Church

[Adarian]

Really good thread.

I think that in a church where fellowship among people is difficult, the people are not fellowshipping with God. Solitary fellowship, or prayer, with God, is the way to recharge and be ready for the work of the Lord, which might be done in church on sunday.

Revelation, chapter 2:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

This group was out of fellowship with God, and therefore their "church" was about to be disbanded.

[cjrose]

I am hoping to get some good feedback about this and I am sure this topic has been discussed already. I am wondering what going to church means to you, what qualifies as a church and why people should go to church.

You asked for it so I'm going to give it to you. As a converted catholic, church was just a huge hypocritical sunday service we were all required to attend for posterity purposes. What a bunch of garbage. When I was growing up catholic we never even had a bible!

Now today, Catholics are evolving so wonderfully into spreading the good news of Jesus that they are calling themselves Catholic Christians.

Me personally? I don't believe in religion. My faith is simple. I believe in God, In Jesus, In the Holy Spirit, the Bible is the Holy Word of God inspired by chosen men and is my daily bread. But my church is wherever there is fellowship and I find so much fellowship here at Worthy and have grown into a mature Christian by getting involved that this is my church for now.

I find that I cannot take hypocrisy when it comes to those who go to church for the sake of going and to look good to the community. Truly, some of the Catholic churches are so monotone with little or no message in their homily that it's human traditional doctrine that have deviated the focus of the Lord onto the host and the wine and confessions with the priest. It keeps human beings from the truth by focusing on traditions placed in religion by man, not by God that makes me sad.

my 2cents

[Guest man]

dear brothers and sister,

The word "church" in greek is "ecclesia" which literally means the "called out ones". We are no longer part of this world though we live in it; the Lord Jesus has "called us out" out of this world and into Him. The Church is the Body of Christ and we are its many members. Jesus Christ has chosen such a Body to be manifested in. Jesus Christ is the Head on this Body.

So...Jesus Christ (the Head) + us (the many members) = the Body of Christ or the Church.

For those Christians who are physically or feel socially isolated from the Church, you should pray over this matter of meeting and connecting to the other members of the Body. Satan fears the Church greatly and hopes to keep it from functioning. I feel that many lone Christians are vital parts of the Body. It is, therefore, no coincidence then that Satan would isolate you. Do not expect to gather with a church and find understanding, support, or sincerity from others...not everyone in the Body is obeying the Head. Even hypocrisy and bigotry could be there. But it is not for yourself you go to church, rather it is what you must do for Jesus Christ. He needs you. Then you can in turn receive the much needed blood supply.

So are you saying that "The Church" is a building and because one doesn't go to that building, they are not a part of "The Church"?

This "much needed blood supply" you make ref. to, can you only get it inside a building?

There are roughly 30,000 different denominations, which one would you suggest?

Doesn't the bible tell us that God doesn't dwell in temples made with hands?

Doesn't the bible also tell us that we are to all be of the same mind and the same speech?

Do all churches teach the same thing? Do they all agree as far as doctrine is concerned?

[Footsteps]

I am hoping to get some good feedback about this and I am sure this topic has been discussed already. I am wondering what going to church means to you, what qualifies as a church and why people should go to church.

Part of going to church for me is being able to walk away every sunday with the pastor's message (thus being Christ's message) being a challenge of some sort to me. I want to be able to think about what he said throughout the coming week and figure out ways to aply it to my life.

[Constant]

Thank you all for your opinions on the church. To me, God doesn't love me any less for not attending a church service every Sunday. I have my faith, I have my personal relationship with Him. Going to a fellowship to hear someone talk about God's word is great for some people, just not so much me. I learn better on my own and not in a building with many many people. I am new to the teachings of the Bible so studying and learning it on my own at my own pace works greatly for me. It is not to say that I will never go to Church some Sundays just to be with other followers, just at this time in my life I chose not to. The friend I was referring to in my 2nd post truly beleives that we as beleivers NEED to be in church every Sunday.

[shazza]

Going to Church for me is simply this:

Worship -I LOVE to Worship!!

Hearing the Message and applying it to my life

Go to Church and expect God to empower me - when you go to church with an expecting heart He will not disappoint!

Serve

Fellowship

Shazza

[ted]

The Scripture "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together" was directed at the early believers to encourage them to fellowship with each other and was not a command to attend a religious institution ("church") as there were none. Believers met in homes. And Believers today can fellowship in places other than the religious institution. Yet even many pastors love to use that verse to insist the Bible says we must attend a church. And the phrase "...Lone Ranger Christian" is another attempt by some to intimidate us into the church building implying that one who does not attend the church building is alone. However, the Bible teaches us we are never alone as God is with us no matter where we are ("...I am with you always" - Jesus). Home groups are on the rise in the world either because of the persecution of Believers or, as is the case in this country, the general disillusionment with the religious institution. There are exceptions but generally the church has lost its effectiveness which is not surprising for a man-made institution that has attempted to be the center of a Believers spiritual life.

