Christians: What was the topic of the sermon at your church today?

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: przero
Our Pastor began a study on the book of Acts. Chap. 1 verses 1-6. How the Jesus told the Apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Our Pastor is a great Bible teacher. He's Jewish, so that gives us a new perspective. One of the few Jewish Southern Baptist preachers!

Sounds like an interesting guy, I'll bet he and I would have a few things to talk about

 

[przero]

I believe you can address God and use his name due to this Scripture:

Mark 15
37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

The Sacrifice of Jesus satisfied everything.

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: przero
I believe you can address God and use his name due to this Scripture:

Mark 15
37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

The Sacrifice of Jesus satisfied everything.

Interesting passage. My understanding of the definition of taking the L-rd's name in vain would be to mention it in connection to or in a manner which is not holy. Obviously, in that situation referring to Jesus as the son of G-d would not be using His name in vain.

 

[Palek]

Originally posted by: Flyermax2k3
1) Because G-d gave me free will, so I can. I didn't realize it was against the rules to state one's beliefs on ATOT. Guess I should just become a pagan so I can be more widely accepted by the masses

2) You're right. That's what church *should* be, but not what it *is*.

1. Of course it is not against the rules, I was simply hoping that you would know better.
2. You are still missing my point. There are countless churches out there that operate the way God intended them to be. You CANNOT make sweeping generalizations like that unless you have seen ALL churches. I have been the member of a non-denominational, independent church for 5 years, and have gone to several similar churches that are independent of a larger organization and follow the Bible only. All you have to do is keep looking, and you WILL find a good church. They are out there. I would recommend any church started by Calvary Chapel missionaries. If I remember correctly, all Calvary Chapels operate completely independently of each other, the only thing they share is their creed.

 

[Evadman]

How I am going to go to hell, and my grandmother will miss me.

 

[stormbv]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
My Pastor is doing a series of sermons on James 4:6-10, the title of the sermon was "Live Clean".

James 4:6-10

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

The basic message was just as we need to keep physically clean to stay healthy we need to remain spirtitually clean. Just as you collect dirt on the outside, dirt clings to your spirit. We need to purify our hearts, submit to God by living what we believe, resist the Devil, and draw near to God by wanting to live in His presence. Our reaction is to cover up "dirt" and hide it, but sin will find us out and we ultimately become our secrets. The Devil wants the secrets to continue to that they become a pattern. These patterns of behavior cause us to coast through life, marriage, etc. so that we live in a way that's less than God's will for us. The Devil wants to keep us in bad patterns of behavior so that selfishness takes control.

To resist these patterns of behavior is hard work; you have to go against human nature. Don't cover it up; clean it up. When we confess to God, we say that we agree with God's will for us - we "come clean". When we come clean we will draw near to God and He will draw close to us. Keeping clean is a continuous process. God has the power to make us clean and create new patterns of behavior.

We need to admit the issues in our life and capture every thought and action in obedience to Jesus Christ and we need to be honest with and pray for each other. When we are open with God, we can be open with our confessions with each other and the Devil cannot get a foothold in our hearts.

That's about the best that I can recollect. One interesting point that he made is that our immediate reactions to things are quite revealing, such as our reaction when we encounter a bad driver!

Anyway, I'm curious what other Christians learned at church today!

Wow...I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Riprorin on this one. It took suicidal depression and OCD for me to learn these lessons, but God wants me to suffer...without suffering, there would be no joy. Listen to your Self and be honest with God...you'll get Her attention when you give Her your attention. Why is Dog spelled God backwards? Hehe...

The best friend I ever had was the Dog! Grrr...ruff ruff, what the deal! - DMX

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: Palek

Originally posted by: Flyermax2k3
1) Because G-d gave me free will, so I can. I didn't realize it was against the rules to state one's beliefs on ATOT. Guess I should just become a pagan so I can be more widely accepted by the masses

2) You're right. That's what church *should* be, but not what it *is*.

1. Of course it is not against the rules, I was simply hoping that you would know better.
2. You are still missing my point. There are countless churches out there that operate the way God intended them to be. You CANNOT make sweeping generalizations like that unless you have seen ALL churches. I have been the member of a non-denominational, independent church for 5 years, and have gone to several similar churches that are independent of a larger organization and follow the Bible only. All you have to do is keep looking, and you WILL find a good church. They are out there. I would recommend any church started by Calvary Chapel missionaries. If I remember correctly, all Calvary Chapels operate completely independently of each other, the only thing they share is their creed.

1)

2) Of course there are INDEPENDENT churches out there that follow His plan, if I implied otherwise, my apologies. I meant that organized i.e. "Big Religion" has nothing to do with His plan.

 

[przero]

" don't go to church, organized religion is evil. "

Kind of a cop out, don't you think? Clearly that is not Scriptural. Look around I am sure you can find a body of Believers to join in Worship.

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: przero
" don't go to church, organized religion is evil. "

Kind of a cop out, don't you think? Clearly that is not Scriptural. Look around I am sure you can find a body of Believers to join in Worship.

