We Don't Do Sermons

[Neighbor]

2 minutes ago, Michael37 said:

You would fit right in. Simple fellowship has exactly the expounding of the Word with some using the online resources you reference.

But the sin of being without rows of pews, a raised platform, and a pulpit is unforgivable it would seem.

I've been in the pulpit back awhile, not condemning it, just generating awareness of other options as the Lord leads, because pulpits, pews, and programs are sometimes not the right fit for the spiritual needs of some members of the body of Christ.

Pews! Ha you can't give a pew away. During COVID-19 the 500 seat  sanctuary I used to attend and tend had all the pews ripped out and padded linked chairs  placed instead giving great flexibility to spacing use and if necessary additional space between people.

They literally could not even give away the  pretty nice pews. No takers at all. They had to bust them up and pay for their disposal. I had already, on my watch, brought in 250 individual padded link chairs for the overflow areas

Oh, I don't know If I will fit in; not  unless  you have four dirges and a prayer first (Humor button is on).

[Michael37]

1 hour ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

I just noticed this thread. So I'm curious. I haven't read the thread. Is the concept of having sermons in church being condemned or considered suddenly bad? 

No, just not the idol some make it.

The Roman and Greek style of oratory and rhetoric elevated speakers and cultivated their prowess for the sake of entertainment and persuasion.

God can use skilled speakers but He also likes to use donkeys to deliver His message.

Should someone who is patently unhappy in the role of a passive pew-sitting sermon consumer not be allowed an alternative?

Home fellowships date back to Noah on the Ark.  

[Marathoner]

Just now, Vine Abider said:

Yes, another old thread resurrected . . .

As I've shared on the thread about The Pilgrim Church (and maybe elsewhere), I prefer a smaller, more open style of meeting where all can participate, with no paid orators/leaders.  And this doesn't mean there aren't ones who dive deeply into the word.  We have a handful of people who share regularly, and it is quite rich indeed.  And there are several other "bench" contributors (including me) that are called on from time to time to share something from the word.

I say spread the wealth around!

Indeed. In the ekklesia, there is a place for every calling, and a time for every gift given by the Lord. Christ is the Head and whom we all sumbit to with one heart and mind. 

I think that I summed up my calling and place in your topic already, but it would be good to touch upon that again since @Michael37's topic is similar in many ways. 

When I was younger, I waited tables whenever we met in a house. That's a euphemism for serving the needs of others whenever we gather together in such a place. I assisted in the kitchen. I washed dishes. If we met in a tent, I helped to raise it up and pull it down.

When we gathered to put our hands to the plow, I was a laborer. If someone needed help, I went to help them. If an elder needed a strong back, that's what the Lord gave me that back for.

In all of this, we engaged in what our brother has shared in this topic. Church is every day, all of the time, for we are the Church. No programs. No standing up and sitting down. No audio or visual systems that cost a mint... and so forth. 

As I aged and the Lord sent me far and wide in this country, He would plant me in the life of another in need. My adopted mother is the perfect example of this.

No matter where the Lord sends me, there is always a brother or sister (sometimes several) whom He sends my way. Whenever we meet, there He is! 

It's simple. Some of us are laborers and the Lord provides our wages. "My hand to the plow" is that life which the Lord raised me up to walk in. If I were blessed to live in close proximity to our brother, then I would find myself in his company rather frequently. There's nothing like a good day's work spent encouraging, being encouraged, feasting in this fellowship, and walking alongside brethren. 

We can't partake of that standing up, sitting down, bowing heads, and doing our very best to remain awake and attentive during sermons. 

[Michael37]

1 hour ago, Jayne said:

You are free to worship as you please, but why be so snarky to those who don't worship like you do?

Sorry @JayneDidn't think I was. Touching a nerve perhaps because it's a hot topic for some.

[Michael37]

31 minutes ago, Vine Abider said:

Yes, another old thread resurrected . . .

As I've shared on the thread about The Pilgrim Church (and maybe elsewhere), I prefer a smaller, more open style of meeting where all can participate, with no paid orators/leaders.

