Stop Dating the Church - Part 4

     Hello there lovely bloggers hope y'all have been good. So I'm finally here to finish the last part of the "Stop Dating the Church" series. In part one I talk about the Church and defined it very briefly. In part two I went on to identify the various Church daters/member. Part 3 talks about the different characteristic to look for while choosing a church and drum rolls in part four I shall be talking about what to do once you have found "The Church."

It does please my heart to see that a good number of bloggers and followers I know are Christian and are a member of a Church. For many of people I know including myself, waking up on a Sunday morning and going to church is as natural as breathing. Now the thing is not really about  "going" to Church. Praise God for that but we can certainly maximize our church attendance to the glory of God. Now we can not experience a good church service if we are not prepared for it. Sunday morning should just be a regular morning like the rest because if we are looking to have an amazing encounter with God at that service then certainly it would take preparedness to do so.

When Joshual Harris uses the example that in most of his life he has probably woke up late, walked into Church groggy, listened occasionally, gotten distracted, left early and remember very little in several services, it hits me that many of us certainly do the same. Now if we are much more prepared for the service, the value and gain from the 2-3 hours service is so beneficial than any other day.

Many times we are distracted by the simple things happening in our lives or what is next on the to do list that we lose all focus when the service is on. Sometimes we get carried away by what person XYZ  is wearing to church or how person XYZ is lifting his/her hands and singing halleluiah. Instead of focusing we let things so simple distract us still.

Here are a few tips for preparing for a great Sunday.

1. Start early on a Saturday night. The things we watch or hear plays a big role in our daily lives so to keep the heart pure for a great Sunday encounter stay away from certain movies or videos.  Take for example a crazy Nigeria movie at 11pm on a Saturday night, it is no doubt that you will be replaying several scenes of the movie while the pastor in ministering the next morning. (I'm a victim of this one *hide in shame*). If you must watch something just think Phil 4:8 " Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

2. Put your outfit together overnight. Ladies Ladies you probably know how it is getting dress in the morning. I am one of those female who have to try at least 5 outfit before knowing what to wear or stare in the closet for 10-15 minuets and conclude there is nothing to wear. Picking out my cloth over night have plays a major impact because once you are awake you already know what you are putting on and is ready to go.

3. Prepare your heartt -  Taking the time out to spend some time in the word will definitely prepare and open up your heart to receive the words the next morning.

4. Sleep and wake up early - This one I can't stress enough. If there is one thing I remember from pre school it would be the song "early to bed early to rise..." Staying up till the early am on a day of service is certainly not the best. Chances are you might wake up late, get very tired in the morning and off course doze off in the church while the pastor is ministering.The earlier you wake up the more refresh, upbeat and ready to go you are. Once you are awake early, you would have enough time to quickly slot in a worship/praise song to keep your spirit well prepared or perhaps quickly read a psalms. Psalms 19 is a great one to go.

5. Be careful how you hear- This one is from Joseph Harris himself. " When God's Word is being preached, you are not merely receiving information about God. God Himself is addressing you through His Word." How we listen and apply the words we hear either honor or dishonor God so it is really important to be careful about it. One thing we should know is that with every Word that God speaks to us we are held accountable for them so if we did not pay attention to them He still holds us accountable. Even Jesus said it in Luke 18:18 "Therefore consider carefully how you Listen"

 6. After the service APPLY - As Christians we are called to not be just the hearers of the Word but also doers of them. With that get out there and practice or simply share what you have also learn. Celebrate the Sunday afternoon with a friend or family and enjoy the glory and blessings of God.

This conclude this series, I hope you all enjoyed it and took our one or two things. I really did love the feedbacks from Part 3 and look forward to elaborating more on point number 7 of it since many of people were interested.

HAPPY SUNDAY!

XOXO
YSU

How about you stop dating the Church? Part 2

Hello bloggers hope you all had an amazing Christmas celebrations. I apologize for the long wait in between this series but here we go with part 2 of church...Enjoy and be bless.

Praise God Christmas this year fell on a Sunday. To me every Sunday is pretty much exciting  because I always know I am going in for something. As a person who tend to be overly attentive to details around me I was expecting the church to be overfilled today since it was a Christmas Sunday morning and was a little disappointed when I found myself running late. I was piss that the church was going to be packed with church daters, you know the ones who attend services at most 3/4 times a year meaning Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and New year service. Its amazing how many people fall in that categories in this era.

I had a friend, lets call her Jane. Jane and I have been friend for a very long time and for the last year she has been attending two churches. One in the morning and another in the afternoon. She love church one because of the people although she does not understand the language they spoke. Church two she also love because in there she can actually understand the sermon and see areas in which she can apply them. This is what we call church dating because ms. Jane was not committed to any particular local church. Today there are many Jane roaming about and the most common excuse I hear is "Oh I love their praise sessions but the sermons are so dry so I go to Church #2 when I really want to hear a good sermon."  According to Joshua Harris, it is very easy to spot church daters in three manner.

1.  The individual's attitude toward the church is me-centered. What can I gain/get from this church? I'm a really broke college student and have no money to pay for school, can the church pay for me? I really need this miracle/deliverance do they have that there? What activities/social events do they have? Everything about this individual's motive is what will I really get out of my waking up on a lovely Sunday morning when I could be sleeping indoor like others. 

