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Does anyone know if church services driven by loud music and amplified media have to conform to standards and if anyone regularly checks them? I have worked in industrial machine shops quieter than the music service part of many churches I have been to to and I was forced to wear hearing protection at work for my own safety or get in trouble. Are churches now damaging hearing in the congregation for the sake of entertainment and re the guys on the mixing desk taught how to amplify sounds safely so church members are not damaged in any way? Imagine if one day a church got sued for it just like at work..

I know these pastors, who have "testimonies" that go something like this: "Everything i have is by gifts and offering, there is no time when i needed something that God has not provided" "On my wedding day, i didn't spend a dime" "My car was a gift, my children's school fees is taken care of by the church ..." "My house was a gift from a church member" These are wonderful testimonies, i mean, yes God is our provision... no matter what we do for a living, i personally believe, all we have is given to us by Him (besides, the bible did say so), But each time i hear such things from Pastors, it sounds to me like a very irresponsible way for a man to live. I would think every man should be able to cater for his family... Now, i don't know of those who God gave instructions not to do any work for themselves (like full time missionaries), but for those who don't have instructions from God... It is so extreme that they go into fasting and praying for things like children school fees, car repairs etc and eventually someone from the church brings something, or meets that need... I think it is irresponsible to live that way. I will appreciate your opinion on this.

OK well last night i was reading the KJV bible and was filling upset because i now i believe in god but just don't know what church to attend so i decided to say a prayer but not a normall one. basicy i said "look, i dont know how to address you and i dont know which church is your true church that you set up, i need help, help me to understand you and what you want, just tell me what you want" this was the first time that iv said a prayer and felt like i ment it. anyway after about an hour i fell asleep and had a funny dream. i walked into a old style church, a large open one with seats, i sat in the middle and tryed to talk to god i found myself repenting of my sins and telling him how hard it was when my parents died. anyway when i finished their was a priest sitting behind me and another larger woman and they got up hugged me and said "we will get through it because we are faimly" i woke up and havent been able to get it out of my mind. any ideas on the meaning??????

http://youtu.be/ayiRN2hcxlg

Thoughts? Agree or disagree? God bless, GE

Got to preach at a Hispanic Church. It was the first time I've preached with an interpriter, and God showed up in a powerful way. We had little kids come up and five year olds were laying hands on the sick and they were recovering. God is so awesome! YAY Jesus!

Our church is hosting a conference This August for church leaders. watch the video for more info! We have a video forum for videos. If you wish to have a video viewed, use those forums.

For our 2013 Christmas services at NewSpring Church we spent time traveling to Israel to film in Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem exploring the birth of Jesus and exploring the relevance in our own lives today. Enjoy!

When a problem arises within your church or the minister is becoming self righteous (pridful)....and more, and the Holy Spirit has stirred up your heart about the Truth in HIM, we are to follow HIM. Be the soldier God has called you to be. Stir up those spirits so everyone can grow in the Word of Truth. With God there is no respector of persons. Jesus was sent into the synogogues (churches) to speak against their hypocrisies. If you love your home church and your brothers and sisters you have sit amongest, you will not fear what man may do or say. Trust GOD! Within the brotherhood, we have been given the proper steps in which to follow. Mat. ch.18v15-20 15)Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him ALONE: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16) But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17) And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18) Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19) Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. People don't run away and find another church. What about those still there you said you loved? as Christ loved you. Yes, you will go through judgment, condemnation, and perscution from those that are supporting their itchy ears. Trust GOD! Fight the good fight of faith! Believe in GOD! From experience; everyone will grow in GOD and his WORD. The fiery darts will not shatter the shield of faith. The shield gets stronger when God goes to work because you believe in HIM. Faith without works is dead. God bless you

Has anyone notice the devil dancing coming into the Churches. Rick Warrens, saddle back church or just google harlem shake in the churches and see what is going on.

Can You Trust Everyone In Christian Churches? Are Christian Churches Always Safe Places? A Short Question Taken From A List Found On About.com Christianity.. This Is Intended For Both The Believer And The Seeker Alike. Believer's Bible Input Is Welcome. Any Sincere Expression And Question From Seekers Should Be (Prayerfully) Salted With Truth And With Love.

