. Matthew 16. V18
I will build my Church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it.
These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross.
Men build many places and
property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.
When Jesus used the word
‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in
worship. The Church has a special place
in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within
that plan.
God calls us to listen, to
accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people
to gain salvation
The Church which Jesus
promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to
any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in
faith. It is a Church with one body, one
heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for
salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.
Men have disputed over
Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent
Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians. It does not matter where we have worshipped,
if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.
It is however, still true,
that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite
to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not
administer Communion to non-Catholic people.
When Jesus stated the gates of
hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not
destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never
perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will
be cast away.
Having delegated first to
Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the
responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and
every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.
From the first days the Church
has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as
modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their
evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church, and we can rely on the fact that he does not
retreat from his word.
In Acts 2, we find the early
Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the
gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon
that teaching. God blessed that Church
and added to their number.
This raises the presumption
that God will not bless those who now lead the Church, as it celebrates that which contradicts His
Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of
all truth.
When you buy a car, or some
electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if
any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with
the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail
to act with the manual.
God has promised to care for
all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual,
which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative
is eternal darkness
It is generally considered,
that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel,
but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual
persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying
this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can
rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.
Every Christian who values and
loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending
I accept that numbers are not the be
all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but
there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship
offered is as worthy as it ought to be.
In many cases I do not think it is.
We have just passed through Advent
and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a
large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than
normally.
. But the same thing happens
at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are
still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so
readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a
reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious
alternative.
If, when you decide to go
out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food
well prepared, so will enter. If you
find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not
go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.
Cast your mind back to 1954, when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena. Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts
by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks.
Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29
May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken
to cities beyond London.
People who would never have thought
of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and
songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most
successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The
visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did
not stay. They faced Morning Matins,
with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and
there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had
attended.
However, the most important
part is that between the coming and leaving.
Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to
hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type. I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral
rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by
Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish
Communion is not my idea of the right place.
I don’t think it is generally
recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves
the heart. In every Crusade, from Sankey
and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades,
the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement
the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this
format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the
philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.
The sermon has been relegated
in importance, where once it was a central feature. Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to
tell the good news about Jesus Christ.
How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the
Church fails to tell? This is our
business first and foremost. The pulpit
is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to
respond cannot justify its reason for being there. Ministers are to be messengers from God,
bringing God message to congregations.
Sermons often lack sound
teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual
potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless. One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to
be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.
This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up
to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of
sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear
him.
In the Church of England we
have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks,
and we are still losing members.. At one time every village and neighbourhood,
had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations
were strong enough to maintain them.
This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system
going. To do so we have Vicars fleeing
from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any
good, or a local preacher who however
well intentioned, often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own
hobby horse, not the Bible.
It would be far more sensible
and realistic to prune the number of Churches. We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people
from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches
offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship. People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets
which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the
Church could be in a like position.
The Bible states attending
Church is not optional. The Bible
assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they
live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found
anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers,
He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered Jesus is amongst us, just as when He was present with His Apostles.
A problem has arisen of late;
the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the
image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and
approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.
I cannot tell you what the
Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you
live. Any true Bible based Christian
must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin
Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof
from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very
text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into
subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot
be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here
I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.
The Bible uses several terms
to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people
of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender. This family extends right across the world,
so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers.
Of course, the Church does not
exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological
and procedural problems quickly and quietly.
For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because
the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood
for. Then the Conservative party
followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public. So indicating clearly, that people have no
respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and
stands for.
It has to be faced there are
men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay
marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a
disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the
Church or for Bible teaching. This and
other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it
from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
It would be less damaging if
we followed the example of the Anglican
Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based
on the same foundations as of our American friends.
In the meantime each Church
should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently
of the national scene. I firmly believe
that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with
tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.
.
Matthew 16. V18
I will build my Church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it.
These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross.
Men build many places and
property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.
When Jesus used the word
‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in
worship. The Church has a special place
in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within
that plan.
