The Church - Part 1

I am part of Grace Covenant Church, which is part of an organization called, Every Nation. Every Nation has churches in Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, and America. Some folkways that I practice are going to church every Sunday and talking about the message with my family afterwards. For me, church has never been about meeting with people who think like me, it was my time to spend with God. I always preferred one on one time with God, rather than group discussion. Our church holds yearly mission trips, and frequently holds

Chances are if you grew up in the south, then you most likely have been to a church service before. I remember as a kid getting the wakeup call every Sunday morning from my mom, “Get up and get dressed for church!” Even if I did not feel like going, she would drag me out of bed and make me go. Anne Lamott writes about the same thing in her essay “Why I Make Sam Go to Church.” Lamott wrote “Why I Make Sam Go to Church” in 1999 as part of a collection of autobiographical essays in a book called Traveling Mercies. My main reaction to this work was a positive one. I thought the essay was eye opening in a sense and it shows that everyone needs guidance and help from others sometimes.

Church a place many people go on Sunday mornings. A place to worship in the Lord and Savior or whichever God the individual believes in. Some individuals believe that church can only be held in the church building. When in reality it can be held anywhere for example the bedroom or a field. A thing that has been noticed is there are many types of people who go that fit in with a certain group. The types include everyone from the screaming child to the strict churchgoers and everything in between. Church may be a good place to go but it is believed that the churches today are corrupt.

For many, going to church and praying to God is an important tradition passed down from

In church, does it ever seem to you a kind of game? Hypocritical. Be humble, they say, yet people come in their best clothes. Give penance, yet as they close their eyes and kneel, they compare who is better dressed, the beauty of someone else’s wife, the sway of her hips, they think of anything but prayers.

Worship is the primary action of the church. Those who are part of it assemble together to sing, pray, remember Christ, listen to the Scriptures, and contribute to the Lord’s causes (Acts 2:42, 47; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). It is one of the church’s primary purposes, and it is crucial for its worship to be in harmony with the Scriptures. In Lutheranism, worship is a spiritual exercise that outwardly expresses itself as an acceptance of God’s gift to humans (Jacobs 551). Lutherans

Simple things like going to work and school and just pure laziness have overtaken the importance of going to religious services. According to the website Oxford Research Encyclopedia it said, “In the post–World War II era, religious contexts supported the emergence of the modern Civil Rights movement.” This explains that after the war religion was very prompt in a family of this period and it lead to a Civil Rights movement which would ultimately end segregation. Now according to a study on 8th grade students they said that only 35% of the students go to religious services frequently and the rest of the students either go sometimes, on holidays, or not at all. This evidence proves how students and families used to go to religious services much more in the 1950’s than they do now.

Typically, a church is to be a very safe and sacred place where no-one would

Those people are wrong though. The main reason we are to attend weekly mass is to give thanks and praise to the Lord and to receive the Holy Eucharist. There are many different scripture passages stating the importance of attending mass for our Lord. In Hebrews 10:25, the passage states that we are not to forsake the great assembling of mass, but we are to remember Jesus and take advantage of the opportunity of attending mass. In the scripture passage, Colossians 3:16, states that we are to allow the word of the Lord to dwell within each of us, we are to absorb his wisdom, and we are to encourage each other through psalms, hymns, and other spiritual songs while present in the everlasting love of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 18:20, the statement is made that while we gather in His name, He is among us, and He will be standing right next to us. In Romans 10:17, it is stated that the only way we are going to learn about the word of God is through others and by attending mass. In the book of Genesis, God has created man on the six and then has rested. We too are supposed to rest and reflect on God on the

Why does the Church matter? That is the question many of us ask. The author Joshua Harris through his book, “Why Church matters: Discovering your place in the Family of God” talks about the Church and its importance for us as Christians. He describes the Church as the community where we can find growth, encouragement, and closer relationship with God. In his book, Harris pictures this relationship as a marriage, where we are the spouse and the church is the wife. Before we decide to marry the Church, we need to commit to it, as a gloom commit to her bride and is willing to give his life and sacrifice everything for her. Further, the author explains how we (believers) are part of something bigger than us, which is the universal Church, but

The traditional church does not wavier from their primary time of gathering on Sunday morning. This one to two hour service or event is geared toward paying for physical properties and the pastor’s salary. The traditional church tends to be program and event driven with the pastor and the deacons running the show. The membership is a revolving door, meaning their more members on the roster then attendees. As a child growing up in the traditional church was boring and there was no room for growth in the sense of learning new

“More than forty percent of Americans attend church every week” (Huffington Post). Every week I attend mass at St.Michael Chaldean Catholic Church in El Cajon, California. Every time I go to church I do not sit with the parishioners instead I serve.What this means is that I help read passages and help with what is needed.

It’s a warm Sunday morning coast to coast, as little boys and girls rush to the church that sits patiently waiting for them to arrive. Their parents follow behind, walking just fast enough to keep up, but not so fast that they too look like children. The elderly seem to have already taken their seats, as they like to arrive early in order to obtain their reserved spot only made so according to them. Whether the congregation gathers in a barn or a cathedral, you will always find the same three types of churchgoers: the hypocrite, the seeker, and the day dreamer.

The author, James B. Torrance writes concerning the distinction between two views of worship. One of the views of worship is called the Unitarian view. The Unitarian view is the common practice of several churches. It is considered a religious concept of human wisdom, worship to God. These concepts include, going to church, singing psalms and hymns to God, interceding for the world, listen to a sermon, offering money, time and talents to God. After all, these actions of worship are simply part of traditions, without the substance Jesus Christ’s redemption. It is in a sense going through the motion, without the relevance of the Holy Spirit.

I've been attending church for as long as I can remember. The earliest time I remember going to church was when I was in pre-school, and I attended the same church until high school. Sundays were routine, we attended church, went out to eat after with other members of the church, and then went home to watch either football or baseball (sports being my second religion). Skipping church was never an option, nor did I really want to miss it. I had good friends at church, and was genuinely interested in the bible and the stories we read.