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if you dont want to attend a church because it does not meet up with your standards so be it .. o could walk you through acts showing you how they gave what they could to help form a church .they met from house to house ..they assembled them selves .. if you want to stay at home that is between you and God.. my family and i will attend church as long as we are able.

It's not that they do not meet my standards, but I refuse to attend a church just for the sake of attending one and sit under false teachings or an hour or two of music only with a few scriptures thrown in between the music. I need a church that is going to feed me truth and challenge me to dig deeper into the mysteries of the word of God. I pray that church will rise up in my area.

BTW, I know how the body of Christ was established in Acts as it wasn't a fancy four walled building, but established on the teachings of Christ, not man's doctrines.
 
ezra,
She isn't attacking the four walls we traditionally call church.

If you go back to the Greek word we translate as a church, it simply means a group of like-minded individuals that met on a regular basis.

The first Christians continued to meet each Sabbath at the synagogue and when they were rejected they started meeting in homes on the first day of the week. The gentile church also met at homes.

It wasn't until a few hundred years later that the majority of Christians started meeting in buildings dedicated to worship.

There isn't anything wrong with meeting in homes, meeting at a building or even meeting online. It all gives God glory.

We are the Church, and denominations don't define us. It is Christ inside us that defines us regardless of where we meet.

I am a strong advocate for finding a local community of believers that can join in worship and mutual edification but I also understand that this forum is where Christ-centered people congregate, and as such, we are the Church.
 
The Letter to Ephesus
2 “Write to the angel[a] of the church in Ephesus:

“The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says: 2 I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. 3 You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you[b] and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 “Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in[c] God’s paradise.

we see here in Ephesus this a congregation that met in a building ..they was commended for 7 things verse 4 BUTTTTTTTTTTT they had abandoned there first love
 
Of course we are part of the body of Christ on this forum as are there on other Christian forums as well. But this is not enough. We still need face to face..fellowship with other believers and we surely need to worshipping together. That is what the best of churches do..they worship together, they share together (most often meals..how many potlucks there are) they help each other when in need (beyond what is done on any forum) and they also marry and bury and receive communion. None of which happens on forums. Forums are a place to share, to grow, to fellowship from afar. It is an extra activity. It is not church as such and if it is considered to be it may be an excuse we tell ourselves so to avoid commitment and responsibility to other Christians. Church is much more "community" than any forum could ever be.

On the other hand, however, I can see how many feel because God does not stay in a box and some churches can be boxes. Also, my health situation warrants I cannot make it to live church services now. So I watch them online and am grateful they are provided. I am blessed to be part of a Christian forum, not just this one, but another where there is a bit more 'church talk' (things like how do you prepare Sunday school lessons for 8th graders, etc.) and those of us involved there feel it is acceptable and are even are encourage to share about our different in church experiences even though that is not all we share. My other one is a place where there are active church pastors who are sometimes moderators or administrators and are involved from various backgrounds and church settings. I think I need to spend more time there. Hopefully I have not offended anyone here by sharing this truth as I see it. I respect your right to chose how and where we do participate. I just don't think we can consider forums church in the same way we do "Church"..if we do we are missing something.
 
Of course we are part of the body of Christ on this forum as are there on other Christian forums as well. But this is not enough. We still need face to face..fellowship with other believers and we surely need to worshipping together. That is what the best of churches do..they worship together, they share together (most often meals..how many potlucks there are) they help each other when in need (beyond what is done on any forum) and they also marry and bury and receive communion. None of which happens on forums. Forums are a place to share, to grow, to fellowship from afar. It is an extra activity. It is not church as such and if it is considered to be it may be an excuse we tell ourselves so to avoid commitment and responsibility to other Christians. Church is much more "community" than any forum could ever be.

On the other hand, however, I can see how many feel because God does not stay in a box and some churches can be boxes. Also, my health situation warrants I cannot make it to live church services now. So I watch them online and am grateful they are provided. I am blessed to be part of a Christian forum, not just this one, but another where there is a bit more 'church talk' (things like how do you prepare Sunday school lessons for 8th graders, etc.) and those of us involved there feel it is acceptable and are even are encourage to share about our different in church experiences even though that is not all we share. My other one is a place where there are active church pastors who are sometimes moderators or administrators and are involved from various backgrounds and church settings. I think I need to spend more time there. Hopefully I have not offended anyone here by sharing this truth as I see it. I respect your right to chose how and where we do participate. I just don't think we can consider forums church in the same way we do "Church"..if we do we are missing something.