God calls us to listen, to
accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people
to gain salvation
The Church which Jesus
promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to
any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in
faith. It is a Church with one body, one
heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for
salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.
Men have disputed over
Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent
Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians. It does not matter where we have worshipped,
if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.
It is however, still true,
that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite
to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not
administer Communion to non-Catholic people.
When Jesus stated the gates of
hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not
destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never
perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will
be cast away.
Having delegated first to
Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the
responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and
every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.
From the first days the Church
has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as
modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their
evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church, and we can rely on the fact that he does not
retreat from his word.
In Acts 2, we find the early
Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the
gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon
that teaching. God blessed that Church
and added to their number.
This raises the presumption
that God will not bless those who now lead the Church, as it celebrates that which contradicts His
Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of
all truth.
When you buy a car, or some
electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if
any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with
the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail
to act with the manual.
God has promised to care for
all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual,
which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative
is eternal darkness
It is generally considered,
that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel,
but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual
persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying
this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can
rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.
Every Christian who values and
loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending
I accept that numbers are not the be
all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but
there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship
offered is as worthy as it ought to be.
In many cases I do not think it is.
We have just passed through Advent
and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a
large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than
normally.
. But the same thing happens
at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are
still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so
readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a
reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious
alternative.
If, when you decide to go
out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food
well prepared, so will enter. If you
find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not
go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.
Cast your mind back to 1954
when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena. Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts
by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks.
Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29
May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken
to cities beyond London.
People who would never have thought
of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and
songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most
successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The
visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did
not stay. They faced Morning Matins,
with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and
there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had
attended.
However, the most important
part is that between the coming and leaving.
Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to
hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type. I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral
rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by
Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish
Communion is not my idea of the right place.
I don’t think it is generally
recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves
the heart. In every Crusade, from Sankey
and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades,
the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement
the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this
format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the
philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.
The sermon has been relegated
in importance, where once it was a central feature. Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to
tell the good news about Jesus Christ.
How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the
Church fails to tell? This is our
business first and foremost. The pulpit
is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to
respond cannot justify its reason for being there. Ministers are to be messengers from God,
bringing God message to congregations.
Sermons often lack sound
teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual
potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless. One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to
be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.
This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up
to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of
sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear
him.
In the Church of England we
have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks,
and we are still losing members.. At one time every village and neighbourhood,
had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations
were strong enough to maintain them.
This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system
going. To do so we have Vicars fleeing
from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any
good, or a local preacher who however
well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own
hobby horse, not the Bible.
It would be far more sensible
and realistic to prune the number of Churches. We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people
from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches
offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship. People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets
which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the
Church could be in a like position.
The Bible states attending
Church is not optional. The Bible
assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they
live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found
anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers,
He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered Jesus is amongst us just as when He was present with His Apostles.
A problem has arisen of late;
the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the
image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and
approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.
I cannot tell you what the
Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you
live. Any true Bible based Christian
must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin
Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof
from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very
text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into
subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot
be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here
I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.
The Bible uses several terms
to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people
of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender. This family extends right across the world,
so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers.
Of course, the Church does not
exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological
and procedural problems quickly and quietly.
For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because
the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood
for. Then the Conservative party
followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public. So indicating clearly, that people have no
respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and
stands for.
It has to be faced there are
men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay
marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a
disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the
Church or for Bible teaching. This and
other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it
from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
It would be less damaging if
we followed the example of the Anglican
Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based
on the same foundations as of our American friends.
In the meantime each Church
should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently
of the national scene. I firmly believe
that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with
tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.
.
Matthew 16. V18
I will build my Church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it.
These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross.
Men build many places and
property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.
When Jesus used the word
‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in
worship. The Church has a special place
in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within
that plan.
God calls us to listen, to
accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people
to gain salvation
The Church which Jesus
promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to
any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in
faith. It is a Church with one body, one
heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for
salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.
Men have disputed over
Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent
Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians. It does not matter where we have worshipped,
if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.
It is however, still true,
that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite
to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not
administer Communion to non-Catholic people.
