Saturday, August 21, 2010

Sunday Meeting



It's Saturday night, and I'm thinking about tomorrow.  Our regular pastor is on vacation and my friend Ted is preaching tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to church.  I feel very fortunate to have a really nice church with many dear friends.  These are the 'always looking out for you' kind of friends that I'd wish for everyone.  I also like singing.  Church is one of those places that you can sing publicly with others on a regular basis and I like that.  I also like Sunday because I get a chance to slow down and reflect on important things.

What are your experiences with church?  Love it, hate it, never been?  I'd love to hear.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nate, great topic. I have always enjoyed going to church for the same reasons you mention, but I admit I have not always been a regular attendee, and I have changed allegiances quite a lot, ranging from the simple austerity of Quaker meetings to the full liturgical worship. I love it all and can never quite explain why to my more skeptical friends and family. It adds so much to my life that I would not want to do without.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran..I was there every Sunday. As I got older, I realized that the place is not as important as the message. Where ever two or more are gathered in his name..:)

Mathan said...

I get a warm fuzzy feeling like a giant hug when I attend a High Mass. On the other hand, I've also learned that God doesn't live in houses and to "see the whole of Creation in a single grain of sand." My wife calls me a Buddhapalian and I am fine with that.

Nate Maas said...

Joan, thanks for sharing. I went to a Quaker Meeting once. It was an interesting experience - it gave me an understanding of what the term "quiet Quaker" was all about.

Far Side of Fifty, I agree, meeting place is not as important as the message and people.

Mathan, so a Buddhapalian. I'm assuming that must be a Buddhist/Episcopalian. There must be some interesting internal dialogue going on there - something akin to the renouncing and embracing of material goods at the same time. I agree that God is not contained in houses, but I have seen him inhabit them.

Ted gave a good message this morning, he spoke on Psalm 46 and shared how this scripture had a profound influence on his life. Although I have to admit, I was slightly distracted by a baby that sat two rows ahead of me. Looking over his mother's shoulder, he kept giving such delightful expressions of joy and wonder - adorable.

Jules said...

I was raised Catholic, met a man raised Methodist, we got married in a Evangelical Free church and now attend a Baptist church! I love going to service, and the week doesn't seem right without it;
We had our annual church in the park and picnic today. It was wonderful to worship God in the middle of His creation. But it can be just as wonderful and meaningful if truly worshiping inside a building also. The heart attitude is what's important, and thankfully He knows what it is!

Annemarie said...

Good Topic Mr Nate,
I used to love love love going to church but nowadays I have to say I find it a bit tame. Everybody is trying so hard to be politically correct all the time. there is no gutsy preaching anymore and a lot of untruths are creeping in. We seem to be so very close to the rapture and on the threshold of Mid East wars prophesied in Psalms and Ezekial but the congregation is not being encouraged to examine themselves and get ready to meet the Lord.Sure we have to be ready everyday and if one truly walks with the Lord one should be ready but I have noticed that most of the congregation is in total ignorance of the clear and present danger of complacency. Then we have this replacement theology preached from the pulpit, which is very dangerous indeed.
Is it just me? what do others think??????

Nate Maas said...

Jules, thanks for sharing your experiences. I checked out your personal blog and it looks like you've got a pretty swell family. I particularly enjoyed your husband's "severed head" responses.

Annemarie, I think you're right, I've seen much more replacement thinking going on in the church as a whole. To me Romans 11 seems to be pretty clear that the church is grafted in not planted in place of Israel, but that is a theological discussion.

When I was a boy, I recall clearly a discussion I had with an older man at a Bible prophesy conference. He asked what I thought of what I had heard. I told him that the speaker made it sound like we were living in the end times. He replied, that when he was a young man, everyone truly believed that Hitler was the Antichrist and he added that he had heard that earlier generations were certain it was Napoleon. He suggested that such prophesy study, while useful in some regards, could become bad if people spent too much time worrying about that and not enough just daily walking with Jesus.

Astrocrabpuff said...

"...He suggested that such prophesy study, while useful in some regards, could become bad if people spent too much time worrying about that and not enough just daily walking with Jesus..."

THIS!