Only one aspect of christian churches is a warning sign that place is spiritually dead.
Rather than equipping the congregants, the modern christian 'sermon' de-equips them.
It doesn't matter how loudly ministers drone on about 'equipping the saints for the work of the ministry,' the truth is that the contemporary sermon preached every week has little power to equip people for spiritual service and/or functioning.
But many people are just as addicted to hearing sermons as many preachers are addicted to preaching them. By contrast, the style of preaching and teaching found in the NT writings equips the Body so it can function without the presence of any specialized βclergyman.β
MK 10:42 Yeshua called them together and said, βYou know that those who are regarded as rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. NOT SO WITH YOU! Instead, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first will become slave of all. For even the Son, the Man, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His self-life as a ransom for rabiym.β
Todayβs sermon is often impractical. Countless preachers speak as experts on things they have never experienced. Whether it is abstract/theoretical, devotional/inspirational, demanding/compelling, or entertaining/amusing, the sermon fails to put the hearers into a direct, practical experience of the Scripture passage being preached.
It lacks any practical value. A lot is preached, but little ever lands. Most of it is aimed at the frontal lobe. Contemporary preaching generally fails to go beyond disseminating information and on to equipping people to experience and use what they have heard.
The modern sermon mirrors its true source β Greco-Roman rhetoric.
Greco-Roman rhetoric was bathed in abstraction. It was designed to entertain and display the orator's genius, rather than instruct or develop talents in any listener. The modern polished sermon can warm the heart, inspire the will, and stimulate the mind. But it rarely, if ever, shows the team how to leave the huddle.
In many ways, the contemporary sermon fails to meet its billing of promoting the kind of spiritual growth it promises. In the end, it actually intensifies the impoverishment of the starving congregants. Thus, many fall away, hungry.
The sermon acts like a momentary stimulant. Its effects are short-lived.
A modern sermon makes the christian preacher the virtuoso performer of the 'church'.
The sermon turned the 'church' into a preaching station. The congregation has become a group of muted spectators who watch a performance. There is seldom room for interrupting or questioning the preacher while he is delivering his discourse.
The sermon fostered a docile "priesthood" by allowing pulpit preachers to dominate the 'church' gathering week after week. The sermon often stalemates any spiritual growth, because it is a one-way relationship encouraging passivity.
The sermon prevents the 'church' from functioning as intended. It suffocates mutual ministry. It smothers open participation.
This causes any possible spiritual growth to take a nosedive.
I have moved all across the country over the past 30 years and have searched out and attended everything from Reformed Baptist, Evangelical, and Fundamental churches to find a spiritual pulse. I am not mad and am sincerely trying not to be judgmental for this breaks my heart. I have studied genuine revivals over the years and always found true revivals always had one attribute which most narratives today ignore. It started with a small group of soundly saved and sanctified people who became so despondent and convinced the church was beyond recovery so they would get together on their knees for long hours night after night until the Holy Spirit came and refreshed the church and community. I have shared this over and over in churches from Milwaukee, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Phoenix, Dallas and even a gold mining town 90 miles north of Las Vegas tono avail. It has been lonely for my wife and I but we are still growing and our love for the Lord gets sweeter each year. I have to believe there is a remnant out there with this same burden and I have prayed that we could find others with this same burden. If not, I will praise my Heavenly Father and thank Him alone for bringing us from darkness and into His marvelous light.
My eyes see what you saw and the mind of my soul understands this truth.
So sad reality!
King Jesus Christ
AMEN β€πβ€
Edwards himself was spiritually dead because he was a calvinist.
Only one aspect of christian churches is a warning sign that place is spiritually dead.
Rather than equipping the congregants, the modern christian 'sermon' de-equips them.
It doesn't matter how loudly ministers drone on about 'equipping the saints for the work of the ministry,' the truth is that the contemporary sermon preached every week has little power to equip people for spiritual service and/or functioning.
But many people are just as addicted to hearing sermons as many preachers are addicted to preaching them. By contrast, the style of preaching and teaching found in the NT writings equips the Body so it can function without the presence of any specialized βclergyman.β
MK 10:42
Yeshua called them together and said, βYou know that those who are regarded as rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. NOT SO WITH YOU! Instead, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first will become slave of all. For even the Son, the Man, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His self-life as a ransom for rabiym.β
Todayβs sermon is often impractical. Countless preachers speak as experts on things they have never experienced. Whether it is abstract/theoretical, devotional/inspirational, demanding/compelling, or entertaining/amusing, the sermon fails to put the hearers into a direct, practical experience of the Scripture passage being preached.
It lacks any practical value. A lot is preached, but little ever lands. Most of it is aimed at the frontal lobe. Contemporary preaching generally fails to go beyond disseminating information and on to equipping people to experience and use what they have heard.
The modern sermon mirrors its true source β Greco-Roman rhetoric.
Greco-Roman rhetoric was bathed in abstraction. It was designed to entertain and display the orator's genius, rather than instruct or develop talents in any listener. The modern polished sermon can warm the heart, inspire the will, and stimulate the mind. But it rarely, if ever, shows the team how to leave the huddle.
In many ways, the contemporary sermon fails to meet its billing of promoting the kind of spiritual growth it promises. In the end, it actually intensifies the impoverishment of the starving congregants. Thus, many fall away, hungry.
