Why Should I Go To Church?

[Lisa*Lisa]

What a beautiful heart!

I would encourage you to find a soup kitchen already in services (our local Church in Memphis does it all the time) and give time there when you can. Many hands make light work.

Your forclosure difficulties are something that proper clergy would be willing to help with. (It's why we tithe... it takes a community to do that.)

Forgive me...

I would never go to a church to ask for financial help. That would be hypocritical if I did that, and one thing I"m not is a hypocrite. If God sees fit to help me out, He will do it. If not, then I just accept that as well and try to move forward as best that I can with His help and guidance. I don't worry about myself, material things can be replaced. The most important thing in my life is my spirituality and my relationship with Jesus. Everything else is just details.

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

I would never go to a church to ask for financial help. That would be hypocritical if I did that, and one thing I"m not is a hypocrite. If God sees fit to help me out, He will do it. If not, then I just accept that as well and try to move forward as best that I can with His help and guidance. I don't worry about myself, material things can be replaced. The most important thing in my life is my spirituality and my relationship with Jesus. Everything else is just details.

Thats a wonderful view on your own life.

I think you misunderstand the function of a real Church.

We take care of each other. It would not be hypocritical. God's help comes through HIS Churches as well as something independant.

The true community of Christians help one another.

Forgive me...

 

[silence_dogood]

I would never go to a church to ask for financial help.

That's too bad. One of the purposes of the local assembly is to bear one another's burdens. That includes financial burdens.

That would be hypocritical if I did that, and one thing I"m not is a hypocrite.

The most important thing in my life is my spirituality and my relationship with Jesus.

Let me ask you a question. I'm assuming that you're married and that you love your husband. So, what if I said, "I really love Lisa and she's the most important thing in my life. I know she loves her husband, but he's a real jerk. I mean, I know how much she loves him and how important he is to her, but I just don't want anything to do with him." Do you think that my statements about your husband would cast some doubt on my claim to love you?

How about another one? Let's say that I said, "Boy, I sure do love Lisa! She's the most important thing in my life. I think it's just great how much she loves church. She just talks about it all the time, how much she loves church, how wonderful the people are at church and how she loves to have fellowship with them, how much she loves to hear God's word preached."

And then OrthodoxyUSA chimes in and says, "Hey, Silence, I don't know if you've been reading Lisa's posts or not, but she's said pretty much the exact opposite of those things. She doesn't like the church. She thinks people in church are all hypocrites and she refuses to fellowship with them. She doesn't want to hear God's word preached."

If I said, "Well, that's your interpretation of Lisa's words and I think you're pretty judgemental. I say that Lisa loves the church and can't wait for Sunday so she can go to church".

Lisa, if I said those things about you, would you really say that had respect for your words and your beliefs? And, if not, then wouldn't that lack of respect show that I don't really love you as much as I say?

 

[silence_dogood]

Thats a wonderful view on your own life.

I think you misunderstand the function of a real Church.

We take care of each other. It would not be hypocritical. God's help comes through HIS Churches as well as something independant.

The true community of Christians help one another.

Forgive me...

I'm sure glad that my church was there to help me when I needed it. After I had my accident, the ladies brought us food and watched our kids so that Julie could take care of me, and some of the men came over and did the work I wasn't capable of doing.

We might have lost our home if it wasn't for them.

And, conversely, I find that it's a great blessing to us to be allowed to serve the church and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

[Lisa*Lisa]

I need 200k to pay off my mortgage. I doubt the church can help me do that. Most people around here are in an even worse financial condition then I am. I would never ask others, who are suffering maybe worse then me, to help me out. God will take care of me one way or another, I never doubt that. I rely on God, not man.

 

[Lisa*Lisa]

That's too bad. One of the purposes of the local assembly is to bear one another's burdens. That includes financial burdens.







Let me ask you a question. I'm assuming that you're married and that you love your husband. So, what if I said, "I really love Lisa and she's the most important thing in my life. I know she loves her husband, but he's a real jerk. I mean, I know how much she loves him and how important he is to her, but I just don't want anything to do with him." Do you think that my statements about your husband would cast some doubt on my claim to love you?

How about another one? Let's say that I said, "Boy, I sure do love Lisa! She's the most important thing in my life. I think it's just great how much she loves church. She just talks about it all the time, how much she loves church, how wonderful the people are at church and how she loves to have fellowship with them, how much she loves to hear God's word preached."