When Jesus stated the gates of
hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not
destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never
perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will
be cast away.
Having delegated first to
Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the
responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and
every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.
From the first days the Church
has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as
modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their
evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church, and we can rely on the fact that he does not
retreat from his word.
In Acts 2, we find the early
Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the
gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon
that teaching. God blessed that Church
and added to their number.
This raises the presumption
that God will not bless those who now lead the Church, as it celebrates that which contradicts His
Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of
all truth.
When you buy a car, or some
electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if
any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with
the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail
to act with the manual.
God has promised to care for
all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual,
which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative
is eternal darkness
It is generally considered,
that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel,
but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual
persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying
this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can
rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.
Every Christian who values and
loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending
I accept that numbers are not the be
all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but
there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship
offered is as worthy as it ought to be.
In many cases I do not think it is.
We have just passed through Advent
and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a
large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than
normally.
. But the same thing happens
at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are
still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so
readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a
reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious
alternative.
If, when you decide to go
out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food
well prepared, so will enter. If you
find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not
go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.
Cast your mind back to 1954
when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena. Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts
by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks.
Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29
May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken
to cities beyond London.
People who would never have thought
of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and
songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most
successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The
visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did
not stay. They faced Morning Matins,
with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and
there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had
attended.
However, the most important
part is that between the coming and leaving.
Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to
hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type. I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral
rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by
Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish
Communion is not my idea of the right place.
I don’t think it is generally
recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves
the heart. In every Crusade, from Sankey
and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades,
the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement
the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this
format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the
philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.
The sermon has been relegated
in importance, where once it was a central feature. Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to
tell the good news about Jesus Christ.
How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the
Church fails to tell? This is our
business first and foremost. The pulpit
is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to
respond cannot justify its reason for being there. Ministers are to be messengers from God,
bringing God message to congregations.
Sermons often lack sound
teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual
potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless. One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to
be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.
This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up
to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of
sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear
him.
In the Church of England we
have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks,
and we are still losing members.. At one time every village and neighbourhood,
had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations
were strong enough to maintain them.
This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system
going. To do so we have Vicars fleeing
from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any
good, or a local preacher who however
well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own
hobby horse, not the Bible.
It would be far more sensible
and realistic to prune the number of Churches. We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people
from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches
offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship. People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets
which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the
Church could be in a like position.
The Bible states attending
Church is not optional. The Bible
assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they
live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found
anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers,
He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered Jesus is amongst us just as when He was present with His Apostles.
A problem has arisen of late;
the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the
image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and
approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.
I cannot tell you what the
Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you
live. Any true Bible based Christian
must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin
Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof
from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very
text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into
subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot
be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here
I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.
The Bible uses several terms
to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people
of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender. This family extends right across the world,
so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers.
Of course, the Church does not
exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological
and procedural problems quickly and quietly.
For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because
the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood
for. Then the Conservative party
followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public. So indicating clearly, that people have no
respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and
stands for.
It has to be faced there are
men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay
marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a
disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the
Church or for Bible teaching. This and
other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it
from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
It would be less damaging if
we followed the example of the Anglican
Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based
on the same foundations as of our American friends.
In the meantime each Church
should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently
of the national scene. I firmly believe
that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with
tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.
.
Matthew 16. V18
I will build my Church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it.
These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross.
Men build many places and
property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.
When Jesus used the word
‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in
worship. The Church has a special place
in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within
that plan.
God calls us to listen, to
accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people
to gain salvation
The Church which Jesus
promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to
any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in
faith. It is a Church with one body, one
heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for
salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.
Men have disputed over
Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent
Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians. It does not matter where we have worshipped,
if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.
It is however, still true,
that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite
to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not
administer Communion to non-Catholic people.
When Jesus stated the gates of
hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not
destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never
perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will
be cast away.
Having delegated first to
Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the
responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and
every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.
From the first days the Church
has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as
modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their
evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church, and we can rely on the fact that he does not
retreat from his word.
