Flexing The Sunday Morning Muscle

The time we spend on Sundays learning, serving, and growing clearly demonstrates to our children what is valued in our homes. How can you stay motivated for Sunday mornings?
March 10, 2023

Recently, I listened to a podcast called Sunday Mornings With Young Kids from the Ministry Wives. I gathered some great information for parents with little ones about Sunday Mornings.

The speaker of this particular podcast discussed some of the routines that help her make Sunday mornings more successful and less hectic. Some of her tactics include laying out clothes the night before, having grab-and-go breakfast options, and making a Sunday morning routine much like the routine we all create as parents for our weekday mornings. I loved the phrase she used in reference to this Sunday morning routine; it was making an effort to “flex the Sunday morning muscle.”

One way (of many) that 2020 and the Covid pandemic affected so many of us was this feeling that we were rewarded for isolation and punished for gathering together. So much of that isolation’s intent was to protect us from sickness; in turn, it made gathering feel like an inconvenience and a danger. It was so convenient to roll out of bed on Sunday morning in our PJs and turn on the laptop to hear the sermon that week. That separation from the church body left SO much missing, yet, I can see the memory of that convenience playing into our psyche on hectic Sunday mornings where it feels “so much easier” just to stay home. 

We are meant for community

Families, I encourage you to FLEX THE SUNDAY MUSCLE! Do not give in to that temptation and think that isolation is easier; it is not. We are meant to gather together, worship together, hold each other accountable, and build others up! 

We as parents are ALWAYS teaching our little ones what to value through, very simply, our attendance in what WE value. 

Who does that convict? ME. Are there days I would love to just stay at home, be productive, and work on fun projects? Are there days it would be easier not to commit to a weekly gospel group that I drive across town to every Sunday night? Sometimes in my flesh, YES.

But what are we teaching our children when we keep our commitments to our church body and show up? That biblical community is VALUED over what mom and dad want to do at home. We are teaching our children that accountability, personal relationships, learning more about God’s word, and SERVING our church family is a priority every week!

If we are prioritizing other activities like sports or Saturday night activities, that leaves us wanting to skip Sunday mornings with the body of Christ, we are prioritizing incorrectly. The time we spend on Sundays learning, serving, and growing clearly demonstrates to our children what is valued in our homes. 

In an article posted by baptistnews.com, a shocking study showed only 9% of Americans attend church weekly. “The results suggest adults’ experience as children was similar to that of their parents, but today’s adults have very different religious habits,” the Gallup release noted. “Among adults who have children under 18, 31% regularly attend, providing an indication of the frequency with which today’s children attend — far less than children from the prior two generations.”

I hear so often the worries of parents over their children feeling isolated, depressed, obsessed with technology, and disconnected, and my first question is, what are you plugged into? Who are you regularly interacting with, and what are you making a priority in your family?

I would encourage and challenge you – make worshiping with your family a priority on Sunday, and don’t let it stop there!  If you are not currently plugged into a gospel group, find one and be committed. Show your little ones the importance of participating in the church body and serving alongside other believers. Don’t just be a recipient of what your church has to offer you, be the church. Flexing the Sunday muscle may initially result in some soreness, but the results from your hard work for your family to be committed will be so worth the reward of watching them grow in the Lord.