"The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view of winning them" says The Gospel Trumpet.
With church attendance dwindling in the prosperous Western World, many are trying to keep the numbers up by offering a watered down gospel and appealing entertainment.
The First Congregational Church inAlbuquerque, New Mexico holds witches Sabbat, while the Satanic holiday, "Halloween," is welcomed into Christian houses of worship.
Churches that use to denounce Sunday sports now sponsor Sunday softball teams.
Dancing once got you thrown out of a church, but now has become part of church "praise programs."
Gambling, formerly labeled a damnable vice, now raises money in church bingo games.
Churches even applaud suggestive hip-swaying singers who were banned from secular television back in Elvis Presley"s early days.
Men who walk away from their wives and children are greeted by churches with open arms and introduced to some new "Christian" ladies.
The main appeals of church advertisements are becoming "fun, entertaining, and exciting."
Dropping judgment, hell and refusing to name sin, dooms a church to being nothing more than a religious social club. A church that will break sinner"s hearts and convert sinful men must be willing to be hated by the world. Jesus and His disciples were paid the price of martyrdom to turn "the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). Today, churches are growing the fastest where they are entertaining the least and persecuted the most.
Jesus" hard words offended many of His disciples: "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? (John 6:66, 67). Think how much larger His crowds would have been if He had dropped the hard preaching and offered a "Christian comedian" as we wisely do today.
Every Church has to decide whether it is going to feed the sheep or amuse the goats. And every church will answer on the Day of Judgment.
Moody Adams News
__________________
wayne
"There's room at the cross for you."
great post motor, i think that our nerves need to be touched (stepped on)every now and then, the chruch i am currently attending, has a peaceful loving message most of the time, this past sunday though our preacher spoke of the sins in our everyday life, and you could tell he ruffled a few feathers, made me examine myself a little closer, basically he was telling people about "white lies", the programs we watch, and that we let our children watch, and what we do in our everday lives away from the watchful eyes of our brothers and sisters,basically calling a lot of people "sunday morning christians" i left there knowing there are some things in my life i need to make adjustments on, we all fall short of the glory, were all sinners, i'm just trying to do the best i can each day, and do better each day,(it is a daily chore for me) all i can do is ask forforgivness and understanding, and help in removing these obstacles in my life....
BTW i work a rotataing schedule and was not at the evening service, well attendace was down from normal, from what my wife said[&o]
__________________
John 3:16
things are more like right now than they've ever been
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
William James
Sad but true. Heard about one a while back who's service consisted of "eating hamburgers and watching movies". For goodness sake, don't say anything that mightoffend anyone, regardless if it comes straight from the Bible!
It's not always so easy to spot either. I've listened to tapes and read books that were very interesting. On the tape, the speaker was one of the best I've ever heard in my life--charismatic, entertaining, interesting, with a very good speaking voice. The problem was that he might mention one or two verses from the bible in a 60 minute "sermon", and had very little to say concerning the verses. He "preached" opinion, not scripture.
The way I see it, if a preaching isn't stepping on some toes, he isn't doing his job.
Chad
__________________
"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Fantastic post Motor! Sadly many churches today have done exactly what you mentioned, the one thing I see in common with churches that amuse the goats is they all tend to be the churches where the minister gets a big house and a very nice car along with a fat salary that is determined by how much money the church brings in.
So many churches have over the years become businesses instead of houses of worship and admonishment, Christ nor the Apostles expected to be provided a home to preach the Gospel, to Christ and the Apostles preaching the Gospel was about mans salvation and not the all mighty dollar like it has become in so many churches today.
__________________
The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog
1 Timothy6:3-21, and 2 Timothy3:10-17, and 4:1-8---I think that many of the tv evangelists fall into these categories. I get embarrased when I watch many on TBN, and other channels. Of course not all, but there are some that I wouldn't want to be in their shoes come judgement day!
Feeding the Sheep or Amusing the Goats?
]