It still is your decision and right whether or not you want to show up every week,.. not anybody else's on this forum.
 
Of course we are part of the body of Christ on this forum as are there on other Christian forums as well. But this is not enough. We still need face to face..fellowship with other believers and we surely need to worshipping together. That is what the best of churches do..they worship together, they share together (most often meals..how many potlucks there are) they help each other when in need (beyond what is done on any forum) and they also marry and bury and receive communion. None of which happens on forums. Forums are a place to share, to grow, to fellowship from afar. It is an extra activity. It is not church as such and if it is considered to be it may be an excuse we tell ourselves so to avoid commitment and responsibility to other Christians. Church is much more "community" than any forum could ever be.

On the other hand, however, I can see how many feel because God does not stay in a box and some churches can be boxes. Also, my health situation warrants I cannot make it to live church services now. So I watch them online and am grateful they are provided. I am blessed to be part of a Christian forum, not just this one, but another where there is a bit more 'church talk' (things like how do you prepare Sunday school lessons for 8th graders, etc.) and those of us involved there feel it is acceptable and are even are encourage to share about our different in church experiences even though that is not all we share. My other one is a place where there are active church pastors who are sometimes moderators or administrators and are involved from various backgrounds and church settings. I think I need to spend more time there. Hopefully I have not offended anyone here by sharing this truth as I see it. I respect your right to chose how and where we do participate. I just don't think we can consider forums church in the same way we do "Church"..if we do we are missing something.
Hi,
If I have inferred in any way that any online forum takes the place of a church building, my apologies. That was not my intent.

The Body of Christ is very diverse and no single community can met every need within its four walls. If the confines of a physical church could meet every need for its members, then online communities would not exist as well as many other worthy organizations where members from other denominations gather together.

What I was trying to say is that the church is not the Church. We are the Church and we do church everytime we come together regardless where we gather.

There is something to be said about plugging into a local body of believers to sing praises and worship our Lord as one body which is present. Likewise there are excellent Bible studies and various programs a local church can provide that a community forum cannot. Lastly, there is communion, baptism and other items that cannot be replaced with anything online.

We seek Godly fellowship when we can't be together face to face and this site, as well as other sites you may frequent fill that gap and each has its place.

I hope that clears up any misunderstanding anyone may have had about anything I've written.
 
It still is your decision and right whether or not you want to show up every week,.. not anybody else's on this forum.
You are young, so we extend you grace with patience. It's not about ones decision and right. It's about commitment and obligation.
Marriage is very much the same way in that you may not always feel you want to be married. But you made a commitment, and because your dedicated, you give of yourself when you have nothing to gain. This is called being a servant., and Jesus showed us by example how we ought to serve one another.

In other words, going to church has as much, if not more to do with what you bring than what you take and just like this forum, there will be people you don't much care for as well as those you really enjoy. It's about trying to get along with everyone as best you can.

In any community, there has to be some sort of mutual respect for another. Its not all about how others respect you, but it's about how you respect others.
 
to some degree he is correct .we should be the church but even the body christ needs fellowship . i am not saying because one does not go.they are not saved.. sometimes things come up sometimes health reasons keeps us from going.. attending Church is important or else we would not be told in scriptures to go and if the attending of the local assembly in home or building set aside for thus reason . the Church would not have been formed in acts
Scriptures don't tell us to "go to Church." Scripture tells us to not forsake the assembling together and exhorting one another. We can assemble together in an official church building, home, garage, fish house, by phone, radio, or even online to fellowship and exhort one another.
 
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Scriptures don't tell us to "go to Church." Scripture tells us to not forsake the assembling together and exhorting one another. We can assemble together in an official church building, home, garage, fish house, by phone, radio, or even online to fellowship and exhort one another.
I should also expand on this and say that I also agree it is very important to gather together in person. There are God-given benefits to doing so. The personal connection with each other and probably with God can be much higher. We also need to do so to share Communion. Live group worship and fellowship can provide a higher sense of togetherness and love as well as strength against Satan.
 
You are young, so we extend you grace with patience. It's not about ones decision and right. It's about commitment and obligation.
Marriage is very much the same way in that you may not always feel you want to be married. But you made a commitment, and because your dedicated, you give of yourself when you have nothing to gain. This is called being a servant., and Jesus showed us by example how we ought to serve one another.

In other words, going to church has as much, if not more to do with what you bring than what you take and just like this forum, there will be people you don't much care for as well as those you really enjoy. It's about trying to get along with everyone as best you can.

In any community, there has to be some sort of mutual respect for another. Its not all about how others respect you, but it's about how you respect others.



