CHURCH:
PRESENCE OF GOD; CHURCH: SERVICES; CHURCH: BOREDOM

The Bible teaches plainly enough the doctrine of the divine omnipresence, but for the masses of professed Christians this is the era of the Absentee God. Most Christians speak of God in the manner usually reserved for a departed loved one, rarely as of one present; but they do not often speak to Him.…

At the far end of the spectrum are the conventional churches. I think it is the deep-seated notion that God is absent that makes so many of our church services so insufferably dull. When true believers gather around a present Christ it is all but impossible to have a poor meeting. The drabbest sermon may be endured cheerfully when the sweet fragrance of Christ’s presence fills the room. But nothing can save a meeting held in the name of an Absentee God.

Exodus 33:14–16; Psalm 95:1–2; Matthew 18:20

God Tells the Man Who Cares, 69, 72.