We are all - to some extent creatures - of habit.

When you first get up in the morning you probably fall into a habitual routine to get yourself going. 

I always start off with a mug of tea.  Not coffee.  I never drink coffee until about 11 o’clock...when it is ‘coffee time’.  That’s my habit.  It may not be yours, but it is mine.  It’ll probably never change.  I doubt you’ll change yours either - unless you are a person who feels particularly spontaneous first thing in the morning, which, by the way, I never do!

A good habit to get into first thing in the morning is to say ‘Good Morning’ to God.  It helps us to remember that God will be with us throughout the day...whatever it is we have to do.  If you are a person who feels dread at the start of the day, then I heartily recommend this as a way of remembering that Jesus walks with you every step of the way.  Saying ‘Good Morning’ to God is a good habit to get into.

Then...there are our bad habits.  Oh dear.  We’d rather not think about those.  It can be so hard to try and break a bad habit just as it can take determination to get into a good habit. We are so blessed that Jesus loves and understands us and that He is our friend and our Saviour. 

Worshipping regularly at Metropolitan Community Church is a good habit to get into.

Of course, there will be some Sundays when we really can’t attend.

However, I want to talk about the Sundays when we CAN get here.  Hopefully, we will WANT to be here and if we are not present then we should MISS being here!!

Let’s also remember that we don’t come to church only to receive, but also to give.  You...yes, YOU...are part of this church family.  You bring a uniqueness which is missing when you are not here.  You add you voice to the singing and your prayers to the praying.  We love to share Holy Communion with you and we enjoy your company in the social time.  Simply put, you are loved...and we miss you if you are not here.

We also value your views.  Please complete the survey each week this month so we can read your views and make sure that this is a church where people want to be every Sunday and where our midweek activities are enjoyed too.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote, ‘let us consider how to provoke one

another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching’. 

It is easy to slip out of the habit of attending church. 

Let’s face it, the society we live in now mostly assumes that Sunday is for other activities. 

So, that’s why we need to encourage each other to be here. 

I bet there is someone you know who isn’t here right now and you are wondering where they are.  Why not give them a ring this evening and say ‘hello’.  That way they WILL know that you missed them.  Hopefully, they’ll be here next week and we will all be pleased to see them.  More importantly, they will be here to be strengthened and touched by Jesus in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. 

The Letter to the Hebrews, from which we heard the reading earlier, was written for Jewish Christians who were familiar with the patterns of worship in the Temple.

Here various sacrifices were offered each day in order to show sorrow for and seek atonement of sin. Once a year the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice there as a way to atone for the sins of the

people.  

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews contrasts these sacrifices, which he holds could not take away sin, with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross which does. The author is contrasting the "old" way of worshipping through sacrifice with a "new" pattern of worship in the Church (which in many ways is based on the worship of the Synagogue).  

This "new" pattern involves holding fast to our confession of faith and provoking one another to love and good deeds. The writer urges us not to give up the habit of meeting together for worship. 

So, let’s not take our church for granted.  Faith in Jesus is our message and it’s wonderful!  We need to receive it every day as if we are hearing the ‘Good News’  for the very first time.  Make the most of your church!  Remember how special MCC is as a house of prayer and place of worship that extends a genuine welcome to the LGBT communities.   

We are very blessed to have found MCC.  Let’s make the most of it and commit ourselves to the good habit of regular attendance and joyful participation in the life and the mission of our church.