An elderly lady, dreadfully crippled with arthritis, would hobble painfully to church on two crutches. It was an agonizing ordeal for her, and someone asked her how she managed to be at every service. Her answer was, “My heart gets there first, and my legs just follow after.” Can it be that we really do not have an attendance problem, so much as we have a heart problem?   Consider these good reasons to attend every service:

* To have the Scriptures opened to us (Luke 24:25).

* To receive the comfort and encouragement which is found in Christian fellowship (Hebrews 10:24).

* To feed and exercise our faith (Romans 10:17).

* To maintain our spiritual fervor (Matthew  24:12).  A coal of fire alone on the hearth will die; so we, by ourselves, will grow cold and lifeless.

* To set a good example for others to follow (Matthew  5:13-16).

* To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew  6:33).

* To prevent backsliding (1 Corinthians 11:20-30). Absenteeism is invariably one of the first warning signs of apostasy.

* To obey God’s command not to forsake the assembling of His saints (Hebrews 10:25).

* To cast your vote for righteousness and godliness, and against the closing of the church building (Matthew 12:30).