David Barton gives a tour of the Capital in DC [media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfEdJNn15E&feature=player_embedded

Watched this today. Made me cry. How beautiful is the Bride of Christ in His eyes! Remember today WHO's you are! God bless, GE Casting Crowns - Wedding Day [Verse 1:] There's a stirring in the throne room And all creation holds it's breath Waiting now to see the Bride Groom Wondering how the Bride will dress And she wears white And she knows that she's undeserving She bears the shame of history But this worn and weary maiden Is not the Bride that He sees And she wears white, head to toe But only He could make it so [Chorus:] When someone dries your tears When someone wins your heart And says your beautiful When you don't know you are And all you've longed to see Is written on his face When love has come and finally set you free On that wedding day On that wedding day [Verse 2:] She has danced in golden castles And she has crawled through beggar's dust But today she stands before Him And she wears His righteousness And she will be who He adores This is what He made her for [Chorus] [bridge:] When the hand that bears the only scars And heaven touch her face And the last tears she'll ever cry Are finally wiped away And the clouds roll back as He takes her hand And walks her through the gates Forever we will reign [Chorus]

"NEWTOWN MASSACRE School carnage: Blame church, not God or guns Exclusive: William J. Murray reveals only way to turn society from violent, destructive path William J. Murray is the chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Religious Freedom Coalition and the author of seven books including "My Life Without God," which chronicles his early life in the home of destructive atheist and Marxist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Having lived the Marxist and the Ayn Rand (atheist) lifestyle, he has a unique perspective on religion and politics. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If an individual is not afraid of the wrath of God, it is impossible to cause him to fear the justice of the state. The killing of young children at their school will be linked by many pundits to the availability of guns. Still others will blame the violent act on some pathology or childhood trauma. Some may even blame the Hollywood culture with its disregard for humanity, on which human bodies are seen being dissected nightly on network TV. Virtually no one will call what occurred in Newtown an act of evil. Probably not a single sermon will be preached in which the perpetrator is predicted to have begun his eternal punishment for his crime after judgment by a just and angry God. A splintered American church driven by a pew-hungry, feel-good message will offer assurances that eternal peace awaits all those who died, including the shooter. The words “hell” and “sin” will very likely not be used in any sermons associated with the massacre. Yes, there is societal blame: Ridiculous privacy rules that allow the mentally ill to conceal their condition from schools, employers and gun-shop owners is just one. The constant esteem building in public schools teaching even low-functioning kids with anger problems to judge themselves equal to the valedictorian is yet another. But the greatest villain is a church that has accepted the world’s view that hell does not await evildoers. With a weak message from a weak church, there is no restraint or lessening of the violence. The shooting at Newtown was immediately followed by a shooting at a Birmingham, Ala., hospital and a Las Vegas hotel. Across the country, there are more than 16,000 murders each year. Of those, two-thirds are committed with guns. One in three murders is a very personal, vile act of evil using a knife, a blunt instrument or bare hands. And the response of the church to this violence is “God loves you. Have a nice day.” Adam Lanza had to shoot his way into the locked building. Public schools are not the soft targets many think they are. In more populated areas, there is virtually always an armed “safety officer” on duty because of the threat of student violence. Why? My mother, atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, fought to make the public schools the armed camps they are today by removing prayer, the recognition of the authority of God. In 1962 and 1963, I was attending an all-boys public high school in downtown Baltimore, Md. The school was a magnet school before the term even existed and was intended to prepare young men for college, majoring in science and engineering. There were 1,800 teenage boys in the school, and there was not a cop in the building – ever. The doors were unlocked and often the un-air-conditioned rooms had open windows. There were no metal detectors, no picture IDs, and students went in and out the doors on the honor system. The authority of God was present, even though I am very sure many of those young men, including myself, had some pretty vile thoughts that were not in the least way moral. The presence of the authority of God, vested in the teachers by His recognition every morning, was reinforced by the churches and the families of the students. That high school has since merged with a girl’s school in another location, for purposes of political correctness. The last time I checked, the old building itself was the headquarters of the Baltimore City Schools Police Force, something that did not exist when Baltimore’s population was nearly double what it is now. Every kid at every school now has a photo ID. All the doors of every school are locked. All doors have metal detectors and drug-sniffing dogs roaming the corridors. I am told that every school in Baltimore has at least one armed “safety officer.” In the vast majority of America’s public schools, the authority of God has been replaced with the authority of the iron fist of government. Morals? Without the authority of God, there are no morals, and none are taught in the public schools today. The ethics that are taught are situational, perhaps the same situational ethics that led to the logic that caused the tragic shootings in Newtown. This condition exists in the schools and the society in general because of a failed church that is splintered and weak. A large advertising sign near my home reads, “A church for those who don’t like church.” Translation: “No condemnation of sin here – we have coffee latte and great music.” How about this politically incorrect sermon subject: “An angry God condemns the carnal sin of Adam Lanza, the Newton school shooter who killed 26, and he will rot in eternal torment in hell, as do all those who turn their backs on God and his goodness and continue their wicked and sinful ways.” No way, no how in America today. No number of gun-control laws can contain the evil that has been let loose in America. Not even black clad police with masks and automatic weapons can maintain social order in our out-of-control society. The nation needs a religious revival to steer it away from certain moral destruction. That revival will not come from feel-good, coffeehouse sermons that do not call sin what it is. What are preachers today offering to “save” people from, if sin is never mentioned? What punishment are they being “saved” from, if hell is never mentioned? The fear of an angry and vengeful God was far more likely to have stopped the shootings in Newtown than the warm voice of a psychologist or the soothing feeling of drugs. Eternity in hell is a very long time. One of the greatest revival sermons of all times was that of Jonathon Edwards – “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Can you imagine even this one portion being repeated in a church in America today: “There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men’s hands cannot be strong when God rises up. The strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands. He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it.” God is not in the business of saving evil nations from themselves, but He is in the business of offering salvation to individuals. A nation is saved from ruin when enough of its people turn from their wicked ways and follow His righteous commands. The challenge is to the churches of every denomination to preach the true Word of God, the nature of sin and the consequences of perpetrating evil. This alone can turn the society from its violent and destructive path."

