Jesus changed my life!!!!!

[JennyMominRI]

I'm just a simple guy asking simple questions. the depth of knowledge that people like Jenny, Joy, Buckalew, and Jimmy retain about their beliefs amazes me.

I don't buy into it, but I respect their dedication.

Thanks Amity

 

[ead79]

It's not at al disrespectful for non-Jews totype God and for Jews it's more tradition than anything else..You will see some Jews write God,although most do G-d, L-rd etc.

Oh good, I just wanted to be sure I wasn't being unintentionally disrespectful.

 

[jimmiej]

Jimmie,

Do you find some people get lost in the crowd at your church? How does your church reach people individually? Do your pastors know your names? I'm just curious how it works in big churches.

Our church has about 400 members and two services, and I like the feeling of knowing the three pastors individually. Although if it was much bigger I don't know how possible that would be.

Our whole staff knows us because DW works there. However, we stress Small Groups. We run almost 2000 in our weekly small group Bible studies. Some are on-campus, & some are off-campus at members homes. That way, you feel connected.

I teach a new/prospective member class. When explaining the importance of being in a small group, I always tell this story. About three years ago, a dear friend passed away in the middle of the night. She had Chrones(?) disease, but had been improving. She was only 45. Within the hour, most of their small group was there ministering to the husband & family. At 3:00 AM!!!

Every time I tell that story, tears well up...

 

[ead79]

I teach a new/prospective member class. When explaining the importance of being in a small group, I always tell this story. About three years ago, a dear friend passed away in the middle of the night. She had Chrones(?) disease, but had been improving. She was only 45. Within the hour, most of their small group was there ministering to the husband & family. At 3:00 AM!!!

Every time I tell that story, tears well up...

Now you've got my all teary too. That is truly living out the love of Christ for someone else. God bless those small group members for their caring hearts.

 

[scraptoons]

About three years ago, a dear friend passed away in the middle of the night. She had Chrones(?) disease, but had been improving. She was only 45. Within the hour, most of their small group was there ministering to the husband & family. At 3:00 AM!!!

Every time I tell that story, tears well up...

That's my church.
We always flood the waiting rooms at hospitals.


As far as our choice of church question goes....

We need to feel at home.

The people have to be real and down to earth. Very warm and welcoming.
If you are trying to impress us with sophisication and "airs", we'll think you are flaky or something

The ministers, teachers, leaders need to teach from the scriptures and not from their ideals.

The church has to be service minded, not entertainment minded.

The church has to be seeking God's will, not their own.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I got this in my email today and thought I'd tag you guys. Sorry the pictures wouldn't paste into my post

BIBLE TAG!!!
This is so neat!!!!

The Bible in 50 Words!


God made

Adam bit

Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled

Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided

Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked

Prophets warned
Jesus born


God Walked
Love talked

Anger crucified
Hope died

Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.
Tag - you're it
Consider yourself hit by...
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\ /
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____| |____
|__________|
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The Love Of GOD!
TAG EVERYONE YOU KNOW
BEFORE THEY CAN TAG YOU. TAG SOMEONE TODAY,
EXCEPT THE PERSON THAT HIT YOU.
SORRY, NO TAG BACKS!
Prayers go up, Blessings come down.

 

[lovethattink]

Good morning everyone. I was thinking about the John the Baptist posts last night. You know where he says if you have 2 coats, give one to your neighbor who doesn't have one. Well, we were leaving the MK heading to our car. A girl got off the tram and was singing and dancing, twirling around. We were just past her when she fell and screamed in wrenching pain. I started to turn around to see if she was ok. A crowd had gathered around her and my husband made me keep walking. She was screaming so badly with pain. I was pretty far away from her when I remembered that I had an unopened half frozen bottle of water that would have made a decent ice pack. I really wanted to turn around and give it to her, but my husband was saying I had to take care of my own child who was freezing from the cold, crying and tired. I've asked God for forgiveness for not giving that ice to the child. But I'm really carrying around the guilt today. I'm wondering how she is, and feeling really bad that I didn't do what little I could to help.

 

[Buckalew11]

That's my church.
We always flood the waiting rooms at hospitals.


As far as our choice of church question goes....

We need to feel at home.

The people have to be real and down to earth. Very warm and welcoming.
If you are trying to impress us with sophisication and "airs", we'll think you are flaky or something

The ministers, teachers, leaders need to teach from the scriptures and not from their ideals.

The church has to be service minded, not entertainment minded.

The church has to be seeking God's will, not their own.

Amen, amen, amen!


I would never feel at home in a church where you had to dress like it was Easter Sunday every week. I would never feel comfy in a church where people didn't dress modestly. I would never feel comfy in a church if I felt like I had to be fashionable every week or people are strutting their new duds around trying to impress people. I have been to a few churches like that and they aren't for me.

Preach from the Bible, not some book written by man that I can pick up and read for myself. I will discern for myself, thank you very much. I don;t want to know what any Christian author says about any given topic--preach your sermon from the Bible. Sure, use a quote here and there from someone who gives Biblical info or ideas but just don't preach from the book like that man's book is gospel.



