Sunday only?

Thank you for your graciousness, Jason!

 

Yet has no problem with casting her own assupmtion:

</font>[/QUOTE]Yes, I think I am entitled to make assumptions about MYSELF!!! My post might not have been so clear, but I truely was talking about my own feelings when I don't attend church. Yet you are so quick, as is typical with a lot of people on this board, to pounce on me with your rolling eyes and sarcasm. Does that make you feel like a big person? Just about everytime I post on this board someone comes back with things to make me feel bad and I regret even posting anything. What ever happened to encouraging others?

Please allow me to rephrase my initial post:

I personally feel that "ME" going just to Sunday morning service is only being "luke warm". Kind of like trying to do just enough to squeek by. Going to Sunday morning and evening service is like "ME" devoting an entire day to worshipping the Lord. And "ME" attending Wednesday night service is like telling God that He is worth "MY" time and "I" take the opportunity mid week for worship and fellowship because "I" just can't wait a whole week to come back!

Is that better? (Probably not, someone here is bound to slam me for not being crystal clear in the first place.) Maybe I don't belong to this board.

See ya

 

Thank you soulman.

 

Personally, all those chruch services were inconvenient to me. As a family, we enjoyed the kids' sports programs, their outside music programs, and even some of the best shows on TV were during scheduled church services. Who in their right mind would schedule a service during Super Bowl, or soul-winning on Saturday mornings? Of course, when I got my heart right with God, I found that all these other things lost most of their importance, and the impact that the church has had in my personal life, and the life of my family, is beyond that of any trophy the kids ever brought home. I guess quality time with the family at home, or at some other event/activity, may work for some, and can be substituted for a church service now and then, but as for me and my family, attending church together has made a big difference in our lives. The more services we attended, the better it got, and it is still getting better each passing week.

 

Sunday only?

IMO, It's all about quality of worship not quantity:

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

HankD

 

Back-peddling. And no, it's not any better that you feel that way about yourself, if that's what you're claiming.

 

Perhaps you could have stated it was your own feelings. But now you seem to indicate your distaste of what others have written about what you wrote. Why not just eat humble pie and move on? Are you not guilty of the very thing you are accusing others of doing when you write, "Yet you are so quick, as is typical with a lot of people on this board, to pounce on me with your rolling eyes and sarcasm. Does that make you feel like a big person?" Is that not a dogmatic, accusatory, judgmental statement?

 

Hi Everyone;
I believe going to church is important even though I worship the Lord every day. It's important just to be with others of like mind. Today I'm stuck inside with a blizzard going on out side. I was going to go anyway but blizzards here can be dangerous. People get stuck out in them all the time. Shoveling out was very discouraging since most have not done this yet and probably won't until the storm is over. Funny how we miss something so much when we just can't have it.
May Christ Shine His Light On us All;
Mike

 

Dr. Bob annoying? That nonsense is rediculous.

 

I don't think children's church is nonsense! Ours is led by a very wonderful couple who lead the kids ages 5 & up thru second grade in praise songs, children's sermons, learning Bible verses, prayer and praise time and then some games.

The children under age 5 are kept in their Sunday School classes for extended session and their lesson is a repeat of the Sunday School lesson but with a little different emphasis, a snack, songs and then play time.

I praise God for Sunday School, Training Union, Sunbeams, GA's and Vacation Bible School while I was growing up! I learned so very much at such a young age. Even tho we were in church every time the door opened, I don't remember learning anything from my parents.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Our lesson today was not from our book. I used my April 15th 'standard' of Jesus and the Taxman (The coin in the mouth of the fish.)

 

Yes Diane, I must agree.
While I certainly believe that parents should be the foremost teachers of their children, it is also true that these parents may be babes in Christ, or not Christians at all.
As for time spent at Church, what is it 3,4,5 hours out of 168 hours in a week? Time well spent I think.
Basically brethren, God did not appoint anyone on this board, the Church, or anywhere else, to tell you what is too much time spent at Church activities, you must carefully and prayerfully determine that for yourself.

