I go to church every sunday if I am allowed too...(I rarely miss) and I don't sit in the same place every sunday like I did in Washington. Anyways Church starts out with praise and worship, then we do the Lords Supper...every sunday. First thing is that the way they do the Lord's supper is that we ALL line up and there are 4 tables that have the bread and juice along with the offering boxes. I don't like this. I don't feel like I am honoring the Lord's supper as I am to do so. The pastor doesn't even read the passages in the Bible that explain what each thing symbolizes. But because I want to honor God I go and do the Lord's supper.
Then after that we have a time for silent prayer which I think and believe we should do before communion because we need to have our hearts right before partaking in communion...right??? So knowing this I try to sit as far in the back as I can so I can have that most intimate time with my LORD!
Then the pastor gets up and does his speech, er i mean sermon...I notice first that he has the verse's that he is preaching from on the screens and lets the congregation know that they can find the passage on whatever pages. FIRST not only do I notice that the congregation or most of them not pick up the Bible in front of them but I rarely see any one carry one in with them!!! SECOND the pastor doesn't even break open his bible and really I don't think I ever see him with one in his hands!
I guess I hold my church, Valley Bible, in washington at such a high level that there are no Churhes good enough for me! I chose this church I am going to because it is not radical, they do a lot for the community and for their people. But I honestly think that a lot of the congregation are only sunday christians! The way the church is and the seats are posistioned you can see a lot of people and what they are doing! And I see couples with their arms around each other and mom's carring for their babies! And the only people with their bibles open were 2 teenage girls sitting in front of me and mom and dad not!
You would think that if the verses were provided that you would see people take notes right??? NOT!!!
One lady whom I was sitting next too made the comment to me "boy you sure have a lot of notes in your bible"(ephesians)
Now on to the sermon....I have been biting my tongue because I am not a pastor nor someone that has any authority to say but I am at loss of what to think! The pastor does have a message and he gets it across in a short amount of time(it could be because of 3 services) but I feel no conviction and feel like they are sugar coated with what the congregation wants to hear.
Honestly I do like this Church. The womens bible study is great! After the new year I am going to join the group that is doing Beth Moore's-Esther: It's tough being a woman. I am excited!
Anyways I want to meet with the pastor and tell him what I have observed but do I have the right to do so???
Wendy
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Well, I can share with you what I've learned when changing churches. Like you I grew up in Valley, but when I got married I moved to Oregon and started going to a very different church. With in a year I was getting used to it, but then we were changing churches again because we got involved in planting a church.
So, what I have really learned is that things may be different, but that's ok, God is always the same. (As long as they're teaching Jesus and not some wrong gospel!)Every church is going to be a little different, whether in the sermons, communion, music, or whatever. But true worhsip comes from our heart. Whether you take communion all together, or at differnt times, either way, it's ok. Neither one is wrong or right. Sometimes we just get used to one way.
As for the sermons, it's hard to say. Seek God out and ask for his answers. If we ask for His wisdom, He will guide us. Try not to pay attention too much to what the other people are doing during church. I also have a hard time with distractions during church, that's why we sit in the front row. So maybe try that.
And one last thing, don't forget to love your brothers and siters at that church. I had this problem too. I was meeting people who were differnt, and thought different then I did, and I didn't like them because of it. But the Lord worked on me to remember to love them like He loves them. (Can't say that I've accomplished this, but I know my sin in this area and work towards love.) I've found one of the best ways to love another is to serve them in some way. Show them you care. They may be going through something of their own or don't have a deep relationship with Christ if they decide to not take a Bible to church. But what an oppurtunity for you to show them God's Love!
Hope this helps in some way. Sometimes the best times of growth for me were during times of change.
God bless, and I'll be praying for your situation.
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