so i went to church this weekend...?

Question

and while i'm there the priest is giving a sermon on how you need to respect your spouse. we sang a few songs around it and did the usual prayers, collection basket, shook hands and everyone left. am i missing something, or was that hour or so of my life completely wasted? take the sermon for example. ok, it's a good message, but only if one's spouse is showing respect as well. respect is something to be earned, not given freely. then we have the prayers. same usual repetitive rubbish week after week. i mean really, i keep hearing how god doesn't want us to be like robots, but that's all i see at church everytime i go, no matter which denomination of church i go to. i feel sorry for any kid who shows the slightest indication of boredom there, only to have his parents "slap some sense" into him. and then as usual we have the collection baskets. big surprise!!! it's always the same ol' same ol'. am i wasting time going?

Answer 1

Nice beard....and beret.

Answer 2

Yeah, you are wasting your time going to church if the church you go to doesn't tell you about God, but only gives you some suggestions for living that you can also get at a psychologist's office or from a book. The psychologist might charge you a bit more though : )

Keep looking until you find a church that really teaches you God's Word, where you will experience Jesus' love in the people you meet, and where prayers are spontaneous and authentic, not a round of routine sayings. As to the money issue, the non-denominational church I belong to NEVER passes a collection basket during the public Bible teaching hour, but only during the time when true believers meet for the the Lord's Supper.

Answer 3

Find another church. I seeked a long time before I found my church home. You need to remember though that the worship is not about you and how you feel about it. The worship is for God. I found my place in the non-denominational Christian church. Try to find a link to Saddle back Church in California where Rick Warren is a pastor. You might find His teachings more interesting. I believe that you would find Ravi Zacharias also very interesting. And there are some churches in Atlanta area where Andy Anderson ( I am not 100% sure if this is the right name, but his father is also a preacher, known also in the USA TV ) preaches in 4 different churches. Try those. I have also hear the name Willow Greek..or something like that. I trust that you will find your place. It might take time. Give it time.

Answer 4

My family was "religious" long before we actually knew Christ and got saved. And now I can look back and see that the churches we went to during our "religious" time were totally dead.

The last one in particular, a Lutheran church, was particularly stale. What strikes me as interesting is that in a Lutheran service, EVERYthing is pre-written. The official Lutheran book of worship has THE specific prayer to be prayed on Easter Sunday, the "First Sunday after Easter," the "Second Sunday after Easter," the "First Sunday of this, that, and the other". There was no real Life there - just ritual. And it was BORING! I do pity young people whose exposure to religion at that age is to sit in a dead church and expect to be enthused about a lifeless ritualistic "faith".

It is entirely possible that you are attending a "dead" church, one in which doing everything in the "right" order is more important than joyously meeting with other Christians to praise God, learn from His Word, and edify one another for the week ahead.

Frankly, a truly Christian church is hard to find these days. Many are not really Christian anyway, preaching a social gospel or a gospel of works-salvation. Then there is this whole Emergent Church muddle, which believes in tossing aside doctrine in favor of being nicey-nice to your neighbors, despite the fact that tossing aside doctrine is one of the characteristics of false Christians in the end times, according to the apostle Paul.

Okay, so the short answer, assuming you ARE interested in church and God, is to find a church where they really do worship Him - instead of churches where they either just going through some rituals, or they throw out the very instruction book on how to worship Him in spirit and truth.

As for respecting your spouse, well, that's a biblical command. As a husband, I don't have permission to slack on MY duties if my wife fails to command my respect. I am to love her and give my life for her whether she deserves it or not - she's my wife.

And then the collection baskets - Well, there's nothing particularly biblical about "passing a basket" to collect the money, but giving of one's resources to God's work IS biblical - commanded, even - and passing a basket is often a more orderly way to collect what people have to offer.

Answer 5

I commend you for going to church. You are looking for something more. I commend you for that as well. Do not give up. Not all churches are the same w/ the same "sing, pray, preach" line-up. Also seek out your age group at a church. Sunday school, prayer groups, and other smaller groups are more personalized than the main service. Most of all, seek Christ through the bible. Find a translation that is the best for you to read. American Standard is a good one. You are seeking God, and that is good. If you were not, you wouldn't have wasted your time writing this question. I'll pray for you.

Answer 6

I wouldn't say you're wasting your time going. God is thankful for the fact that you ARE going, whether you feel this way or not. I think I'm goingn to start going again too, even though I can't stand the fact that we have to sing 90 million songs. It's like a freaking concert or something. But I feel bad when I don't go. I agree with you though. Sometimes I get sick of the same stuff over and over again.

Answer 7

I think you are. Since you describe it as so empty of meaning for you, why not stay home and do something you like to do during that time. If the rest of the family continues to go to church, so much the better: you will get some privacy for a change.

Answer 8

Who do you think you're kidding. Give me a break, you don't care about the service, even if you did go, so why bother going. Your heart is your own and you choose what you believe in, as for me I will worship the Lord. Stay home if you are going to be a negative presence and open up a seat for someone who wants to know God and His truth.

Answer 9

Relating to St. Paul's teachings:

we get to the Resurrection through the Cross! This is not to ever deny or forget the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Pentecost (the commemoration of all of these being Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics!).

It's not to deny the true joy that comes from knowing Who He is.

It's not to ignore the Joyful and Glorious Mysteries (which we Catholics pray in our Rosaries, too, along with the Sorrowful Mysteries).

But it is to maintain proper focus and to receive our consolations and gifts from the Comforter along with the sufferings we must endure in imitation of Christ.

We will not have our own resurrections if we do not pick up our crosses and continue to offer Him up to the Father -- to ask the Father to look at Him instead of us -- and at Him in us.

Answer 10

Church services are funny in that you only get out of them what you're willing to put into them.

Well, I guess that's not that funny since lots of things are that way.

You're clearly bored with your church. Change it. Try another denomination. Try something else.

If you're going to church to worship God, keep trying to find one that's right for you.

If you're going to church to be entertained, stay home and watch TV.

Answer 11

If you entered that church with the kind of attitude that you posted here, then yes, you might as well have stayed slept in. God will change and touch and teach those who open themselves to Him. It sounds like you walked in expecting to have a bad time.

-B