Every Sunday must go to church?

[Albion]

A God that can enter history as a baby in a stable is more than capable of being present in our sacraments. We just take Jesus at his word, when he says "This is my body".

Don't you actually mean "This is my body...and, of course, the bread we started with, too?" That would seem to compromise the point you want to make.

 

[John Hyperspace]

To radically separate matter and spirit sounds more like gnostic heresy than orthodox Christianity.

Calling truth heresy doesn't make it go away. The Jews tried to do that to Jesus' teachings. They didn't go away.

 

[FireDragon76]

There's nothing greedy, wasteful, or carnal minded about the church I go to. These puerile accusations against traditional churches are really quite ignorant.

 

[FireDragon76]

"the salaries for educated clergy and church secretaries"

Paul would slap you, lol.

I don't think so. He had to eat, too.

If you don't think churches have a mission to care for people in building up a Christian community, I think you are sadly deluded and I would even question what spirit is in you.

 

[laurence99]

Every Sunday must go to church?
A Christian's obligation?

christians obligation is "to love the Lord your God with all your heart mind strength and love your neighbour as yourself"

Churches are places they go to chat amongst themselves, ignore the one and only teacher and ask one another what is "right" to do

 

[ChristianFromKazakhstan]

Every Sunday must go to church?
A Christian's obligation?

Of course not. Every second of your life must go to Jesus in your heart.

No other obligations.

 

[Albion]

christians obligation is "to love the Lord your God with all your heart mind strength and love your neighbour as yourself"

Churches are places they go to chat amongst themselves, ignore the one and only teacher and ask one another what is "right" to do

What church would that be where there is neither instruction nor worship but only chatting among those in attendance?

 

[ChristianFromKazakhstan]

christians obligation is "to love the Lord your God with all your heart mind strength and love your neighbour as yourself"

Churches are places they go to chat amongst themselves, ignore the one and only teacher and ask one another what is "right" to do

Agreed 100%

 

[tonialvarez]

Every Sunday must go to church?
A Christian's obligation?

First of all, we must define CHURCH. Let's look at three verse using the word Church. There are many others you can look them up yourself.

1. Acts 20:28
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."
Is the church a building. No. The church are Christians? Christians don't "attend" Church. They are the church.

2. 1 Corinthians 11:18
"For, in the first place, when you come together as a CHURCH I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it."
Do Christians come together in the form of a building? Christians are not a building. They are the church.

3. Acts 2:47
"Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Was the Lord adding boards to the building? No. Christian were being added. They are the church.

There is ONE instance where Church is used to describe a building: a pagan building.
Acts 19:37 " For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess."
The building they were referring to was "the temple of the great goddess Diana" Acts 19:27

So, my answers to your question is : NO, Christians don't go to church on Sunday. They are in Church (in Christ) every single day.
Should Christians meet together? Yes. Hebrews 10:25 tells us to do it. We can read about Christians meeting together all over the book of Acts.

Church buildings are pagan. Church building are Not of biblical origin.
House churches (houses where Christians meet together) are biblical as described all over the book of Acts and in the epistles.

 

[ChristianFromKazakhstan]

First of all, we must define CHURCH. Let's look at three verse using the word Church. There are many others you can look them up yourself.

1. Acts 20:28
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood."
Is the church a building. No. The church are Christians? Christians don't "attend" Church. They are the church.

2. 1 Corinthians 11:18
"For, in the first place, when you come together as a CHURCH I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it."
Do Christians come together in the form of a building? Christians are not a building. They are the church.

3. Acts 2:47
"Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."
Was the Lord adding boards to the building? No. Christian were being added. They are the church.

There is ONE instance where Church is used to describe a building: a pagan building.
Acts 19:37 " For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess."
The building they were referring to was "the temple of the great goddess Diana" Acts 19:27

So, my answers to your question is : NO, Christians don't go to church on Sunday. They are in Church (in Christ) every single day.
Should Christians meet together? Yes. Hebrews 10:25 tells us to do it. We can read about Christians meeting together all over the book of Acts.

Church buildings are pagan. Church building are Not of biblical origin.
House churches (houses where Christians meet together) are biblical as described all over the book of Acts and in the epistles.

