To church or not to church

[bbyrd009]

The vast majority won't even bother opening a Bible on their own spare time, because God is far down the list of importance for them

i suspect other reasons, at least also, and i would be looking for one, not many. a single one, usually

 

[bbyrd009]

lol, priceless. "Oh, my frickin' ears" just makes it a dbl play lol!

 

[bbyrd009]

This is true, that it's scary.

c'mon guys, a collection of ppl that you already know alla their tricks, mostly all seeking shepherds?
"the harvest is ripe, but" ya, i'm not in the mood to admonish today, but c'mon
you could at least go in and set the place on fire, if you aren't patient enough for stealth mode lol

i'd love to see some hip pastor even setting something like this up for their congregations,
making a show of bending to the cong's will, escorting the guy out, then a well phrased sermon...
ha, as if, i guess

 

[bbyrd009]

Like golden needles in a hay stack, very hard to find

we seek a pretty bonfire, of the vanities, imo, "The Holy Ghost gonna set this place on fire!" type stuff, i guess. arg already.

see how close "flames of fire above their heads" is to "heap burning coals on their heads" imo, and go from there.

don't be afraid to blow it, either. Spectacularly, lol. long as you keep your cool

 

[bbyrd009]

I can wish it were better, but the truth is that he, my old pastor, is too much like Jesus. Thousands thronged Jesus and one said, "man never spake like this man", but then where were the thousands when he was accused falsely before Pilate? Who was that called out to release Barabbas and to crucify Jesus?

why do we respect charisma, and smarts, and logic, and pluck, and don't respect obsequiousness? (overly...servile attitude)

not sure if that is the right analogy yet or not

 

[bbyrd009]

Bricks and mortar is not what pleases Jesus, is it.

i have better gatherings down by the tracks now lol, passing a bottle around. i am not kidding

imo it is not even really fair to expect Christ to manifest in a building where the owners have a declared conflict of interests to Christ; this is a bad perspective imo.

 

[bbyrd009]

I didn't say anything about brick or mortar. Your reply is quite deceptive. Made to sound so spiritual, yet is given to discourage the believers meeting together.

Stranger

but there it is again, though, see; this group of defined "believers."

what is the definition of a "believer," Stranger?

seems completely ok, huh, on the surface.

 

[ScottA]

I'm not going to argue about semantics about going or not going to church.

But I'll state on thing

Life is my church.

There are many ways to view "church." But, it would seem you mean the traditional gathering on Sundays, etc., as opposed to communing with God in all of life as God has appointed it. To which I would have to agree to some extent is perhaps more honest and less pretentious.

For years I just privately read my bible from cover to cover and had little cause or even scriptural direction to join in things as it is done these days. But then I met a wonderful woman who found it to be rewarding and a form of support, and since then we have been going regularly together. Still, it rarely lives up to what I would like to see happening among those who love the Lord. If it were up to me, every local congregation's mission statement would be "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." However, "all these things" end up being "programs", and everything in scripture is "applied" to life in the world as if His word were a self-help guide, and that all forever takes precedence, and seeking the kingdom of God is mostly left out. It's sad.

Nonetheless, I go. Because, like family, I love them anyway.

 

[bbyrd009]

Nonetheless, I go. Because, like family, I love them anyway.

nice. Exactly why i stay away, because i would just be pouring gas all over them and asking for matches lol. figuratively speaking of course
i'm hoping i might be fit for a congregation here in 20 years or so myself tho

 

[FHII]

I for one enjoy my Church... That is the gathering of those with like minds concerning the Lord. I have a great Pastor who cares about his congregation and respects God's word. Yes, i even love our brick and mortar building which was built largely by the brothers in the Church and is taken care of by such as well. We respect our property and building, but it is just where we gather. We would (and have done) our worship in lesser.

I am not condemning anyone who walks differently. If you don't go to Church or if you do "Church" differently, thats fine. I am simply sticking up for the way I do it.

 

[bbyrd009]

we've mostly all already abandoned the family model, family spread all over the country now, so it is sad to me to see the church model disintegrating too. While i understand it, in the context of "Empire in Decadence" (final stage), it still isn't a very nice place to be i guess

 

[amadeus]

nice. Exactly why i stay away, because i would just be pouring gas all over them and asking for matches lol. figuratively speaking of course
i'm hoping i might be fit for a congregation here in 20 years or so myself tho

O boy! Pass the matches! No, scratch that.

There are a few who are true in their intentions as I am able to see them and there are some who need the gas and matches as I am able to see them. In writing this, am I allowing my flesh to stick up its nasty head a bit too much? Can I truly say with Jesus?

"...Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34

 

[mjrhealth]

The vast majority won't even bother opening a Bible on their own spare time, because God is far down the list of importance for them,

Well the only time I pick up a bible is when I need to respond to christians who demand it, because I serve a living God who is quiet capable of conversing with anyone who will give Him 5 minutes of there time instead of burying their heads in the bible. And I do it because I love Him and would rather know Him than about Him, which is the reason you wont find me in mens churches,

 

[Dcopymope]

Well the only time I pick up a bible is when I need to respond to christians who demand it, because I serve a living God who is quiet capable of conversing with anyone who will give Him 5 minutes of there time instead of burying their heads in the bible. And I do it because I love Him and would rather know Him than about Him, which is the reason you wont find me in mens churches,

Yeah sure, I understand where you are coming, but I find people who speak like you, claiming to know God, claiming to have spoken with him or something to that effect, yet even they have just as tough a time asking the tougher philosophical questions concerning their faith that unbelievers often ask as someone who is actually honest who says they know about him, or of him. These are the same questions that even one such believer asked on this site, that no one could answer convincingly except me. I'm not naming names, but afer having that little conversation, it told me all I needed to know about the sorry state the whole body of Christ is really in, not just those who go to church. That little conversation was a shining example of why many smart unbelievers who ask these questions see's the faith as a joke.

 

[bbyrd009]

In writing this, am I allowing my flesh to stick up its nasty head a bit too much?

ya, i guess that amounts to pulling tares, even if God uses it for good anyway. i prolly just retrenched more hearts than those who saw the point, which i personally didn't need anyone to grasp anyway. like playing professor or whatever

Can I truly say with Jesus?

"...Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

ya, that, i would not be considered "forgiving" in those situations i guess

 

[bbyrd009]

I serve a living God who is quiet capable of conversing with anyone who will give Him 5 minutes of there time instead of burying their heads in the bible.

"I would rather be absent from the body, and present with the Lord."

 

[bbyrd009]

it told me all I needed to know about the sorry state the whole body of Christ is really in

"Didn't I choose you Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"

 

[bbyrd009]

That little conversation was a shining example of why many smart unbelievers who ask these questions see's the faith as a joke.

isn't that what smart unbelievers are destined to see though?

 

[Dcopymope]

isn't that what smart unbelievers are destined to see though?

Really, if you claim to know God yet you can't give real answers to their questions which all usually boils down to the meaning of life itself, then why should they take your faith seriously, 'smart' or not?

 

[bbyrd009]

Really, if you claim to know God yet you can't give real answers to their questions which usually boils down to the meaning of life itself, then why should they take your faith seriously, 'smart' or not?

imo the answer lies in the way we define "can't give real answers to their questions," which will be different for one who...well, for everyone, basically, but loosely speaking will be different for someone looking for logical answers, facts or proof, v someone seeking truth