I liked and agreed with your last sentence, I just choose not to go to church every week because of the point for_his_glory and WIP were making. It's up to the individual if they want to or not and if you're happy with being in church all the time then that's fine but I'm not. I just go whenever I want to. I still read and study the scriptures every day though.
 
-sigh- this is a tough one. not everyone "fits in" churches near them/us, because...yes, churches are places for Christians (people who are called and are therefore "in the world, but not of it....") to assemble and grow in The Lord together....

they also exist within and are influenced by the surrounding community and society, as a whole. And...in the US....now, -everything- is politicized. -Everything- is about lifestyle, demographics, outlook, "values," etc. For instance...

my parents and people in their social circles lean (very) left, in a "progressive" (not quite socialist) way. church for people like them often = either a liberal mainline Protestant church or, for the more politically active among them, perhaps Unitarian. and then...

an acquaintance from my younger years hails from an "old family." Her religion--and it does seem to be a religion, not really a relationship with Jesus-- is based more on family tradition than on intense belief. Having said that, she's also "socially conscious." solution? easy. Episcopalian, like her family up to the 18th century or whenever, just reinvented for today's social climate (less Scripture, more social justice, etc.).

oh, and then there's the Pentecostals, whom I often really, really like as people and as fellow Christians....

but the -churches- themselves are often hardcore right-wing. I don't know what to make of it, honestly. I've found Pentecostals to be more genuinely Christ-like to "the least of these..." to a point, that is. There's a line, a very real one. I've never crossed it (I don't go to church), but I remember seeing what happened at the Pentecostal place I went to in my mid-20s. and then...

Methodists, Baptists. On the one hand, I like a lot of the material I read out of the SBC...material about engaging a post-Christian culture, etc...but then I've also read recently that, somehow, hundreds of -convcited sex offenders- are somehow still in positions of authority within various SBC churches, including some very close to me. and...

The Methodists seem to be warring, within. As with many US mainline Protestant denominations, their numbers have been declining, anyway....if the church itself veers left, they'll probably lose even more members (look at what happened to PCUSA and the Episcopalians).

so, I don't know. plus, at a personal level, I should add that I've always been a "misfit," then I was a pariah, now...well, Jesus saves (clearly). But where to go to church? I was such an outcast...I was stuck in traffic in front of a 'progressive' Presbyterian church, here locally. People in the parking lot were pointing and laughing. :-(

I -do- think that if one can find a solid church that does their best to fulfill the NT requirements of the local assembly and it is a tolerable experience--no vicious backstabbing, no hardcore church politics--then -my interpretation- of Scripture would be that God expects one to go there, or somewhere similar, learn to be put up with other Christians ("...as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens his friend..."), and then one might see growth, maturity, the joys of sharing a bond in Christ, sharing life, with other believers. and yet....

churches grow out of communities, out of society. there's a growing number of misfits, "Losers," "rejects," labeled and effectively silenced individuals in America (I cannot speak for other nations...I think the UK and Canada are going down a similar path...), and we/they are often -not welcome- and -not accepted- and -not wanted- in what remains of the established church, USA.

:)
 
Oh and I would also like to add that I can't always make it to church anyways. In a few minutes I'm going to create a poll, and I think you will find that I'm not the only occasional church goer around here. And I'm sorry I'm really trying to be polite on this one, but I'm just sick and tired of all this nagging! :nag
 
I liked and agreed with your last sentence, I just choose not to go to church every week because of the point for_his_glory and WIP were making. It's up to the individual if they want to or not and if you're happy with being in church all the time then that's fine but I'm not. I just go whenever I want to. I still read and study the scriptures every day though.
Sounds like you misunderstood my position. I have not suggested that it is not necessary to gather in Christian fellowship and worship. In fact, I believe just the opposite. I believe it is Scriptural and extremely important to attend regularly as Hebrews 10 tells us. It builds up our faith, strengthens our resolve, and solidifies our beliefs so we can more easily handle Satan's temptations.
 
Sounds like you misunderstood my position. I have not suggested that it is not necessary to gather in Christian fellowship and worship. In fact, I believe just the opposite. I believe it is Scriptural and extremely important to attend regularly as Hebrews 10 tells us. It builds up our faith, strengthens our resolve, and solidifies our beliefs so we can more easily handle Satan's temptations.




And I believe that it's alright to believe that but don't force your beliefs on everybody else. You will also find if you checkout my church poll thread that I'm not the only one who doesn't attend church regularly which I figured all along that I wasn't.
 
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