REASONS TO BELIEVE IN THE CHURCH

This is the twelfth and final in a series of blog posts with my sister Betty Haynie about what we believe. Our thoughts are intentionally brief on subjects that could fill volumes.

WHY I BELIEVE IN THE CHURCH

By Betty Haynie

The word “church” does not just mean a building, as I am sure you realize. It means the people who have accepted Jesus and are Christ’s “body” on earth, His “church,” spreading His message of love and salvation to all. Christ is the Head and we are all Members of or parts of His body - hence the word “Membership.” If your passion was golf you would need to go to a golf course in order to play, or at least a driving range. The same with bowling - you need a bowling alley and others with whom to bowl. Imagine a Barbershop Chorus where each member decides to stay home and work on their part alone. Hmmm? I don’t think I’d want to hear them sing. As a believer it is imperative to your spiritual growth to belong to a group of believers.

Those who believe in Him are His feet, hands, legs, and fingers serving Him through working together with other believers to accomplish the ministries put before us. A toe or finger cannot do much on its own - but, connected to the body, which is connected to “the Head” it can do its job! That’s why we need to belong to a body of believers. That’s why, when you believe, you must belong to a community with vital beliefs. They become just as much a family as our earthly family does when we are born into this world. Just as our mothers and fathers nurture, protect and care for our needs as babies, our church family nurtures, protects and cares for each of those who are “born” into the family of God.

I am sorry some of you have had bad experiences with church people. BUT… we (the mature church goers) are constantly seeking God and forgiveness and are far from perfect in every way, so please forgive those who behave adversely, in their ignorance, pettiness, whatever..., so that God can forgive you for the times when you may have been less than perfect. Don’t reject the message because of the messenger!

God wants a relationship with you. Of course you can have this by yourself, but most of us would not stick to the course alone. We would tend to revert back to old habits and procrastinate about reading the bible or praying. We need others with whom to bounce around our ideas and to learn from. We need others for love and acceptance. Birds of a feather.......you know the rest. It’s really hard to grow when you have no teachers or examples by which to measure yourself.

The practice of faith is personal as well as private, but we need one another for support and comfort. Real spiritual growth is produced through relationships and community; through loving one another and through your growing relationship with God Almighty! This kind of love is amazing, unselfish, truthful, kind, patient, loyal and more.

All of this in church! Not every one “gets it”! But everyone has the opportunity to!! Some think all they need to do is attend services every once in a while. That doesn’t cut it. You need to become involved! I’m sure you know that the more you put into something the more you get out of it.

Blessings, Betty

WHY I BELIEVE IN THE CHURCH

By Dottie Parish

Jesus began building the church while he was here on earth and he expected us to continue this work. (Matt.16:18) Scripture also urges us “to not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25) and to “go into all the world” (Mark 16:25) and teach and witness. Jesus also promised the Holy Spirit to guide us.

When I returned to church after years away I was flooded with memories of my childhood and young adult experiences in church. I remembered singing “Jesus Loves Me” as a toddler. I remembered memorizing Bible verses. I remembered the smells of a church, the sounds of a church, the feel of wooden pews, the hymns, the scripture, and all felt precious. I remembered the teachers and youth leaders who had taught me, encouraged me and loved me. I remembered retreats where we sang, talked and learned to pray. I remembered my baptism at age 12 and my teenage joy one Easter in realizing Jesus is alive and is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Before my return to church there had been little music in my life. Now music fills my heart and soul every day and God’s presence brightens each day. As a church member I am no longer alone. I am part of the fellowship of Christ - a loving support group with a great mission. I have meaning and purpose in my life again. What greater cause than doing God’s will can there be? 

At least seven things minister to us and change us when we belong to a vital church. Here’s a short list.

Fellowship. We gain fellowship, like a warm family, a group united in purpose who know us and care about us. We worship with others, their worship encourages ours, and their experiences inform ours. We see people grow spiritually.

Prayer.  We pray together. “When “two or three agree as touching anything on earth.” Coming into God’s presence with others and interceding with and for others in need deepens our own faith and our care for others. Personal prayer is also available as others in church gladly pray for and with us.

Worship. We worship together lifting our voices in praise to God. This is not the same as singing along to a TV service or worshipping in nature (though these can also be valuable). Worshiping with my brothers and sisters in Christ and an open heart to God is life changing and fills us with his Holy Spirit.