Yes, I was raised in what they call the Anglican Communion with its set prayers and formal liturgy. My clergymen father and grandfather were affable and educated but as children we were obliged to conform to the traditions and culture of this denomination.

Robes, rituals, and rigmaroles is how I describe it.

It was not all bad but I recall that from time to time a parishioner would approach my father to share their enthusiasm for changing to less formal ceremonies and more open meetings as you describe, and two things would emerge from such discussions, firstly that my father would lose his job if he didn't comply with the Anglican Uniformity style, and secondly that it would create a precedent whereby the whims of parishioners became the norm rather than the established Order of Service.

When I broke away from the Anglican Community 38 years ago at age 30, my widowed mother and other family members felt I had betrayed them and the "proper church" as they saw it.

[Jayne]

41 minutes ago, Michael37 said:

Sorry @JayneDidn't think I was. Touching a nerve perhaps because it's a hot topic for some.

Again, there it is.....

You haven't unnerved me.  I'm just surprised that you don't see your own sarcasm.

Carry on.

[Michael37]

44 minutes ago, Jayne said:

Again, there it is.....

You haven't unnerved me.  I'm just surprised that you don't see your own sarcasm.

Carry on.

Sorry again if I come across as sarky-astic. Might be a Kiwi thing. Sweet as!

 

[Marathoner]

At any given time, we are exactly where the Lord intends for us to be. 

Driving through a treacherous mountain pass during a snowstorm? Indeed. I was exactly where the Lord intended for me to be at the proper time, for there was a man who lacked suitable clothing stranded in that place, begging God to spare his life. The moment when he cried out to the Lord, I was there to rescue him from freezing to death in that ferocious wind.

Was I aware that this would happen? Certainly not. The Lord was praised by us both, and I was given the honor of seeing him safely home. I'll never forget that day.

Later on that winter, I found myself stirred awake at 3 am. I could hear it: distant cries on the wind. I suited up for the extreme conditions outdoors (another ferocious blizzard) and pushed my way through the winds and snow. As I drew closer, I realized what I was hearing... it was the weak cries of newborn livestock. It was a miracle that I could hear that from a mile away. The words of the Lord came to mind for I was appointed the shepherd of my mother's livestock, regarding how the good shepherd will leave the 99 to find one who fell astray.

In this case, it was a first-time mother who had somehow escaped the enclosure surrounding their barn. She had wandered off into that powerful storm --- the animal was disoriented --- and her newborns were a minute away from perishing. I gathered them up and brought the babies back to warmth and safety just as quickly as I could (one of the pair passed away)...

And then pushed my way back out into that storm with a lead in hand to rescue the confused mother. I managed to take the animal by surprise and connect that lead to her collar, and proceeded to drag her all the way back to the barn. She was heavy, I was weary, and she fought me every inch of the way. Her hooves plowed both snow and the ground alike and with every inch I gained, I asked the Lord to give me the strength to pull her another. When we were just upon the barn, she suddenly snapped out of it and was her usual self again. Praise the Lord!

My adopted mother witnessed the work of God in those mountains many times before the Lord took her, and my labors in that place were complete. All of this is to say that both the plans and designs of men are nothing before the will and purpose of the Almighty. We are precisely where He intends for us to be. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Marathoner
Typo

[Michael37]

2 minutes ago, Marathoner said:

At any given time, we are exactly where the Lord intends for us to be. 

Driving through a treacherous mountain pass during a snowstorm? Indeed. I was exactly where the Lord intended for me to be at the proper time, for there was a man who lacked suitable clothing stranded in that place, begging God to spare his life. The moment when he cried out to the Lord, I was there to rescue him from freezing to death in that ferocious wind.

Was I aware that this would happen? Certainly not. The Lord was praised by us both, and I was given the honor of seeing him safely home. I'll never forget that day.

Later on that winter, I found myself stirred awake at 3 am. I could hear it: distant cries on the wind. I suited up for the extreme conditions outdoors (another ferocious blizzard) and proceeded to push my way through the winds and snow. As I drew closer, I realized what I was hearing... it was the weak cries of newborn livestock. It was a miracle that I could hear that from a mile away. The words of the Lord came to mind for I was appointed the shepherd of my mother's livestock, regarding how the good shepherd will leave the 99 to find one who fell astray.

