Went to a church for the first time today

[Levi]

The past year or so I've found myself more interested in the bible than I have been in the past. Lately, I've wanted to go to a real church but have been apprehensive about it.

I looked up churches in my area on the internet. I picked one out. I drove to it 2 times on different days and just sort of looked at it.

Today I just stopped thinking about it and just went there, went inside, sat down and listened. It wasn't what I was expecting. It was mainly a message for people with depression, anxiety, stress, problems etc. It was a positive experience for me though. It was interesting. I'm find myself thinking about some of the points and issues he spoke of.

The reason I say it wasn't what I was expecting is because. . . What I envisioned was Bibles being at the church. I thought there would be a sermon with a preacher going over certain chapters and verses in the Bible and that people could sort of follow along, in their Bible, where the preacher was reading, preaching and explaining from, or something close to this. Am I looking at this wrong or are there churches where the preach more directly ‘from' the Bible

 

[Jon Osterman]

I preached at my church today and read out approximately 15 different bible passages during my teaching (though admitedly some of them were only 2 verse snippets). So my teaching was rather Bible focussed, though it does depend on the preacher and on the week. (My wife commented afterwards that it was too long, so there is that too!)

It is really great that you went though. I would recommend trying out some other local churches to see which you are most comfortable with.

 

[kufe]

Well in a church they are supposed to preach from the bible, with any verse the pastor speaks about it tends to relate to a core message they are trying to talk about (whilst using biblical verses as reference and guidance to what they have to say) so a pastor could be talking about laziness and procrastination, while they talk about that message the pastor uses biblical verses as support to what they have to say. As long as the pastor preaches with the word at hand and it does not deviate from the biblical principal Christ taught you are in a good church. And the message is wonderful as well, im glad you had a good experience. Church isn't just about teaching the word but its also how the word relates to us in this day and age.

 

[thecolorsblend]

The past year or so I've found myself more interested in the bible than I have been in the past. Lately, I've wanted to go to a real church but have been apprehensive about it.

I looked up churches in my area on the internet. I picked one out. I drove to it 2 times on different days and just sort of looked at it.

Today I just stopped thinking about it and just went there, went inside, sat down and listened. It wasn't what I was expecting. It was mainly a message for people with depression, anxiety, stress, problems etc. It was a positive experience for me though. It was interesting. I'm find myself thinking about some of the points and issues he spoke of.

The reason I say it wasn't what I was expecting is because. . . What I envisioned was Bibles being at the church. I thought there would be a sermon with a preacher going over certain chapters and verses in the Bible and that people could sort of follow along, in their Bible, where the preacher was reading, preaching and explaining from, or something close to this. Am I looking at this wrong or are there churches where the preach more directly ‘from' the Bible

I think Calvary Chapel congregations go through the Bible in the way you describe.

 

[Unofficial Reverand Alex]

Different churches do it differently.

Catholic churches do a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a New Testament letter, and a Gospel, after which the priest (a successor of the Apostles) gives his homily (a sermon) to the congregation. In the pews are books called "Roman Missal" that give the readings, where you can follow along.

 

[paul1149]

There's a wide variety of ways that people "do" church. The advice to shop around and see where you are spiritually fed the most is sound.

 

[Willie T]

You may want to search out a "Calvary Chapel" church. The type of preaching you seem to want is what their denomination is known for. They work their way through the Bible, verse by verse, then start over again, doing it all over again.

It is not my thing, at all, but if you think this is what you want, check them out.

I go to a Vineyard Fellowship, but I do not recommend that for you from what it seems to be you are seeking.

 

[PloverWing]

Catholic churches do a reading from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a New Testament letter, and a Gospel, after which the priest (a successor of the Apostles) gives his homily (a sermon) to the congregation.

Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and some other churches follow this pattern as well: We have a cycle of readings (called a lectionary) that we go through that covers most of the Bible over the course of 3 years, and the sermon is normally based on one or more of the prescribed Bible readings for the day. Having a prescribed list of readings like this helps to make sure that we do actually read most of the Bible, that we don't just look at our favorite one or two passages over and over.

Some other churches leave the choice of the day's Bible passage to the preacher, who often looks to God's guidance in choosing the passage(s) to be preached on.

It might be worth attending a few more services at the church you visited before making a decision. Sometimes, preachers who don't follow a lectionary will select themes for sequences of sermons: In May, I'm going to preach on Romans, in June, I'm going to preach on Jesus' miracles, etc. It's possible that, on this particular Sunday, the preacher you visited felt a need to address some mental health concerns that have been seen in the congregation, but that on a later Sunday, the preacher will return to preaching more directly on Bible passages.

As a side note, the presence or absence of Bibles in the pews doesn't necessarily tell you how much the Bible will be used in preaching. In the church I grew up in, everyone was expected to own a Bible and to bring it to church with them, so there was no need to provide pew Bibles. I think it's friendly to have pew Bibles, especially for visitors who may not have one of their own, but a church can use the Bible heavily without having them in the pews.

I'm glad you went to church today, and that you had a positive experience. I wish you many blessings in your journey with God.

 

[Willie T]

The thing is to find where you sense God is.
A friend of mine was going to the same type of church I love. But she needed something different. It turned out the Pomp & Ritual of Eastern Orthodoxy fulfilled her need. As utterly foreign and distressing even sitting through an EO funeral service is to me, she has found a place she can call home.

 

[salt-n-light]

The past year or so I've found myself more interested in the bible than I have been in the past. Lately, I've wanted to go to a real church but have been apprehensive about it.

I looked up churches in my area on the internet. I picked one out. I drove to it 2 times on different days and just sort of looked at it.

Today I just stopped thinking about it and just went there, went inside, sat down and listened. It wasn't what I was expecting. It was mainly a message for people with depression, anxiety, stress, problems etc. It was a positive experience for me though. It was interesting. I'm find myself thinking about some of the points and issues he spoke of.

The reason I say it wasn't what I was expecting is because. . . What I envisioned was Bibles being at the church. I thought there would be a sermon with a preacher going over certain chapters and verses in the Bible and that people could sort of follow along, in their Bible, where the preacher was reading, preaching and explaining from, or something close to this. Am I looking at this wrong or are there churches where the preach more directly ‘from' the Bible

Those would be Bible study, time dedicated to going deeper in study in scriptures. When it come to sermon, its more about getting a message across within the time allotted considering the type of audience. The audience is different on a Sunday, as opposing maybe a tuesday night bible study.

If you look at the life of Jesus, there were times he made it a Bible study time of teaching disciples, and another where He was just speaking in parables for the sake of the multitude. Time for everything, and normally within each assembly they make time for just prayer, a time for just studying the Bible, and a time to give encouraging message and life application of the Word. Granted some are more heavy on straight up Bible teaching on Sunday, but its hard to say that that is the only marker of a healthy assembly, really all three you should be doing on your own.

Take it like how one become healthy. 80% diet, 20% exercise. Diet being how you are prepping your body, and exercise as maintainance. Same here. Church assembly is for maintanance,for resource, for fellowship ,but really the prepping, the actual relationship between you and God, relies on you.