The sermon acts like a momentary stimulant. Its effects are short-lived.
A modern sermon makes the christian preacher the virtuoso performer of the 'church'.
The sermon turned the 'church' into a preaching station. The congregation has become a group of muted spectators who watch a performance. There is seldom room for interrupting or questioning the preacher while he is delivering his discourse.
The sermon fostered a docile "priesthood" by allowing pulpit preachers to dominate the 'church' gathering week after week. The sermon often stalemates any spiritual growth, because it is a one-way relationship encouraging passivity.
The sermon prevents the 'church' from functioning as intended. It suffocates mutual ministry. It smothers open participation.
This causes any possible spiritual growth to take a nosedive.
False doctrine, heresy, calvinist. Is a sure sign the church is dead
Amen
If not biblical
β€
Great message for the church today !!! Just as much for the individual as for the whole congregation
Amen ππΌππΌπ
AMEN and AMEN
Both sides quote the same Bible. Both sound right. That's not a you problem β that's a method problem.
The Calvinism vs. Arminianism Decision Matrix gives you a structured framework to evaluate both systems and reach a verdict that's actually yours.
π Get The Calvinism vs. Arminianism Decision Matrix β https://edwards1.bibletruthacademy.com/
I have moved all across the country over the past 30 years and have searched out and attended everything from Reformed Baptist, Evangelical, and Fundamental churches to find a spiritual pulse. I am not mad and am sincerely trying not to be judgmental for this breaks my heart. I have studied genuine revivals over the years and always found true revivals always had one attribute which most narratives today ignore. It started with a small group of soundly saved and sanctified people who became so despondent and convinced the church was beyond recovery so they would get together on their knees for long hours night after night until the Holy Spirit came and refreshed the church and community. I have shared this over and over in churches from Milwaukee, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Phoenix, Dallas and even a gold mining town 90 miles north of Las Vegas tono avail. It has been lonely for my wife and I but we are still growing and our love for the Lord gets sweeter each year. I have to believe there is a remnant out there with this same burden and I have prayed that we could find others with this same burden. If not, I will praise my Heavenly Father and thank Him alone for bringing us from darkness and into His marvelous light.
YAHWEH IS A DEMON AND THE AUTHOR OF
β Abortion (Hosea 13:16)
β Absurdities (Gen 3:14)
β Adultery (2 Sam 12:11-12)
β Bad Laws (Ezek 20:25)
β BigotryΒ (Leviticus 20:13)
β Blindness (John 9:3)
β Cannibalism (Lev. 26:29)
β Child Abuse (Judges 11:29-40)
β Confusion (Gen 11:7)
β Contradictions (Ex. 20:5 vs Ez. 18:20)
β Curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)
β Death (Genesis 2:17)
β Deception (Jer. 4:10)
β Delusion (2 Thess 2:11)
β Disasters (Genesis 6-9)
β Discrimination (Leviticus 21:16-23)
β Diseases (Deuteronomy 28:58-61)
β Errors (2 Samuel vs 1 Chronicles)
β Eternal Damnation (Mark 3:29)
β Ethnic Cleansing (Duet. 3:1-20)
β Evil Governments (Romans 13:1)
β Evil Itself (Lam. 3:38)
β Evil Men (Proverbs 16:4)
β Evil Spirits (1 Samuel 18:10)
β Evil Thoughts (Exodus 32:14)
β False Prophecies (Jonah 3:4)
β Famine (Amos 4:6)
β Fear (Proverb 15:33)
β Filicidal (John 3:16)
β Gambling (Joshua 14:2)
β Hatred (Ezra 9:10-12)
β Hell (Matt 25:41)
β Homophobia (Lev. 18:22)
β Human Sacrifice (Ex. 22:29-30
β Hypocrisy (2 Samuel 12)
β Ignorance (Gen 2:17)
β Imperfections (1:27)
β Incest (Gen 4:17)
β Infanticide (Exodus 12:29)
β Injustice (Gen 3:16)
β Jealousy (Deut. 5:9)
β Killing (Lev. 26:7-8)
β Lies (Ex. 3:18)
β Lying Spirits (1 Kings 22:19-23)
β Magic (Exodus 7:10-12)
β Male Chauvinism (1 Timothy 2:11-12)
β Manipulation (Proverbs 21:1)
β Mass Genocide (1 Sam 15:3)
β Misogyny (1st Corinthians 14:34-35)
β Murder (Deuteronomy 20:10-14
β Nepotism (Deut. 7:6)
β Perverse Minds (Romans 1:28)
β Pillage (Numbers 31:7-18)
β Plagues (Exodus 7-12)
β Plunder (Zechariah 14:1-2)
β Prostitution (Exodus 21:1-11)
β R@pe (Judges 5:30)
β Regrets (Genesis 6:6)
β Sexism (Genesis 3:16)
β Sin (Rom 5:15)
β Slavery (Ex. 20-21)
β Stealing (Ezek. 39: 10)
β Stubbornness (Exodus 7:13)
β Suffering (Job 1:21)
β Tyrant Kings (1st Sam 9:7)
β The Serpent of Eden (Gen 3:1)
β War (Psalm 144:1)
Sola deo gloria