PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on Feb 26, 2019 11:53:35 GMT -5
An unfortunate thing has happened in our current society (I’m speaking mostly of North America). Local churches have become institutional social clubs that offer little to no spiritual value for the serious Christian. They’re often a great place for the lost to discover Jesus, but once the evangelism/conversion stage is passed, there isn’t much else the churches offer. Hence, local churches are seeing a mass exit of mature Christans.
To combat this, church leaders beat the drum of Hebrews 10 that we musn’t forsake assembly. These leaders are apparently qualified to tell us what assembly looks like, how assembly must be done, what purpose assembly serves, and when we must report for our weekly dose of assembly. Christians who question this model are accused of rejecting assembly itself.
On the other side is a growing trend of disaffected, anti-social Christians who do reject assembly in all its forms. You tend to hear them talk a lot about the “lone wolf” prophets like Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. They actually covet the ministries of the unhappiest, unhealthiest, least victorious people in Scripture. Elijah was a loner, and he paid the price for it, praying for God to end his life because “only I am left.” Jonah worked alone, and he lost all sympathy for Nineveh which caused friction between him and God (oh and he also ended up praying for his life to end). Scripture does not give us a warm-and-fuzzy portrayal of people who worked alone. God was able to use them, but their ministries were crippled by their isolation.
If you’re justifying your anti-social tendencies because of Elijah, you’d better be prepared to end up like him. There were 700 faithful in Israel whom he turned his back on, whose support he could have used to finish the work of removing Jezebel. If you’re up on a high horse preening your feathers that “only I am left” you’d be better prepared for God to show you 700 people you snubbed.
So what is the solution? Report to a building once a week for fruitless assembly, or be a lone wolf who abandons the faithful? We don’t have to choose between these extremes. There is a third option.
For a Christian, assembly is supposed to be a lifestyle. It should permeate your friendships and your daily activities. It should define the way you spend your time, not just on Saturday or Sunday, but always. How can you pray for the sick if you never have any sick friends? How can you love your neighbor if you don’t know your neighbor’s name? How can you love your brother if you pretend you have no brother?
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. — Matthew 22:36-40
Don’t tell me you love your neighbor when you’re hiding in your basement complaining about how wicked everyone else is. Rebuke and correct, yes. Share the truth, certainly. But ignoring them because you’re better than them? No. That isn’t love no matter what you say about Jeremiah.
We are social creatures. God made us to be part of a body, the body of Christ. He made us for community. The hand can’t tell the foot “I have no need of you.” You may not fully appreciate someone else’s role in the body, but you’re not allowed to say you don’t need them.
If you can’t find a good local church for assembly, that’s okay. But please don’t fall into the trap of hiding your Christian faith in your basement. Pray for God to bring you some friends you can fellowship with. It may require you to drop a few hobbies or change your daily priorities. It may be more difficult than reporting to a building once a week. But that’s what real assembly is about. If you’re a visitor reading this, you are welcome to join our group for support and fellowship. Don’t go it alone. Yes, Jesus is with you, but He’s also with 700 people who love Him as much as you do.
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Post by 2fw8212a on Feb 26, 2019 12:06:55 GMT -5
To combat this, church leaders beat the drum of Hebrews 10 that we musn’t forsake assembly. This is exactly what we are doing at NarrowWayForums.
OK, we do not see or touch people in here... But in spirit we are united and closer than we think.
What you speak, what I speak, either good or bad may have a positive or negative effect on the human on another side of the screen.
It indeed is a valid method of assembly in my opinion.
But if people have the opportunity to do something in their neighborhood... Why not?!
The Christian is social by nature and want to interact with people, specially unrepentant sinners who need some light.
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14
But each one with their calling and faith...
"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift." - Ephesians 4:7
Blessings!
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Post by John on Feb 26, 2019 12:25:18 GMT -5
Those are all excellent points. It is important to have fellowship with other Christians. Before Narrow Way, I had about given up on the idea, and was going to try to go it alone. I was going to do what I could as an individual, be the church, and do the things I saw being neglected, but that is not God's ideal.
