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40 Hours a Year

1/11/23 | The Weekly | by Matt Doan

    Last weekend, the Doan family headed up to the Mountains for a snow adventure. On our road trip, the inevitable question came up in the car, “are we there yet?” When you are a child, time in the car can feel like an eternity! As we get older, time seems to go faster.

    Here are some reminders of how fast “time flies.”
    - 1980 was 43 years ago.
    - Kevin McCallister was left home alone 32 years ago.
    - Babies born on 9/11/2001 are graduating college this year.

    Psalm 90:12 wisely tells us, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” As we enter 2023, how can we have a heart of wisdom? According to the Psalmist, it is by “numbering our days” —  being intentional with our time.

    According to one survey taken by a national parachurch organization, the average committed Christian spends 40 hours a year at church. Now depending on your point of view, that may seem like a lot of time (especially if I am preaching, hahahaha)!

    But in comparison to other activities, it really doesn’t.
    You will spend 2080 hours at work this year.
    You will spend about 780 hours on social media this year.
    You will spend 293 hours driving this year.
    You will spend 24 hours brushing your teeth this year.

    And you will spend 40 hours at church.

    I want to challenge you with something for 2023. What if you increased the number of hours you spent at church?  Now, hear my heart, I am not asking you to be a legalist or trying to guilt you into something. But I do believe that what you spend your time doing shapes you. What If you committed to spend more time being shaped by your church community in 2023?

    As we begin 2023, we have some great opportunities to grow in your journey with Jesus.

    The Alpha Course starts tonight(!) and is a wonderful place to ask spiritual questions, discuss the basics of Christianity and take a step of growth. I would love to have you join me any Wednesday in January or February at 7:00 pm in Fellowship Hall for this course!

    We also launch our Wednesday midweek Kids and Student programs tonight at 7:00 pm. Our kids have so many time commitments (way more than I ever had as a child), but don’t you think it is worth it for them to spend time at church? I want to urge you, plead with you, challenge you — get your kids and students plugged into our mid-week programs in 2023!

    And this coming Sunday morning is our next LifeGroup Preview Fair right after the 9:00 am worship service. If you aren’t in a LifeGroup, now is the time to get connected and plugged into one. LifeGroups are the place here at Calvary to be known and know others as you grow in your faith together.

    Let’s make our hours count in 2023!

    Your fellow sojourner in Christ,
    Matt Doan
    Reach Pastor