No unity ever

[Nancy]

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward." I Tim 5:17-18

If the elder/minister of God is doing his job as he should be then we are to honor him, but if he is not...? How does one know that it is wrong? How about getting tuned into the voice of God and staying there? Does not God always know? Would He withhold things from us that are necessary for us to walk closer to Him?

Well,what if several congregants learned something from their pastor that threw them for a loop? An example, friends of one of my brothers, elderly couple, attended Calvary Chapel here for like, 20 years. Several months ago...my brother called me to tell me that Peg and Paul (the couple) left the church shocked and crying. Their pastor told them that anyone would be fine even if they took "the mark". Now, they never taught that before but in my book...it's a very dangerous thing to do and, I never said pastors and leaders of the Church were not worthy of double pay I was only stating that the congregants should most certainly have a say, and pastors and leaders are not above being taught, corrected and so on, as well as the Church goers.

 

[friend of]

Unity. What can be said about Unity. I think James 3:17 which says that unity is considerate and submissive when it comes to our interactions with one another. Why is this so hard to achieve and maintain on these forums? I guess because some want to prove something to others and that emanates from pride. The feeling of superiority. To be seen as right, correct, knowledgeable, and high. But that produces disunity as we can plainly see, because each party wants to be right or tighter than the other. There is no submission, or peaceability, when users are haughty towards one another. It takes a deal of maturity to admit when you are wrong or to even let bygones be bygones. I think we all can learn something from each other if we take the time to listen and not be overly judgmental. Sometimes people are even expressing the same sentiment only in different ways. It baffles me why some of these arguments are even in existence. If people would just calm down and take a step back I think you'd find we have more in common than we think sometimes. I digress, the bible is the word of God and it is how God communicates directly with all of us. Sure, we may disagree on instances of theology and doctrine but in the end the bible isn't going to change, it is the immutable word of God. We need to reference it always when it comes to forming divergent comprehensions. If we can do that then a propitious exchange between us can occur. I came to this site to learn more about my faith from other Christians but lately it feels like I'm just not learning that much anymore due to all the incessant arguments. That, and, my own inability for scholasticism. I don't always agree with everyone but hey I'm here to learn primarily, not to force my own doctrines onto others.

 

[mjrhealth]

You are wrong about this one, there will be unity in Heaven when we get there.

Where not talking about heaven now are we..... This post is about now, and as you can see there is none.

 

[Philip James]

Unfortunately the Catholic Eucharist goes well beyond the Lord's Supper, and makes it into the Mass, with an altar, a sacrifice, and a priest.

You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.


Peace!

 

[Josho]

Honestly the Eucharist or communion whatever you call it, was an unheard of debate before I joined these forums. I do believe in the power of it though, whether if you do it as a feast of bread and wine/grape juice or a little piece of bread and a cup of wine or grape juice, you are doing it in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us.

From memory what it sounds like they did originally in the Bible, is Jesus broke bread and drank wine with the 12 disciples, the Bible did not really suggest that they ate anything else with it for the Eucharist or communion.

Of course Judas and Jesus dipped their hands in the same dish, what was the dish for though, was it for washing hands? It well could have been, the other thought was it could have been a dish with a dip or sauce in, to dip the bread in, but then the Bible would have probably said they dipped their bread in the dish.

So no matter what we think, it is what it is "the bread and the wine" in remembrance of what Jesus did for us. And yep it's a powerful moment, I believe there is power in the Eucharist/communion.

 

[Addy]

Honestly the Eucharist or communion whatever you call it, was an unheard of debate before I joined these forums. I do believe in the power of it though, whether if you do it as a feast of bread and wine/grape juice or a little piece of bread and a cup of wine or grape juice, you are doing it in remembrance of what Jesus has done for us.

From memory what it sounds like they did originally in the Bible, is Jesus broke bread and drank wine with the 12 disciples, the Bible did not really suggest that they ate anything else with it for the Eucharist or communion.

Of course Judas and Jesus dipped their hands in the same dish, what was the dish for though, was it for washing hands? It well could have been, the other thought was it could have been a dish with a dip or sauce in, to dip the bread in, but then the Bible would have probably said they dipped their bread in the dish.