I don't want to be entertained. I don't even want a band with the praise team (honestly, I hardly like most praise music but that is just a person problem of my own. I like to hear old fashioned hymns and not stuffy sounding stuff either --again, that is my own personal perference and problem. ) I don't want to see a screen up front with the sermon on it, I don't even like the outlines my preachers does on inserts each week! LOL)
I don't like choir robes but I'll tolerate them.

I know I sound picky and I am. I was on the pastor search committee when we got our last preacher 13 years ago. It was a hard, but fun, job. I can have my feelings about all that stuff, but that is all they are personal feelings about certain topics. Doesn't mean my church fulfills them all or wants to.

 

[scraptoons]

Amen, amen, amen!


I would never feel at home in a church where you had to dress like it was Easter Sunday every week. I would never feel comfy in a church where people didn't dress modestly. I would never feel comfy in a church if I felt like I had to be fashionable every week or people are strutting their new duds around trying to impress people. I have been to a few churches like that and they aren't for me.

Preach from the Bible, not some book written by man that I can pick up and read for myself. I will discern for myself, thank you very much. I don;t want to know what any Christian author says about any given topic--preach your sermon from the Bible. Sure, use a quote here and there from someone who gives Biblical info or ideas but just don't preach from the book like that man's book is gospel.



I don't want to be entertained. I don't even want a band with the praise team (honestly, I hardly like most praise music but that is just a person problem of my own. I like to hear old fashioned hymns and not stuffy sounding stuff either --again, that is my own personal perference and problem. ) I don't want to see a screen up front with the sermon on it, I don't even like the outlines my preachers does on inserts each week! LOL)
I don't like choir robes but I'll tolerate them.

I know I sound picky and I am. I was on the pastor search committee when we got our last preacher 13 years ago. It was a hard, but fun, job. I can have my feelings about all that stuff, but that is all they are personal feelings about certain topics. Doesn't mean my church fulfills them all or wants to.

Looks like we have a lot in common.

I do like to dress up simply because that's the only day I get to wear my pretty clothes. Besides I'm a feminine gal at heart. But I'm going around hugging and squeezing the gals in their t-shirts and jeans though. I love them to death and they know it.
It's definately an atmosphere that lets anyone wear whatever they want to or need to wear.

I see what you mean on the big screen thing.
It doesn't have to be entertaining to me, but I do like to have the notes and scriptures up there because of two things....I have my hands full of a toddler boy, and I also have a hearing loss and find it challenging to hear everything that is said.
The info on the big screen helps me put it all together.
I'm also a visual learner. Guess that comes from the hearing loss.

As far as music goes, we like it simple and spiritual. A little mix of the old time songs and fairly new praise and worship songs. Don't like worship service turning into a concert.
We don't have a choir/band or anything. It's a congregation worshiping together.

 

[lovethattink]

Our sermon today was titled "Life's Too Short...To Avoid God"


It was interesting how he used Solomon's end days to show us how a man with all that wisdom and discernment could drift away from God. How by nature we tend to lean more towards complacency than committment.


Today I have to agree with you scraptoons and buckalew11 about the praise band. I usually can get very inspired to praise and worship God through the music. However, today, they kept repeating the same thing over and over. Instead of putting me in a worshipful mood, I found myself counting the repetition and getting totally annoyed.

At our main church the screens are necessary. The santuary is so huge that if you sit towards the back, you can't even begin to make out facial details of the pastor. The accoustics are good enough that you can hear him, and there are devices for hearing impaired, but if I'm sitting in the back, I appreciate the screens. When I sit in the front section, I rarely use the screens, unless there is a song where I don't know the words.

We have 2 services at the main church. The traditional service sings hymms and the choir wears robes and the pastor wears a suit. At the contemporary service, there is a praise band and no choir, and the same pastor preaches the same sermon without a tie or suitcoat. At our satallite church, it's a seeker's service come as you are. Blue jeans or shorts are most common. The pastor (a different one) typically wears jeans and a nice shirt.

 

[JoyG]

We had a special speaker today. This man was a biblical interpretor. He memorizes HUGE chunks of the scripture and acts them out. I sat there in utter amazement during service as he recited from memory the first 5 chapters of the book of John without missing a word!!! He also acts them out, so it sort of felt like we were watching a one man play it was awesome.

During Sunday school, he did sections from 1 Corinthians. He also has the entire book of Revelation memorized and Galatians among others.

I kept thinking, if he can memorize entire books, I have no excuse for not committing a few more verses to memory!

 

[lovethattink]

We had a special speaker today. This man was a biblical interpretor. He memorizes HUGE chunks of the scripture and acts them out. I sat there in utter amazement during service as he recited from memory the first 5 chapters of the book of John without missing a word!!! He also acts them out, so it sort of felt like we were watching a one man play it was awesome.

During Sunday school, he did sections from 1 Corinthians. He also has the entire book of Revelation memorized and Galatians among others.