                                                                                           

Giving. Giving enriches us. We give our time, money and our energy to build the church, to reach out to spread the Word, and to heal and help those in need.

Confession. Confessing our sins silently in prayer frees us to open our hearts to God and others. When we confess our sin and repent before God he hears us.

Communion. Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is a unique spiritual ritual in which we humble ourselves and give thanks for what Christ has done for us. And we remember that he gave his life for us.

Scripture. The church teaches us and our children the amazing and consistent truths throughout Scripture and that God is holy, loving and true.

Fellowship, Prayer, Worship, Giving, Confessing, Communion, Scripture. We gain spiritual wisdom from each of these things and it changes us. We go out into the world and live our faith, witness to others, and serve others. And we return to our church to keep the fire burning.

There are 100,000 or more Christian churches in the United States. These churches are often the heartbeat of a community. They are centers for charity, children’s teaching, family get togethers, Bible studies and missions around the world. Churches employ hundreds of thousands of people and spend billions of dollars on goods and services. And they fund 1.6 million social programs and gather 7.6 million volunteers.

As Betty said, real spiritual growth is produced through God focused relationships and community; through loving one another and through a deepening relationship with God Almighty! The church changes us and changes the world. Don’t miss out! Join the Church of Jesus Christ!

Blessings, Dottie

What is Worship?

Worship Defined

What is worship? Is it just what you do in a church service? Or can you worship anywhere?

Here are some thoughts on worship:

“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31). What a promise! When we wait on God he strengthens us. Our spirit soars like an eagle. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (v. 39). Worship is waiting on God. We bow before him, we praise him, we glorify him and he strengthens us.

         

Worship lies at the heart of the Christian faith. Moses and the Israelites worshipped God, and his presence, his glory, filled the tabernacle and covered their travel—as a cloud by day and as fire by night. (Exodus 13:21) Moses spent days in the presence of God and his face glowed. (Exodus 34:29) Jesus worshipped regularly in the synagogue, taught his disciples to pray and told the woman at the well to worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). The New Testament church worshipped together with songs and teachings from scripture. Paul told the Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). Paul stressed orderly worship that would teach and enlighten us.

         

Worship connects us with the presence of God. True worship, opening our hearts to God and praising him, is fearful and astonishing. It changes us. Worship is as vital to our faith as breathing is to our bodies. We bow in adoration, devotion, respect and awe. God is holy and eternal. We are finite. We humble ourselves in this holy encounter. We meet God weekly in corporate worship, as a church body. The fragrant aroma of his presence in us and in the church increases in proportion to our prayer and worship. ( Changing Churches pg. 101-102.)

Here’s another excellent definition of worship: 

“In worship the conscience is quickened by the holiness of God, the mind is fed by the truth of God, the heart is opened to the love of God, and the will is devoted to the purpose of God.”  William Temple, clergyman                                                                                                                    

How do you spell Worship? How about this?

Wait on the Lord. “They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31)

Open your heart to God. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Repent of your sin. Humble yourself before him. Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. (1 Peter 2:1)

Silence all but his word and presence. We must silence the world and our inner dialog. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Humble yourselves before him. He is holy, we are not. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)

Involve your body, mind, will and emotions in adoration.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

              

Praise his name.  “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.” (Psalm 47:6)

Here’s a dictionary definition I just found. “Worship is to honor God with extravagant love and extreme submission.” We worship an amazing God. We must be extravagant in our love and extreme in our submission to our Holy God.

Blessings,

Dottie

Are You Running on Empty? Three Solutions for Stress

Rain splashes on the windshield as I drive home in a downpour. The gas gauge reads empty. My spiritual gauge also sits on empty. With fifteen more miles to go, I worry and stew, but keep going. Suddenly I remember, I ran out of gas in my teens and my Dad rescued me. “Lord, help me,” I whisper.

    

“Lord, help me. What should I do?” Then I remember—cars today are different; they have a reserve tank good for twenty-five or thirty miles. My fear vanishes. “Thank you, Lord! “ Another thought comes! I’m a new model, also—a new creation; I have a reserve spiritual tank, a connection to God. He fills and refreshes me when my spirit sags.

As people of faith do you ever feel you’re running on empty? Do you ever feel overwhelmed or stressed? We all do at times. Life is busy, life is stressful, life distracts us from the most important things. We must remind ourselves of the solutions to our stress/emptiness/frustration and _____­­­­­­­­­­­­­ (you name it) problem. How do we fill our spiritual tank when it’s nearly empty? There are three solutions. Three words.

Prayer. Scripture. Worship. These are essential in the life of a Christian, in the life of a new creation in Christ. These three things will help us cope with most anything. These connect us with God. All three of these must be priorities and are intertwined with our corporate worship. Prayer, Scripture and Worship will fill our emptiness and recharge our spirits.

Worship as a body of believers is essential to our individual growth in Christ and to our unity as a church. Just showing up isn’t enough. As people of faith we influence our children, our relatives and our friends. We must lead the way in prioritizing corporate worship and in learning how to truly “be there” during it. There are several steps essential to grow us in Christ and to deepen our worship (and end our stress!).

Prepare for worship all week long. The pastor, choir and leaders prepare for worship and we must also. Prepare by praying for the pastor, choir, musicians, teachers and leaders throughout the week. Pray about your stress, frustration and worry also. Jesus’ prayer life shows his dependence on God. “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (emphasis added - Luke 5:15). If He needed to pray, certainly we do. When we pray we admit our powerlessness, humbling ourselves before God. We place our faith in him. We confess our sins daily. “Forgive us this day our sinful self-focus.” Prayers of confession and repentance free us.           

Paul tells us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This is a challenge! If we pray when we first wake up, pray before each meal and pray at bedtime we can come closer to fulfilling Paul’s admonition to pray continually. Prayer changes us, grows us. A daily time of prayer is essential to our Christian walk. God is with us. When we ignore him it’s similar to ignoring a good friend who is right in the room with us. God wants a close relationship – comparable to marriage. Would you think it was sufficient to talk to your husband only once a week?

Similarly we must read his Word on a daily basis. Read and meditate on His Word. Read a chapter a day at least. Plan when you will do this. Reading it together as a family will feed everyone. So try it at a meal. We recently started one chapter from Scripture at dinner every day.

Spend ten minutes a day in silence before God. Prayerful silence helps us let go of the distractions of life. Quiet your mind and turn your thoughts to God. “Those who wait on the lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).

Adoration and praise are great stress relievers. Shoot prayers of praise and admiration daily throughout the day. Teach your children to do this also. Sing praises to his name! We often sing the Doxology at meals. Try it - it will lift your spirits.

When we do the above things daily we will come to church prepared to worship the Lord.  We are active worshipers, not passive ones. Then we will sing praises to his name. We will “give thanks to the lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes sing his praises. Tell everyone about his miracles. Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the lord rejoice!” Psalm 105:1-3

When we truly worship Him on Sunday we prepare our hearts and minds for our daily stresses ahead. And we meet them with Prayer, Scripture and Worship. Keep the circle going!

Blessings, Dottie

Why Go To Church?

Many people today call themselves Christians but are no longer involved in a church. Many see no reason to go to church. As Easter approaches I hope readers who match this description will go back to church and renew their faith. I hope those who didn’t grow up in church will also go during this special Holy season. Here are some reasons why going to church is a great idea.

Going to church every Sunday will give you a weekly time to worship God and think about the meaning and purpose of life. Though we can worship God anywhere we strengthen our faith and that of others when we are united in worshipping. Joining in worship together, with songs, praises and prayers, connects us with each other and with the God of the universe – if we let it. Come to church with an open mind and pay attention to the words that are sung and prayed and taught. Pay attention to the friendliness and comfort offered by God and by his people.

Do you know Jesus? Come to church and get to know him. He said “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. Take a chance and come and get to know about him and then decide if you want to ask him into your heart.

A weekly worship service helps keep us honest with ourselves about the way we are living our lives. And it keeps us honest before God. It takes us out of our self-centered concentration on our own needs and inspires us to serve others. It encourages our spiritual growth. There are no lone ranger Christians. Without support and connection with other believers the fire of the spirit is apt to burn out.

Church attendance offers us community. The church is like a family. Meeting with other believers week in and week out creates strong friendships; close bonds are formed. This lifts and feeds us and we have more resolve to live for Christ the rest of the week.

