Another nail on the head. This particular concern has weighed heavy on my mind lately I’ve been watching myself every Sunday walking into the building smiling, shaking hands, hugging, complimenting. How was your week? How are you doing? How’s the gout? How’s the mom? How’s the kids? I sit down and go through the motions then worship is over and we all stand and we all head toward the exit. There may be five friends around me that I speak to a little more afterwards, but by the time I get to the back of the building, cause I sit upfront, anyone who sat three rows behind me and beyond are gone, I don’t know who attends our church. I don’t know them. They don’t know me in fact, the most they know about me is my tendency to blurt things out in bible class in response to some comment the teacher made. Perhaps, since I have a tendency to just say things randomly, they know more about me than they’d like to, but I don’t know any of these people and I don’t see them at all after services and then Wednesday nights and Sunday nights, I’m only gonna see a third of the ones that showed up Sunday morning. Sure we have church gatherings sure we have special group meetings-women’s, men’s, but that doesn’t mean I know these people I know I care about them, but I also think I’m doing a lousy job of being their Christian sister. I don’t know what the answer is, but I know it has to start with me. I liked your analogy of the gym. It really struck a cord with me. Thanks for thinking through that one. I appreciate your message.
Wow, I think this is a really good analogy, you've really done a great job of describing what church assembly feels like!! 😆
I feel this too and I have been really thinking about the things said in 1st Corinthians 14: 12-37
"let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel...
Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification...
he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men...you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.
...the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord."
I feel like when we assemble together, only one person speaks, usually the preacher, and he has the job of encouragement and edification and everyone else just silently listens and no one talks to each other or feels the need to say anything encouraging to one another. I wish we did take turns and that we came together with a purpose of having something to say, perhaps from our week or something we learned and studying or just something helpful to our church family. But I think a lot of us grew up hearing that we go to church to worship God, which is not anywhere in the bible, I believe it's a teaching from Martin Luther that has been passed down since the Protestant Reformation.
If you aware and still care then there is hope. We need Gods grace for His church. We also better be real careful about being the one talent servant. This world has so much blindness. If we commit to Him then we will replace Him with something else like politics, money, family, or our flesh. We should remember the tax collector in Luke 18 God have mercy on me a sinner.
Another nail on the head. This particular concern has weighed heavy on my mind lately I’ve been watching myself every Sunday walking into the building smiling, shaking hands, hugging, complimenting. How was your week? How are you doing? How’s the gout? How’s the mom? How’s the kids? I sit down and go through the motions then worship is over and we all stand and we all head toward the exit. There may be five friends around me that I speak to a little more afterwards, but by the time I get to the back of the building, cause I sit upfront, anyone who sat three rows behind me and beyond are gone, I don’t know who attends our church. I don’t know them. They don’t know me in fact, the most they know about me is my tendency to blurt things out in bible class in response to some comment the teacher made. Perhaps, since I have a tendency to just say things randomly, they know more about me than they’d like to, but I don’t know any of these people and I don’t see them at all after services and then Wednesday nights and Sunday nights, I’m only gonna see a third of the ones that showed up Sunday morning. Sure we have church gatherings sure we have special group meetings-women’s, men’s, but that doesn’t mean I know these people I know I care about them, but I also think I’m doing a lousy job of being their Christian sister. I don’t know what the answer is, but I know it has to start with me. I liked your analogy of the gym. It really struck a cord with me. Thanks for thinking through that one. I appreciate your message.
Wow, I think this is a really good analogy, you've really done a great job of describing what church assembly feels like!! 😆
I feel this too and I have been really thinking about the things said in 1st Corinthians 14: 12-37
"let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel...
Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification...
he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men...you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.
...the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord."
I feel like when we assemble together, only one person speaks, usually the preacher, and he has the job of encouragement and edification and everyone else just silently listens and no one talks to each other or feels the need to say anything encouraging to one another. I wish we did take turns and that we came together with a purpose of having something to say, perhaps from our week or something we learned and studying or just something helpful to our church family. But I think a lot of us grew up hearing that we go to church to worship God, which is not anywhere in the bible, I believe it's a teaching from Martin Luther that has been passed down since the Protestant Reformation.
If you aware and still care then there is hope. We need Gods grace for His church. We also better be real careful about being the one talent servant. This world has so much blindness. If we commit to Him then we will replace Him with something else like politics, money, family, or our flesh. We should remember the tax collector in Luke 18 God have mercy on me a sinner.