The Artifact- We all know about it (personally it’s the one thing I dread each Sunday morning), the greeting of the guests. Greeting of the guests is at some point in a Church Service (usually around the beginning of a Sunday morning service) the Pastor, or Music Minister will direct the congregation, specifically church members to go out and specifically find someone who is visiting, target them out and begin talking to them. I will look into the positive and negative aspects of this practice, and what the church should or shouldn’t do in practicing this event every Sunday morning.
The Message- It can be very tricky, because people can interpret the greeting of guests in a number of different ways. You can interpret it as genuine kindness; however it seems that not a lot of people outside of the Church look at it as that. As Believers, we mean no harm and are only trying to hand out greetings to those that made it to the service, but in the eyes of a lost person, they see this event as a chance for the Christians to point out all the non-believers, and you would feel like a terrible outcast. As all believers know we are always under temptation by the devil, and I feel that the greeting of the guests gives us ample opportunity to sin or parade ourselves in front of others, damaging the view of what non-believers observe from time in Church. This opens the door for Will to Power, a movement that is sweeping through our current post-modern culture. The Will to Power is defined as the idea of human reason and objective truth, along with all institutions and their value systems and human relationships, and the art and ideologies they produce, all these things are expressions of the primal will to power. Everything is a mask ...
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...gregation will probably fall into the category the non believer has set up. So if he is greeted by a self-absorbed man only concerned about himself and his accomplishments, that from the visitor’s perspective, he will feel empowered to declare everyone at the Church a self-absorbed person. Christians cannot go around claiming acts of greatness that we have achieved, we should instead hold ourselves responsible to giving all credit to the eternal God who breathes life into us and sustains us while we spend our time here on earth. If an unbeliever comes into the church, initiate conversation with him, rather than waiting on the pastors command. We must remember the words of Christ, to “go out into the world” but rather than making a mighty name for our selfish ambitions, make known the name of God and its majesty, that all may know of his greatness.
· Hello – that is when the priest says welcome to the mass and tells
...e Witnesses door-to-door evangelism, the practices of these religions may be off-putting for some, however millions of people embrace these eccentricities open heartedly, all in the name of religion.
In my paper I will talk about my visit to The Community Church at Murphy's Landing (CCML). I have chosen this particular Church because it is a family church type and my neighbor goes there and she encouraged me to go with her. I went there with my neighbor on April 6, 2014.This church is an appropriate for this assignment because the people there are welcoming me with an open heart and they are willing to help and provide me with information. When I visit the Church’s site I read these words “We know visiting a new church can be intimidating. But, we want to help you to be as comfortable as possible when and if you join us”. The people gather in the church weekly to glorify God in joyful worship. The expressions of worship on CCML take many forms a prayer, a hymn of reverent awe, a guitar ringing with a chorus of praise, or a warm handshake and a welcoming smile. Their weekly services begin at 9:30 each Sunday at church. Also, they have weekly podcast if anyone wants to listen online. They have many types of services for parents, kids and students. People at CCML were so friendly; they gather around me and start welcoming me, one by one. People there introducing themselves to me, one after another and provide me with their contact information and help. Then we start talking about the church services and Christianity in particular. The mission of CCML was knowing, growing and loving. They seek to live out our mission by worshipping together as a local community of believers, growing in spiritual maturity through discipleship, education, and small groups, caring for one another within the context of the larger church body and small groups, and Communicating the love of Christ to our world, both through local outreach and global mis...
Christianity is one of the largest religions in world with believers spreading across barriers of language and culture. Christianity can come in many forms with beliefs on different subjects varying wildly, but there is one practice that remains relatively the same: church attendance. The ritual of getting up every Sunday morning and attending a church service including a sermon by a pastor and sometimes a smaller, more focused lesson given during what is called “Sunday School”, is something that is practiced by many faithful Christians across the world and the United States, in particular. Attending church is a practice that is integral to the Christian faith as it is shown in the Bible. It informs and impacts the lives of many believers of
On Sunday, December 3 I attended the Solemn Mass at the Church of the Advent, in the North End. Now, you have to understand that I am religiously challenged, at best. I’ve been to my share of weddings and funerals, but growing up I averaged one regular church service every year or two. When I did go, it was either to Hardshell Baptist or Dunkard Bretheren services, with my father or mother’s side of the family, respectively. Both these denominations focus heavily on simplicity and egalitarianism. The churches are usually one room, wooden affairs with a simple lectern. The music draws heavily on the English folk tradition, and the service is delivered in a straightforward manner.
