TheApple

Where are the hymns and the Old and New Testament readings? Most of us do not live near our home churches or our grandparent's churches because of our professions. Having to move from home as we knew it, has also caused us to move from what is familiar and comforting. For some, it is the smell of the ocean, the loud laughter, or big moma's cooking that we miss so much. But for many of us, we are confronted with what we miss every Sunday morning in the "new age" mega churches we attend.



We are entertained by a half hour to an hour long praise and worship gospel concert, there is offering at our seats, the announcements are on the big screens, and pastor's 20 minute sermon gets us out of church within an hour and a half (no complaint there). However, I scream at you when I ask, "When did the hymns, Scripture readings (responsive reading if you are methodist), Apostle's Creed, and Lord's Prayer get deleted from morning service? AND WHY IS BIBLE STUDY SO FORMAL? With all the PowerPoints, videos, study guides, and assignments, I am afraid to open my mouth to ask a question in Bible Study, like "Does anybody have an ink pen I can borrow. Mine just ran out?"



In all seriousness, the reason I can quote AND LIVE BY many Scriptures today is because we said them EVERY Sunday in church or in Sunday School (yes, I did call it SUNDAY SCHOOL and not Children's Church cause children's church was everybody else's church back in the day. That's how you learned to sit still and keep your mouth quiet and those rules spilled over into school.) The point is that as I learned them, they became a part of my spirit, I hid them in my heart. (Hopefully, sometimes you can see them manifested in my life.)



Anyway, anybody else miss some of the old school church rituals.? I know I do. Sometimes I just need to repeat the Apostle's Creed to be reminded of what I know I believe. Do you know how hard it is to teach my child the Lord's prayer when she does not hear it anywhere else? Can I get an "Amen"?

AMEN!

I totally agree. I miss the old fashioned tent meetings too. If you grew up in the "old school" church, you can't help but notice how choreographed everything has become. I actually was raised Seventh Day Adventist but later changed to Baptist but I attend a Pentacostal church on a regular basis. My mother was a single mom of 7 kids. We all knew better than to even breath too hard in church. If one of us acted up too much, she'd take us in the restroom and put a belt (she always carried one in her purse) to our bottom.Church was an all day event and trust me we didn't miss a second of it.  There was Sabbath school (equivalent to Sunday school) Worship service that usually lasted to about 4:00, then break to go home and eat if there wasn't a potluck at church. Then back again for evening service. Once this was over (sunset is how Adventists decide when its over) we (all the kids)  would run down to the liquour store and buy candy. Churches now are so tied into ettiquette. I too miss the old timey church.  Reading the Bible was one of the ways we were taught to read along with some phonics records my mother acquired from who knows where. One of the records told a story of a lady who couldn't pronounce the word "lady" so she pronounced it "AyeEee". She borrowed some sugar from another lady and forgot. When she saw her she said, AyeEee, I owe you some sugar, which, is a way to remember the vowels. AEIOU some sugar. (I threw that in there for anyone teaching vowels). We had to memorize the books of the Bible, The Ten Commandments, The Lord's Prayer, and The Beatitudes. We had worship every friday evening at home and Sat/Sun if we didn't go to evening service. And we had to memorize a new memory verse to say at worship. I guess to get "more" in todays churches, you have to join a bible study.

Anyways, my favorite church memories  

1. When I was forced to eat oatmeal for breakfast and sitting in church,  the mixture of cheap perfumes made my stomach sick.  I was sitting near the front row that day and as soon as an usher spotted me vomiting he quickly picked me up over everyones head and carried me out of the pew with his hand over my mouth.  It's funny when I think of him running down the middle of the isle with my vomit ooozing out between his fingers.

2. Eating vegetarian hotdogs with chili at a giant tent meeting..complete with sawdust.

3. The day  the men and boys sat on one side  of the church and the women and girls sat on the opposite side...then we'd try to out-sing each other. (Gospel songs of course)

give me that old time religion, give that old time religion, its good enough for me!!!

my wife and i found a church of people our age!!!20-30's that are just that Old School

 i feel more at home there than anywhere i  have ever been. it is a great thing to me to be old school

nothing but the blood of christ. sola scriptora, and faith!

while i see your point, i have to say.  how many lives have been changed for the better by that

"old"book.  i know mine was.  i do beleive the torah, and if you study and read you will know that

science agrees mainly on the order that things would have happen with the days of creation.

the greatest king in irseals history david said himself 1000 years before his grand son, "my god, my god

why have you forsaken me" (psa 22:1), who knew what he ment to feel gods presence leave him

for the first time.  i.e. calvery.  to think these 66 different books are boring is not very insightfull to

the hole of life.

mrcrisp says ...

if you study and read

I do.

you will know that

science agrees mainly on the order that things would have happen with the days of creation.

Are you serious?

 

the greatest king in irseals history david said himself 1000 years before his grand son, "my god, my god

why have you forsaken me" (psa 22:1), who knew what he ment to feel gods presence leave him

for the first time.  i.e. calvery.

What was the original point? I have forgotten.

 

  to think these 66 different books are boring is not very insightfull to

the hole of life.

