SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY

To church we go, Sunday after Sunday, and what is our purpose of being there: to sing, to shout, to get victory. Our purpose of being in church is not to sit like so many peas in a pod and watch the entertainment up front. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the praise and worship part of a service but that is not why we attend church.

We are in church to learn the truth and apply it to our lives, training to be solders of the Lord. Yes soldiers, because being a Christian is not easy. And if your church is not equipping you then go tell your Pastor, and if he doesn’t do anything then find a church that will. Once you are equipped, then you are to go out, save the lost and recruit more soldiers.

We all are aware of someone that goes through the same thing over and over again. They bounce from church to church looking for the answers of how to get the heck out of this mess. Oh the Prayer Sisters will pray with them, and on them, but no body is giving them the answers of how to get out of it. It is like the difference of giving someone a fish, or teaching them to fish. I am thankful for your prayers my sisters, but I don’t just want a fix I want a solution.

Then we have the, oh let us lay hands on you and heal you of this, group. I know a beautiful young lady who was searching for answers as to why she had cancer from a young age. She went to a church, and her questions were not answered, but they would lay hands on her. The Pastor put his hand on her forehead and started praying. She thought okay I have never had this done, but I feel nothing. And most of us know we don’t always feel anything. But when she did not “get slained” the man proceeded to push her down. Not only did he push her off her feet, he pushed her away, instead of to God.

The church I was raised in was a hell fire and damnation church. Be saved, don’t sin or you will go to hell. Wonderful, now what do I do.

A biblical world-view involves all of life. The church then must equip its members for all of life. This begins with the basics and then moves on to building the character of a mature Christian.

There are many ways this can be done. We will address a few. First the church must equip their members to know and defend their faith. Then they need to know how to apply it in the world. To have a defense against the world we must have the Word grounded into our very being. Without it we are struggling to stand ourselves.

How can this be done? Myself the perfect church would immediately start you in classes as soon as you asked Christ into your life. Teaching you just as if you were in school. Testing you to be sure that you can pass the grade. You can only go to the next level when you have passed the class you are in. Discipleship can be learnt in many different ways, there are many groups that specialize in just that. You can take classes on-line. Or if possible enroll in a Bible College, if only to take some classes. The point is to learn and grow.

The church should also teach us in ethics. We need to lead exemplary life’s in Christ. And unfortunately many Christians do not know how to go about doing this. We have lived in the world so long that we accept some standards that in factually do not live up to the standard that Christ has set for us. The church needs to equip its members with a moral ethics that stand on the Word of God not the word of mankind.

The church should teach the family how to build strong marriages and families. The family is under a big attack in today’s society. Divorce is normal and children being raised by one family households, or others is normal. {Don’t you just love that word now that you know what it means?} Well it is not normal as God intended for it to be. Couples today need to be counseled before marriage and during marriage when problems arise. Young and old couples alike can be strengthen by counseling from solid, mature Christian couples. By mentoring, couples can draw on experience on how best to resolve conflicts, improve communication and love for another.

I must speak here of the parents that raised me. Mom and Dad never raised their voices, not to us and certainly not to each other. People think I am making up my happy home. No I lived it each day for 18 years. These two people loved each other almost as much as they loved God. One time Dad punished me, I said yes sir and went to my room. The next morning at breakfast Mom walked in and set Dad’s plate down and put her hand on his shoulder. Then she went and set down. Dad looked at me and said your punishment was too harsh, here is the new punishment. Again I said yes sir and finished eating. I would never have thought to ask why. Being young it was not till years later I realized that the night before this happened, when they were in their room, with the door shut as always, that Mom said John you were to hard on the girl, and he asked why. They talked and my punishment was changed. Never once did I hear them talk about it. That is a loving family, and there is no reason there cannot be families like that today. It is not a pipe dream.

That said, churches should be training their members to “train up their children in the way they should go (Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it) .” A parent’s responsibility is to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And it is the church responsibility to help them do this. Parents need to be ever watchful of the activities their children are involved in, from school to outside with other children.

Sometimes the churches need to help children who have had to grow old before their time. Drugs, gangs, and underage pregnancy are all issues today that if we are not mindful, can come into our churches and attack our children. We do not stop this by turning a death ear to those involved in these activities, but by opening the door to showing them there is a better way. This teaches the children of the church too not only say no, but to call on the strength of the Holy Spirit to enable them to stand against it. And it shows those outside that it can be done.

Our churches need to equip us to fulfill our various vocations. If the church doesn’t teach a healthy work ethic then who will. Character traits of being diligence, thrift, creative and excellence bring Glory to God.

The church should also teach it members to be good stewards of their financial resources. Christians with a good background in financial stewardship are better off not only to themselves but to others.

We are all called to be witnesses, so who else but the church should teach us. Look at the faithfulness of Jehovah Witnesses. The church not only needs to teach us what gifts we have, but teach us now to effectively use those gifts to reach others. Not all are called to reach all groups.

As the church we are to reach out and serve one another in the Body and reach to those beyond. We are to do so, with the same loving spirit that Jesus had, to those He came in contact with. We must think more of others then we do of ourselves, caring more for “the least of these (Matthew 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me).”


God Bless,
rECj/LJG