Posted on 08/22/2005 6:26:33 PM PDT by sionnsar
As this piece points out, the churches where you are least likely to hear Scripture read during services are often those where the authority and teaching of Scripture are most emphasized, particularly evangelical churches. Strange, but true. And the writers experience is that even Anglican evangelical churches often read Scripture in their worship less.
My personal experience as one with a evangelical/fundamentalist background? My current REC church is the first of my church homes where Scripture is regularly read during services outside the context of the sermon.
I think this is one way is which evangelical-style worship impoverishes itself. As Ive experienced first hand, there is a power to formally reading the raw word of God in worship. I'd much rather sit and listen to the reading of Scripture than sing one more praise and worship song. And Scripture reading is a prominent feature of Jewish and Christian worship through the centuries. Why cut oneself off from that?
Yes, I greatly value the role of Lector, of reading the Scripture lessons aloud during services.
My reading duties begin this Sunday.
Did he really say that? Sheesh. More and more nonsense from the megachurches. (and plenty of smaller ones too!)
"He said the same can happen for every Christian who wakes up declaring they have Gods favor. By following this method Osteen says he has been able to get the best parking spot in a crowded parking lot, a first class seat on a crowded airplane with no boarding pass, and priority seating at restaurants."
http://cultlink.com/ar/osteen.htm
A sad Year for Christianity.
And you know that this freeper is an ACTUAL Arminian because....?
insert cricket noise here
Perhaps the GRPL should remove the beam from their collective eye (bearing false witness) before they worry about the speck of dust in ours ("Arminianism").
we're lucky if we get a 'date' more than once a year. My favorite date is just being home with him and talking about 'stuff.'
Of course, if you can hand off the kids to someone once in a while, that's even better. But people make it work if they want to, not by doing all this jumping through hoops they prescribe.
Hermann, have you been reading the Purpose Driven Church (or, "how to fill your church with tares")??
I take that back. It's more fun if we can shoot at each other on the computer. But right now he's without a good gaming system to keep up with me. ;-)
Move over Robert Schuller, the Church of Laodicea has a new star on the rise in the world of positive motivational Christianity.
LOL!!!
I wasn't insinuating that Holiness churches don't pray, on the contrary. This ONE church didn't.
Maybe he's a pelagian. (/tongue in cheek)
To 91.
Hehehe
Physician heal thyself. You knew exactly what you were doing.
I think you're confusing the issue, or at least using a different definition of "preaching". Preaching, to me, is using the Word of God. Are you stating that there's a difference between preaching and reading scripture? IMO, the two go hand in hand.
Our pastor's sermons are, in essence, a larger version of a bible study. Every point made is backed up with scripture from both old and new testament. The contention of the original article, and, i gather, the rest of us on this thread is that there's too much preaching that doesn't involve the Word of God. Man-centered, frothy, amorphous, non-convicting preaching based on feelings and not His Holy Truth.
Which, if you go back and read my original post, I commented on how Osteen went 28 minutes into a 30 minute sermon before using a single passage from the Bible.
I thought the sentence before yours was interesting. God will rescue you from speeding in a school zone now. All we have to do is claim it.
What's more worrisome is that "18,000 went down the aisle last year".
I would think that would be the case for most Christians who have a young and growing family. First of all, a Christian shouldn't be going to much of what passes for entertainment for couples today (immoral movies and theater productions, drunken revelry at bars and parties). Second, you shouldn't be constantly handing off your children to the care of strangers, or imposing burdens on your parents. Third, if you actually have enough money to be paying babysitters and going out every week to indulge yourselves, its probably time to up your donations to Church and charity, since you would be blwoing through around $5000 per year on entertaining yourselves. Fourth, if you actually have that much free time, you should probably be praying and studying at least a little bit more. Fifth, its strange to see so-called Christians striving to live a life indistinguihsable from utter worldlings - of course they wouldn't be a Church of Tares if they weren't doing that.
Dating behavior also feeds a culture of expectations that forces families of modest means to do things they really can't afford in order to keep up appearances. Same as the ever more extravagant weddings now being held.
Can you imagine having these two for your parents?
From the video clip of one of his sermons, as played on the Larry King Show:
>>OSTEEN: Some of you ladies have been wearing the same flannel bathrobe to bed every night that your grandmother gave you 30 years ago. It's got holes in it. It's as ugly as it can be, and you know it doesn't do anything for you, and it certainly doesn't do anything for your husband. One of the best things that you can do for your marriage is to throw that thing away, and go down to Victoria's Secret and get something good that you can wear. You wonder why Victoria and I have a great relationship? It's called Victoria's Secret.<<
Because, as you know, all successful marriages are based on physical appearance and how new your PJ's are, right? Yep - nothing to do with a man and a woman joined in the sight of God, seeking to live their lives for Him, and serving each other according to biblical doctrine - nope, that is what RUINS marriages, I tell ya!
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