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Last year they paid me to not attend...my mouth sort of thing.RANDOR said:I find it amazing at all the excuses people can come up with...why not to attend church....
and defend them as if they were not excuses.
Excuse= lie from adversary.
Obviously..if you be bedridden or hospitalized ya can't attend.![]()
Thank you for caring! What really opened my eyes up long ago was bumping into all these Christians that had a very private "faith" giving me about anything I wanted providing I kept my beliefs to myself...stunning? I also bumped in Heb.10:25, etc. which also impacted me and have been fellowship publically daily since then...been working for me whether they are make-believers, Sunday-believers, or 007 believers or etc....I thank our Lord for all of them...the more they space out the Cross the more I embrace the Cross.aspen said:actually i am not shocked at all. protestants are taught not to trust church or their ministers. take away the authority of church, why would anyone attend? i also think that many ministers get caught up in the boring details of minor characters and obscure events in the Bible and go on and on and ON for and hour prattling off dry sermons - as if ancient history and genealogies matter. There is a double message regarding church - dont trust it AND it is important
Very good................."not give up meeting together" The greek word translated:::::::give Up.......speaks of desertion and abandoment.shturt678s said:Thank you for caring! What really opened my eyes up long ago was bumping into all these Christians that had a very private "faith" giving me about anything I wanted providing I kept my beliefs to myself...stunning? I also bumped in Heb.10:25, etc. which also impacted me and have been fellowship publically daily since then...been working for me whether they are make-believers, Sunday-believers, or 007 believers or etc....I thank our Lord for all of them...the more they space out the Cross the more I embrace the Cross.
Old Jack just thinking out loud again
Church 24/7 without neglecting the whole "1" hour on Sunday, Jack
Some Protestants are like that and give the rest a bad name. The others actually read their Bibles and understand that God commands us to submit to spiritual leadership, imperfect as it is. There are some, though, even right here on this forum, who are in open rebellion against God even while deceiving themselves into thinking they are doing the right thing more than the rest of us. Even when they go to church, they do so with a lot of criticism and self righteousness and they never stay long, finding it difficult to contend with all the faults they see in the pastor, the worship, and the ministries. They pick on doctrinal nuances, but the truth is, they have a rebellious spirit and won't stay in their assigned seat long enough for God to work a change in them. They're runners, running from God and running from God's holy Church and the only cure for their condition is submission, which they refuse to do.aspen said:actually i am not shocked at all. protestants are taught not to trust church or their ministers. take away the authority of church, why would anyone attend? i also think that many ministers get caught up in the boring details of minor characters and obscure events in the Bible and go on and on and ON for and hour prattling off dry sermons - as if ancient history and genealogies matter. There is a double message regarding church - dont trust it AND it is important
Romanists have the lowest attendance of all denominations. Just in case you were wondering.aspen said:actually i am not shocked at all. protestants are taught not to trust church or their ministers. take away the authority of church, why would anyone attend? i also think that many ministers get caught up in the boring details of minor characters and obscure events in the Bible and go on and on and ON for and hour prattling off dry sermons - as if ancient history and genealogies matter. There is a double message regarding church - dont trust it AND it is important
Very tastyRANDOR said:Very good................."not give up meeting together" The greek word translated:::::::give Up.......speaks of desertion and abandoment.
Satan loves the non church goer....
It's all Greek to me, however let's eyeball Heb.10:25 again, "not abandoning the assembly of ourselves" As long as RANDOR keeps preaching the Word on this forum, I'm fulfilling Heb.10:25 right here and now...thank you Jesus. Throw in a little of RANDOR's agape, and we're together at the foot of the precious Cross daily...Church on Sunday added gravy.RANDOR said:Very good................."not give up meeting together" The greek word translated:::::::give Up.......speaks of desertion and abandoment.
Satan loves the non church goer....
