CHURCH-PREPARATION FOR
The answer to the problem
begins with Saturday preparation… It is advisable that young families have
their clothing clean and laid out on Saturday night, and even that the
breakfast be decided upon. The
whereabouts of Bibles and lessons should be known, and even better, ought to be
collected and ready. There should be an
agreed-upon time to get up which leaves plenty of time to get ready for
church. Going to bed at a reasonable
hour is also a good idea. Spiritually,
prayer about the Lord’s Day is essential – prayer for the service, the music,
the pastors, one’s family, and oneself.
Disciplines of a Godly Man, Crossway Books, 1991, p. 113.
Prepare to meet thy God, O
Christian! Betake thyself to thy
chamber on the Saturday night… The oven of thine heart thus baked, as it were,
overnight, would be easily heated the next morning; the fire so well raked up
when thou wentest to bed, would be the sooner kindled when thou should
rise. If thou wouldst thus leave thy
heart with God on the Saturday night, thou shouldst find it with Him in the Lord’s
Day morning.
George Swinnock
Quoted in: J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, Crossway
Books, 1990, p. 237.