Ten Blessings of Attending Evening Services
While attending an evening worship service recently, I was again impressed by the joyful blessing of simply being there with God and His people. Though I have shared before the biblical reasons for churches having an evening service on the Lord's Day (see here), this article is more practical in nature. Briefly, here are ten blessings I experience in regularly being back in the Lord's house on Sunday evenings.
A Consecrated Lord's Day. I find my whole Lord's Day is more devoted to the Lord by having the day "bookended" with morning and evening worship at church. The day is oriented around honoring the Lord, serving people, exercising hospitality, reflecting on eternal truth, and resting in body and soul. The command to "remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy" becomes more focused and attainable.
Further Meditation on God's Word. The psalms begin, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:1-2). Coming back to read, hear, and study God's Word on the Lord's Day evening, as well as the morning, encourages this meditation. This use of the Sabbath also sets a blessed pattern for the rest of the week for God's people, as it encourages morning and evening worship in the home.
A More Prayerful Church. Typically, in the evening services I attend, prayer requests from the congregation are taken and then offered to the Lord. These prayers tend to focus on personal needs, lost souls, missionaries, etc. Further, they fulfill the biblical picture of the church as a house of prayer. "On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth" (Isa. 62:6-7). If we cannot pray "day and night" on the Lord's Day, will we do it on other days?
Deeper Fellowship. If seeing our brothers and sisters once on the Lord's Day is a blessing, then it is doubled seeing them again in the evening. Perhaps even more than doubled! Often, in my circles, the evening service tends to be shorter than the morning service. Afterward, people tend to hang around even longer after the service and share their lives with one another. Our congregation this summer has offered ice cream and snacks once a month after the service. Seeing God's people out on the lawn, enjoying one another's company while the young children eat ice cream and play, is a beautiful picture of our life in Christ.
Getting to Know the Covenant Youth. A by-product of the deeper fellowship is spending more time around the children. I learn names better, have fun interactions with the little ones, and enter into conversations where I learn more about what our youth are doing or answer questions they have about the Bible or the church. Just last night, a two-year-old girl in her mother's arms in the row in front of me reached out to hold my hand for a few moments while we sang, and after the service, an almost one-year-old kept waving to me as I spoke with her parents. Such sweetness!
Learning the Psalms. I still look back with great fondness on the time Miriam and I, as newlyweds, began attending the Reformed Presbyterian Church on the edge of Purdue's campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. Having never known of evening services in our upbringing, we started attending. The congregation often had a time for people to pick psalms to sing, and the children were eager to ask for their favorite ones again and again. Unbeknownst to them, they were helping two newbies to psalm singing learn the words and the tunes! To this day, I still appreciate how this further time of singing also helps me meditate more deeply on God's Word.
Evangelistic Fruit. I have witnessed gospel seeds planted and watered, and conversions occurring, in evening services. On occasions, congregations where I have served have held special services with a theme and an outreach focus. Members were encouraged to invite family and friends, and many unbelievers who normally would not attend came and heard the gospel.
The Extension of Church Planting. I have participated in the planting of several congregations whose development was initiated by teaching, a prayer meeting, or a worship service on the Lord's Day evening. The enthusiasm for the growth of Christ's kingdom at these times has always been contagious. In Indiana, once a month, I would preach in a new work two hours away from our congregation in Kokomo. Members of my home congregation would also travel there to encourage the development of the church. Sometimes, we outnumbered the ones from that community!
Leadership Development. As a rule of thumb, when sessions that I have served on begin considering pastor, elder, or deacon elections, one of the areas they consider is the potential candidate's commitment to the evening service. Those who regularly serve the Lord by giving themselves to his worship morning and evening are more likely to know the congregation better and make themselves available to people's needs whenever they arise. Having this service also gives further opportunities for training men to preside, pray, or preach.
Orientated Weekdays. Recall that the fourth commandment not only addresses the Sabbath Day, but also commands us "six days you shall labor and do all your work." Giving the first day of the week fully to God, on the one hand, keeps other work from bleeding into the day as I rest. On the other hand, it helps wonderfully concentrate efforts to honor the Lord in my work on the other days of the week.
Having interacted with many about the Lord's Day, I know attempts to encourage people to return to the evening services can be viewed as guilting them or practicing legalism. Yet my heart in writing this post is simple. I do not want God's people to miss out on the abundant blessings He desires to pour out on you!