I kept thinking, if he can memorize entire books, I have no excuse for not committing a few more verses to memory!

Wow! That's alot of memory! Sounds very cool!

Another point in our sermon today kind of relates to what the biblical interpretor did. Our pastor today said that when we read scripture don't just get through the scripture, let the scripture get through to you. What a wonderful way for this guy to be a living example of just that.

 

[scraptoons]

We do a lot of acting out of the Bible stories in our children's classes.
Both children and adults.

Costumes, props, sound and lights...

It really helps to learn the stories when you step into them rather than reading right through them.

Dramatic storytelling is another one of our favorites. We have someone dress up as a Bible person and tell the story from a first person prospective.

 

[Buckalew11]

We do a lot of acting out of the Bible stories in our children's classes.
Both children and adults.

Costumes, props, sound and lights...

It really helps to learn the stories when you step into them rather than reading right through them.

Dramatic storytelling is another one of our favorites. We have someone dress up as a Bible person and tell the story from a first person prospective.

I think this is exactly why when I was young and they used to do the Smoky Mountain Passion Play in Townsend (TN) that it was so effective. Sorta like seeing Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. It became so real and it sticks with you!


About the dressing up...I do dress up. I never wear jeans to church (but don't have a problem with anyone who does). I think you'd call my style "dressy casual" (I'm a Christopher and Banks girl). But, I don't feel like I have to be very dressed up or in heels etc. and I don't feel like people are judging my clothes and if I'm "put together" right, if you know what I'm saying. Church is the only day I really get dressed up these days also.

Yeah, about that concert thing.

I remember sitting in SS on Sunday and hearing the Praise Team practice. They were singing to the Eagle's Peaceful Easy Feeling Song (I think that's what it was...) and changed the words. Of course, all I could hear was the Eagle's words, I think some of those Praise songs are great for children but the repetion drives me bonkers also!
Those old fashioned hymns have some deep Christian thought and values in them. The words to many are absolutely beautiful and written so long ago.

 

[Fitswimmer]

About the dressing up...I do dress up. I never wear jeans to church (but don't have a problem with anyone who does). I think you'd call my style "dressy casual"

I always wear a dress or skirt to church now. I used to wear jeans or pants, but I got thinking about how I would dress if I were to be invited to meet the President or the Pope-and it sure wouldn't be in jeans!!

We have music issues in the Catholic church too. I'm not a big fan of the rock bands that some of the more modern churches have. I like piano or organ, and traditional hymns. I like listening to Contemporary Christian music on the radio, but I do that more to stay away from the "values" on top 40 radio these days. I just don't think it belongs at Mass.

 

[lovethattink]

I think you'd call my style "dressy casual" (I'm a Christopher and Banks girl).

Yes!! Me too, in fact, most of my wardrobe is Christopher and Banks!

 

[scraptoons]

Yes!! Me too, in fact, most of my wardrobe is Christopher and Banks!

Haven't heard of this in my neck of the woods.

Sometimes I wear dressy pants and a pretty top with strappy heels.

Sometimes it is a skirt and blouse.

Sometimes it is a pants suit.

Sunday and Wednesday evenings it's casual pants or jeans.

During the week while volunteering at the church building it's always jeans and VBS tshirts and flip flops.

 

[lovethattink]

Haven't heard of this in my neck of the woods.

During the week while volunteering at the church building it's always jeans and VBS tshirts and flip flops.

Flip flops are my every day shoe! I think there were only a handful of days this past year where I didn't wear flips. One was Sat night at MK. It was cold so I wore sneakers. Good thing I did, some man ran his double stroller wheel right up my ankle. It didn't even hurt. I would have been in pain in my flips.


http://www.christopherandbanks.com/ Here's the website, has a map for store locations.

Here's another question for everyone. Tomorrow is Halloween. How does your religious beliefs affect the way you celebrate or don't celebrate Halloween?

 

[Fitswimmer]

How does your religious beliefs affect the way you celebrate or don't celebrate Halloween?

Not at all. I went trick or treating as a kid, and loved it. I took my niece out when she was small too.

The only thing that makes me a little different is that I think Halloween is really for kids. I find it a little disturbing to see a middle aged people dressing up to go into the office. It's one thing for parties or if you have a job where you're working around or with kids, it just seems silly in an office.

 

[scraptoons]

Hi all!

Thanks for the C & B link. Nice things on the site!

We like to ToT with the kids, and go to local church and police festivals Halloween night.

It's fun to do the cutsey costumes and participate in the costume parades at school ( this year is a challenge....science or math vocabulary word costume).

But all the gory, gross, really evil stuff is off limits for us. We don't want to have anything to do with it.

Our screened in front porch is always decked out Sept thru Thanksgiving weekend in fall colors, scarecrows, and pumpkins. A couple of nights before Halloween we will carve a jack ol' lantern, but that's it.

Then Thanksgiving weekend we take it all down and put out the Christmas stuff. But we don't do gaudy decor. We do a quaint storybook cottage look with our white lights and garland on the white picket fence and arbor.