Is Corporate Worship Important or Necessary?

[handy]

I may be in the wilderness but God has provided me with a means of fellowship.

Why would I want people to pray with when Jesus tells me to pray in private??

Why are you teaching the opposite of what the Lord teaches?

I have to agree with Alabaster here, Doc. There is plenty of evidence that we are to pray with each other and for each other. I know a long time ago in this thread you and I discussed the "prayer closet" text, but Jesus isn't telling us that the only time we are to pray is in a closet. James 5:16 specifically tells us to pray for one another and confess our sins to one another.

 

[Strangelove]

You speak of things you do not know.

If you're gonna reply with posts like this or just the word False.....is it really worth posting?

You're not doing yourself any credit to yourself with such postings and certainly not benefiting anyone else.

 

[Strangelove]

God doesn't teach us to pray solo only. This is where you need to be corrected, yet you reject it. That is what we call an independent spirit, a stiff neck...an attitude God is not pleased by.

Well...I've given scripture to show He DOES teach us to pray solo. So if you wanna teach otherwise then post some scripture that commands us to pray together. It should be easy enough for ya.

 

[Strangelove]

The truth doesn't make sense to the less open heart.

Truth makes sense if scripture backs it.

Christians are to be disciples and disciplers.

The APOSTLES were commanded to disciple nations. So do you consider yourself to be an apostle? YES or NO?

 

[Alabaster]

Well...I've given scripture to show He DOES teach us to pray solo. So if you wanna teach otherwise then post some scripture that commands us to pray together. It should be easy enough for ya.

You have certainly toed the line from one scriptural reference that teaches us how to have private prayer time with God, but it isn't the ONLY way we must pray.

You seem to think so, and you are simply believing and purveying a lie.

Broaden your horizons. Read the whole word of God.

 

[Strangelove]

I have to agree with Alabaster here, Doc. There is plenty of evidence that we are to pray with each other and for each other. I know a long time ago in this thread you and I discussed the "prayer closet" text, but Jesus isn't telling us that the only time we are to pray is in a closet. James 5:16 specifically tells us to pray for one another and confess our sins to one another.

James 5:16 isn't evidence that we should pray WITH one another it says we should pray FOR one another. Admitting when we have wronged eachother is not praying either.

Your other evidence is that on rare occasions elders may be called to the privacy of a sick persons room to pray for him. Not with him, for him. In private.

So wheres the rest of the 'plenty' of evidence?

This isn't rocket science guys. Jesus says quite clearly to pray on our own. Praying in public and in the holy building is what the hypocrites do. To be seen of men.

Does it really take a Jew to come in here and tell you Christians what our Lord clearly says?

 

[Alabaster]

Truth makes sense if scripture backs it.




The APOSTLES were commanded to disciple nations. So do you consider yourself to be an apostle? YES or NO?

That is false. We are disciples, and the command is for all of us to make disciples of the nations. If you are not sharing your faith with the unsaved, and raising them up to faith in Jesus Christ by your example, you are disobeying Jesus.

 

[Strangelove]

You have certainly toed the line from one scriptural reference that teaches us how to have private prayer time with God, but it isn't the ONLY way we must pray.

You seem to think so, and you are simply believing and purveying a lie.

Broaden your horizons. Read the whole word of God.

I've read it and I cant find anywhere that praying in groups is advised. Can you find any scripture?

Does Jesus have to repeat himself 20 times for you to believe what He says?

Once is enough for me. He makes it quite clear. No room for misunderstanding.

 

[Strangelove]

That is false. We are disciples, and the command is for all of us to make disciples of the nations. If you are not sharing your faith with the unsaved, and raising them up to faith in Jesus Christ by your example, you are disobeying Jesus.

A disciple is simply a Christian. I dunno why you make such a big deal out of it. You can't MAKE a Christian you can only share the good news with the unsaved. Which I do by the way almost everyday in my shop.

After that its up to them and up to God whether they become saved or not.

You can't make a Christian from start to finish. You dont have the power to do that.