So no matter what we think, it is what it is "the bread and the wine" in remembrance of what Jesus did for us. And yep it's a powerful moment, I believe there is power in the Eucharist/communion.

You have rightly defined the purpose of communion... To break bread together... to UNIFY ... to give THANKS... to CELEBRATE... to REMEMBER ... however there are some churches that take this to an EXTREME level... which has nothing to do with any of what I have stated.

 

[Josho]

Honestly sometimes when I take communion or the Eucharist I get flooded with the Holy Spirit, don't know about the rest of you.

 

[amadeus]

Well,what if several congregants learned something from their pastor that threw them for a loop? An example, friends of one of my brothers, elderly couple, attended Calvary Chapel here for like, 20 years. Several months ago...my brother called me to tell me that Peg and Paul (the couple) left the church shocked and crying. Their pastor told them that anyone would be fine even if they took "the mark". Now, they never taught that before but in my book...it's a very dangerous thing to do and, I never said pastors and leaders of the Church were not worthy of double pay I was only stating that the congregants should most certainly have a say, and pastors and leaders are not above being taught, corrected and so on, as well as the Church goers.

Giving other people advice on such things can hard to do. Be sure you are close to God yourself before you open your mouth. You do want to give the right advice.

When one we have honored and believed fails our first recourse should be to intercessory prayer. But... this is why is so important to walk with God when things are going smoothly. When it gets real rough and we've slacked off in our walk, it could be too late for us. There is only so much time for each us... Usually we don't know how much we have left [Hezekiah a significant exception] so always walk now in this moment as if it were already our last moment. This doesn't mean be brave. This means stay close to God seeking His kingdom and His righteous [Matt 6:33] and then He will handle everything else. This last would include letting us know what decision to make when a difficult choice lies before us. Do we have the Holy Spirit... or not?

 

[historyb]

@historyb You say the eucharist is not minor... but on this thread... the eucharist which is a Catholic practice ( as well as the few others who believe in transubstantiation).... this is a DIS-UNIFYING activity. It places the religion apart and falsely above other Christian denominations, and as we earlier discussed... this practice is not one that is invited to be shared with others ( of which I note is for good reason ).

So in light of this thread... it would seem that the ONLY unifying force that keeps us together with the label of Christianity is the Trinity as you also mentioned.

The Eucharist is just not Catholic. Honest you people need to stop being so myopic and thinking everything that goes against your ideas are Catholic. The Eucharist is Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox, and other Traditional Christianity. You dang tooting we don't invite those not in our communion, why the freaking heck would we? We are not in agreement at all and to take the Eucharist would say we are.

The Eucharist is much more than a mere meal, memorial, or anything that profane. The Eucharist is a re presentation of the once and for all sacrifice that Christ did for us. Christ said "This is mt body" and "This is my blood" not just a symbol but somehow truly Christ is present in the elements. We don't define it in our Church but like all Traditional Churches we believe in Christ Real Presence in the Eucharist just as they believed from the Ancient Church

 

[historyb]

Honestly sometimes when I take communion or the Eucharist I get flooded with the Holy Spirit, don't know about the rest of you.

When I came to my present Church I went to the alter to partake of he Holy Eucharist and I just started crying with the power of the Eucharist. What is funny is that I prayed that the Lord would give me a sign that was unmistakable that this was the right Church .

 

[Addy]

The Eucharist is just not Catholic. Honest you people need to stop being so myopic and thinking everything that goes against your ideas are Catholic. The Eucharist is Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox, and other Traditional Christianity. You dang tooting we don't invite those not in our communion, why the freaking heck would we? We are not in agreement at all and to take the Eucharist would say we are.

Excuse me ??? Did you see what I wrote or did you just react to it?? There are brackets beside my statement about Catholics... It refers to the others who believe in transubstantiation... You can't seem to discuss things without getting upset... I also noted that communion NOT shared with others is indeed a good idea... so you did NOT read my post accurately... you just chose to react to it...

the eucharist which is a Catholic practice ( as well as the few others who believe in transubstantiation).... this is a DIS-UNIFYING activity. It places the religion apart and falsely above other Christian denominations, and as we earlier discussed... this practice is not one that is invited to be shared with others ( of which I note is for good reason ).

