CHURCH SHOPPING (4 OF 52)
Scripture: Psalm 122:1-2, Psalm 122:4-9, Psalm 122
This content is part of a series.
Church Shopping (4 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part 3
Christopher B. Harbin
Psalm 122:1-9
We live in a strange time in regard to Christian history. We have choices regarding where we worship. We have choices in worship styles, instrumentation, size of gatherings, denominations and theological positions of a specific church body we might join. Some take ownership and responsibility among a body of believers. Some choose not to relate to a local church while claiming a spiritual or faith identity. All of this is relatively new. It is the byproduct of the kind of society in which we live, reflecting an individualism which impacts the life of the local church.
When we church shop, we approach it from a secular perspective. We look at the options before us in a manner similar to how we look at the array of merchandise on store shelves. In the days of Paul, believers had no choice. When Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, Ephesus, or Philippi, he wrote to the church, the only gathering of believers in those respective towns. It is no surprise that Paul would not address what we speak of as church shopping. He spoke to the reality of the churches of his day. He taught them to live together as one united body, fully aware that the only way they could gather required overlooking the majority of their differences for the surpassing worth of following Jesus Christ as Lord.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, we find a different, if similar, reality. There was but one place for the nation to gather in corporate worship. They went wherever the Tabernacle or Temple resided. Upon exile to Babylon, they began gathering wherever there were at least ten men to join for prayer in what we called synagogues. They gathered as they were able to pray, study, and encourage one another in faithfulness to Yahweh. Choices in regard to those gatherings were non-existent or limited at best. On return from exile, the Jews kept the synagogue system as an addition to the Temple that was final ...
Series: Discipleship Part 3
Christopher B. Harbin
Psalm 122:1-9
We live in a strange time in regard to Christian history. We have choices regarding where we worship. We have choices in worship styles, instrumentation, size of gatherings, denominations and theological positions of a specific church body we might join. Some take ownership and responsibility among a body of believers. Some choose not to relate to a local church while claiming a spiritual or faith identity. All of this is relatively new. It is the byproduct of the kind of society in which we live, reflecting an individualism which impacts the life of the local church.
When we church shop, we approach it from a secular perspective. We look at the options before us in a manner similar to how we look at the array of merchandise on store shelves. In the days of Paul, believers had no choice. When Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, Ephesus, or Philippi, he wrote to the church, the only gathering of believers in those respective towns. It is no surprise that Paul would not address what we speak of as church shopping. He spoke to the reality of the churches of his day. He taught them to live together as one united body, fully aware that the only way they could gather required overlooking the majority of their differences for the surpassing worth of following Jesus Christ as Lord.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, we find a different, if similar, reality. There was but one place for the nation to gather in corporate worship. They went wherever the Tabernacle or Temple resided. Upon exile to Babylon, they began gathering wherever there were at least ten men to join for prayer in what we called synagogues. They gathered as they were able to pray, study, and encourage one another in faithfulness to Yahweh. Choices in regard to those gatherings were non-existent or limited at best. On return from exile, the Jews kept the synagogue system as an addition to the Temple that was final ...
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