In this case, it was a first-time mother who had somehow escaped the enclosure surrounding their barn. She had wandered off into that powerful storm --- the animal was disoriented --- and her newborns were a minute away from perishing. I gathered them up and brought the babies back to warmth and safety just as quickly as I could (one of the pair passed away)...

And then pushed my way back out into that storm with a lead in hand to rescue the confused mother. I managed to take the animal by surprise and connect that lead to her collar, and proceeded to drag her all the way back to the barn. She was heavy, I was weary, and she fought me every inch of the way. Her hooves plowed both snow and the ground alike and with every inch I gained, I asked the Lord to give me the strength to pull her another. When we were just upon the barn, she suddenly snapped out of it and was her usual self again. Praise the Lord!

My adopted mother witnessed the work of God in those mountains many times before the Lord took her, and my labors in that place were complete. All of this is to say that both the plans and designs of men are nothing before the will and purpose of the Almighty. We are precisely where He intends for us to be. 

Yes, even the tests and trials and crosses to bear are beneficial to us in the Lord's economy.

One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is longsuffering.

I do a lot of measuring when I'm quoting and on the tools and by way of analogy at first I thought 700 millimetres was a pretty good amount of longsuffering but the Holy Spirit promptly responded with a mental picture of my 30 metre measuring tape. 

Not everyone produces the longsuffering aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, but I am making it my goal to suffer them, and whatever the Lord puts across my path, for as long as is necessary.

[Marathoner]

1 hour ago, Michael37 said:

Yes, even the tests and trials and crosses to bear are beneficial to us in the Lord's economy.

One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is longsuffering.

I do a lot of measuring when I'm quoting and on the tools and by way of analogy at first I thought 700 millimetres was a pretty good amount of longsuffering but the Holy Spirit promptly responded with a mental picture of my 30 metre measuring tape. 

Not everyone produces the longsuffering aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, but I am making it my goal to suffer them, and whatever the Lord puts across my path, for as long as is necessary.

Enduring is good!

That's what a brother said to me after we reunited, having been apart for years. We caught up, sharing the works of Jesus Christ, and when I related a certain trial I was going through at that time clarity struck me like a beam of timber from the barn.

The Lord is cultivating endurance in me so I'll keep pressing on no matter what, I said. Yes, enduring is worthwhile indeed.

I understand why this topic proves to be a "hot button" issue for some, my friend. Some of us are not in the habit of partitioning our lives in such a manner that we designate time "for the Lord" and time "for the self/other pursuits," to couch it simply. I've noted how worship of the Lord is routinely associated with the pews (I'm relying upon shorthand here), and this is pleasing to those who customarily assign worship and service to those pews. 

I'm not claiming that all who occupy the pews do things in this way, only that it appears to be prevalent. There's an old song I've never cared one whit about, one which I've heard hollered with gusto by crowds in this country appropriately attired in Sunday's finest (partition clothing, too). It's called "Old Time Religion," an anthem extolling the virtues of tradition. 

I am by no means engaging in snark in the paragraph above. Rather, I'm employing literary device to communicate something to the reader without inserting disclaimers along the way. It distracts from the point being made.

If we routinely refuse to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, drawing upon the approval of our peers instead (yes, you are appropriately reverent in the sanctuary), then tradition supplants the anointing of the Spirit of the living God. The partitioning of life is an ancient tradition of devoutly religious men and anything which flouts that "old time religion" is anathema. 

There is only one religion which is pure in the sight of our Father in heaven, and the apostle James instructed us regarding what that religion is. Just the same, the apostle Paul exhorts us all to do all things as unto the Lord, a rebuke of the religious propensity to partition absolutely everything.  

One day (or two, or perhaps three depending upon devoutness) to worship the Lord? That's all? Some of us worship the Lord day and night, at all times, no matter where we happen to be. It's good to examine ourselves frequently. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Marathoner
Typo as usual