Should the Bride of Christ (the Church) Return to its Hebrew Roots? I'm also interested in Scripture that backs this line of thinking. In Christ, Jon Ground Rules: Let us remember humility, as Believers we are heirs of God with Christ. (Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 5:5, Romans 8:17) Remember we are to seek restoration with a spirit of gentleness. (Galatians 6:1) We are to be kind and tenderhearted to one another. (Ephesians 5:32)

This is a spin off thread off of "Tithing" in the Outer Court - Outer Court. These are priorities I submit would be a good guideline for Christians. I love this numeric sequencing of priority BUT what about this verse in relation to 2 and 3? Mt 19:29-30 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. NKJV It seems 1 stands always but 2 and 3 may be inverted depending on 1. Love, Steven Priorities: Jesus made it very clear throughout His ministry what His priorities were and how each of us should follow His example. He addressed the two fundamental categories that encompass all priorities. Jesus taught… Matthew 22:37-40 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” The first commandment addressed the vertical relationship between man and God. The second commandment addressed the horizontal relationship with other people. All of your priorities as a Christian will likely fall into these two basic categories. I actually would like to expand the order to differentiate between marriage and family. I would also like split ministry and work: 1. Loyalty to God – God comes first as we are commanded to Love God with all of our being and have no other gods before Him. Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Exodus 20:2 You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. Loyalty to Spouse – Nothing should ever become husband and wife who are knit together by God as one flesh. (Matt. 19:6) Men are to love their wives sacrificially and unconditionally. Women are to honor their husbands sacrificially and unconditionally. (Eph 5:33) Matthew 19:6 “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Ephesians 5:33 Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects [honors] her husband. 3. Loyalty to Family – First to children as they are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3) and parent’s responsibility to bring children up in the Lord. (Eph 6:4) Parents are to instruct and give their children the law. (Prov. 1:8) Next parents & siblings, etc. Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother. Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers [and by implication mothers], do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. We are also called to provide for our own family. (1 Tim. 5:8) This included parents. Jesus spoke against the Scribes and Pharisees for “following tradition” but not taking care of their parents (Matt. 15:1-11) 1 Timothy 5:8 “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Matthew 15:4-6 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ 4. Loyalty to the Church (Ministry) – We are to love God, love people, take care of our own house, then look after the ministries in the Church. If you are reading this right now and you are a Christian serving the Church in some capacity and have put the service to the Church above your spouse or children, please hear what I am about to say. This can’t go on indefinitely. When your service to the church has a higher priority than those people in your own family, something has to give. Your marriage will suffer and your children will become angry with you. Even your ministry will become toilsome because when your home is not in order it’s difficult to minister to others with joy. At the very least you will be unhappy. Your relationships at home must be your priority. 1 Tim 3:5 For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? 5. Loyalty to Work or Job – Why does ministry come before work? Because we are citizens of Heaven. Philippians 3:20 “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Gospel is the priority. Riches and all things in this life will pass away. Many people have said, “I don’t have time to serve the Lord or go to church or do family things because I’ve got to provide for my family.” I would agree that providing for your family is very important, but when there is never any time left to serve the Lord or be a companion to your spouse or children, then something is wrong. Don’t let the seeds of the Gospel be choked by the things of this world… Mark4:19 ...and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Do you agree or disagree? Anything to add? Christ is Risen! Eagle Edit: to add Matthew 15 to #3 Family.

What is the role of authority in relation to Christian churches? How do you view your pastor? How do you view your deacons/elders?

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2012/September27/271.html#.UGTtx6PXqrg This is a very revealing article into the character of Obama.