 

[prism]

.................

So much for a thread about unity, shouldn't we try to at least keep this thread on topic?

I believe it highlights the point of why there is no unity.
There are tares in the midst of the wheat.

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. (Mat 13:24)
"But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. (Mat 13:25)
"But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. (Mat 13:26)
"The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' (Mat 13:27)
"And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves *said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' (Mat 13:28)
"But he *said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. (Mat 13:29)
'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Mat 13:30)

The wheat are Christ's sheep and hear His Word and follow Him. The tares are counterfeit, hard to tell from the wheat sowing discord.

 

[Addy]

Gee... sorry @Adoration for over reacting... LOL

I am not your enemy @historyb ... Just someone contributing thoughts to a thread.
If you read what I posted... you will see that I did not state it was ONLY Catholics who partake in communion.
I also stated that I noted it was a good thing they did not share with others ..
Therefore you BLASTED me for nothing.

 

[historyb]

Excuse me ??? Did you see what I wrote or did you just react to it?? There are brackets beside my statement about Catholics... It refers to the others who believe in transubstantiation... You can't seem to discuss things without getting upset... I also noted that communion NOT shared with others is indeed a good idea... so you did NOT read my post accurately... you just chose to react to it...

the eucharist which is a Catholic practice ( as well as the few others who believe in transubstantiation).... this is a DIS-UNIFYING activity. It places the religion apart and falsely above other Christian denominations, and as we earlier discussed... this practice is not one that is invited to be shared with others ( of which I note is for good reason ).

Oops or as Homer would say "D'oh!". I am so use to you all just hating on us that it is a reaction from being here for a couple of years. When I first came they liked pagan's better than Traditional Christians

 

[mjrhealth]

The wheat are Christ's sheep and hear His Word and follow Him.

Amen to that but it actually says His Voice....

 

[historyb]

.................

So much for a thread about unity, shouldn't we try to at least keep this thread on topic?

Indeed back to the topic.

 

[prism]

That is denying the power of God as men so oft do, so go ahead make God less than the pages in a book, I know Christ by Christ, men spend there whole lives studying the bible and never know Christ as can be seeing on this forum, and others And I will not deny Him as so many would have me do so you can justify your idol.

I'm not sure if you realize that everytime the Bible mentions Script-ure it is referring to God's written Word.

Sometime you should look up the word 'Scripture'. It is simply God's spoken word to the Prophets and Apostles written down...
Mark 12:24 (KJV) And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

To think you are hearing God's Word apart from the Scriptures, enlightened to your being by the Holy Spirit, is a sure recipe for deception.

 

[Addy]

Oops or as Homer would say "D'oh!". I am so use to you all just hating on us that it is a reaction from being here for a couple of years. When I first came they liked pagan's better than Traditional Christians

And there you have it.... How to conduct a productive... healthy debate... PARTICIPATE... be RESPECTFUL... be HUMBLE and LISTEN...
I am touched that you were able to do all of the above @historyb

 

[mjrhealth]

I'm not sure if you realize that everytime the Bible mentions Script-ure it is referring to God's written Word.

Sometime you should look up the word 'Scripture'. It is simply God's spoken word to the Prophets and Apostles written down...
Mark 12:24 (KJV) And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

To think you are hearing God's Word apart from the Scriptures, enlightened to your being by the Holy Spirit, is a sure recipe for deception.

Yes Jesus Christ the word of God sharper than a two edged sword divides men as you can see, Mention Him and christians run But men will not go to Him so wiil remain divided by there theology, there understandning, there religions there doctrines, But God new men would remain carnal denying Christ and Gods power as they always have. And In case you havnt notcied the disciples had no bilble after Christs resurection, they heard from God Paul the best example yet no one wants the Truth. Do it your way most christans do,

And this post is all about division as you can see.

 

[prism]

And In case you havnt notcied the disciples had no bilble after Christs resurection,

No, I haven't noticed. But if you had paid closer attention to the Scriptures you would have known better...

2 Timothy 4:13 (KJV) The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

Acts 17:11 (KJV) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

That sir, (Acts 17:11)is the way to check for deception....

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
(2Pe 3:14-18)