In Acts 2, we find the early
Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the
gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon
that teaching. God blessed that Church
and added to their number.
This raises the presumption
that God will not bless those who now lead the Church, as it celebrates that which contradicts His
Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of
all truth.
When you buy a car, or some
electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if
any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with
the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail
to act with the manual.
God has promised to care for
all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual,
which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative
is eternal darkness
It is generally considered,
that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel,
but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual
persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying
this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can
rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.
Every Christian who values and
loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending
I accept that numbers are not the be
all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but
there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship
offered is as worthy as it ought to be.
In many cases I do not think it is.
We have just passed through Advent
and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a
large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than
normally.
. But the same thing happens
at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are
still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so
readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a
reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious
alternative.
If, when you decide to go
out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food
well prepared, so will enter. If you
find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not
go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.
Cast your mind back to 1954
when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena. Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts
by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks.
Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29
May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken
to cities beyond London.
People who would never have thought
of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and
songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most
successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The
visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did
not stay. They faced Morning Matins,
with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and
there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had
attended.
However, the most important
part is that between the coming and leaving.
Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to
hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type. I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral
rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by
Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish
Communion is not my idea of the right place.
I don’t think it is generally
recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves
the heart. In every Crusade, from Sankey
and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades,
the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement
the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this
format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the
philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.
The sermon has been relegated
in importance, where once it was a central feature. Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to
tell the good news about Jesus Christ.
How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the
Church fails to tell? This is our
business first and foremost. The pulpit
is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to
respond cannot justify its reason for being there. Ministers are to be messengers from God,
bringing God message to congregations.
Sermons often lack sound
teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual
potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless. One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to
be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.
This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up
to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of
sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear
him.
In the Church of England we
have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks,
and we are still losing members.. At one time every village and neighbourhood,
had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations
were strong enough to maintain them.
This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system
going. To do so we have Vicars fleeing
from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any
good, or a local preacher who however
well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own
hobby horse, not the Bible.
It would be far more sensible
and realistic to prune the number of Churches. We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people
from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches
offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship. People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets
which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the
Church could be in a like position.
The Bible states attending
Church is not optional. The Bible
assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they
live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found
anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers,
He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered Jesus is amongst us just as when He was present with His Apostles.
A problem has arisen of late;
the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the
image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and
approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.
I cannot tell you what the
Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you
live. Any true Bible based Christian
must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin
Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof
from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very
text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into
subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot
be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here
I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.
The Bible uses several terms
to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people
of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender. This family extends right across the world,
so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers.
Of course, the Church does not
exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological
and procedural problems quickly and quietly.
For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because
the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood
for. Then the Conservative party
followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public. So indicating clearly, that people have no
respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and
stands for.
It has to be faced there are
men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay
marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a
disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the
Church or for Bible teaching. This and
other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it
from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
It would be less damaging if
we followed the example of the Anglican
Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based
on the same foundations as of our American friends.
In the meantime each Church
should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently
of the national scene. I firmly believe
that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with
tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.
.
Matthew 16. V18
I will build my Church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it.
These are the words of Jesus as He makes His way to the Cross.
Men build many places and
property, but only Jesus can build the Church, and he was approved by God.
When Jesus used the word
‘Church’, He was referring to an assembly of believers meeting together in
worship. The Church has a special place
in the plan of God, and we have to know how we are to live and function within
that plan.
God calls us to listen, to
accept and follow Jesus, bringing the message of the gospel, which would lead people
to gain salvation
The Church which Jesus
promised to build, is the company of all faithful people. It does not belong to
any nation or place. It is one composed of those who have joined to Christ in
faith. It is a Church with one body, one
heart and mind, holding the same beliefs and believe the same doctrine for
salvation. It is a Church with one head, Jesus Christ.
Men have disputed over
Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptists, Presbyterian and Independent
Churches, as if any one Denomination is composed of better Christians. It does not matter where we have worshipped,
if we are not found to be members of the true Church of God’s chosen people.
It is however, still true,
that when we have the annual week of Christian unity, in which the Churches unite
to worship as one, it all falls apart as the Roman Catholic Church, will not
administer Communion to non-Catholic people.
