My husband is a church goer and I am not for certain reasons. He wanted me to accompany him so I did..albiet , reluctantly. We sat in the car afterward and discussed the experience and the sermon. Our mutual first impression was that they have an idol mixed in with the church. It was superbowl discussion first off and at the end they mentioned a big screen experience watching it in church! Oh boy!
Here is their facebook page message:
"Join us on February 2 to cheer on the Chiefs on the biggest screen in town! Doors open at 5."
Wonder who paid for that??? No wonder they took double collection plus the opening of the sermon had to do with how to budget your finances!
Of course it tied in the bible and Yahuwah's word which had to do with meeting and setting goals.
When I got home, I said to my husband as I looked at the church pamplet for that week.
"Oh, oh..."
"What ?" he answers.
I proceed to tell him about the "Transformation" series already in progress and part of the sermon we just sat through.
Here is a post from Facebook:
"Want a change of pace? Join us on Sunday mornings as we learn how God transforms us. "
The problem is , it is a study by Rick Warren!
So! it is really this heretics transformation.
He asked who Rich Warren is...
"You don't know who Rich Warren is????"
I continued to educate him on the false teachings of Rich Warren.
He did some homework and got the Pastor's number from the pamplet and told him about it!
Well, the Pastor is responsible now..
We heard back from him but he seemed to not address the part about Rich Warren.
Not surprised.
My husband mentioned later that if that kind of stuff is going to be preached it would be welcome in a Pagan Hall.
Little does he know yet what a "Pagan Hall" most churches are !
Yes, my husband is slowly opening his eyes to how bad it is. Maybe we will just keep on exposing it.
Sorry Prophetic, 2 people meeting for a bible study doesn’t qualify as a New Testament church. Your “larger” illustration more closely resembles a New Testament church.
**WHAT IS THE BIBLE DEFINITION OF THE CHURCH OR CONGREGATION**?
The word church in the Bible comes from the Greek word **EKKLESIA**, which means a called out company or assembly. Wherever it is used in the Bible it refers to people. It can be a mob (Acts 19:30-41), the children of Israel (Acts 7:38), and the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:25,32).
The Greek word **EKKLESIA** is mentioned 114 times in the New Testament and is also translated **ASSEMBLY** or **CONGREGATION**! **THE CHURCH THAT MEETS IN YOUR **HOUSE** OR **HOME** is mentioned 6 times in the New Testament and so the church or congregation is **NOT CALLED A BUILDING** in the entire New Testament!!
Acts 5:42: Day after day, in the temple courts and from **HOUSE** to **HOUSE**, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Romans 16:5: Greet also the **CHURCH** that meets at their **HOUSE**!
I Corinthians 16:19: Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord and so does the **CHURCH** that meets at their **HOUSE**!
Colossians 4:15: Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the **CHURCH** in her **HOUSE**!
Philemon 1:,1,2: To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker.... and to the **CHURCH** that meets in our **HOME**!
We see the word church used three different ways: First, as the body of Christ, the church is often defined as a local assembly or group of believers (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1-2). Second, it is defined as the body of individual living believers (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13). Finally, it is defined as the universal group of all people who have trusted Christ through the ages (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:23-27).
What the church or congregation is not:
•The church or congregation is not Jews or Gentiles:
We see three distinct groups of people in the Bible: Jews, Gentiles, and the church (1 Corinthians 10:31-33; Galatians 3:26-29). Jews are all born as descendants of Abraham through Isaac (Romans 9:6-7). Gentiles are all other people born who are not Jews.
When a Jew or a Gentile trusts Christ as their Savior, they are born again into God’s family, become a child of God, and are part of the church. They are no longer a Jew or a Gentile (Galatians 3:26-29). The wall of separation between Jew and Gentile is torn down and they become one body (Ephesians 2:14-16).
•The church or congregation is not a kingdom:
Some people try to make the church the kingdom of Heaven that has already come. They ignore the following: The church inherits the kingdom (Matthew 25:34; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:47-50). The church is here on earth, but the kingdom of Heaven is not here (Isaiah 9:7; Matthew 5:19-20; Matthew 8:11)
**The church or congregation is not a physical building or business organization:
Too often people describe a church building or organization as the church. This is because they emphasize the facility or organizational hierarchy as what constitutes a church. Most churches are organized in such a way that the public face of a church is seen as a business. However, since many people have a difficult time putting a label on a church, the term local church is often used to denote the local assembly of believers along with their meeting place and operations.
What is the Biblical view of church?
**The church is the building or temple of God:
Although the church is not a physical building, believers are referred to as the building or temple of God. Like a physical building, believers also have a Cornerstone; Jesus Christ. The foundation is the prophets and apostles. (Matthew 16:16; 1 Corinthians 3:9-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:6; Ephesians 2:19-22).
Peter 2:5,6: You also like **LIVING STONES**, are being built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in the Scripture it says: "See, I lay a **STONE** in Zion, a chosen and **PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE**
**The church or congreagation is the bride of Christ:
The Bible makes reference to the church being the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-32). This also alluded to in John 14:1-3 when Jesus talked about making a place at His Father’s house for us. This is a direct reference to when a man proposes to a woman and they are engaged. The man goes back to his father’s house to build on an addition. When the addition is done and everything is ready, he comes to call for his bride, which symbolizes the resurrection (Matthew 25:1; Revelation 19:7-9).
•The church has a Spiritual purpose:
The local church or assembly of believers has different roles that God gave to specific believers for the purpose of perfecting or training the believers, doing the work of the ministry, and strengthening of the church body (Ephesians 4:11-14). The roles given in the Bible are prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Deacons are also mentioned in Acts 6:1-7 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13 as servants to wait upon people with physical needs.
The church body also serves as a local group to resolve conflicts (Matthew 18:15-20) and serve as a court (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). In addition, baptisms and the Lord’s Supper or communion are observed by the church body (Acts 2:37-40; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). Depending on the size of the church body, other ministries are performed by the members of the church as God has gifted each person (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:7-16).
Ephesians 4:7,11-13,16: To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.... So **CHRIST HIMSELF** {Not the churches} gives some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the **FULLNESS IN CHRIST**!... From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it
