Articles about church 'stuff'
Christians may not appreciate that their own church has a set way of doing things but newcomers can feel very self conscious in trying to do the 'right thing' and not looking stupid.
Which reminds me of a funny, if not embarrassing situation, when I was asked to preach at a denomination I had not been to before. At some point in the service I asked the congregation to stand and everyone apart from myself and my wife remained seated - well, they NEVER stood at that part of the service, not ever!
Here are some articles about church life, unity, communion, our group's view on what is acceptable, baptism, gays, what the gospel message should be, etc:
[1] What is Communion, is it the Passover Meal?
Jesus knew that He was going to finish the meal in a different way, but He did want to eat the Passover with his disciples.
In initiating the Passover Meal, God wanted certain things in this meal to point to the Jews leaving Egypt, but also, and more importantly, to point directly to Jesus…
Church leadership problems – choosing authentic leaders
From my own personal viewpoint on Church leadership problems I have seen many good Christian leaders and unfortunately many ones that just should not have been chosen for a church leadership position in the first place…
Baptism meaning – Problematic in practice
Baptism meaning: There are different ways of getting baptised and this subject has caused a lot of conflict between different Christian groups. This post looks at this dilemma. I had to learn a lesson many years ago involving water baptism and I want to pass this on to you…
What is church doctrine? Go Shake Your World With It!
FACEBOOK has its doctrine. Doctrine contrary to popular opinion, is not legalism. What is church doctrine? Doctrine is just the working essentials for getting things done. Facebook has it, Twitter has it and so have you. Doctrine determines:- Identity, Authority and ability…
[2] Communion meaning and The Passover Meal
We see the Communion meaning when we see Jesus at his last supper with his disciples. He was celebrating the Passover meal and Jesus would certainly have seen this as a celebration of spiritual freedom…
Christian code of conduct – unwritten behaviour
A congregation takes on it’s own unwritten Christian code of conduct, a unique code of behaviour and appearance. To feel ‘accepted’ you need to follow this unwritten code. Roy (name changed) was naturally jolly and bouncy, but the congregation was more sedate and ‘spiritual’! Soon Roy was getting on everybody’s nerves and this was intensified when the church went away for a few days of camping…
[3] The symbolism of the Passover Seder Meal
There is a lovely symbolism of the Passover Meal – the Seder Meal. The Head of the house puts on a Kittel which resembles a Lab Coat, but has no pockets or buttons. The origin of the Kittel comes from the priests clothes. But NOT the High Priest’s elaborate garments. When he entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he wore simple linen garments…
[4] The symbolic food at the Seder Passover Meal
After taking a sip from the first cup of wine with this symbolic food, everyone picks up the parsley and dips it in to salt water and then tastes a bit. This represents the Jew’s tears of slavery when they were in Egypt…