Church, twice a day?

[Alimantado]

[quote="Jerry80871852"] Me, I've always been a 2 timer...[/quote]
Best not tell the wife that. :wink

As the conversation's evolved into one about service and worship style, here's another take on it. The first time I went to church as an adult the experience of singing with other people and listening to a 'speech' delivered with heartfelt conviction (as oppose a university lecture of business proposal) was alien and unfamiliar enough. Thankfully the church was traditional and as such the tone was serene and calming--no odd behaviour or loud noises to contend with.

I don't particularly like seeing people get too emotional and I don't like touching people I don't know, so as a stranger attending church it's disquieting to have people throwing their hands in the air, crying out and jumping up and down and perhaps even putting their hands on your shoulder. Equally, a big worship band is very distracting, especially if they have theatrical singers, and it can be difficult to focus on the message of the service if I have to spend my time worrying about whether I should be standing up, sitting down, shutting up or singing the final verse of the hymn an extra 5 times because the congregation is 'going with the flow'.

I appreciate peoples' need to worship, but when it is said that modern worship styles are more interesting and accessible to newcomers, I find myself wondering if the opposite is the case. In everyday life, I'm not used to seeing people waving and dancing and working themselves up, so why would I relate to it when I visit a church for the first time? I can only imagine how frightful it must be to see someone doing that 'tongues' thing!

[JerryNumbers]

What loses young people is the lack of real interest in God, and a very big interest in wanting to be entertained and wanting to bring the world into the church.

Jesus' Churches is not about entraining young people, but it is about [u]worshiping God and the Savior[/u] and [u]learning more about them[/u], a[u]bout submitting our self to one another[/u], [u]provoking one another to good works[/u], a[u]bout confessing our faults to one another[/u].

[b]If God and Jesus want hold your attention[/b], [b][i][u]them there is a heart problem[/u][/i][/b], not a church problem, but I understand well why many would want to blame it on the church they attend, Even Adam and Eve did not want to accept no blame. Things have not changed the least bit, humans still want to blame everything on someone and or something else.

Many of today's churches have become nothing but entrainment centers with a prosperity gospel preached and many are trying to drag that into all of the churches across America.

[Carlos]

[quote="Jerry80871852"]What loses young people is the lack of real interest in God, and a very big interest in wanting to be entertained and wanting to bring the world into the church.

Jesus' Churches is not about entraining young people, but it is about [u]worshiping God and the Savior[/u] and [u]learning more about them[/u], a[u]bout submitting our self to one another[/u], [u]provoking one another to good works[/u], a[u]bout confessing our faults to one another[/u].

[b]If God and Jesus want hold your attention[/b], [b][i][u]them there is a heart problem[/u][/i][/b], not a church problem, but I understand well why many would want to blame it on the church they attend, Even Adam and Eve did not want to accept no blame. Things have not changed the least bit, humans still want to blame everything on someone and or something else.

Many of today's churches have become nothing but entrainment centers with a prosperity gospel preached and many are trying to drag that into all of the churches across America.[/quote]


:goodpost:
Exactly. When I started this post, it was aboout how many folk enjoy two services a day. The conversation has developed into why we might like to or not like to attend church twice on Sunday. This has covered worship styles, and reasons for the decline in general church attendance, particularly noting out IFB churches.
Jerry's input nails it in my opinion.
This is a heart problem, not a church problem.
My concern is in regard to how often Fundamentalists are so much into our own distinctives that it almost becomes a religion in itself.
The Bible as a whole gives the poignant message of God's love to a dying world. We must never forget that basic, yet all important fact. God is love.
If we are not walking in love, abiding in His love, and then in return living out His love, then it is certain that our worship, and our zeal will suffer.
Being purged of worldliness, and the flesh, will certainly give more room for the work of His Spirit in our hearts, and therefore our churches.
I am currently blessed to be in a tiny, yet alive IB church. :wave:

[HappyChristian]

Sunday morning and Sunday evening services are a tradition...and that makes the practice a target for those who want to obliterate tradition. People who want a new way of doing things. Is it wrong to have church on Sat. night? No. Is it wrong to have it on Monday morning? No. God leads individual churches to have their services.

Tradition here in America puts it on Sun morn and evening, and midweek. Big deal. Tradition doesn't make it wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a service on Saturday night, as long as that isn't the only time...we need more than one evening a week. I have family members whose church meets on Saturday p.m., and also on Sunday for the traditional times. They go to most of them. And they love it. The church is actively encouraging people to win souls. My hubby and I wouldn't attend there for various reasons that don't need to be gone into, but I am glad they are in a soulwinning, Word teaching church (they were in a church much like what Al described before).

I heartily agree with Annie's and Jerry's posts!

[speerjp1]

How about if I really throw a twist in this already slightly twisted discussion? :Green

One question:

1. Where is the New Testament command or pattern that would lead anyone to believe that worshiping God is the primary reason we meet as a body of believers?



I've found that almost every reason people give for mass public worship is found in the Old Testament in passages that, when properly applied to the life of the believer under the New Testament, is primarily a focus of individual devotion to God.

