Life had become too easy. If ever a church could be compared to the fairy tale hare, First Church, Sardis would be it. If we might continue the admittedly modern imagery, one can picture what the scene could have been on a Sunday morning there. As the eleven o'clock hour approaches, the tremendous carillons chime out the sounds of impending worship. The parking lot fills up.
People dressed to the nines make their way into a sanctuary that reeks of a distinguished history.
The best pipe organ in the city begins to sing out with the magnificent strains of the masters of sacred music. The well-trained choir makes its entrance along with the senior pastor and his associates, all robed as would befit the solemnity of the occasion. They take their seats behind the pulpit in front of which sits a table draped with white linen and prepared for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper which will be celebrated later. As the organist comes to the end of her prelude, the choir stands and sings the introit. Then one of the associates takes the pulpit and issues the call to worship and offers a prayer.