Jul 26, 2023·edited Jul 27, 2023Liked by Jim McCraigh
The church needs to do more truth telling from a biblical perspective in regard to current events. We should not worry about offending this or that social group. We could just stick to Jesus' teaching which are timeless. We are locked in a spiritual battle for our freedoms, this is not a time for business as usual.
Jul 26, 2023·edited Jul 26, 2023Liked by Jim McCraigh
Henry Halley gave good advice. If each week's sermon reflected thoughts generated by the previous week's reading "suggestion" it would give the congregants a feeling of consistency and an appreciation for the historic Bible and Jesus.
Besides catering to the whims of society and politics, churches must keep up with people's comfort zones. Even before COVID, I hated going to churches where we were all forced to wander around and shake hands with people we didn't know. I'm sure the motivation behind that strategy was good; but it is a nuisance to go through such insincere and bothersome trivialities.
I was raised in the Free Methodist Church and I miss the old songs (now typically replaced by rock and roll bands) that would lead some of the older folks to say, "Amen" - instead of the applause that these professional musicians now get from the audience.
It has literally decades since I have seen anyone answer an Altar Call and I feel so sorry for those hapless preachers who continue the tradition.
Hopefully, the fact that America is now an aggressor nation on the scale of the 3rd Reich and since morality in our nation has become identical to that of the Weimar Republic in the 20's and 30's, we will actually see a Revival of Christian values and attendance at churches.
It seems the very last item on believer's reading list is the Bible; such a sad state of affairs. Read the Bible is the best advice for any generation. It would be nice if the church would lead the way.
The most profound is often in the most simple idea...
Thank you Jim.
The church needs to do more truth telling from a biblical perspective in regard to current events. We should not worry about offending this or that social group. We could just stick to Jesus' teaching which are timeless. We are locked in a spiritual battle for our freedoms, this is not a time for business as usual.
Henry Halley gave good advice. If each week's sermon reflected thoughts generated by the previous week's reading "suggestion" it would give the congregants a feeling of consistency and an appreciation for the historic Bible and Jesus.
Besides catering to the whims of society and politics, churches must keep up with people's comfort zones. Even before COVID, I hated going to churches where we were all forced to wander around and shake hands with people we didn't know. I'm sure the motivation behind that strategy was good; but it is a nuisance to go through such insincere and bothersome trivialities.
I was raised in the Free Methodist Church and I miss the old songs (now typically replaced by rock and roll bands) that would lead some of the older folks to say, "Amen" - instead of the applause that these professional musicians now get from the audience.
It has literally decades since I have seen anyone answer an Altar Call and I feel so sorry for those hapless preachers who continue the tradition.
Hopefully, the fact that America is now an aggressor nation on the scale of the 3rd Reich and since morality in our nation has become identical to that of the Weimar Republic in the 20's and 30's, we will actually see a Revival of Christian values and attendance at churches.
Great comment Charles! You will be interested to know that I'm posting a piece on this so-called Christian worship music on August 5th!
Bless your heart, Jim. You post the most encouraging things I read on Substack.
Thank you for the kind words.
It seems the very last item on believer's reading list is the Bible; such a sad state of affairs. Read the Bible is the best advice for any generation. It would be nice if the church would lead the way.