Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
I'm not saying that there is no place for recognizing the joy and hope of our faith even in the face of death. But there is a time to mourn.
And in regular meetings there is a time to be solemn, confess your sins, reflect upon the sacrifice of Christ, etc. Meetings are not simply places to bring the "sacrifice of praise" (meaning upbeat joy). If your meetings are only upbeat and victorious, they are probably often manufactured and hollow.
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Yes, there is a time to mourn, and also a time to repent. I noticed that repentance is a continual theme in the NT, from the first words of John the Baptist and Jesus the Nazarene, to the final epistles to the seven churches in Asia in Revelations 2 and 3.
Repentance is not just for "sinners in the hands of an angry God"; rather we are all, on this side of the judgment seat, those in need of repentance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
The church that is seeking to always be "up" is missing a lot. Trying to concoct an original prayer on the fly is an opportunity for distraction. Take time and reflect in your heart. Consider the Word. Put it together into a different kind of praying of the scripture.
There may be a lot of problems with the more liturgical churches, especially the RCC. But actual content in their liturgy is seldom the problem. Sometimes it would be nice to find that much content in evangelical circles.
Then you could go out from a meeting having been established, built-up, strengthened, encouraged, etc. Instead, we too often go out with questionings. (Oh, no!!)
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One of the last LRC meetings I went to, the theme was "building". I left with questionings. What assurance did I have that we were not building Babylon? Especially if you skip (i.e. ignore, downplay) the "Jesus" part?