Is n t that a bit steep ? Wherever two or three are
gathered in my name ?I supose we could jut have
coffee in Mcdonalds.
Would that be sufficient ? Some churches suit us better than others so wouldn t it be best
to shop around ?
But chucking it in fully can you do that and remain christian ? :eek:
There weren't any "churches" around for the early believers. Two or three can gather anywhere anytime even right here on the forum. If you go to church, you're going to be subjected to church doctrine which ain't cool. You can get out of church and into God by reading an accurate translation of the word of God, and you can communicate with fellow believers anywhere anytime. You don't even have to wait until Sunday.
It is better to remain in Christ than remain in a church.
Amen
I personally believe if the Holy Spirit convicts you to go
You should go by all means we have many tutors that lead us to Christ
The Law is good and many are still under the law of Moses we have to die in the law first before we can be made alive by faith in Jesus Christ , the very same baptism that Jesus showed by us by being baptized first in the Jordan by John the Baptist , preparing the Way for the One who comes after
Being Jesus Christ ... Paul speaks of not having to go though all the ceremonies of that baptism , being the circumcision of the flesh[ going into captivity of Babylon ] giving your utter all and it all for nothing , taste not handle not touch not ...
BUT
we know he was referring the the circumcision of the heart , That the Lord baptise you with by Holy Spirit and fire being the Cross of Jesus Christ we are to take up and follow Him ALONE to the end Luke 12 48-52
this to me is the Lord separating the sheep from the goats being the division in one house , you are that house and Judgment begins in the house of God the old and new covenants by laws , love mother more than me not worthy of Me Father more than me son or daughter in laws more than me etc ... take up your cross and follow me , this is the narrow path that leads to Life , not the broad path most take
I know this thinking may sound odd to most , but I do see this time , this short time in the days of our flesh as individually plucked by Gods own hand and power , we are all in different places in the LORD &, Spiritual growth as God gives the increase ..
JESUS CHRIST knew all things and when he come and walked in the days of His flesh he suffered for it greatly and no one considers this , He learned obedience though the things He suffered just as we ought to also in the days of our flesh
He had so much adversity and no one understood him , even the 12 struggled to understand so many things he was telling them , we are also in the same way , so we trust and believe by faith the things we do not understand till the Lord comes to reveal it by His Light and knowledge the Truth that leads to all truth We are all thankful for what we have been given by His own mercy on us :HeartThrob:
Quote from: dajomaco on May 07, 2015, 10:38:00 PM
It is better to remain in Christ than remain in a church.
Christ body is the true Church , we are to learn to discern His Body eat my body and drink my blood that you may have LIFE in You !
...28But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29
For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.[ statement /cause ]
30For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep....[ result ]
Remember how they judged according to appearance , the flesh and not in the right spirit Jesus Christ himself
They were just as satans children/judges accusing the brethren before God day and night NOT DISCERNING THE LORD HIMSELF [Head / leader authority ] :eek: ...
Luke 7:34
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
GOD judges the heart and motive of the heart , and if your heart is circumcised by cutting off the flesh in judgement , you are on the right track in my opinion LOVE should always be the motive of the heart and judging in mercy should be the result
I don't want to start any trouble because I know a lot folks like to use the word "church" instead of "ecclesia" which is why they have to distinguish between the "true church" and what ain't, but the Greek word "ekklesia" is best translated "ecclesia" not "church." If it is, the confusion is eliminated. My personal concept of "church" is the institution I was raised in where I learned all about false doctrine. Now I no longer allow myself to be subjected to that because I don't go to "church" anymore. I do however have the knowledge that I am a member of the "ecclesia," the "body of Christ," and I get my fellowship wherever whenever I can often here on the forum. I realize some folks have a hard time giving up the "church" tradition, but I just can't do it anymore because I know "church" history and "church" doctrine. It's not for me anymore, but everybody has to make up their own minds about that. I would rather have nothing but virtual fellowship in spirit and truth than to be a hypocrite sitting in "church" because I would not be believing what is being said or believed. But, like I said, that's my thing, and you have to decide for yourself what's important to you.
I have a clear idea of the churches i d rather not attend .To give but two examples
one is where i feel the preacher is whipping
up high emotion. I feel manipulated. Another is where
ritual of word holds the stage only this
Past sunday a womanwith a microphone
read out this long list of saints a.d aftet each name thecongregation had to chorus "pray for me"
Where is the life and spirit in that ?!
However over and above objections to service procedure i do see value in,for example , offering
the chance for people who live alone
to share a meal after the service .Alot of
people are alienated and lonely these days ,the online world is a great help but better still is the online AND
offline world.
Well, I've tried to find like minded believers around here unsuccessfully. So I get my fellowship where I can with folks who at least believe in universal reconciliation, and that's mostly right here. The problem is I think believers like us are spread out all over the place. I mean, if you want to minister to people in need in your community, go for it. I'm hanging out where I am because I have to help my 90 year old dad who I need to make sure gets his meds and food and visits to the doctor and whatever.
I agree it would be good to get together in the real world, but, like I said, I don't know anybody around here that's not into hellfire and brimstone except a Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship in a town kind of close to here. I'd really rather get together with folks in homes though without any "church" hierarchy involved. I think you can have groups meet anywhere to study scripture together which is what I think it should be all about, but I wouldn't want to do it with folks who are going to be preaching about getting tortured in fire forever.
Most people on this forum don't even publish where they are, and I can understand that. But, maybe if we all did, we'd find out somebody lives close by that we could get together with once in a while. I've seen some lists of places on other sites where people could meet. One of them was on a site that pushes Christian Universalism, but there weren't any close to me even though there were a couple in my state. The ecclesia is a big old bunch of folks everywhere, but not too many close together that believe in universal reconciliation that I can see. Maybe somebody is blessed with some others nearby, but I'm just a virtual monk here.
Quote from: newlove on May 08, 2015, 12:45:05 AM
I have a clear idea of the churches i d rather not attend .To give but two examples
one is where i feel the preacher is whipping
up high emotion. I feel manipulated. Another is where
ritual of word holds the stage only this
Past sunday a womanwith a microphone
read out this long list of saints a.d aftet each name thecongregation had to chorus "pray for me"
Where is the life and spirit in that ?!
However over and above objections to service procedure i do see value in,for example , offering
the chance for people who live alone
to share a meal after the service .Alot of
people are alienated and lonely these days ,the online world is a great help but better still is the online AND
offline world.
:thumbsup:
I m sorry to hear the offline world
Is that bad for you good folks i get the feeling you are inthe states. Between UR believers and hellfire types
there are here in France some " good" churches that
Seem chiefly concerned with the message of love and
forgiveness be that always hard to live .
What i don t get about the hell fire churh
Is how it accepts so passively that message
what they ought to do is make it their
church's number one mission to tirelesssly
Petition their tyranical God to change his
policy as eternal damnation doesn t measure up
ethically to the best (or even worst) humans
achieve .Shame on them.
Thank God for tentmaker with all my heart!
All the same even if they aim for the love message and they don t think hellfire
those i ve questioned reckon its anihation
for some because of the mention
of gehenna.
The church has left the building...in more ways than lack of attendance.
The church is being built of living stones, coming down out of heaven adorned as a Bride for the Bridegroom.