Great Expectations?

My posting has been VERY sporadic in recent months--even years--but here's something that's been rolling around in my head for a very long time;

What if, upon arriving at your usual church one Sunday morning you discovered that all was gone except for one willing and able-minded preacher equipped only with a Bible? How many people would stay to hear the Word of God taught and applied? Of those people, how many would purposefully and eagerly join in worshipping God? And, how many would return the next Sunday knowing this is how it would be again?

What, if anything, might we have come to expect--or even demand--from our churches that is not supported in Scripture?

Pragmatism in the Church Today

This from John MacArthur at Pulpit Magazine:

"First, there is in vogue today a trend to make the basis of faith something other than God’s Word. Experience, emotion, fashion, and popular opinion are often more authoritative than the Bible in determining what many Christians believe. From private, individual revelation to the blending of secular psychology with biblical “principles,” Christians are listening to the voice of the serpent that once told Eve, “God’s Word doesn’t have all the answers.” Christian counseling reflects that drift, frequently offering no more than experimental and unscriptural self-help therapy instead of solid answers from the Bible...

All those things are happening slowly, steadily within the church right now. Tragically, most Christians seem oblivious to the problems, satisfied with a Christianity that is fashionable and highly visible. But the true church must not ignore those threats. If we fight to maintain doctrinal purity with an emphasis on biblical preaching and biblical ministry, we can conquer external attacks. But if error is allowed into the church, many more churches will slide down the grade to suffer the same fate as the denominations that listened to, yet ignored, Spurgeon’s impassioned appeal.

Make it your habitual prayer request that the Lord would elevate the authority of His Word, the glory of His Son, and the purity of His people in the evangelical church. May the Lord revive us and keep us far from the slippery slope of pragmatism."

HT: Kim at The Upward Call

Worship?

Dan Phillips asks, "What if worship was like an NBA game?"

Is Your Church "Fad-Driven"?

Some people are surprised to realize that they are in fact part of a "fad-driven" church--one that embraces and uses wordly marketing methods (and stunts) simply to attract numbers, falsely assuming that large numbers of people equates to "good" teaching and discipleship.

The best true indicator of this is the depth of spiritual maturity--yours and those among your church membership and leadership. It's NOT a question of whether they are reaching out to the community, or welcoming the community in. It is a question of WHAT they give those people when they do reach out or welcome them--are they truly being given spiritual meat, are they being spiritually challenged, are they being changed into the image of Christ, are they growing stronger in their understanding of who God is, are they growing in their love for God AND His people?

Read THIS this and give it some serious consideration to how your church measures up.

Me Church

Please check out what Dan Phillips at "Biblical Christianity" has posted for today.

If this doesn't cause us to stop and think--and REPENT--I don't know what will!

I pray this warning will become embedded in my HEART, as well as my mind.