A nice bit of self righteousness here and spiritual humbuggery. Your church is no more the church that Christ instituted than Jim Jones church was. I doubt if you have any idea what the church is beyond what you have been told by those who love dressing up in women's clothes.This Vale Of Tears said:Some Protestants are like that and give the rest a bad name. The others actually read their Bibles and understand that God commands us to submit to spiritual leadership, imperfect as it is. There are some, though, even right here on this forum, who are in open rebellion against God even while deceiving themselves into thinking they are doing the right thing more than the rest of us. Even when they go to church, they do so with a lot of criticism and self righteousness and they never stay long, finding it difficult to contend with all the faults they see in the pastor, the worship, and the ministries. They pick on doctrinal nuances, but the truth is, they have a rebellious spirit and won't stay in their assigned seat long enough for God to work a change in them. They're runners, running from God and running from God's holy Church and the only cure for their condition is submission, which they refuse to do.
Even though you and I know that the Protestant reformation was an act of insurrection against the Church Jesus instituted, centuries later Protestantism is no longer exactly defined by it's protest against the Catholic Church. In fact, many don't have any animosity toward Catholics at all, just disagreements in their point of view. Strictly speaking, they're more accurately called evangelical Christians rather than Protestants.
And as far as the pastors go, you're right that they drag on and on and the service becomes about them rather than about Jesus as is the case in Catholic and Orthodox services. The pastor is expected to be entertaining, engaging, and charismatic. But in their defense, they aren't the problem when it comes to churchlessness, which should be obvious. They need people to attend. The rebels I speak of are the wandering "prophets" who think God speaks to them exclusively like John, Elijah, or Samuel and they have a "word for the pastor" which usually includes a rebuke or criticism, which God mysteriously gave to them instead of telling the pastor Himself. These types are ensconced in the Old Testament, well versed in the woes and condemnations, the calls for repentance and a return to righteousness. But the demons they battle are their own.
I agree we are the church...the bride...that i agree with....but i hope that which you have just wrote is not your excuse for not attending a church.marksman said:Of course the first question is "What is church." Most christians have no idea as they think that it is a building where you go to gather with others to sing songs, follow some religious rituals, put some money in the plate, listen to some incompetent spout what he thinks about the bible and indulge in a religious ritual called communion.
If that is your impression of the church, then you have no idea what the church is, and until you do, you will not be able to be the church, which is what we are.
RANDOR said:I agree we are the church...the bride...that i agree with....but i hope that which you have just wrote is not your excuse for not attending a church.
If a bad excuse is worse than no excuse at all...and if Church is composed of those in the Kingdom of God today for example then this is our Lord's impression of the Church...sounds good to me as only winging it?RANDOR said:I agree we are the church...the bride...that i agree with....but i hope that which you have just wrote is not your excuse for not attending a church.
Sounds like an excuse. Church has always been a building that people gathered to weekly for worship, all the way back to the apostolic age. People also gave offerings and listened to a preacher and the centerpiece of the gathering was communion, doing in remembrance what Jesus commanded them to. All of that is in the Bible. So with all due respect, which is very little, YOU have no idea what church is.marksman said:Of course the first question is "What is church." Most christians have no idea as they think that it is a building where you go to gather with others to sing songs, follow some religious rituals, put some money in the plate, listen to some incompetent spout what he thinks about the bible and indulge in a religious ritual called communion.
If that is your impression of the church, then you have no idea what the church is, and until you do, you will not be able to be the church, which is what we are.
I have had some very bad impressions of church. I can completely understand why someone wouldn't want to go back.RANDOR said:I agree we are the church...the bride...that i agree with....but i hope that which you have just wrote is not your excuse for not attending a church.
Amen! That was a very good answer.RANDOR said:Remember.......it's the deep deep deep part of the belly why they choose not to find or get back into a church.
Now............if a bad impression is one of them..(ten to one though I bet it isn't the deep deep down one)..then that needs to be cast out....and get out there and find a church.....but remember...when ya find that church that doesn't give ya bad impression.....now you are there.
My wife went through this....yes, i know...my wife :)
Anyway, she stopped going because the people were mean.
8 years passed.....FINALLY she went to another church.
And saw...what and how she was not there for the people
But she is there to hear from God.
People say...I can hear from God in my closet, back yard, sittin on the toilet....sure ya can.
But............................................God loves the effort you put in for His name. That James 4:8 thing I've always pushed. :)
let me say it again....ya know since I'm here.........JAMES 4;8..... IS THE ONLY SCRIPTURE ONE NEEDS.
Nooooooooooooooooooo....my friend....this was the better answer :)lforrest said:A church that stifles the Spirit and is full of hypocrisy is worse than no church at all. God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them.