The first cultural immersion activity that I participated in was going to St. Charles Catholic Church on Ash Wednesday (March 5, 2014). I had a friend who was catholic attend the church with me so I would have a better understanding of what to do and not stand out so much. In addition, I asked my friend to attend with me so I would not do anything in church that was disrespectful. Before going to the church, I thought that I would have to dress up in dress clothes but my friend told me that it is not necessary to dress up for a catholic church, which surprised me. When we first got there, my friend used the holy water and kneeled before entering the pew. I did not do these things because I felt like I would mess up and it would be disrespectful to the religion to mess up those things. Another thing I noticed was when everyone was entering after they have found their seats they would kneel and pray. Later I asked my friend what everyone was doing and she said it was praying to catch up and talk to God about things that has happened since the last time you talked to him.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of learning more about a new culture and participating in their cultural events. My original fear of being an intruder went away when people would be friendly and introduce themselves to me. I was surprised to enter the prayer room and see that people were sitting on the floor because I am used to people having a chair to sit on. I was also nervous about sitting on the floor for a long period of time because my body is not used to it and I am not as youthful as I once was. After about thirty minutes, I started to get really uncomfortable, but I continued to sit because I did not want to be offensive by standing. I was surprised to see volunteers cooking meals for the guest because that is not something that I am used to seeing at a
I arrived at the destination of where the ritual observation was to take place at 9:45 a.m. on February 23, 2014. The ritual takes place in Brockville, Ontario in a building called the New Hope Brockville Tabernacle. The tabernacle is a large building that has a tower, also known as a steeple, erected on the roof. On the steeple is the symbol of the cross. The front doors opened up to a large foyer where the majority of the people inside were gathered in various small groups. These groups were composed of members similar in age. Everyone who entered through the doors was greeted with lots of hugs and welcomes.
It was magnificent. The first thing to catch my eye was a monstrous chandelier that hung from the 50 foot ceiling. It was awe inspiring. As my eyes surveyed the room, it was hard to miss the antique maple pews that provided seats for approximately 300 people. Plush emerald green carpet was the grounding to the room. It's path led directly up to the stage which was home to a variety of items. The band, pulpit, arid baptismal were the most obvious. Above the stage was a huge dome, it was colored in shades of blue, mauve, white, and several other soft accents. A bright light was right in the center of its point. Our gazing was soon interrupted when the official greeter returned. This time she was quick and to the point. She collected our cards and informed us that service was about to begin. Within a matter of minutes, a middle-aged man stepped up to the pulpit and asked us to stand.
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its’ strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element. If these primary goals are accomplished, then worship will not be empty and simpleminded. Instead the worship atmosphere would be held to a higher standard and, she believes, both pleasing to God and attractive to those who do not know God.
I’ve met many people who say they’re Christians but don’t really exhibit the Christian attitude. They don’t try to have a loving or patient attitude or try to spread God’s word to others. There are some who also don’t go to church. Personally, I think some of these trends have reasons. Some of the “non-dedicated” Christians may still be learning how to properly communicate God’s word. Also, attending church is not required. Faith in God is what truly makes one a Christian. There may be some people who don’t have true faith in God, but, as I said before, we should force feed God onto them. If they truly desire God, then God will go to them.
Evangelical believers need to always be looking for an opportunity to tell others about Christ and share with them about the love and compassion that Christ has for them. The only way to extend such invitation is to extend love and compassion to them in building a relationship with them. Many other views such as the Liberalism view and the Neo-orthodoxy view will place focus on their own personal life, rather than focusing on others and building a relationship with them over time live Christ did with his disciples.
...really enjoyed. I felt like I was close with them. The people of the congregation stood up to shake each other’s hands and hug each other. Many of them were saying a specific phrase, “peace be with you.” Everyone was just walking around with big smiles on their faces greeting each other. I really enjoyed this moment because it was something we used to do in my church before the pastor changed.
At no time in my life, likely because I was typically surrounded by other Christians, have I been questioned about my faith. As I become more social with people, who come from diverse backgrounds I encounter individuals who do not identify as Christians. The most challenging questions I have received are ‘why do you believe” and ‘how could you believe in something so exclusive.’ Often in conversation with millennials, I find their largest objection to Christianity is the thought that their friend or loved one who is essentially a good person will be unable to go to heaven solely because they do not believe in Jesus Christ or God. While I admire their solidarity, I am often unequipped to offer a satisfactory answer to their
Our observations took place at Newman’s Catholic Church. In particular, we observed the interactions of a priest for an hour and thirty minutes. We began by observing how he interacted with members of the church for the first fifteen minutes before service began. Then we focused on his interactions with the assembly during service and finally, we witnessed how he interacted with others after mass. During this time a few noticeable differences occurred.