And then OrthodoxyUSA chimes in and says, "Hey, Silence, I don't know if you've been reading Lisa's posts or not, but she's said pretty much the exact opposite of those things. She doesn't like the church. She thinks people in church are all hypocrites and she refuses to fellowship with them. She doesn't want to hear God's word preached."

If I said, "Well, that's your interpretation of Lisa's words and I think you're pretty judgemental. I say that Lisa loves the church and can't wait for Sunday so she can go to church".

Lisa, if I said those things about you, would you really say that had respect for your words and your beliefs? And, if not, then wouldn't that lack of respect show that I don't really love you as much as I say?

You laughed at my post, everything I have said is from my heart. And yet you laughed? I see no reason to read your replies anymore. You are mocking me.

 

[silence_dogood]

You laughed at my post, everything I have said is from my heart. And yet you laughed? I see no reason to read your replies anymore. You are mocking me.

I didn't laugh at your post. I laughed at your claim that you're not a hypocrite, which you made after making numerous hypocritical statements. Saying that you love Christ and then showing contempt for His church is very hypocritical.

Criticizing a church for not helping a homeless person (when the truth is that you don't know whether the church or individuals within the church tried to help him or not) and then admitting that you didn't help him, either, is hypocritical.

Telling us that all you would hear in a church is a man's opinion of what the Bible says, but then giving us your opinion and insisting that we must honor your interpretation, is hypocritical.

Telling Christians that Christians are practicing Christianity wrongly when you, yourself, just misdefined what a Christian is, is hypocritical.

So the idea that you could do all of those things and then insist that you're not a hypocrite is something I find very amusing.

Whether or not you choose to talk to me is your decision. I'm just trying to get you to understand that what you consider Christianity isn't Biblical Christianity and that you need to repent and get right with God.

 

[silence_dogood]

I need 200k to pay off my mortgage. I doubt the church can help me do that.

It's not a church's responsibility to pay your way through life. If you have an emergency and need help, that's where the church comes in. However, if you've got a $200,000 mortgage that you can't pay, then it might be time for you to downsize and move into a home you can afford.

God will take care of me one way or another, I never doubt that. I rely on God, not man.

You say that you rely on God, and yet God has put the church here to meet the needs of Christians and you say you'd never ask for their help.

Let's add that one to the list I made in my last post.

 

[Lisa*Lisa]

I didn't laugh at your post. I laughed at your claim that you're not a hypocrite, which you made after making numerous hypocritical statements. Saying that you love Christ and then showing contempt for His church is very hypocritical.

Criticizing a church for not helping a homeless person (when the truth is that you don't know whether the church or individuals within the church tried to help him or not) and then admitting that you didn't help him, either, is hypocritical.

Telling us that all you would hear in a church is a man's opinion of what the Bible says, but then giving us your opinion and insisting that we must honor your interpretation, is hypocritical.

Telling Christians that Christians are practicing Christianity wrongly when you, yourself, just misdefined what a Christian is, is hypocritical.

So the idea that you could do all of those things and then insist that you're not a hypocrite is something I find very amusing.

Whether or not you choose to talk to me is your decision. I'm just trying to get you to understand that what you consider Christianity isn't Biblical Christianity and that you need to repent and get right with God.

Wow, you have managed to take everything that I said and twisted and manipulated it to fit your own narrow view of Christianity and use it to me unkind to me. I find that to be reprehensible.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

My original post wasn't talking about me specifically seeing one specific building and one particular man across the street. It was a metaphor, sorry you didn't understand that. It's a collaboration of all of the things I've seen in my life, on the news, in person, in newspapers and magazines, and through the experiences of others that I know.

Once again, you're missing the big picture here.

I figured it was and that's why I wanted to ask the question so specifically. And I wanted to make a point as well, sometimes we criticize the church for not doing enough and spending the money on things we don't think is important (and hey, we might be right) but we do not have all the story. We don't know who is helping who and what is going on in small or large buildings and that we need to do our part as well, so we don't have such unfair judgment against the church.

It's the same when I hear people make the comments along the line of "will God send (such and such person with such and such environmental circumstances) to hell if they have never heard the gospel..." and I try and make it a point to ask that person who is asking the question, why then are they not going to such and such a person to teach them the gospel. Again, we all have to do our part, even if it's only a little thing.