When Jesus stated the gates of
hell shall not prevail against the Church, he means the power of evil shall not
destroy the people of Christ. The mystical body of of Christ shall never
perish, and every member will be brought to glory. No member of the Church will
be cast away.
Having delegated first to
Peter and the Apostles, to continue the work He had begun, Jesus now passes the
responsibility down to us in our age to continue to preach the gospel, and
every Christian has the duty to play their part in the spread of the gospel.
From the first days the Church
has been persecuted, but the Church to-day is at the peak of persecution as
modern technology has been a great access for the persecutors to spread their
evil. Jesus stated his intention to build his Church, and we can rely on the fact that he does not
retreat from his word.
In Acts 2, we find the early
Church responded without coercion, to meet to listen to the preaching of the
gospel as given by the Apostles, and we see they grew daily as they acted upon
that teaching. God blessed that Church
and added to their number.
This raises the presumption
that God will not bless those who now lead the Church, as it celebrates that which contradicts His
Holy Word. The Bible is the supreme authority for the Church, the conveyance of
all truth.
When you buy a car, or some
electrical goods, the maker gives a warranty assuring you of free attention if
any failure of the product occurs—providing you have acted in accordance with
the procedure stated in the manual. That assurance does not apply if you fail
to act with the manual.
God has promised to care for
all his people, if they have observed all that God has laid down in his manual,
which will lead to eternal salvation; it is called the Bible. The alternative
is eternal darkness
It is generally considered,
that people are motivated to attend services by the preaching of the gospel,
but a very successful means of people attending, is due to individual
persuasion by Church members to family and friends. A sound way of carrying
this out. is by inviting a friend to accompany you to a service when you can
rely on the Minister of the Church to proclaim the gospel.
Every Christian who values and
loves their Church, must at times feel depressed at the lack of people attending
I accept that numbers are not the be
all and end all of Church worship, or a verdict on any particular Church, but
there must always be a need for every Church, to consider whether the worship
offered is as worthy as it ought to be.
In many cases I do not think it is.
We have just passed through Advent
and Christmas. In this period, especially at Christmas services of carols, a
large number of Churches will have seen much bigger congregations than
normally.
. But the same thing happens
at Easter, Remembrance day, which reveals that a large number of people are
still attached to the Christian faith. We should consider why people come so
readily for such services , yet never come at weekly services: there must be a
reason. We cannot put it down to deaths or illness, there must be an obvious
alternative.
If, when you decide to go
out for a visit to a restaurant, you may see one claiming to provide good food
well prepared, so will enter. If you
find the food was poorly cooked and little better than junk food, you will not
go to that place again. Is there not a similar analogy with Church services.
Cast your mind back to 1954
when Billy Graham came to hold meetings at the large Harrington Arena. Despite the sneers in the press, and attempts
by the Church to prevent him coming, he came expecting to stay for three weeks.
Such was the public response he had to stay from the 1st March to 29
May as crowds nightly attended in their thousands, and the Crusades were taken
to cities beyond London.
People who would never have thought
of attending Church, were converted into sincere faith by the tuneful hymns and
songs, with well prepared and organised services, the preaching by the most
successful evangelist in Christian history, the people were captivated. The
visit led to a considerable increase in Church attendances, but the people did
not stay. They faced Morning Matins,
with ancient canticles and anthems, and sermons which did not inspire, and
there was no follow up with the people from the Crusades to which they had
attended.
However, the most important
part is that between the coming and leaving.
Services should be bright with tuneful hymns, perhaps altering tunes to
hymns that are felt necessary, if the set one is of the mournful type. I was at a service where for ten minutes a choral
rendition of Purcell’s ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ was sung, followed later by
Stanford’s ‘Te deum’, which is fine for the right place, but an ordinary parish
Communion is not my idea of the right place.