I know that we can get this idea that someone hiding behind a username isn't a real person, and there are some cases where that might be true. A person can join a message board and pretend to be someone they are not, whether it be their age, their gender, whatever, but most are real people. That is one thing I like about Candance's idea for meetings. We can see we are genuine people. It felt like I spent an evening visiting in her home, and Giller's too, and met his wife. They met a couple of my cats, and I was introduced to Giller's dog. Technology can be used for good.
Ideally, there would be a good church in every city, but we are experiencing a great falling away, and most can't endure and don't want sound doctrine. If being among genuine believers means believers scattered all over the world, coming together online, it is great God provided a means of fellowship.
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PG4Him
Senior Member
Essay Moderator
Posts: 3,570
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Post by PG4Him on Feb 26, 2019 12:32:34 GMT -5
Those are all excellent points. It is important to have fellowship with other Christians. Before Narrow Way, I had about given up on the idea, and was going to try to go it alone. I was going to do what I could as an individual, be the church, and do the things I saw being neglected, but that is not God's ideal.
I know that we can get this idea that someone hiding behind a username isn't a real person, and there are some cases where that might be true. A person can join a message board and pretend to be someone they are not, whether it be their age, their gender, whatever, but most are real people. That is one thing I like about Candance's idea for meetings. We can see we are genuine people. It felt like I spent an evening visiting in her home, and Giller's too, and met his wife. They met a couple of my cats, and I was introduced to Giller's dog. Technology can be used for good.
Ideally, there would be a good church in every city, but we are experiencing a great falling away, and most can't endure and don't want sound doctrine. If being among genuine believers means believers scattered all over the world, coming together online, it is great God provided a means of fellowship.
An internet death match is easy when you’re debating some letters on the screen. When you see that person face to face, you find yourself appealing to a brother instead of arguing with a username. Jonah saw the Ninevites as a stereotype, not a group of people.
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Cletus
Senior Member
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Cletus on Feb 26, 2019 12:36:13 GMT -5
that is what i have done... pray for it. and i have met some really good brothers.
when i do go to church its really just for the singing and worship. i need something thats real.
something i learned about fellowship is we each have a part of God, of Christ. the part we each have is needed in someone else's life, and others have a part of Christ we need.... we can experience God in a vertical line... Him to us, but also a horizontal line... christian to christian.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 13:24:06 GMT -5
To combat this, church leaders beat the drum of Hebrews 10 that we musn’t forsake assembly. This is exactly what we are doing at NarrowWayForums.
OK, we do not see or touch people in here... But in spirit we are united and closer than we think.
What you speak, what I speak, either good or bad may have a positive or negative effect on the human on another side of the screen.
It indeed is a valid method of assembly in my opinion.
But if people have the opportunity to do something in their neighborhood... Why not?!
The Christian is social by nature and want to interact with people, specially unrepentant sinners who need some light.
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14
But each one with their calling and faith...
