, our monthly prayer meeting and quarterly members’ meetings and build upward from there as you are able.