I don’t think it is generally
recognised how important music is in a service. Music stirs the mind and moves
the heart. In every Crusade, from Sankey
and Moody, the Welsh revival, and most notably the great Billy Graham Crusades,
the singing of hymns and spiritual songs has been a dominant feature to complement
the inspirational preaching. The Evangelical Churches mostly pursue this
format, which needs to be introduced into more Churches, and dispense with the
philosophy that seems to pervade that as long we put something on it will suffice.
The sermon has been relegated
in importance, where once it was a central feature. Sermons are there for a purpose, namely to
tell the good news about Jesus Christ.
How can people be taught to believe the good news of the gospel if the
Church fails to tell? This is our
business first and foremost. The pulpit
is there for the declaration of the gospel, and any Church which fails to
respond cannot justify its reason for being there. Ministers are to be messengers from God,
bringing God message to congregations.
Sermons often lack sound
teaching however, with preachers watering down the message to provide spiritual
potions, which will make people feel happy and guiltless. One Vicar tells me regularly, sermons need to
be nice and friendly so people won’t be upset.
This always amuses me, for Billy Graham use to preach to audiences of up
to 80 thousands and beyond regularly, and tell them they were all a lot of
sinners who would go to hell if they didn’t repent, and people flocked to hear
him.
In the Church of England we
have softened our messages, had all sorts of changes, all sorts of gimmicks,
and we are still losing members.. At one time every village and neighbourhood,
had its own parish Church (in addition to Catholic and Free Churches) and congregations
were strong enough to maintain them.
This is no longer the case, yet we are still trying to keep that system
going. To do so we have Vicars fleeing
from one Church to another, offering a token service which does no one any
good, or a local preacher who however
well intentioned often has not been properly trained and rides his/her own
hobby horse, not the Bible.
It would be far more sensible
and realistic to prune the number of Churches. We have seen evangelical Churches drawing people
from a wide area and offering inspiring worship, and similarly High Churches
offering beautifully conducted and meaningful worship. People find no difficulty travelling to supermarkets
which are not on their doorstep, and with some innovative transport offers the
Church could be in a like position.
The Bible states attending
Church is not optional. The Bible
assumes people who are believers, are connected to a local Church where they
live out their faith. Individual or independent Christianity cannot be found
anywhere in the Bible. Whilst Jesus is present bodily in heaven with believers,
He is also present on earth by His Spirit so that when people are gathered Jesus is amongst us just as when He was present with His Apostles.
A problem has arisen of late;
the once great Methodist Church provided a solid evangelical service in the
image of its founders, yet now it has surrendered to the activist culture and
approved same sex ‘marriages’, as other denominations have.
I cannot tell you what the
Church of England believes now, it is a mixture of ideas dependent on where you
live. Any true Bible based Christian
must surely act in accordance with their conscience; in the words of Martin
Luther, the great protestant revivalist, . If, then, I am not convinced by proof
from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very
text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into
subjection to God’s word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot
be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here
I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.
The Bible uses several terms
to describe the Church, the most powerful being a family, consisting of people
of different backgrounds, experiences, class, ages and gender. This family extends right across the world,
so that wherever you go you can have fellowship with other believers.
Of course, the Church does not
exactly encourage people, when it is seen to be unable to resolve theological
and procedural problems quickly and quietly.
For a long period the Labour party was unable to attain office, because
the public saw them squabbling and unable to determine what they stood
for. Then the Conservative party
followed the same path, and they remained unpopular with the public. So indicating clearly, that people have no
respect for any body which cannot state positively what it believes in and
stands for.
It has to be faced there are
men with a personal agenda, who seem determined to undermine the Church. The Leaders of the Church have opposed ‘gay
marriage’, yet, what is loosely called senior clergy, are challenging in a
disloyal, irresponsible and shameful way, with no respect for unity within the
Church or for Bible teaching. This and
other issues are liable to split the Church of England within, but separate it
from the universal Church which includes Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
It would be less damaging if
we followed the example of the Anglican
Church of North America and formed a new Anglican Church of Great Britain based
on the same foundations as of our American friends.
In the meantime each Church
should strive to be true to its calling with vows honoured, and work independently
of the national scene. I firmly believe
that if a Church is a welcoming one, offers a well-constructed service, with
tuneful hymns and an inspiring message, it will surely attract members.
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