"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift." - Ephesians 4:7
Blessings!Letters, 2f, whatever. Sometimes that "Blessings" at the end of your post is like a happy slap in the face. Ironic, I know
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Post by John on Mar 28, 2019 12:42:26 GMT -5
An unfortunate thing has happened in our current society (I’m speaking mostly of North America). Local churches have become institutional social clubs that offer little to no spiritual value for the serious Christian. They’re often a great place for the lost to discover Jesus, but once the evangelism/conversion stage is passed, there isn’t much else the churches offer. Hence, local churches are seeing a mass exit of mature Christans. To combat this, church leaders beat the drum of Hebrews 10 that we musn’t forsake assembly. These leaders are apparently qualified to tell us what assembly looks like, how assembly must be done, what purpose assembly serves, and when we must report for our weekly dose of assembly. Christians who question this model are accused of rejecting assembly itself. On the other side is a growing trend of disaffected, anti-social Christians who do reject assembly in all its forms. You tend to hear them talk a lot about the “lone wolf” prophets like Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. They actually covet the ministries of the unhappiest, unhealthiest, least victorious people in Scripture. Elijah was a loner, and he paid the price for it, praying for God to end his life because “only I am left.” Jonah worked alone, and he lost all sympathy for Nineveh which caused friction between him and God (oh and he also ended up praying for his life to end). Scripture does not give us a warm-and-fuzzy portrayal of people who worked alone. God was able to use them, but their ministries were crippled by their isolation. If you’re justifying your anti-social tendencies because of Elijah, you’d better be prepared to end up like him. There were 700 faithful in Israel whom he turned his back on, whose support he could have used to finish the work of removing Jezebel. If you’re up on a high horse preening your feathers that “only I am left” you’d be better prepared for God to show you 700 people you snubbed. So what is the solution? Report to a building once a week for fruitless assembly, or be a lone wolf who abandons the faithful? We don’t have to choose between these extremes. There is a third option. For a Christian, assembly is supposed to be a lifestyle. It should permeate your friendships and your daily activities. It should define the way you spend your time, not just on Saturday or Sunday, but always. How can you pray for the sick if you never have any sick friends? How can you love your neighbor if you don’t know your neighbor’s name? How can you love your brother if you pretend you have no brother? Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. — Matthew 22:36-40Don’t tell me you love your neighbor when you’re hiding in your basement complaining about how wicked everyone else is. Rebuke and correct, yes. Share the truth, certainly. But ignoring them because you’re better than them? No. That isn’t love no matter what you say about Jeremiah.We are social creatures. God made us to be part of a body, the body of Christ. He made us for community. The hand can’t tell the foot “I have no need of you.” You may not fully appreciate someone else’s role in the body, but you’re not allowed to say you don’t need them. If you can’t find a good local church for assembly, that’s okay. But please don’t fall into the trap of hiding your Christian faith in your basement. Pray for God to bring you some friends you can fellowship with. It may require you to drop a few hobbies or change your daily priorities. It may be more difficult than reporting to a building once a week. But that’s what real assembly is about. If you’re a visitor reading this, you are welcome to join our group for support and fellowship. Don’t go it alone. Yes, Jesus is with you, but He’s also with 700 people who love Him as much as you do. I think everyone would do good to go back and read this excellent post by PG4Him. Take a close look at the paragraph that I placed in bold print.
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Post by Giller on Mar 28, 2019 13:30:35 GMT -5
There is no doubt that fellowship is essential, we need each other.
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Post by solid on Apr 2, 2019 11:53:23 GMT -5
It is hard finding a good church today, but we don't need to be isolated.
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PG4Him
Senior Member
Essay Moderator
Posts: 3,570
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Post by PG4Him on Apr 6, 2019 7:53:18 GMT -5
Wicked apostates with their own agenda do not receive the benefits of fellowship laid out in Scripture. I can work with a sincerely confused person all day, but I know my limits, and my life is already full of plenty of insufferably contentious people. I wrote this OP precisely because I’m not a snobby or antisocial person.
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Post by solid on Apr 6, 2019 13:51:14 GMT -5
Wicked apostates with their own agenda do not receive the benefits of fellowship laid out in Scripture. I can work with a sincerely confused person all day, but I know my limits, and my life is already full of plenty of insufferably contentious people. I wrote this OP precisely because I’m not a snobby or antisocial person. I have been enjoying reading your posts.
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PG4Him
Senior Member
Essay Moderator
Posts: 3,570
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Post by PG4Him on Apr 6, 2019 13:57:53 GMT -5
Wicked apostates with their own agenda do not receive the benefits of fellowship laid out in Scripture. I can work with a sincerely confused person all day, but I know my limits, and my life is already full of plenty of insufferably contentious people. I wrote this OP precisely because I’m not a snobby or antisocial person. I have been enjoying reading your posts. Hello solid.
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Post by solid on Apr 6, 2019 14:23:56 GMT -5
I have been enjoying reading your posts. Hello solid. Hello.
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Post by frienduff on Apr 6, 2019 19:06:26 GMT -5
Let everyone raise those hands up and praise the Lord .
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