The church teaches us the Word of God. This is the way we grow in knowing who our God is. We also learn about the traditions of our faith and the suffering of those who kept our faith alive through the ages. Our problems shrink in comparison. We focus more on our Holy God and seek his face more. Worship fills us with His Spirit and this inspires and encourages us throughout the week.

The church celebrates the Holy days of our faith. We need symbols and rituals and a worshipping community to mark the passages of life: births, marriages and deaths. The worshipping community helps us keep our vows to each other and to God and helps us mourn our losses. The church provides support through difficult times.

The church loves and teaches our children. If we want our children to know the great teaching of Jesus and the Word of God we must be active in a church.

Come to church because the Word of God ordains the church as His body on earth. Think of all you’re missing by staying home. The God of the Universe calls you to come!

Come on Easter to celebrate the most joyous Holy day – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He said he would live again and he did. After dying a terrible death on a cross he was seen again! He was seen on a number of occasions over a period of forty days. He dined with his disciples, walked through doors, cooked fish on a beach and ate it with his disciples. He taught them many more things and reconciled with Peter who had betrayed him. He told his followers he would be leaving but would come again. The disciples observed him being taken up into the sky. The life of Jesus is recorded by historians of the time as well as in the Bible. Take a chance on believing in Him.

“On this Rock I will build my church.” Matt.16:18

Blessings, Dottie

COMMANDS OF JESUS

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

John 4:23-24  A time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshippers worship him in spirit and in truth.

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

Father,

A note in my Bible says “genuine worship involves both fact and faith.” Our mind and our heart are both involved; our reason and our will join our heart and our soul. Worshipping in spirit means we aren’t just going through the motions but have reached an inner submission to you. We’ve given our hearts to you. Worshipping in truth means our minds also believe that we worship the one true God – the God revealed in Scripture and in Jesus Christ. We worship and love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We aren’t doing the “Hokey Pokey” with one foot out. We’re all in it. Help us do this Lord. We can only do it with your Holy Spirit.

                                                                                                                                                          
Lord, I do worship you in spirit and in truth. You are my Lord and Savior. You are the Way, The Truth and the Life. You are the Creator, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You gave your Son to save us and your Spirit to indwell us. You are the one true God. We bow before you with awe and wonder and praise your holy name. 

The Presence of God

Are we sensing the presence of God as we journey through this Lenten season? Are we seeking His presence more? 

Does the Presence of God dwell in your church? Do you sense His Presence during times of corporate prayer? 

The Presence is most likely to show up when we pray together. When, we, the church body unite in prayer and worship, praising him, humbling ourselves before him - His Presence comes.   

Terry Teykl, pastor and author of The Presence Based Church says:  

"As the body of Christ, we desperately need the Presence of God. We are nothing without it. His Presence, unrivaled in any aspect of beauty, power, fame or majesty, is our provision and glory. It should be the thing that holds us up and sets us apart. One moment in the Presence can do more than a lifetime of church services without it."

Do we believe this? Do we then, seek His face? Is worship a top priority? We won't sense His presence if our hearts are closed to Him or if we're holding a grudge against someone. We must prepare for worship, let go of unforgiveness, repent of our own sin or wrong doing - then we will be open to His Spirit.

   

Scriptures on the Presence of God

"One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

"In thy presence there is fullness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures forever more. (Psalm 16:11)

In my book, Changing Churches, I write:
  

"Worship connects us with the Presence of God. True worship, opening our hearts to God and praising Him, is fearful and astonishing. It changes us. Worship is as vital to our faith as breathing is to our bodies. We bow in adoration, devotion, respect, and awe. God is holy and eternal. We are finite. We humble ourselves in this holy encounter. We meet God weekly in corporate worship, as a church body. The fragrant aroma of His Presence in us and in the church increases in proportion to our prayer and worship."

Time in His Presence changes us. Perhaps this is why we don't seek Him. He changes us when we draw near to Him. Our flesh resists change. Change is scary. But it is worth it. Knowing Him personally is worth everything.

Terkyl says:  

"I love the local church. It is God's hope for transformation of lives, the expression of His glory in the earth, and His chosen bride for the Son. If someone today wants to sense and experience the real and manifested Presence of God, he shouldn't have to go any further than the local church...."

Is your church seeking God's Presence? Are you?

Blessings, Dottie