I've already explained what I meant by that, if you don't understand it, I can't help you. If you're familiar with the book of Revelation you should be able to understand why I say that, given that it is my belief the literal end times are upon us (or will be shortly).

 

[przero]

I am talking about the "I don't go to church " part.

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: przero
I am talking about the "I don't go to church " part.

Perhaps I should explain why I do not attend church. One of the Mosaic Laws (which I try to live by) is "thou shalt not travel on the Sabbath". Unless someone wants to bring church to me on Saturday (which is the Sabbath, not Sunday) I'll be more than happy to attend

 

[Palek]

Originally posted by: Flyermax2k3
1)

2) Of course there are INDEPENDENT churches out there that follow His plan, if I implied otherwise, my apologies. I meant that organized i.e. "Big Religion" has nothing to do with His plan.

1. As for your constant use of eyerolls, I see that as a tell-tale sign of pride and arrogance, and your condescending attitude only confirms that. So does the fact that you think you are alright without church. Do you actually participate in a fellowship group of any kind? If not, you could most certainly benefit from the wisdom of other believers.
2. At least we cleared that one up. But then you come forward with this:

Perhaps I should explain why I do not attend church. One of the Mosaic Laws (which I try to live by) is "thou shalt not travel on the Sabbath". Unless someone wants to bring church to me on Saturday (which is the Sabbath, not Sunday) I'll be more than happy to attend

Did you actually give some thought to the meaning of that law? Why, do you think, did God command His people to refrain from travelling? And what constituted travel, exactly? Israelites were supposed to stay in their home town, not work, and go to the synagogue or some other place of worship, or spend a quiet day in the presence of God. They were supposed to devote the entire day to their God. Traveling to a neighbouring town or anywhere else would have stopped them from doing that since it took that much longer in those days to go anywhere. This is the only interpretation of that law that I could consider logical. I cannot imagine how you could consider driving to a nearby church to go against that command. You are going to a place to devote your time to worshipping God and fellowship. Travel for entertainment purposes or to visit relatives is VERY different from taking a bus or a train to church. Surely you can see that!!!

 

[Zenmervolt]

Ps. 139:5-12. "You can run..."

ZV

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: Palek

Originally posted by: Flyermax2k3
1)

2) Of course there are INDEPENDENT churches out there that follow His plan, if I implied otherwise, my apologies. I meant that organized i.e. "Big Religion" has nothing to do with His plan.

1. As for your constant use of eyerolls, I see that as a tell-tale sign of pride and arrogance, and your condescending attitude only confirms that. So does the fact that you think you are alright without church. Do you actually participate in a fellowship group of any kind? If not, you could most certainly benefit from the wisdom of other believers.
2. At least we cleared that one up. But then you come forward with this:

Perhaps I should explain why I do not attend church. One of the Mosaic Laws (which I try to live by) is "thou shalt not travel on the Sabbath". Unless someone wants to bring church to me on Saturday (which is the Sabbath, not Sunday) I'll be more than happy to attend

Did you actually give some thought to the meaning of that law? Why, do you think, did God command His people to refrain from travelling? And what constituted travel, exactly? Israelites were supposed to stay in their home town, not work, and go to the synagogue or some other place of worship, or spend a quiet day in the presence of God. They were supposed to devote the entire day to their God. Traveling to a neighbouring town or anywhere else would have stopped them from doing that since it took that much longer in those days to go anywhere. This is the only interpretation of that law that I could consider logical. I cannot imagine how you could consider driving to a nearby church to go against that command. You are going to a place to devote your time to worshipping God and fellowship. Travel for entertainment purposes or to visit relatives is VERY different from taking a bus or a train to church. Surely you can see that!!!

Ok, this is starting to get old now. I didn't make the laws, nor do I question them. I just follow them. If you don't like that one, try this: "thou shalt do no work on the sabbath". This law is well-known to mean no form of work whatsoever, including driving in a car, or walking any significant distance. This is *not* debatable. If you don't believe me on this, go ask a Rabbi. I'm no expert on the law, I just do my best to live the way He wants me to.

 

[Zee]

People might or might not believe in God... but whether the church represents God at all is very questionable.

 

[Flyermax2k3]

Originally posted by: Lazee
People might or might not believe in God... but whether the church represents God at all is very questionable.

:beer: I'll second that

 

[Palek]

Flyermax2k3, thanks for the discussion, I think I have come to a much better understanding of where you stand. I feel that I was quite inconsiderate towards you because I made some false presumptions. If I offended you in any way please accept my honest apologies. I will try my best to show proper respect towards your beliefs from now on.

Riprorin, I am really sorry about taking the discussion further off topic. Anyway, back on topic!

I read your post again, and even the condensed message you provided really hit home. While the message itself is simple and very basic, it is good to hear it again from time to time to reexamine where I stand in my relationship with the Lord. Thanks!

God bless!

 

[Red Dawn]

What was the topic of the sermon at your church today?

The finer points of Oral Sex