Whe Jesus said make Disciples of all the nations He was simply commanding the apostles to disseminate the Gospels to the Nations. Of course you cant make a nation a Christian.

 

[Alabaster]

A disciple is simply a Christian. I dunno why you make such a big deal out of it. You can't MAKE a Christian you can only share the good news with the unsaved. Which I do by the way almost everyday in my shop.

After that its up to them and up to God whether they become saved or not.

You can't make a Christian from start to finish. You dont have the power to do that.

That's what I said. However, thee are far too many Christians who do not disciple, and dare to call themselves disciples and they aren't.

Whe Jesus said make Disciples of all the nations He was simply commanding the apostles to disseminate the Gospels to the Nations. Of course you cant make a nation a Christian.

That is a command for all of us. Yes, we do as the Body of Christ, influence the nations.

 

[Strangelove]

That's what I said. However, thee are far too many Christians who do not disciple, and dare to call themselves disciples and they aren't.



That is a command for all of us. Yes, we do as the Body of Christ, influence the nations.

So what you call 'disciple making' is simply sharing the good news with the unsaved correct?

 

[Nick]

So what you call 'disciple making' is simply sharing the good news with the unsaved correct?

Yes, and corporate worship is an excellent way to do that, and to meet many Christians who fellowship together, and share each others' lives. You are missing out on so much, SL.

 

[Alabaster]

So what you call 'disciple making' is simply sharing the good news with the unsaved correct?

Add to that the instruction in the word of those who are already believers. All new believers need to be discipled in the faith.

 

[pjt]

You are missing out on so much, SL.

Nick, I don`t think people are fully hearing Strangelove out. He has stated a couple of times that he is not a part of a physical fellowship of Believers because there is not a church in his area other than the catholic church and I don`t want to open a debate on that, but everyone knows that there are beliefs in the catholic church that are completely contrary to Protestant beliefs and vice versa. So some catholics would never feel it is acceptable to enter a protestant church just as some protestants would never feel comfortable entering a catholic church and some orthodox would not feel comfortable entering a catholic or protestant church for very fundamental reasons based on each one`s faith so I don`t think it is good to push any of these in the others church when their beliefs are so strong and incompatible. But perhaps if people really want to help Strangelove, instead of banging him over the head for not going to church, we could pray that he could find some Christians in his area to fellowship with. I think based on what he has said, that may be the most effective thing anyone here can do. If he could just find 1 or 2 other Christians they could have a home fellowship together. I mean shouldn`t we live out our faith? If a new brother in Christ has no other person to fellowship with in person, instead of beating him up over this we can take action and pray for him. I don`t think he would take offense to that, would you Strangelove?

 

[Nick]

Nick, I don`t think people are fully hearing Strangelove out. He has stated a couple of times that he is not a part of a physical fellowship of Believers because there is not a church in his area other than the catholic church and I don`t want to open a debate on that, but everyone knows that there are beliefs in the catholic church that are completely contrary to Protestant beliefs and vice versa. So some catholics would never feel it is acceptable to enter a protestant church just as some protestants would never feel comfortable entering a catholic church and some orthodox would not feel comfortable entering a catholic or protestant church for very fundamental reasons based on each one`s faith so I don`t think it is good to push any of these in the others church when their beliefs are so strong and incompatible. But perhaps if people really want to help Strangelove, instead of banging him over the head for not going to church, we could pray that he could find some Christians in his area to fellowship with. I think based on what he has said, that may be the most effective thing anyone here can do. If he could just find 1 or 2 other Christians they could have a home fellowship together. I mean shouldn`t we live out our faith? If a new brother in Christ has no other person to fellowship with in person, instead of beating him up over this we can take action and pray for him. I don`t think he would take offense to that, would you Strangelove?

I agree. Being an Anglican, I would certainly not feel confortable entering an RC church. But of course SL is free to try it out.
I am aware of his situation. I am simply stating that he is missing out on a lot by not getting involved with a church. Of course I understnad that he is not able to.

