Many people claim to be pressed for time, but the truth is that we all have the same amount of time –168 hours in a week. Some of what we do with that time is determined by others, but some of it is left to our own discretion. I want to suggest that there are three important hours in your week that should be spent doing very important activities.

First, we should prioritize one hour a week for corporate worship on Sunday. The early Christians met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) and Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Why should we be any less devoted to worship than they were? Let’s never forget what Jesus says in John 4:23, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” We must live a lifestyle of worship because God has created us for this and that is what he is looking for in us. A lifestyle of daily turning our attention to God in worship will lead us to want to worship together with other believers on Sunday. It is perhaps the most important hour of your week.

A second important hour in your week is the time you spend serving the Lord. I know that some of you do much more kingdom work than that, but let’s say that an hour should be the minimum time you spend serving the Lord. After all, he is called our Master, and we are referred to as his servants. The least we can do is to try to serve him an hour each week. Eph.2:8-10 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Just as we were created to worship, we were also created to serve. God has prepared good works for us to do to enhance his kingdom. The possibilities for service are widely varied: helping the poor, ministering to the sick, encouraging the discouraged, participating in the work of the local congregation, witnessing, inviting people to church and doing chores for the elderly are just some of the ways we can serve the Lord. If you are looking for a way to get more involved in serving the Lord, ask a mature Christian for some suggestions.

A third important hour in your week is participating in Bible study with others. This could be a Sunday school class, a Sunday evening Bible study, a mid-week study, a group that meets in someone’s home or your family devotional time. We need more than our daily personal Bible reading. When we study together in a group, we share insights and discover biblical truths that we might have otherwise missed. If you are not currently in a Bible study group, I suggest that you find one, or maybe even start one yourself!

These are three important hours in your week, and, of course, all of this should be bathed in prayer. 1 Thess.5:17 says, “Pray continually.” Col.4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Let’s spend our time wisely this week and every week.