In The Beginning No Temple Mentioned
Im sure that should be done if the in person option is not available to you. We can praise God all the time, but scriptures do tell to praise the Lord in His sanctuary . To really understand this, we must first understand the history of the church.
When the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt, the Highest God adopted them and no temple was mentioned. Jesus Christ was with them in a cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.*
Once the children of Israel sinned and the priesthood was established, it was at that time the Lord ordered a tent to be made for Him to dwell so that the non-rebellious children who wanted to go near the Lord could go out of the camp and go serve their God, Jesus .
Does God Care If I Don’t Go To Church
Is it acceptable to be a Christian and not go to church? Find out here.
There are many Christians who love going to church but there are also many Christians who dont. It has become increasingly popular for Christians to stay at home and find alternative methods to practice their faith including prayer, meditation and personal Bible study. Many people who dont attend church regularly or at all wonder what the point of going to church is if they have a personal relationship with God. While not attending church will not send you to hell or make God love you any less, it is not what God hoped for His people and can hinder spiritual growth.
Next, the church is defined as the body of living, individual believers. When Paul preaches the Gospel after receiving it by revelation from Jesus Christ, he says, For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it . Paul also said For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God . Both of these verses signal that the church is a body of living people.
When we become Christians, we attend church not simply because its a good habit for growing in spiritual maturity. We join a church because its what Christ called us to do and who Christ made us to be members of His body. When we are in are union with believers, we are in union with Christ.
Lesli White
What Does The Bible Say About Going Through The Wilderness
When the Israelites wandered through the wilderness, Exodus 13:21-22 tells us that: By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
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As Members Of The Body Of Christ We Belong To Each Other
Romans 12:5… so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
It is for our own good that God want us in fellowship with other believers. We need each other to grow up in the faith, to learn to serve, to love one another, to exercise our spiritual gifts, and to practice forgiveness. Although we are individuals, we still belong to one another.
Why Didnt The Apostles Worship On Sunday
Actually, the Apostles did worship at church on Sunday.
There is some confusion when it comes to the Apostles going to the synagogues on a Saturday.
If they were there to worship the Lord, then wouldnt it be suitable for modern-day Christians to rest and worship the Lord on Saturday, too?
Well, the Apostles indeed attended the synagogues on Saturday.
But while they were at the synagogues, these Apostles-most of whom were Jewish- were not there for a church service.
While they were in attendance, they were there solely for missionary trips -to explain to their fellow Jews the reality of Christs resurrection.
This was the best place to share the gospel message with sincere Jews who were following the Law by attending synagogue on the Sabbath.
It was the perfect place to explain that Jesus Christ fulfilled the promises of the Mosaic law and the many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.
This act is made clear in Acts 13:42-44 , where the scripture states:
As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told to them the next Sabbath. After the synagogue meeting broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
The next Sabbath, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
So, the answer is clear: apostles were not at the Synagogue to worship.
They worshipped on Sunday, as most Christians do today.
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In The Body Of Christ We Exercise Our Spiritual Gifts To Serve And Minister To One Another
1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Thessalonians 5:11Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
We will discover a satisfying sense of fulfillment when we begin to carry out our purpose in the body of Christ. We are the ones who miss out on all the blessings of God and the gifts of our “family members,” if we choose not to be a part of Christ’s body.
If The Sabbath Was Mandatory Why The Use Of The Non
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come, .
Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday, the first day of the week and it is that day the Galatians were to set money aside collections. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide. Does this verse apply to Christians today? It most certainly does.
I was in the Spirit on the Lords day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea, .
The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, The Lords Day in Rev. 1:10: This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of te kuriake hemera. The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the churchs worship day. As such it certainly appears early in the 2nd century .
In many churches today, the term The Lords Day is used to designate Sunday, the same as it was in the second century.
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The Meaning Of The Word Church
So what is the church? To answer this question, we first need to see the meaning of the word church in Matthew 16:18. Note 5 on church in this verse in the Recovery Version says:
Gk. ekklesia, meaning an out-calling. This word is used in reference to a called-out congregation.
This note tells us that in Greekthe original language of the New Testamentthe word for church, ekklesia, means out-calling. So the church is the congregation, or assembly, of all thepeople who have been called out of the world by God.
The second part of this same note says:
My church indicates that the church is of the Lord, not of any other person or thing it is not like the denominations, which are denominated according to some persons name or according to some matter.
When the Lord Jesus mentioned the church for the first time, He said Mychurch. As the note explains, this means the church is something thats of the Lord Himself, and not of anything or anyone else. Since the church is of the Lord, it isnt something formed by human organization.
Why Do We Need Church
The Church helps us to maintain organization, teachings, and to create a support system for members. By establishing a church, the Lord ensures that the correct doctrines are taught. The Church provides members with revelations, standards, and guidelines that help us live as Christ would have us live.
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What Church Denomination Should I Go To
The question of what church denomination should Christians go to certainly comes up often, and this is an important question.
We have to remember that denominations are created by men, and Christ is not divided among denominations and he is only one.
But, since throughout history many have corrupted Biblical doctrine, it is preferable to attend only certain denominations.