 

Up until a couple of years ago, Sunday was the most stressful day of the week for most of our church families. For years, I felt that I had to "toe the line" of Baptist church tradition and have my Sunday night dose of church. Discontinuing the Sunday night worship service stirred the ire of many of my more spiritual peers in town. But the funniest thing happened after a while. Members of some of the other churches began to hear my members tell about how not having Sunday night church had sure taken the stress out of Sundays. Before long, three other churches in the city followed our example...churches that were pastored by some of my greatest critics when we discontinued Sunday night!

 

So true.

If only we could get the folks to meet on another night for discipleship/preaching/teaching.

 

I have 2 examples of WHY Sunday School is important. Evan, who is 8, came looking for me quite upset. He wanted to ask me something. 'Miss Diane! My new baby brother had yellow poop in his diaper. Is that okay?' 'Yes, Evan. Breastfed babies will have funny colored poop. He's fine.' Adison, age 5, kept telling me about her grandfather and wanted to know why people can just 'faint' and then need to have their head cut open. The parents and older brothers and sisters had talked 'around' her and not explained to her about Grandpa's blood clot in his brain and how this was not something going to happen to her or them at any minute. The parents were very thankful when I contacted them to let them know how worried she was. They took her to see him since we talked and she's not terrified anymore. She told me all about it today.

Both of these children have, over the years, established a loving relationship with me through Sunday School, AWANA, VBS, Wednesday night summer programs, Mission Friends, etc. and came to ME for 'help'. Children NEED to see and learn to love other adults who love Jesus. It's especially important for the boys to see MEN who love Jesus and have them as teachers. That's one of the reasons my husband is my co-teacher.

Sunday School and these other activities don't stop at 11:00 on Sunday but continue a lifetime, if done right. I'm sure many of you can recall a very special person in church while you were growing up. I know I sure can!

 

All of our children's activities take place on Sunday morning. Sunday School, children's church and children's choir are on the menu. No children's programs on Sunday evening or Wednesday nites. In fact, there are no children that come on either of those nights, with the exception of mine. No parents, none of the SS teachers, leaders or helpers, el zippo.

The youth only come when they have an after church fellowship. That goes for the volunteer youth workers too. The majority of our adult SS teachers don't come on Weds. or Sunday evenings either.

We run about 90 in SS and 130 in worship. Sunday evenings, 15-20, including my family of 4. Wednesdays are about the same. Last Sun. evening we had 6 adults and 16 youth. They had a fellowship. Tonight, no youth, no leaders and no fellowship.

The issue of whether or not to have Sunday evening service has come up several times. Many of those who have spoken out to keep it as it is, never come. The church has spoken. Sunday evenings and a mid-week service are not important to them. Deacons, teachers and families have made the decision for us. It's time for us to rethink the way we disciple our church members.

But that's at my church. Not every church will be in that situation. If you're not, be thankful. If you are, pray for God's direction. As we are experiencing, that direction may be a little uncomfortable.

 

Due to their churches not having Sunday evening services, we have had many people from other churches in the area visit us on that night. Some liked what they saw and heard, and decided to join our church. We never encourage them to change churches, but we do make all feel welcome. Many Baptist churches in the area are dark on Sunday evenings, and seems to be a common practice of the SBC churches. Of course, the ones that visit are those that are looking to attend more than one service a week. We probably run about 70% of our Sunday morning attendance on Sunday evenings, and probably 50 - 60% on Wednesday evenings. We do get a lot of visitors on Sunday evenings.

 

No, you don't have to be there every time they open the doors.

BUT, children do learn differently than adults, and at a different level. We do them a grave injustice not to provide learning opportunities that meet their needs.

Our church has totally revamped scheduling. When I was a child, it was the traditional model - 9:30 Sunday School classes for all, 10:45 Morning worship for adults, nursery for little ones, and Children's Church.

In our big city setting, with many cultures and family situations to minister to, we have gone with what works -
9:30 classes for those adults who come, KidsPraise worship time for those kids who come. 10:30 - games for kids, as more arrive.
10:45 Morning Worship, nursery for little ones, snack for kids as more arrive.
11:05 kids split up into 3 age groups - K-1 straight thru till 12:15, and 2-3 and 4-6 in either craft or lesson, switching teachers halfway thru at 11:40.

So you might say we are having Sunday School for kids DURING church. Why? Because that's when they COME.