And I think it's important not to judge the church base on the building but based on the church and see if they are doing as the scripture calls for them to do.

 

[Lisa*Lisa]

It's not a church's responsibility to pay your way through life. If you have an emergency and need help, that's where the church comes in. However, if you've got a $200,000 mortgage that you can't pay, then it might be time for you to downsize and move into a home you can afford.

No kidding, that's why I said I would never ask anyone for financial help, I never even brought it up, you did. I didn't ask you for your opinion on how to run my life, so please keep your unwanted opinions to yourself. I know what I need to do, and I'm trying to do it with God's help. My home has been on the market for a year, and in case you weren't aware, we are in the middle of a real estate crisis here in the usa where it's almost impossible to sell a home anymore. Thank you very much.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

I would never go to a church to ask for financial help. That would be hypocritical if I did that, and one thing I"m not is a hypocrite. If God sees fit to help me out, He will do it. If not, then I just accept that as well and try to move forward as best that I can with His help and guidance. I don't worry about myself, material things can be replaced. The most important thing in my life is my spirituality and my relationship with Jesus. Everything else is just details.

Why would it be hypocritical to go to the church for financial help???
Remember in Acts when the church was coming together and many were selling their possession to help those in need, it wasn't hypocritical then and it would not be hypocritical now. That's the point of offering, to help each other.

Honestly, if I had money what so ever, I would help you out, but my family is also in the same boat at yours. But the difference is, I believe the foreclosure is a blessing, because of the circumstances surrounding how my mother got the house. Although we like the house, we are joyful that the nightmare with my mother's ex-boyfriend (who won't leave the house unless we go into foreclosure--he owns the other half of the house) will end soon. Praise God!!! Now, we just have to figure out where we are going to live, but we'll continue searching and praying and we know that God will be right along side of us.

 

[Lisa*Lisa]

Honestly, if I had money what so ever, I would help you out, but my family is also in the same boat at yours. But the difference is, I believe the foreclosure is a blessing, because of the circumstances surrounding how my mother got the house. Although we like the house, we are joyful that the nightmare with my mother's ex-boyfriend (who won't leave the house unless we go into foreclosure--he owns the other half of the house) will end soon. Praise God!!! Now, we just have to figure out where we are going to live, but we'll continue searching and praying and we know that God will be right along side of us.

God will take care of you one way or another. He always does, there is no need to worry. When one door closes, another always opens.

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

I need 200k to pay off my mortgage. I doubt the church can help me do that. Most people around here are in an even worse financial condition then I am. I would never ask others, who are suffering maybe worse then me, to help me out. God will take care of me one way or another, I never doubt that. I rely on God, not man.

And yet GOD chose to set man in charge. Even from the beginning. Adam was in charge of the garden.

Why do you think Christ chose Apostles? Why not just write a book HIMSELF, in HIS own words and leave it.

Why did Christ teach the Apostles everything in the scripture pertaining to HIM after his death and before HIS resurrection?

And where are those teachings? They are not recorded in the scriptures.

Fourty days he taught them in detail.

Christ God set up a community of believers.

Find them... and join yourself to them.

Forgive me...

 

[daydreamergurl15]

God will take care of you one way or another. He always does, there is no need to worry. When one door closes, another always opens.

I'm not worried about it. I have seen God use his instrument (man) too many times for good to know that God is and will continue to be our provider.

 

[silence_dogood]

No kidding, that's why I said I would never ask anyone for financial help, I never even brought it up, you did.

No, actually, somebody else brought it up and you said that you'd never ask your church for help. I just responded to that.

I didn't ask you for your opinion on how to run my life, so please keep your unwanted opinions to yourself.

There's a reason they call this thing a discussion board.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

*snip*
Why did Christ teach the Apostles everything in the scripture pertaining to HIM after his death and before HIS resurrection?

And where are those teachings? They are not recorded in the scriptures.

*snip*...

He taught them from the scriptures by pointing them out as the couple on the road to emmaus shows. The verses are still in the scriptures. They need the Holy Spirit to bring them to mind.

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Forgive me...

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

While you'll continue to rely on men I'll continue to rely on God.

 

[OrthodoxyUSA]

While you'll continue to rely on men I'll continue to rely on God.

Not just any man.

I am relying on God to keep HIS promise through the men that HE appointed.

HIS design... not ours.

Forgive me...