As a consequence, definitely, do not go to a non-denominational church. To keep the integrity of Biblical doctrine, go to a denomination that adheres strictly and only to the Bible, and not to the traditions of men.
In conclusion, my dear Christian, I encourage you to pray for the wellbeing of the church, which has persevered since Roman times, and for it continue to meet faithfully in the Biblical way.
In commandments stating to love other Christians with earnest love, what the church should tolerate or not tolerate, and to not stop meeting up, all we have to know about going to church is beautifully described for us in the New Testament.
Like the first Christians who had to go against the established Roman religion to meet privately to pray and worship God together, lets remain faithful in going to church to worship the Lord and carry each others burdens.
The Bible Tells Us To Meet Together As Believers And To Encourage One Another
Hebrews 10:25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The number one reason to encourage Christians to find a good church is because the Bible instructs us to be in relationship with other believers. If we are part of Christ’s body, we will recognize our need to fit into the body of believers. The church is the place where we come together to encourage one another as members of Christ’s body. Together we fulfill an important purpose on the Earth.
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Go To Church Because Every Part Of The Body Is Indispensable
The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.
You cannot say you dont need the rest of the body and the body cannot say they dont need you.
Let the truth of this verse sink in.
You are indispensable.
Why You Should Go To Church
Tim Arndt
People give a lot of reasons why they dont go to church
According to a Pew study the top 3 reasons are:
1) I practice my faith in other ways
2) Net dislike for congregation/religious services
3) I havent found a church/house of worship I like
One thing in common with these 3 reasons is that they all have to do with personal preference or feelings about the church.
While we might want to skip church, the real question is what does God want us to do?
This article is an all-out attack on the idea that we can be healthy Christians without the church.
Being a part of a church isnt just important, its essential.
Here are 28 reasons rooted in scripture on why we should faithfully go to church:
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Who Should Go To Church
It is possible that you have seen the following saying being widely circulated, both online and face-to-face: Church is not a museum for saints, it is a hospital for sinners.
This saying, while it was possibly stated by someone with good intentions, is unfortunately unbiblical and from the devil.
The fact that this saying is incorrect is most salient in 1 Corinthians 5:11:
11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Paul even instructs to not eat with such people, so it is astonishing. Many people with hidden sins still go to church and are accepted by pastors and the congregation.
We need to pray for our pastors so that they will be able to discern the hidden sins in the church.
This Scripture beautifully leads us to wonder, who should go to church?
Since the ekklesia is not a hospital for sinners, and it more closely resembles a family with strict criteria as to who belongs to the family, the answer is not everybody.
We learn that Paul felt this way when he told the Corinthians the following:
1 Corinthians 5:2: And you are proud! Shouldnt you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?
Consider Your Cultural Context
Culture shapes how people receive the gospel. So the cultural context youre sharing the gospel within is important to understand.
As the director of the Center for Global Christianity at NBTS, I have traveled to many different places, says Kim, and saw that, for people in Arab West Asia, Muslim faith is as much culture as it is religion that for the over 800 million Hindu Indians, Hinduism is life that Judaism is knit around the community of the Jewish people that Buddhism is a philosophy and a psychology that Daoism is about melding oneself to nature, and that Confucianism radiates from principles of moral self-cultivation.
You may not be traveling across the world to spread the gospel, but you dont have to go far to encounter someone with a different worldview, faith tradition, or cultural background than you. Theres a good chance you could find someone who fits that bill just across the street.
Christians today mingle with people of other faiths and cultures as their coworkers, friends, and even spouses on a daily basis, says Kim.Sharing the gospel today means we Christians must first struggle to understand what religion and the good news might even mean in the context of these very different orientations toward spirituality.
How do you faithfully adapt the gospel message for a different cultural context?
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When We Give Freely To God We Receive Freely From God
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
One man gives freely, yet gains even more another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
God promises to bless us over and above what we give and also according to the measure that we use to give. But, if we hold back from giving with a stingy heart, we hinder God from blessing our lives.
We Are Blessed When We Give
… remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
God wants us to give because he knows we will be blessed when we give generously to him and to others. Giving is a paradoxical kingdom principle â it brings more blessing to the giver than to the recipient.
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Our Attitude In Giving Is Important To God
How The Church Is Built
People are the building blocks.
Jesus feeds the 5,000. A crowd has been listening to Jesus teach on a remote hillside, and the nearest Chick-Fil-A is still 2,000 years away. The gathering there is a mix of the invested, the curious and the skeptical. No sanctuary or liturgy only Jesus speaking about God in real-time and then sharing a meal with those gathered on the hillside.
That would be the model throughout the New Testament: Gather. Eat. Share. Remember me. Live.
The book of Hebrews says that we dont need a middle man. Writing to Jewish believers in Jesus, the author makes it clear that a human high priest is no longer needed as a liaison between ourselves and Godthat God was not encountered only in the temple.
Jesus gives us each direct access to Divinity.
I grew up Catholic, believing the priest was an intermediary for me and that a variety of saints gave me special connection to God. This isnt what the New Testament teaches. The priest, rabbi, minister or pastor is not magic. They can be helpful, but theyre not essential and theyre not supernatural. And yes, because of this, you can have access to God wherever you areno matter how modest or ordinary the surroundings might be.
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