What happens when the number of people who wish to come and worship with fellow believers becomes too large for a home to contain them?

Just wondering.

t.

The people spread to the homes of those in the movement.

So worship that is conducted in traditional churches is wrong? I mean, whether it's in a home, or in a traditional church, the gathering of believers for the purpose of glorifying God and helping others to better spread the Gospel is surely blessed by God.

I don't think it matters much whether it's in a home or in a church. I think, perhaps, that "home" worship turned to "church building" worship long ago because they simply ran out of space in homes to accomodate the growing numbers of the Faithful coming to gather.

This is not to say that there is not a major problem with some churches who are in it for the money, but that can happen no matter the location.

I understand where the OP is coming from, I just don't believe that gathering in a common building to worship is wrong, in and of itself. Examples of bad "home" worship abound, as well. In fact, I think the Branch Davidians started out in a home setting, no?

Have a blessed day!

t.

[Floatingaxe]

Thank you all for your opinions on the church. To me, God doesn't love me any less for not attending a church service every Sunday. I have my faith, I have my personal relationship with Him. Going to a fellowship to hear someone talk about God's word is great for some people, just not so much me. I learn better on my own and not in a building with many many people. I am new to the teachings of the Bible so studying and learning it on my own at my own pace works greatly for me. It is not to say that I will never go to Church some Sundays just to be with other followers, just at this time in my life I chose not to. The friend I was referring to in my 2nd post truly beleives that we as beleivers NEED to be in church every Sunday.

Your friend is right in one respect--you need to be a part of a group of believers. No way is Christianity a personal odyssey. We are responsible to our brothers and sisters. We need to share our lives with them, and they us. This is how we weed out error that creeps in. We hold each other accountable and we encourage each other in the faith. Not belonging to a church is not scriptural, and not healthy...plus you deprive other believers of your gifts as well as yourself the benefit of good teaching and ministry. You need to come under the authority of leadership as God places it over us. Don't forget that we are "sheep"! We can go astray very easily! We need the Word of God taught by those older and wiser in the Lord, so we can grow to such a stature that we, too, become teachers of the Word, rightly divided. Church is a covering for us!

Do not forsake the assembling of yourself together with the family of God---your family.

[Guest]

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Three Mighty Words of Power, One God.

Jesus Christ and Him Crucified Only!

A big "Thank You" to all "The Churches" posting in "The Gathering of Clan Jesus" here at The Worthy House of Worship.

Stand Fast!

Meet you on the boards.

Meet you in the air!

[His Ambassador]

Thank you all for your opinions on the church. To me, God doesn't love me any less for not attending a church service every Sunday. I have my faith, I have my personal relationship with Him. Going to a fellowship to hear someone talk about God's word is great for some people, just not so much me. I learn better on my own and not in a building with many many people. I am new to the teachings of the Bible so studying and learning it on my own at my own pace works greatly for me. It is not to say that I will never go to Church some Sundays just to be with other followers, just at this time in my life I chose not to. The friend I was referring to in my 2nd post truly beleives that we as beleivers NEED to be in church every Sunday.

Your friend is right in one respect--you need to be a part of a group of believers. No way is Christianity a personal odyssey. We are responsible to our brothers and sisters. We need to share our lives with them, and they us. This is how we weed out error that creeps in. We hold each other accountable and we encourage each other in the faith. Not belonging to a church is not scriptural, and not healthy...plus you deprive other believers of your gifts as well as yourself the benefit of good teaching and ministry. You need to come under the authority of leadership as God places it over us. Don't forget that we are "sheep"! We can go astray very easily! We need the Word of God taught by those older and wiser in the Lord, so we can grow to such a stature that we, too, become teachers of the Word, rightly divided. Church is a covering for us!

Do not forsake the assembling of yourself together with the family of God---your family.

One can be part of a group of Believers without attending the religious institution we have come to call "church". We can weed out error in meeting with fellow Believers outside the church and be held accountable to our fellow believers outside the church. There is no verse of Scripture that commands us to belong to a church. Jesus did not establish churches. He called out followers who became the Church. The assumption in your post that teachings in a church are "...good teaching..." and that those in charge of the religious institution are "...older and wiser..." is, at best, naive. There are leaders in fellowships outside the religious institution under whose authority we can submit ourselves. The "Do not forsake..." verse has been addressed elsewhere in this thread. You sound like a seminary indoctrinated pastor.