That is the world that we live in. And the real sad thing is, you can relate that line to almost every aspect of anything. There's a lot less truth to what people do. It's to the point to where our churches are feeding out more propoganda, and pyrotechniques than truth, which is called to be spread to the ends of the world according to God's Holy word. Which is the greatest source of truth.
Now the real question to be answered: why are people in churches more concerned more about bringing people in, than allowing the God of the universe to pull them in Himself?
Some churches will do anything and everything that they possibly can to recruit people to come to their service. It's like a big party for christians, with the likes of: concerts during their worship services that include smoke, lights, and electric guitars, watering down of the truth to talk about more appealing topics, and last but not least religous leaders that allow it to happen.
This is only part one. I'm out of time at the moment, but part two to come soon and we'll talk more about truth in the church! God bless you all :)
Here's what I see wrong with that:
First of all, the bible talks about us as being one body of believers. No one should be worried about going to church with a specific group of people that are specific by age, sex, marital status. Say I'm an eighty four year old widower that will only go to church with eighty some year olds, that is not being a part of one body. It's ok to step out and mingle with other believers of different ages, sex, and even ethnicities. Not to mention other religions, but that's a whole other discussion.
Second, church should not be about having to recruit anyone to come to your church. There's a huge difference between a simple invite, and being appealing to people so that they will come. It's not about big stages, lights, or even music. If you really want to worship the Lord, worship God with your heart. I'm not saying that open worship services with music are wrong, but when the electric guitar outweighs truth about Jesus Christ, that's not a church. It's a concert. The true worship of God in the bible is with all your heart, all your soul, and mind. Honestly, you can sing all the words about God that you want, but if your heart isn't singing then it is not doing anyone any good. Romans 12: vs. 1-2 "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person, by the renewing of your mind. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." That's true worship. I think when people read or hear that scripture our of Romans, that they stop reading or skip over this: "Let them be a holy and living sacrifice-the kind that He will find acceptable." Yes, the kind that GOD will find acceptable. Not your mom, not your friends, or even yourself, but God! I am not out to judge anyone, but I think you know just as well as I do who will judge.
Let's move on a little. What do you think personal worship is? Think about that for a moment. To be honest, there are a vast variety of definitions to place on worship. In my own opinion (which you don't have to pay too much attention to) worship is the heart's desire to serve and honor God. I personally think that is a pretty safe answer. In my concordance of my New Living Translation bible it states that worship is reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God.
I like that last phrase "allegiance pledged to God." Mainly because that is the very first thing that it takes to worship God. Ephesians 2:6 says "It is by grace from God that you are saved! For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus." It takes putting your faith in Jesus Christ to initially start worshiping God with your heart. God desires a personal relationship with each and every one of us! And whether you agree or not, He is pulling us closer to Him everyday.
So now that we've kind of put a basic definition on worship, let us talk a little more about worship within the church. To be perfectly honest, it really does not matter to me what any congregation or group of believers does within their church. Mainly because it is their choice and I feel very grateful to have that freedom. At the same time, I also feel that the state of the church itself has fallen dramatically over the years. At this time you can be thinking, who is this guy to say that? Well, I actually agree, which is why I would ask you to read this in your own discretion. This is only my opinion.
A few weeks ago I was sitting in a class and we were talking about religion. The teacher was talking about different Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners that usually have some sort of religious affiliation. Sometimes they even require you to sit through a short service. He brought up that he thinks it is stupid that any place would require you to sit through a sermon in order to have a dinner provided for you. First of all, let's say the place was a crossroads. Say the teacher making his point was a homeless man and he walked into my crossroads that I happened to be running. Everyone knows that Crossroads is a faith based organization that helps the needy. So If he is that concerned about the whole faith thing, than why is he here at my crossroads? The door is right behind you, and we cannot force you to stay, but we're here to serve you and provide you with spiritual food, along with something to tame your appetite for a while. Now listen, I think anyone's opinion should be heard, and I am not going to shoot a whole lot of things down. But I do think that when it comes to topics like this people tend to be too biased because of their own spiritual agenda. Don't make an argument because you don't have faith. I'd just encourage you to see all sides of any argument, even non faith discussions. That's a very important aspect of life!
Here's where I hope my side becomes a little more clear. I've been a christian for a little over three years now, so I have a long way to go. But I've been to quite a few churches and know somethings about different aspects of faith and denominations.
There was a demographic that shocked me the other day. It said that ninety five percent of Christians don't actually sit down and read their bible, and they do not know what is in it. That's absolutely crazy. And whether it is true or not, I think it's an issue that has to be brought up in churches. Any one who calls them self a Christian but does not read their bible is not a Christian according to God's holy word. Psalm 1:1 says, Blessed is the man who does not follow the ways of the ungodly, or stand around like sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the Law of the Lord meditating on it day and night. To meditate on it day and night means to reflect on the scriptures, to memorize and utilize it to strengthen our souls. God sees that as a way to worship. To take time out of your busy day to spend time in the word that He created means the world to Him. And the way I see it, I might as well do what I can when I can to repay Him for His cross!
The church has to find its way back to its roots. I realize that the bible and the law is very traditional and at times boring. But don't you think that you'd rather learn more about your creator than hear a guitar solo that you'll forget in an hour? The church was founded on God's word, and a percentage still teach out of it and stand on it day in and day out.
A man and his family attend a small church every Sunday morning but skip the other two services. His wife and children are very happy most of the time and they are very close. His children are young and attend grade school and play sports competitively. His wife works at a hospital as a doctors assistant as a nurse. And he works at a small mechanics shop that does the best job in town. They are a middle class family that at times struggles to make it because they try a little too hard to compete with the neighborhood. They often go out on the town and are remodeling their home or their yard. They have a christian home and they attend church on Sundays. They consider their faith in God to be pretty good, but it can always be better. None of the four members of the family own a bible. Recently the van broke down, and things between the kids haven't been going well. The marriage has been a little rocky as the man has started to drink after work because of all the problems within the home. They're now at a place where they are struggling to survive and keep their house.
The man learned a very valuable lesson from the children's youth pastor one night when he went to pick up the kids one night. The father of the family wanted to simply ask for prayer for his family. The kids played around while the youth pastor and the father talked for a while. The dad had told the youth pastor about everything and they prayed together. Right before the father left, he turned around one last time, and said hey, pastor Marsh, could I maybe have a handful of bibles to take home? Pastor Marsh handed him the four that he needed and they were on their way.
From there on things started to change in the families home. They started to sit down and have small discussions about topics of faith and different scriptures in the bible that they had heard at church. The parents had seen quite the change in the two young children as well. Sally and Dustin started to do things that they normally would complain about often without being asked. They had a solid relationship together and were always playing together unlike before. The parents relationship was also healed and very improved. The man had stopped drinking and they had taken the steps they thought they needed to to have a more spirit led family.
Now, this is just an example of God working in lives. You could say that this was all just coincidence, but it's not even necessarily about faith in this situation. The man realized that he needed to step up and be a leader in the house and he did exactly that. The family used a more family based atmosphere to mend the broken relationships together, and that led to God changing their hearts. If we are obedient to God and His word, He will always provide for us. He will give us peace, justice, or whatever we need!
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