2. This individual is very Independent. You know the "I'm riding solo ones." They come to church because they probably grew up doing the same every Sunday and it has become a ritual. Going to church on Sunday morning becomes one of the things that Christians are "suppose" to do and so the individual just flow with the motion. They are the last set to come in just right when the praise session is over and first set to leave before the Pastor makes the alter call.  They do not want anything to do with been committed to the church or being a part of the church service unit. connecting to people/members of the church is definitely a NO NO after all "I don't need people checking up on everything that I do."

3.  This individual is Critical. This individual basically comes in with the mindset that their must be fault in the church. They are very quick to find fault in a Church and will not be satisfy until they find something wrong with the church. You know the mentality of this is too good to be true so I'm not getting out of this until I find what is wrong.  They are always on the look out for the next church and they sit not too far from the exit door at all.

I am sure you have met at least one of this individual before. If this might be you I beg of you that you reconsidered your decisions before going to church next time. If you do not fall in this categories of "Church daters" Praise God for that, and I would suppose my next question for you would be how committed are you to your local church?

 what is a local church? While I was thinking about this thought and the right definition to use I came across Mark Driscoll's definition where he said "The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy."

Now there is the local church and the  universal church which is the entire body of Christ all over the world. The local church is within our community and it is definitely important to Identify your local church and be committed to it.

Now let's do a little rewind back to church dating. The first time I heard about Church dating I was almost confuse because I thought I was in that situation. When I was in school I was as committed to my church as well as my campus ministry, bible study group and prayer group.  At the time I thought was I church dating? This brings me back to the categories of people who claim not to go to church because they are part of other group like campus ministry/prayer groups. Certainly there are different protocols in a Church than the other group.  A Church is much more than your campus ministries,  It is more than a group of Christians coming together for words of encouragement, it is more than listening to preachings  online or tv, it is much more than praying/studying the bible with a couple of people over a conference call. Yes you find fellowship in those gatherings but none of those groups can substitute for that local church.  


This post have grown quite long so I shall rest my fingers here for now, however check back soon to find out How to choose/what to look for in a local church.


Do have a lovely week guys and Happy New Year in advance


Muah
YSU

How about you stop dating the Church? Part 1

Jack and Grace met through a mutual friend. From day one they seemed to be the perfect match. Grace was everything Jack had always wanted. She was beautiful, outgoing, and caring - always there when Jack needed her. For the first five months they were inseparable. Jack could hardly think of anything but grace. He didn't want to look further, he told friends. "She's the one."
            Now almost three years have passed. Jack still enjoys the comfort and familiarity of being with grace, but the spark is gone. Grace's Flaws seem more obvious. He's not sure he finds her as attractive as he once did. And he's beginning to resent all the time she want to spend with him.
        One night, when she asks if they can define the nature of their relationship, Jack blows up "We're together, aren't we?" he asks angrily. " Why isn't that enough for you?" Obviously, Jack isn't ready for commitment. And it's unclear if he ever will be..."
        

The excerpt above is from Joshua Harris book "Why Church Matters"

     Have you ever been in a relationship like that of Grace and Jack? Its breaks my heart to say that there are millions upon millions of Jacks all around the word. And no Grace is not a girl she is the Church. Many people today can accept and say that they are "believers" but how many people can we really classify as "bellongers"?
       Paul in Ephisians 3:10 makes us understand that the church was an Intention of God. "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms."  
What exactly is the Church? we may ask. So many times we think of the building when we hear the word church and forget what it really mean. To me the Church is a fellowship where men and women of all background can come together as one body and worship God. It is a body of Christ that grow day after day. For example if you were to cut off one leg off your body today will it function on it own? The answer is No and this is the same for the Church/the body of Christ. Once one member of the Church break away it is very hard for it to function alone because we do need that fellowship with one another. An iron sharpens and iron and if as much as salvation is an individual pursuit we still need one another to make the journey smooth.

    So to the ones who think/say "Oh I don't need to belong to any church I can worship God and pray on my own and at my house" I'm sorry to break it to you "No you CAN'T and it is NOT OK." It is hard to do most things alone and certainly Christianity is not an exception.  "God manifest His presence in different ways to the "living stones" of His temple when they are gathered than He does to them when they are apart" - Joshua Harris

     When we are members of the church according to Ephesian 2:19-22 " you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."


 This is the beginning of the Church series that I shall be writing on in the next few post. Now this post post took me a little longer than I normally would take to write a post simply because this is a topic that is very dear to my heart and I can get very brutally emotional about it. I don't know if you can tell in some sentences but I had to rewrite every sentence a few times because I thought "oh snap that was too harsh and mean." My point is these next few post might sound harsh because I will no longer edit it to please my readers but rather say it as raw as it is because I believe Christ would love us to all share even the bitter truth as bitter as it is.  I pray that you all bear with me in these post. In the mean time check back for part 2 which shall be "Connecting to a Local Church."

xoxo
YSU

"If you refuse to take on spiritual responsibility you will becomes a liability"