 

[Alabaster]

Placing our need in God's hands and trusting Him to lead us, He will direct us to a place of worship that he wants us to be planted in. It isn't something we should be deciding for ourselves, and in the case where a Christian churches are not abundant, God will ALWAYS make a way for us to obey Him in meeting together regularly with other believers.

James 4:2b
Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

 

[pjt]

I agree. Being an Anglican, I would certainly not feel confortable entering an RC church. But of course SL is free to try it out.
I am aware of his situation. I am simply stating that he is missing out on a lot by not getting involved with a church. Of course I understnad that he is not able to.

I am glad someone is sympathetic with him especially since he is a new brother in Christ. And I would like to add if anyone wants to pray for him, you really have to pray hard because I have lived in Asia most of my adult life and I have come to believe the foreigners that come to Asia tend to be a little strange. You have some that come to study the native language so they don`t want anything to do with people from their own country. They only want to associate with natives. If Strangelove is in Thailand in a tourist area, I hate to say this but some foreigners go there for unsavory reasons. Thailand is known for its sex industry. Other foreigners go to Asia to work. If they are from an Western country they are usually there to teach English and a lot of these teachers are from very disfunctional backgrounds. A smaller percentage of foreigners go to learn and study the native religion in temples and shrines or to study martial arts but usually those who go to study martial arts are caught up in Buddhism, Zen, etc. Then you have the missionaries and that is a story in and of itself. Some of the missionaries are as wacky as the tourists, but of course there are good ones too and these are the ones we would hope Strangelove could connect with. Then you have the expats that are businessmen or work at the Embassy. If they work at the Embassy they probably live there so they are not too accessable except on Sunday at church. If the US military is in the country he is residing in they usually live on base so again association with them is generally restricted to Sunday at church when they come off base but a lot of the military never even leave base. Then you have bicultural families like Strangelove and myself. The majority of bicultural families that I know do not claim to be Christians. So the pool of Christians in Asia is small to begin with and among the foreigners the numbers are even less. There are no foreigner Christians in my town at all and when I first moved here I actively looked for other Christians. And that is another odd thing, the Christians I found by and large wanted to be left alone. They had their own lives and had no room for other Christians to enter in. So when Strangelove speaks of finding other Christians I really understand what he is talking about. It is not as easy as people think. My first years here I spent praying and praying for just one Christian friend. Christians are not a dime a dozen in Asia contrary to popular belief. Strangelove is a new Christian so I think finding other Christians may be even harder for him than it was for me. Plus he is a man which I think makes it a little more complicated than for women here. One other note is that the foreign population has a high turn over rate so if you find a Christian they often are gone in 1-4 years so you are back to the starting line once again. So I can personally testify that he is not just being lazy or pulling people`s legs when he says he is having trouble finding a fellowship. This is something perhaps only prayer can break through.

 

[Strangelove]

Yes, and corporate worship is an excellent way to do that, and to meet many Christians who fellowship together, and share each others' lives. You are missing out on so much, SL.

I may be missing out on a few non-essentials that could benefit Christians. But I am also not exposed to some of the great dangers that churches can pose to Christians. Although I think I would be grounded enough to recognize those dangers and leave before they effected me negatively. Many arn't.

 

[Alabaster]

I may be missing out on a few non-essentials that could benefit Christians. But I am also not exposed to some of the great dangers that churches can pose to Christians. Although I think I would be grounded enough to recognize those dangers and leave before they effected me negatively. Many arn't.

You are exposed to worse things not coming under the covering of the local church.

Are you fearful?

 

[Strangelove]

Add to that the instruction in the word of those who are already believers. All new believers need to be discipled in the faith.

Wow. Militant.

You'de luv to bend me over and discipline me in the faith wouldn't you Duckie?

I think a few old believers need some of that too.

Pity people go to fallible humans to be disciplined instead of to the Bible.

I guess thats how funky doctrine like dispensationalism gets spread like wildfire.