The "hole" of life? There is no whole if you rely on a single book (66 wonderful and old books if you prefer).

No scientist would base an entire career on ONE study.

 Aren't there two accounts of creation in the Old Testament: Genesis 1: 1-2:3; Genesis 2: 4-25? And in the second account:

"⁴ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. 

      "When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- ⁵ and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth  and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth  and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ but streams ^[c] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- ⁷ the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

it seems to suggest that humans preceded the "shrubs", "plants", and "rain."

But arguing about faith is futile. Personally, I don't think the Bible is mean to be taken literally. I mean, if the Lord really did stop the sun at Joshua's request, then He would have also had to suspend all of Nature's laws. Of course, the answer could be. "It was a miracle; God can do whatever He wants." But  that begs the question and is circular reasoning.

So, I'm perfectly OK with disagreeing - if someone wants to take the Bible literally (including such parts as "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live."), then that's OK with me - as long as they don't go around killing anyone they believe is a witch (and yes, I am aware that there's a claim that the Hebrew word was "mistranslated" as "witch" when it should have been "poisoner" - but since "witch" is in so many Bibles, why would God have permitted such a distortion of His commandment to have become so widespread?)

I'd say people can believe whatever they want, as long as they don't try to make it imperative that everyone else believes as they do and as long as they don't try to confuse their religion with law and/or politics. Having lived for nineteen years in a theocracy (Saudi Arabia), I am perhaps more zealous than many about separation of church/mosque/temple/etc. and state.

i agree we can agree to disagree and i am glad that the fathers of our great country

placed a seporation between the to.  everyone has their rights and no one can change

that here in america.  the Old School Church idea is for just that Old School Church

people.  so what each person beleives is their own business.  my beleif is in the

Old School type, others my not be and i am fine with that.  as well as others i asure you.

 I think the whole point of this blog has been to help others understand the importance of the familiar.

I agree, but NEVER at the expense of the TRUTH.

If we are dealing with children, now it becomes, " Do we expose them to THE BOOK or the TRUTH?"

 Dear mrcrisp,

Well, in a public school, you'd teach science in a science class. In a private school or at home, I have no problem with exposing children to both.

i understand your point, however, if you were in at world geo class or a world history class

the creation story would be atleast spoken of because of the different "theories" of the begining of life.

i know that it isn't a state standard for science. but i feel that students are given a disservice in not

being exposed to more than just Evolution, though i agree with evolution of man, to think that

our being here the way we are today was just an freakish mistake is too mind boggling.

the odds are astronomical,  mathematicly speacking the odds are too great.  their had to be 

something else other than chance, and we should atleast speak on it for one class out of the 

180+ days that our kids are in school.  to me it is only fair.  not just for science, but to the other

creation theories out there that other civilizations have had over the years.  this includes the native

america bird story.  maybe i am coming from a history side of this than the science side but there

was a reason i was a history major and not a scientist. 

for the shift key i type too fast, for the return key i hate when you try to read someones post and it goes to black.

by the way nice photo, i like it better than the previous one.

It IS POSSIBLE for the church (locally and worldwide) to adapt to new times and new methods.  And this can be done without sacrificing our dedication to Scriptural truth and holiness.  But it can't be done without invading our comfort zones.  The point is to win as many as possible for the kingdom of Christ, right?  RIGHT?  If you are comfortable with old ways and old worship, fine; but NOT if your church is not reaching out and winning souls, doing the work with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

I know whereof I speak.  The church we attend has grown from 200 to over 800 in recent years, and it has involved a lot of changes in the way we do things.  But is it MY church? NO.  It is the bride of Jesus Christ, and He is not willing that ANY should perish.  Every time I have gone out of country on a mission trip, I have been impressed when I came back by the harvest fields that are waiting right in our own community. 

Some of us need to give up our pride and our "Christian club" attitudes.  The church should be a hospital for sinners.

here debo.

but debo,

you forgot or maybe you where under bad preaching God does not send us

to hell we do that by not believing in his son who did for us (john 3:15-18).

and if we ask for forgiveness he will do so (rom 10:9-13;   I john 1:9).

look it up true Christianity is not all about hell fire though it is a true place.

Christianity is about the Love of God and the eternal sacrifice so we could have

away out from our Sin.  Will we mess up from time to time yes, David did, Abraham, Issac

Moses, Joshua, Soloman, Peter, Paul, John.  All have sinned and have came short of

His standard, but if we confess our sin he is just and able to forgive us and cleans

us from ALL unrighteousness.  I don't subscribe to Olseans we will all go to heaven, but

we all have an equal chance. and for those before they heard the gospel will

be judged by the Law which was writen in the heart of man from the begining (we all know

the difference between right and wrong deep down).

That's why before Christ there was Abraham's bossom, and then for we after the

Cross we have a choice (john 3:15.18):

" that whosoever believeth in him should ot perish, but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosowever

(you and me) believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world

through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not cndemned: but he that believeth not is condemed

already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

He doesn't permit us to burn for ever we choose to.  It is a clear choice with no grey

area (strange for our world today). We are either with him or against him.