Who goes to church these days?
Samuel Priest and Judge Were you raised in a Christian home? Did your parents insist on you going to church each week? How about now? Has their faith become yours or have you left it behind? Parental faith doesn’t ensure continued church attendance; life’s difficulties, demanding jobs, or the lure of novelty often leads to apathy or downright discontent with the church. If you have left God behind, it’s worth giving him another chance. These feelings are timeless because we see them played out in biblical times. During the era of Israel’s judges, each year Samuel’s parents went to worship at the tabernacle. His mother had once suffered both the shame of barrenness and subsequent cruel taunting from her husband’s other wife. Yet after Samuel’s birth, she dedicated him to the Lord, and he served in the tabernacle alongside Eli, the...