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Do u have to go to church to be a Christian? HMMMM...my mom says u do or maybe I should say she says I have to. I don't think u have to go to church to be a Christian, but if u r in the right church it could be helpful.
I bolded the part that stood out for me. Like the previous post, I agree, the body of believers is the church. When he is 12 maybe that will be a good time or safe time to let him go should you still feel the need.
As for the garage analogy, good but most folk go for a battery recharge for the next 6 days and little one on Wednesdays if their battery is not a good brand.
This e-book spoke volumes to me of an associate pastor who came out of the system. This demonstrates how God really moves.
You can download it and read and it. I have posted some snippets on my blog.
This is no distant God who sent his Son with a list of rules to follow or rituals to practice. His mission was to invite us into his love—into a relationship with his Father that he described as friendship. But what do we do? We are so quickly captured by a work-driven religious culture that thrives on guilt, conformity and manipulation that it devours the very love it seeks to sustain.
Won't it be a joy again to wake up confident about being loved by God every day, without having to earn it by any act of righteousness on your part? That is the secret to first love. Don't try to earn it. Know that you are accepted and loved, not for what you can do for God, or somehow hoping that you will be worthy of his acceptance, but because his greatest desire is to have you as one of his children. Jesus came to remove any obstacle that would prevent that from happening.
Don't you realize that the most powerful thing about the gospel is that it liberates us from the concept that God dwells in any building? For a people steeped in the rites of temple worship this was either great or terrible news. His followers thought it was great. No longer did they have to think of God as cloaked in the recesses of the temple, available only to special people at select times.
Blessings
Thank you thank you thank you, Seeker, for posting this.
Do you have to associate with your family to be a member? The church is the members, and they are commanded to love one another. Exactly how do you demonstrate that if you never assemble with them? How can you say you love God, if you do not love his children enough to assemble with them?
Nobody has to 'go to church' , but if you do not assemble with God's saints, you are disobeying His teachings.
The Holy Spirit will direct your path. I've "wandered" for some time before I found the right fit, so to speak. It's not just one place that I get the Word at either. I attend Saturday Sabbath and on some Sundays I find myself worshiping next to my dad. ( He's always delighted to see me, especially when I sneak up and sit right behind him). The children enjoy worshiping with granpappy more than they like attending the Sabbath.
Or on either Saturday or Sunday, be it Monday or Tuesday,............you might find me in one of my patients home or hospital, bringingthem the Word. There's no specific place for me to have "church".
Inward worship of the soul, will lead you to worship each and everyday, and just about anywhere.
Question: have you tried joining a small group within the church? I am a big believer of being part of a small group. I never attended a small group meeting where I thought people to be snobbish or cliquey. The very best way to meet people at church for me personally has been through the small group and/or Sunday School class format. Frankly, I felt quite isolated in the new town we had moved to until we joined a small group at our church. If you just go to the service, especially if its a large church, it can be very hard to meet people b/c people are focused on worship and/or getting their kids after the service.
I don't think you HAVE to go, but if you can find a good church - it is a good thing. Keep looking 'til you find a good one.
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24,25
Do you have to associate with your family to be a member? The church is the members, and they are commanded to love one another. Exactly how do you demonstrate that if you never assemble with them? How can you say you love God, if you do not love his children enough to assemble with them?
Nobody has to 'go to church' , but if you do not assemble with God's saints, you are disobeying His teachings.
Who is to say a believer that doesn't have a church doesn't associate with believers?
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