Amen. Human churches - that is, what people usually call churches - are not from Jesus.

I never read long posts. In your case, I've read all of it. Very well written. Clear, to the point.

 

[JESUS=G.O.A.T]

Every Sunday must go to church?
A Christian's obligation?

1. I wouldn't say every sunday. But yes the bible does say forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as some do. So at least one day a week every week yes. I say not sunday becuase some work sunday or this or that so until you can go sunday (god will make a way if you pray trust me i've seen it happen and it's worked for me) just go at least once a week for at least bible study or something.

2. The bible says we ought to be the body of christ and in romans 12 mentions this

Romans 12:4-8
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.


Conclusion: IN order to form a body the parts must be together. The components must connect with each other and church is the way to do that as we saw in acts. A spiritual infrastructure full of spiritual people is the way to go. "WE Together make the body of christ"

 

[Episaw]

Every Sunday must go to church?
A Christian's obligation?

If you were part of the New Testament Church (NTC) you would NEVER go to church on Sunday.

The NTC was known as "The Way" and was considered a sect of Judaism. As we all know, the Jews honoured the Sabbath on Saturday, not Sunday. That means the members of "The Way" would have not met on Sunday. In addition, Acts tells us they went from house to house each day.

From this picture, we see that being a believer in the messiah Jesus, I won't say a Christian as the word or idea had not come into being then, was a daily experience which they shared with each other, mainly over a meal, not communion.

And here is a clue that might tell us why Christianity grew so quickly. I have studied life in the Middle East and it is standard practice that if anyone comes to your home you ALWAYS offer them refreshment.

If you are sitting down to a meal, the visitor is ALWAYS asked to join you.

What better and easier way to share the good news of Jesus than over a meal noting that the NTC met daily and did four things. Discussed the apostle's doctrine (no sermons); prayed together; had fellowship, and most importantly ate together which is what breaking bread means. If I offered a guest a piece of cracker and a thimbleful of wine they would feel insulted.

Being Jews, (they did not stop being Jews) they would have observed the Saturday sabbath and attendance at the synagogue. Sunday would have been a foreign concept to them if, for no other reason, they would all work on Sunday.

Depending on whether these facts have relevance for you today or you believe that the church can make up its own rules and regulations to suit itself will determine whether you follow scripture or man's way of doing things.

And depending whether you live under grace or law will determine whether you have to go to church on Sunday or Saturday and whether you believe it is a rite that must be adhered to rigorously or not.

The church is often referred to as a family and I guess if you look at how the family deals with meeting together, you get some idea how it all works. As we all know, not all families do the same thing. There are may variables.

For example in our family, my daughter lives 100 km from where we live, so we see her each month for a visit and each month for a visit to her.

My son lives 4,000 km from us so we see him about twice a year.

In between, we are phoning or emailing or texting.

So you pays your money and make your choice. Essentially a family needs to do what makes being a family a rewarding experience. The church is no different. Attending meetings for the sake of it is not going to do anyone any good. What it needs are times of meeting together when everyone can feel part of it and contribute to the betterment of the family.

Sad to say, too many churches operate on a professional versus non-professional and there is very little communication going on between either or the non-professionals themselves.

One final thought. The verse that talks about not forgetting to assemble yourself together refers to meeting in the home, not Sunday morning religious services.

 

[FireDragon76]

House churches were only common when Christianity was starting out due to the relative few numbers of Christians and the fact that Christianity was a religion without any legal status (BTW, the churches tended to meet in the large houses of middle class and wealthy patrons). I don't have anything against house churches per se but the idea that they have no costs or that there aren't missional challenges from this sort of congregational structure is false. For most of its history, Christianity has done well with the church meeting in a community building dedicated to the purpose of worship and instruction, as it becomes a community supportive institution. There's nothing "ungodly" about doing so, as Jesus has called us to serve our neighbor, and our communities include our neighbors.

Indeed, what's carnal, self-important, and self-absorbed is to assume that "church" can just be whatever we want it to be. That is carnal.

 

[Monk Brendan]

...there is worship, a confession of one's sins, and the celebration of the Lord's Supper?? No, I don't think so.

Matt 18:20 (KJV) says: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

If you have a problem believing that our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ is there, in the midst of a group of Christians...I will pray for you!

