How Important is Sunday REALLY??!!

Being in ministry I get to see faith and the Church in a very unique light. I get to exeprience faith personally and I also get to see faith lived out in other people's lives. It is that perspective that gets me into trouble a lot. You see, asI watch the decision people make and the results of those decisions I get to see what works and what does not. I also get to see what fruit a decision brings. And seeing that makes me want to say something, because a lot of our unfruitfulness as Christians has more to do with our own decisions than it does everything else in life.
Let me give you an example. I noticed this weekend that we had quite a few families gone from church. Some of the people who were gone were out of town for their summer vacation and some of the people who were gone were out of town for other things (dog show, work, 4H, etc.). There is even an expectation among ministers that the summer is the "low" time for church attandance.
Now, our faith is not based on our church attendance. Just going to church is not going to save you. BUT, our faith is affected by our church attendance. When everything else in life is just as important as church it says something. It says that my faith is a part of my life, but not necessarily the most important thing in my life. That may be a decision we make subconsciously, but it begins to affect us. We do not grow at the level that we need to and so we end up like the plant with shallow roots that can't survive (Matt 13). By attending regulalry I am commititng to grow my roots depe with other people.
It may say that making money is more important than making a life. I see guys who miss to go do some extra work to pick upi extra money. I would encourage them to trust that God will provide enough for faith and finances. Commit to Him your faith and He will provide for your finances.
It says to our kids that they need to balance out faith with fun, recreation and work. I think we are setting a lot of our kids up to have the same problems we have in faith. When we choose not to go to church to go to one more sports things or dance thing or event it says to them that church is important, but not necessary. Your kids may end up struggling to grow in faith, because you made the choice to make church optional instead of necessary for growth.
It says that the church is for me, and forgets that like any family, you bring something just by showing up. When you don't come because of some lesser event in your life you may be forgetting that not only do you attend for what you get, but what you give. Most ministers would tell you that one of the hardest parts about Sunday is trying to figure out who is going to show up so they know what kind of ministry they will have that day.
The worst thing you can do as a Christian is to bring balance into your faith. If faith is equal to everything else it is not the kind of faith that will grow you and change you. The problem for a lot of us is that we want our fun or work or kid's events to have as much right to our schedule as our faith. And when that happens we undermine our faith and we end up unfruitful.
I wish I could express to you how many Christians I know who end up struggling in faith or dissatisfied with church who have created the problem themselves. They have not committed themselves to be a part of the community of faith that God made them for and so they never get to be known at the level that they need to be. They attend church, but attending something doesn't develop intimacy. When you commit to a group of people and you are a regular part of their life you get to know them and when crisis or celebration hit they are right their in the middle of it to walk with you.

"Let 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." Hebrews 10:25