The Changing Church - Part 2

The Changing Church

Part Two

Revelation 3:1-6 (NLT)

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not meet the requirements of my God. Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief. Yet there are some in the church in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

            As a child I attended a Presbyterian church.  It was very quiet, but it was the quietness of the doctrine,

and the law of the church.  No one was praying, but they were being obedient.  No one said ‘Amen’ unless you were repeating the Doxology. When I grew up and had children of my own, we went to the Lutheran church. 

I loved how we knelt at the altar to take communion and my children loved going to Confirmation classes.

            After my children were grown and on their own, we began attending the Catholic Church and the first thing I noticed was the respect for the sanctuary.  It was quiet and prayerful; people knelt and prayed.  There was hardly any talking or running back and forth and I could feel the presence of God.  I do not agree with the Catholic doctrine, but they certainly understood God’s holiness.

            When I was about forty-two years old, my husband and I gave our hearts to Jesus Christ and our lives were totally changed.  We began attending a Full Gospel church. We were so excited we devoured the Word of God and spent a lot of time in prayer and praise. The more we understood, the more excited we became.  Over the next few years doors opened for us to have a daily radio program and eventually had a weekly television show that aired on several stations.  About this time, all my children gave their hearts to the Lord and are still serving God in various ways. My son-in-law became an ordained minister and started a church through CMI (Calvary Ministries, Inc.) thirty two years ago. My husband is an ordained minister and Associate Pastor and our son became an ordained minister and a Christian Counselor. One daughter is a Youth minister; one is a very active Pastors wife and the third daughter sings and ministers to others. I have studied the scriptures and taught the Word of God for many years and in many places.

            I’ve been in a lot of churches over the years and have seen a lot of changes and many of them not for the good.  The Holiness of God is no longer present in today’s church. The Sanctuary is no longer a place of respect, but is a place of commotion.  You can bring your coffee into the Sanctuary, grab a seat and visit until the service begins.  By then no one wants to quiet down except those who like to sing.  The praise team begins their music and there are times the Holy Spirit moves through the music. 

            One of my favorite parts of the service is Communion. Communion today is so unscriptural in a lot of churches.  It’s more like a social time with people walking and talking out loud. It’s obvious no one is thinking about why we even have Communion.  Luke 22:19-20, “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.”  Jesus wants us to do this in a prayerful remembrance of him and to think of the fact that he gave his body and his blood so we could be saved.  How dare any Christian get up and take communion in a haphazard and un-respectful way? Shame on you. Can’t you keep your mouth shut for a short period of time and think about what Jesus did for you? If it wasn’t for him where would you be today?

           

Part 2