 

[Albion]

Matt 18:20 (KJV) says: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Certainly. And we all believe that God is true and remains always with his people. That's not at all the topic here. Between offering prayers for me, take another look at the title of this thread.

 

[Episaw]

Yes, a Christian must go to church every Sunday.

Perhaps the clearest reference comes from the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 10:24-25 instructs us "And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Corporate worship, the writer argues, is not something which a believer should neglect/forsake.

When we scan the Psalms, for example, we see the Psalmist yearning for a meeting with the Lord (Ps. 65:4; 84:2), and calling God's people into the courts of the Lord (Ps. 95:1-2; 100:4). It is his heart's desire to come into the Lord's presence and worship. There's nothing more important that he can do. To neglect the worship of God, therefore, is to give something a higher priority than the worship of God.

Since the church, following the practice of the apostles (see Acts 20:7), has recognized Sunday as the Christian Sabbath, the day in which we are to be caught up in the worship of God, there can be no higher priority than to gather with God's people on that day for worship.

And so, is it necessary to attend church every Sunday? The answer must surely be yes, because God has forbidden the neglect of it, and to neglect it is to treat the day as common, not holy.

We cannot get spiritual nourishment without Christian community.

We cannot get spiritual nourishment from a "me, myself, and my Bible" mentality.

I cannot see where the verse you quoted is saying you must go to church every Sunday.

One, The NTC did not meet on Sunday.

Two, the scripture says where two or three are gathered together in my name there I am in the midst. It does not say "where two or three are gathered together in my name on Sunday..."

Three. The NTC met DAILY, not just Sunday.

Four. Meeting together for a meal each day is very easy.

Five. God has not forbidden the neglect of meeting on Sunday because no one did except in homes for a meal.

Six. Worshipping God is not going to a meeting on Sunday. It is surrendering your whole being to him every moment of every day.

Seven. The apostles did not recognise Sunday as the Sabbath as they were Jews.

Eight. If you cannot get nourishment without Christian community, why is it you do not meet every day as the NTC did?

Nine. I have to get my spiritual nourishment from a "me, myself, and my Bible" mentality because the local church is so wishy washy nothing much of substance comes from it. If I had to rely on the local church for nourishment I would have died years ago. I have only met one person in 60 years who has studied the bible to Ph.D. standards as I have done.

Ten. As the NTC and the church of today in most cases are like chalk and cheese, making comparisons as you have done is pointless.

 

[Episaw]

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article138613278.html

A Christian must go to church every Sunday. If you want to grow in your faith — if you hope to become a mature, actualized, fully functioning Christian - you must go to church every Sunday

You must join a congregation, stay there for the long haul and become an active participant. You must not only attend but get involved. Church must become a central priority in your life.

One. The period in my Christian walk when I grew the most was when I DID NOT go to church for two years which God told me to do. He said he wanted to get religion out of me and when I embarked on the exercise I was amazed how much religion I had in me.

Now, my walk is based on my relationship with Jesus, not with a church or denomination and what the scripture says, not what someone thinks it says. In other words, God has taught me to think for myself and get clear guidance from his word.

 

[Episaw]

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article138613278.html

A Christian must go to church every Sunday. If you want to grow in your faith — if you hope to become a mature, actualized, fully functioning Christian - you must go to church every Sunday

You must join a congregation, stay there for the long haul and become an active participant. You must not only attend but get involved. Church must become a central priority in your life.

Being involved in church often is a mute point. Many churches encourage a passenger mentality. Come along sing the hymns/songs; put your money in the bag; listen to the experts and then go home.

The priesthood of ALL believers is a foreign concept to them.

 

[Episaw]

You are correct. Church attendance is not mandatory. However, the Bible encourages Christians to meet together.

Hebrews 10:25 We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming (GOD'S WORD Translation)

You said and I quote "Yes, a Christian must go to church every Sunday."

You said and I quote "A Christian must go to church every Sunday."

You said and I quote "You are correct. Church attendance is not mandatory."

Do I get the impression that you have got your wires crossed?

 

[tturt]

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." Psa 122:1

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Col 3:16

"There is one body...." v4 includes "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" Eph 4:11-12