Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And I can experience God both ways, one day I can be in a church and have the experience and the next day have that experience while not in a church, God is all around us in all people, places and things, in the sene and unscene thats for sure and times spent alone can be very personal and deep, but the same can be said when you are with a group of believers, after all there have always been some form of churches going back to the begining of the Church when they would meet in house churches or in the catacombs.
I only go for the big holidays (Palm Sunday, Easter, Christmas) etc.
I used to go every Sunday when I was little to my Grandpa's church. My Grandpa was a Reverend for the United Methodist Church and I would sit with my Grandma and we would watch him preach away. For some reason, when I was about 9, I decided I didn't want to go anymore and haven't gone regularly since then.
But I miss going to church and being with my Grandparents (they're no longer alive anymore). We would drive by the beach on the way to church and then go out to lunch somewhere after service.
But I have made it a goal to start going more often. I like going to church, it makes me feel good.
You've made a good decision. Going to church does make a person feel good. However, that shouldn't be the primary reason you go. Listen to what this scripture says:
Hebrews 10
23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Notice that the reason for assembling is:
1. to provoke one another on to good works
2. to exhort, or build one another up
Going to church is not primarily about us. It's about God and others. When we go to worship God, we:
1. sing praises to Him
2. listen to His Word being preached, which in turn will grow our faith
3. partake of the Lord's Supper to remember His death, and proclaim it
4. collect for the poor who are in need
5. pray
When we've done all that, we feel very good. But the motivation should never be about what we can get out of it, but what we can give to others. At least that's how I view it anyway.
I just don't see why some of you are so turned off by gathering with a community of believers that you would never step foot in a church.
have your past experiences been that Bad?
As someone that has been in and out of communities of believers that worship together as Sparrow puts it "buildings with the word "church" on it over the course of 58 years I can see the pros and cons of both ways of worship.
Now I see nothing wrong with prefering one way over the other, but when you are basically saying you would not step inside a church until hell freezes over is kind of extreme.
A lot of posters (maybe even most) here at 'Christianity' board feel very strongly against the church, pastors and church goers, because they do not agree what the churches teach, and what Church goers believe. They call it "mainstream Christianity" and "fundamental Christianity" and unfortunately they feel that what the church teaches is a satanic deception. When they say they will not set their foot in a church, they mean it.
I go to church once or twice a week although my wife and I are in process of finding another church now that both out pastors moved on.
A lot of posters (maybe even most) here at 'Christianity' board feel very strongly against the church, pastors and church goers, because they do not agree what the churches teach, and what Church goers believe. They call it "mainstream Christianity" and "fundamental Christianity" and unfortunately they feel that what the church teaches is a satanic deception. When they say they will not set their foot in a church, they mean it.
I go to church once or twice a week although my wife and I are in process of finding another church now that both out pastors moved on.
While there may be some churches that some may think as questionable, to paint all churches with one broad paint stoke is kind of unfair..
It is trying to rationalise their perception of what a church should be and trying to put limits on God.
To me it it is a form of elitism just as there are people in some churches that look down on those that are not in a church; they are doing the same thing.
To me it it is a form of elitism just as there are people in some churches that look down on those that are not in a church; they are doing the same thing.
Of course it is elitism. They claim to know "the true nature of God", while others do not know it, and they claim that those who go to church are being brainwashed into believing the "ignorance and stupidity of our ancestors". I use the quotation marks because I am using the exact words of those who preach against the church and mock the church goers here on this board. I am not making this up.
I go virtually every Sunday. Exceptions are sometimes vacation, illness, or weather.
Catholicism dictates that it is a mortal sin to miss church for no good reason. That's just the way it is.
Coming together as Christians is important. The best analogy I have heard on the subject is that we are like hot coals and our spirituality is the heat within. If we are all put in a pile, the coals around you keep you hot and burning. Move a coal to the side by itself and it quickly cools off.
Another is the cross. The vertical bar represents our personal relationship with God. the horizontal bar is our relationship with each other. We are the Body of Christ. To worship independently on a consistent basis is hardly condusive for the health of the body.
Last edited by GoodToBeHome; 04-30-2011 at 08:50 AM..
People have many personal reasons for where and how they worship God..
God is pleased to hear from us no matter where we are.
If we are confortable with a group that is organized and follows a certain structured regimin that puts one in closer proximity to God, that is wonderful.
If we prefer to worship Him in the nature that he made specifically for us to see, feel and delight in the beauty he provided for our pleasure and we feel His nearness there that is also wonderful.
Many times people (even right here in the USA) worship alone, in silence because of circumstances that we may not know about or understand. God does, and their worship is just as worthy as the ones meeting together in buildings made for the gatherings of the church.
Because one has dropped out of religion done in buildings does not mean one has dropped God..
I usually attend church three times a week. However, the church I attend is 15 miles from my house and with gas prices the way they are right now, I can only manage one 30 mile round trip a week instead of the normal three. So I'm only going once a week right now.
People have many personal reasons for where and how they worship God..
God is pleased to hear from us no matter where we are.
If we are confortable with a group that is organized and follows a certain structured regimin that puts one in closer proximity to God, that is wonderful.
If we prefer to worship Him in the nature that he made specifically for us to see, feel and delight in the beauty he provided for our pleasure and we feel His nearness there that is also wonderful.
Many times people (even right here in the USA) worship alone, in silence because of circumstances that we may not know about or understand. God does, and their worship is just as worthy as the ones meeting together in buildings made for the gatherings of the church.
Because one has dropped out of religion done in buildings does not mean one has dropped God..
You have turned your back on the Body of Christ. Regardless of your reasons, it is what it is. Christ didn't leave us a Bible. He left us a Church. You should go.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We would drive by the beach on the way to church and then go out to lunch somewhere after service.
