Church Archives - My Manna

Trying to find a church?

MyManna — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 22:00:27 +0000

What should you look for when trying to find a church?
The first is Christ-centred worship!
The celebration of God for who He is and what He has done for us.
A Biblically sound church places a high priority on praising God.
Second is quality Word teaching!
Does the church you are considering believe, honour, and teach God’s Word in such a way that you understand the Bible and see how it applies to your life?
Remember, you can’t grow beyond what you know.
A third characteristic of a good church is warm fellowship!
The sharing of the life of Christ among the members.
This goes far beyond Sunday morning attendance or coffee and doughnuts in the fellowship hall.
True fellowship occurs when we are involved in each other’s lives – caring, encouraging, correcting, loving and sharing with one another.
The church should provide us with a meaningful sense of belonging.
Fourth is the church’s ministry of witnessing!
A church that wants to grow cannot be ingrown.
There’s nothing wrong with being a small church-
– as long as you are not a small-minded church.
The church you identify with should provide you with opportunities-
– to use your gifts and talents to touch other lives, emphasising the importance of sharing your faith in word and good deeds.
In other words-
– the church’s impact should extend well beyond its walls.
When you find a church where these priorities and experiences are regularly offered in an environment that’s saturated in grace and charged with faith-
– you have found the right church. Join it!
Don’t ask what your church can do for you!
But ask what you can do for your church!
(PA)

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So True

MyManna — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 23:00:37 +0000

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.” Col. 3:16.
A disgruntled church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained:
“I’ve gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I have heard something like three-thousand sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. I think I’m wasting my time and the Pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”
This began a major controversy which went on for weeks until someone wrote in this reply:
“I’ve been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked some three thousand meals. For the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this … they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work…”
So true!
We need our spiritual nourishment to be able to do the work of the Lord effectively!
Corporate worship, fellowship with our brothers and sisters and Godly counsel are a great means to get it!
God does not want us to isolate ourselves!

He wants us to be in consistent fellowship with like minded believers, teaching and exhorting one another, singing psalms and spiritual hymns together!

Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together-
– especially as His return is drawing near! Heb.10-25.

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Core commitments

MyManna — Sun, 29 May 2016 22:30:08 +0000

A recent business trend has been that of writing a mission statement-
– a concise paragraph stating in a memorable way the purpose of a business or an organization.
Added to it might be some objectives and an explanation of how those objectives will be accomplished.
Churches also use written mission statements as a way of focusing their efforts.
The difference is that a church should draw all these things from the Bible.
Acts 14:21-23-
– could provide the framework for a church’s mission statement.
Luke’s report on the ministry of Paul and Barnabas highlights-
– three crucial aspects of their work.
They were:

Evangelizing.

“They . . . won a large number of disciples.” (v. 21).

Edifying.

“. . . strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.” (v. 22).

Establishing.

“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,committed them to the Lord.” (v. 23).
What they did then-
– we must do now.
These three objectives must be central to every church’s mission.
We need to be-
– reaching people for Jesus,
– discipling them and
– helping the local church develop.
There are other things to consider.
But without a doubt these are core commitments for the church.
If your church is writing a mission statement, or already has one-
– are these three items incorporated in it?
And are you involved in seeing these objectives accomplished?
Evaluate what you are doing.
If you and your church are not seeking to accomplish these objectives, commit today to making the changes needed so that you are on God’s mission.

The post Core commitments appeared first on My Manna.

Without wavering

MyManna — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 16:00:18 +0000

Monday, 22 February 2016

One of the things I’m often asked is whether or not you have to go to church to be a Christian.
I like what Billy Graham says:
“Being in church no more makes you a Christian than being in a garage makes you a car.”
You do not have to go to church to be a Christian.
But attending church serves-
– a minimum three-fold purpose to help us grow in our faith.
Worship-
– with other believers.
You can worship God out on the lake, or on the golf course.
But we miss out on the encouragement of others and we miss out on them being encouraged by us.
Fellowship-
– in the Body of Christ.
And lone ranger Christians don’t do well in the journey of faith.
When we’re not in church, we miss out on the rich fellowship of other meaningful relationships with believers.
Stewardship-
-Church is a place where we can use our gifts in service and ministry.
But not only that, not attending your church is just plain selfish, because it denies sharing your spiritual gifts with fellow believers.
While you don’t have to come to church to be a Christian-
– failure to attend retards your spiritual growth.
While you do not have to be in church to be a Christian-
– it is certainly the place where you are needed and where the committed Christian wants to be.
“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
(PR)

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Corporate worship

MyManna — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 16:00:21 +0000

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
A disgruntled church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained:
“I’ve gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I have heard something like three-thousand sermons.
But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them.
I think I’m wasting my time and the Pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”
This began a major controversy which went on for weeks until someone wrote in this reply:
“I’ve been married for thirty years now.
In that time my wife has cooked some three thousand meals.
For the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.
But I do know this…they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work…”
So true.
We need our spiritual nourishment to be able to do the work of the Lord effectively!
Corporate worship, fellowship with our brothers and sisters and Godly counsel are a great means to get it!
God does not want us to isolate ourselves!
He wants us to be in consistent fellowship with like minded believers, teaching and exhorting one another, singing psalms and spiritual hymns together!
Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb 10:25).
There’s so much work to be done!
(PR)

The post Corporate worship appeared first on My Manna.

Trying to find a church?

MyManna — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 16:00:57 +0000

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