31 Jul, 2009

He REALLY Didn't Want to Go to Church!

Holy car! Utah boy goes for spin to avoid church
PLAIN CITY, Utah – Police in Utah say a 7-year-old boy led officers on a car chase in an effort to avoid going to church.

Dispatchers received reports of a child driving recklessly on Sunday morning. Weber County Sheriff's Capt. Klint Anderson says one witness said the boy drove through a stop sign.

Anderson says two deputies caught up with the boy and tried unsuccessfully to stop the Dodge Intrepid in an area about 45 miles north of Salt Lake City. The car reached 40 mph before the boy stopped in a driveway and ran inside a home.

Anderson says when the boy's father later confronted him, the boy said he didn't want to go to church. The boy is too young to prosecute and no citations were issued, although police did urge the father to make his car keys more inaccessible to children.

Story and photo found at www.news.google.com.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (New International Version)

24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
What does God's Story teach us about going to church?
 
Some of us have been attending church longer than we can remember.  Others of us are still a little new to the church scene.  Regardless of how long we are part of a local church, we can sometimes forget that Church is not just some place that we go, rather it is the Body of Christ, alive and working in the world today.  We don't just "go to church," we are the Church!  
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
  • If you haven't already, make a commitment to not miss church for just any reason.
  • Have you been "going to church" for a while, but you aren't really serving in any way?  Ask your parents or some of the adults at church how you might get involved in sharing in the ministries of the church.  Maybe helping in some childrens classes or the nursery.  Maybe helping with cleaning up around the church during the week before school starts again.  Maybe helping some of the elderly members of your church and community with something while you are still out for summer.  
  • Thank God for the gift of the Body of Christ!
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?
  • Who can you "spur on toward love and good deeds"? Think of someone in your life and find a good deed to do together.  Visit someone in a hospital or nursing home.  Take a meal to someone who may be out of work and in need of help.  Then talk about how it felt to "be" the Church and not just "go" to church.
  • Do you have some friends who have "given up meeting together" at church?  Give them a call and invite them to join you this weekend.  
  • Is there someone with whom you've been sharing your story and God's story this summer?  Give them a call and invite them to attend church with you this weekend.
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