God the Holy Spirit spoke to us primarily through the pen of the Apostle Paul to give us the guidelines and purpose for the church; is worship ever set forth as primary?

Now before you think I've gone off the deep end, let me assure you that I realize that the end of all things should be the Glory of God and, therefore, when we reach that end, it is in itself worshipful. However, there are things we are commanded to do as a body of believers when we come together such as teaching, learning, and performing the ordinances; even singing a song was exemplified by our Lord and his disciples.

I find it difficult to believe that God would accept any form of "worship" as a sweet smelling savor if it excludes those things that he has commanded us to do.

Most "churches" of modern or post-modern leanings tend to leave out so much of what we are commanded to do as a group in a rush to perform something we should do at all times as an individuals. :2cents

[John81]

Sunday morning and Sunday evening services are a tradition...and that makes the practice a target for those who want to obliterate tradition. People who want a new way of doing things. Is it wrong to have church on Sat. night? No. Is it wrong to have it on Monday morning? No. God leads individual churches to have their services.

Tradition here in America puts it on Sun morn and evening, and midweek. Big deal. Tradition doesn't make it wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a service on Saturday night, as long as that isn't the only time...we need more than one evening a week. I have family members whose church meets on Saturday p.m., and also on Sunday for the traditional times. They go to most of them. And they love it. The church is actively encouraging people to win souls. My hubby and I wouldn't attend there for various reasons that don't need to be gone into, but I am glad they are in a soulwinning, Word teaching church (they were in a church much like what Al described before).

I heartily agree with Annie's and Jerry's posts!

Our church experimented with holding a Saturday night service last summer (in addition to the other services) to see if there was a real need for such. There had been those who had proclaimed that a need existed among many who couldn't make it to Sunday morning services for various reasons. As it turned out, the Saturday night services never drew much of a crowd so at the end of summer they stopped holding the services.

I'm glad they made the attempt to reach out when there was a possibility there was a need for such. I'm also glad they ended it when it was obvious the proclaimed need either never existed or those who had been proclaiming they would attend such a service simply refused to show up.

It was a worthy experiment in any event because it gave our youth/education pastor the opportunity for growth as the senior pastor placed most of the Saturday service under his direction.

[Pastor Matt]

Most churches in our area that tried the Sat. night service cancelled them because of poor attendance. The reason they did was because people kept saying they could not make the Sunday service and they would go to church if church was on Saturday. Coming to find out people were too busy on Saturdays too.

[John81]

Most churches in our area that tried the Sat. night service cancelled them because of poor attendance. The reason they did was because people kept saying they could not make the Sunday service and they would go to church if church was on Saturday. Coming to find out people were too busy on Saturdays too.

That's pretty much what happened here. At least now it's been proven that there really is no need for a Saturday service and it's been proven the vast majority of those who claimed they would attend Saturday night services were not being honest.

Not to mention, it proved our church was willing to reach out to those who claimed they had a need and it gave our youth/education pastor a time of growth and gaining of experience.

As seems to be usual, most peoples claims of wanting to attend church "if only" are nothing more than excuses.

[JerryNumbers]

Strange! :uuhm:

Those who are to busy on Sunday to attend church are also to busy on Saturday to attend. :cool

Do you suppose the to busy is just an excuse?

[deputydog530]

Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Act 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

The problem is with the people, not the number of services. Folks rather please themselves than be in God's house with God's people. Church does not entertain them so they do not want to be there. I challenged our Church to examin themselves weekly. Ive done this and its made a diffenence in my service to the Lord. You see, its not about me or you. Its about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Having worked on sundays for years, the evening service was the only church I got much of the time. My spiritual walk suffered from it. I backslid from it.

Ive also noted reading these posts, it seems (from my persective only) that some of those opposed to multiple services are convicted. Otherwise why would you oppose them. If its ok not to be in Church, just dont go. We will all give account for ourselves to the Lord.

Anyway, I feel multiple services are important, especially for those that work on sundays.

Someone mentioned that the Bible does not say we have to meet twice on Sunday. Ok, it also does not say we cant meet twice on Sunday. If a Church (which is the people) wanted to meet 5 times a week, there is nothing wrong with that.

You dont like the preaching or the services? Pray about it and ask God to make the changes. More times than not, the Change will be made in you. I know from experience.

God Bless

[tired]

I agree, we can't let the world dictate how we meet or what we preach. Just because the community says hey we got to much to do or we want our ears tickled doesn't mean we should bow to that. Many churches around here sent surveys to the communities asking what they want in a church and then acted accordingly. Now they have huge amounts of unsaved members doing what they want and leading the church closer to the world.

[JerryNumbers]

A deacon and Sunday school teacher at a Baptist Church in town lives between me and town, I'm amazed when I pass his house on a Sunday afternoon on my way to evening church services and see him mowing his yard instead of attending church.

Plain and simple, people do not attend Sunday evening services because they don't want to, they feel they have something better to do than worshiping God. Some may not like this, but perhaps the truth hurts.

[deputydog530]

Jerry80871852

Plain and simple, people do not attend Sunday evening services because they don't want to, they feel they have something better to do than worshiping God. Some may not like this, but perhaps the truth hurts.

:amen: