Posted: 12/24/2011 7:14:48 AM EDT
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Looking for a church to go to. Never really went before. I'd eventually like to incorporate my family into going after initial scouting missions.
Online faith quizzes keep pointing me towards Episcopal and Methodist. I'm not sure about the validity of online quizzes and I'm wondering if anyone can explain the difference between the two in layman's terms or offer another suggestion? |
| Being a confessional Lutheran, I'm really not going to be a good source as to their doctrines. I did find this site online with the same question as you have, and there seems to be pages of discussion. Here you go...differences... |
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If I may: Find a church that teaches the Bible - chapter by chapter, verse by verse - rather than topically. Some churches teach the Old testament on Wednesday nights and the New testament on Sundays. I try not to get tangled up in doctrinal or political issues. If your pastor is going straight through the Word, it's going to be difficult for him to convince the congregation of something that's not scripturally supported. Also, a pastoral staff that encourages the congregation to become knowledgeable & conversant in the Word is probably going to adhere to what's written there. If you're reading the Word yourself, and praying about what you're reading, you'll know if something's out of whack with a pastor's or churches doctrine. As far as what we want to hear in sermons, remember Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Our pastor's sermons should convict us, making us fully aware of how unworthy we are for Christ's sacrifice and God's Love. But He loves us anyway! (Can I get an amen?) 
Listen to Greg Laurie's (harvest.org) podcasts. Although topical, his lessons have really encouraged me to get into the Word for myself. Also, Bob Coy of Calvary Chapel in Ft Lauderdale, Chuck Smith at twft.org. These are all Calvary Chapel teachers. Another really helpful pastor is Alistair Begg of Truth for Life. I think he may be from Moody Bible Institute. Check itunes for podcasts or go to the teachers' websites. They're usually free. There are Calvary Chapels pretty much everywhere. Search online for one near you. They probably have websites that outline what they believe and teach. Also, many churches - even small ones - have webcasts or mp3s of sermons. Download a few and check them out. That how I found (or was lead to) the church my family attends. My personal experience with Calvary Chapel in Estero, FL is that if it's not in the Word, it's not in the church. Pray about it and take your family. He'll plant you somewhere! So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) |
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Quoted: Read James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. I know this verse is true. Follow this advice and you will be led to where you should be. Didn't someone else do that once?  I agree wholeheartedly. |
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I really don't like the fact that we have different denominations ,because there only one gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ ,and sometimes us Christians let our denominations separate us ,sometimes this is separation is very subtle or different churches may teach it.
But since denominations exist ,and people love them so much... Assembly Of God was the denomination of the 1st private school I attended. We had church service every Wednesday it was always biblical ,and respectful very easy to understand not very technical. They thought what was in the Bible ,and as long as you find one that is teaching The Word of God it will be good. But this is something that you cannot tell by reading the name on the church building. Its important to know the point of going to church ,but this is something you can learn later or while finding a church home. The pastor is your Leader he's not your savor he doesn't represent Christ he just a man like you. So what he teaches you should be able to read in your Bible ,he should be able to expound on the word and help you understand things in a new light but not add to the word of God. Pray about it ,ask God to lead you to a church that teaches about Him with a sound doctrine. And read your Bible along with the speaker in church ,always pray for understanding when reading your Bible. I don't know how much time you spend reading your Bible ,but if it's none try this. To start pray ,then read for 30-45 mins daily a little in the Old Testament Proverbs or Psalms ,but most of that time spend in the New Testament the 1st 4 books are going to be your gospels then Acts which is like a history of the new church then the Epistles that are kinda like a "How to" followed by Revelations. If you have particular things that you want to read about a good study Bible with a concordance is the way to go I have a 4 column Dake annotated reference Bible that I love its makes reading a King James a lot easier with definitions right on the page that you are reading with cross references. It's important to get the 4 column KJV if you look in to getting a Dake ,the NIV or 3 column are huge. But what ever Bible you chose to read if it be another translation other than KJV read it for easy understanding then go back to the KJV and read it again. And even with prayer use a good dictionary don't just rely on your extensive vocabulary when reading your Bible ,and take your time you don't have to read the whole thing in a day. The Old Testament is good ,but if you are new to reading the Bible or to Christ you want to focus more on the New Testament which is the New Covenant as you grow in Christ the Old Testament will be better understood. And if you haven't been reading your Bible this maybe a little hard too start doing at first ,the great deceiver will throw all kinds of distractions in your way and this can come in any form. He hates what your trying to do ,and that's getting you and your family to church he hates family. So in everything you do pray with God on your side no weapon formed against you shall prosper. |
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My suggestion, read through the New Testament. Then find a church that teaches what you read. I ended up in an Assembly of God church. Not all AG churches are the same though. Close but be careful. If I had to look again I'd be checking AG as well as baptist churches. But then again, not all are the same. Plenty of good non-denominational churches as well. Biggest thing, pray about it.
Don |
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Quoted:
I really don't like the fact that we have different denominations ,because there only one gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ ,and sometimes us Christians let our denominations separate us ,sometimes this is separation is very subtle or different churches may teach it. But since denominations exist ,and people love them so much... Assembly Of God was the denomination of the 1st private school I attended. We had church service every Wednesday it was always biblical ,and respectful very easy to understand not very technical. They thought what was in the Bible ,and as long as you find one that is teaching The Word of God it will be good. But this is something that you cannot tell by reading the name on the church building. Its important to know the point of going to church ,but this is something you can learn later or while finding a church home. The pastor is your Leader he's not your savor he doesn't represent Christ he just a man like you. So what he teaches you should be able to read in your Bible ,he should be able to expound on the word and help you understand things in a new light but not add to the word of God. Pray about it ,ask God to lead you to a church that teaches about Him with a sound doctrine. And read your Bible along with the speaker in church ,always pray for understanding when reading your Bible. I don't know how much time you spend reading your Bible ,but if it's none try this. To start pray ,then read for 30-45 mins daily a little in the Old Testament Proverbs or Psalms ,but most of that time spend in the New Testament the 1st 4 books are going to be your gospels then Acts which is like a history of the new church then the Epistles that are kinda like a "How to" followed by Revelations. If you have particular things that you want to read about a good study Bible with a concordance is the way to go I have a 4 column Dake annotated reference Bible that I love its makes reading a King James a lot easier with definitions right on the page that you are reading with cross references. It's important to get the 4 column KJV if you look in to getting a Dake ,the NIV or 3 column are huge. But what ever Bible you chose to read if it be another translation other than KJV read it for easy understanding then go back to the KJV and read it again. And even with prayer use a good dictionary don't just rely on your extensive vocabulary when reading your Bible ,and take your time you don't have to read the whole thing in a day. The Old Testament is good ,but if you are new to reading the Bible or to Christ you want to focus more on the New Testament which is the New Covenant as you grow in Christ the Old Testament will be better understood. And if you haven't been reading your Bible this maybe a little hard too start doing at first ,the great deceiver will throw all kinds of distractions in your way and this can come in any form. He hates what your trying to do ,and that's getting you and your family to church he hates family. So in everything you do pray with God on your side no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Your post explains why there are different denominations all by itself. The KJV which you seem to be so enamored with is just a translation of the Bible. And, although a good translation, it is by far and away not the definitive one. It has many shortcomings as all translations do. Translations are always translated into the modern tongue of the translation. The KJV was translated into a (now) archaic form of English. That language reflected the culture at the time. Because of this a modern reader may not know that both the gender term for males and the term for all mankind are both translated into "men". So what's so bad about that? It clouds Biblical answers for the roles of men and women. If you read the Koine Greek, you would know that when Paul, for example would address the congregations as "Brothers", it is really better translated as "Brothers and Sisters". And you'd also know that when he describes the requisites for fastors and other leaders of the churches, he uses the gender term for men. That would seem to eliminate women from the pulpit, wouldn't it? That is why for example, the Pastors in my denomination are ALL educated in the orginal tongues of the scripture. When it's time for the sermon, although I'm sure they read it in English, they do go back to the Hebrew or the Greek for better understanding. I assure you, the first century christians were not reading KJV Bibles nor Luther Bibels nor the RSV or NIV or ESV. The clearly consistent pattern we find in the Bible is the privilege and responsibility to appraise all religious views that we come into contact with and then to respond to those views by speaking the truth in love. When we find that the religious views of others are in agreement with the Bible message (especially when they are centered in Christ and his work, faithfully pointing sinners to God's gracious pardon of sinners based totally on Christ's work), then we rejoice and affirm the truth. However, when we find that the religious views of others involve departures or denials of Bible truths, we are to expose the errors as errors and lovingly warn the people of the dangers of falsehood. And when we examine and discover that someone's religious views are a combination of truth and error, we affirm and rejoice in the truth but then identify and expose the error at the same time. The goal is always to strive, in love, to serve the religious needs of others by pointing them to God's truth and warning them against departures from God's truth. Unity in the Church is not good if the agreement is not good if it is not consistant with God's word. I'm a Confessional Lutheran and my church's doctrine I believe is solidly backed by the Scriptures. I reject deciscion theology. God chose us, not the other way around. The only decision man ever chose about accepting Christ is not to. I reject the errors in Calvinism and Arminianism, for example. That is a reason I will not commune with their followers. We claim to be Christians and Protestants and Reformed denominations all claim Sola Scriptura and yet many claim that there is no Divine Presence in the Lord's Supper and Baptism when clearly the Bible says otherwise. I'm sure followers of other denominations have concerns about Lutherans. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I really don't like the fact that we have different denominations ,because there only one gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ ,and sometimes us Christians let our denominations separate us ,sometimes this is separation is very subtle or different churches may teach it. But since denominations exist ,and people love them so much... Assembly Of God was the denomination of the 1st private school I attended. We had church service every Wednesday it was always biblical ,and respectful very easy to understand not very technical. They thought what was in the Bible ,and as long as you find one that is teaching The Word of God it will be good. But this is something that you cannot tell by reading the name on the church building. Its important to know the point of going to church ,but this is something you can learn later or while finding a church home. The pastor is your Leader he's not your savor he doesn't represent Christ he just a man like you. So what he teaches you should be able to read in your Bible ,he should be able to expound on the word and help you understand things in a new light but not add to the word of God. Pray about it ,ask God to lead you to a church that teaches about Him with a sound doctrine. And read your Bible along with the speaker in church ,always pray for understanding when reading your Bible. I don't know how much time you spend reading your Bible ,but if it's none try this. To start pray ,then read for 30-45 mins daily a little in the Old Testament Proverbs or Psalms ,but most of that time spend in the New Testament the 1st 4 books are going to be your gospels then Acts which is like a history of the new church then the Epistles that are kinda like a "How to" followed by Revelations. If you have particular things that you want to read about a good study Bible with a concordance is the way to go I have a 4 column Dake annotated reference Bible that I love its makes reading a King James a lot easier with definitions right on the page that you are reading with cross references. It's important to get the 4 column KJV if you look in to getting a Dake ,the NIV or 3 column are huge. But what ever Bible you chose to read if it be another translation other than KJV read it for easy understanding then go back to the KJV and read it again. And even with prayer use a good dictionary don't just rely on your extensive vocabulary when reading your Bible ,and take your time you don't have to read the whole thing in a day. The Old Testament is good ,but if you are new to reading the Bible or to Christ you want to focus more on the New Testament which is the New Covenant as you grow in Christ the Old Testament will be better understood. And if you haven't been reading your Bible this maybe a little hard too start doing at first ,the great deceiver will throw all kinds of distractions in your way and this can come in any form. He hates what your trying to do ,and that's getting you and your family to church he hates family. So in everything you do pray with God on your side no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Your post explains why there are different denominations all by itself. The KJV which you seem to be so enamored with is just a translation of the Bible. And, although a good translation, it is by far and away not the definitive one. It has many shortcomings as all translations do. Translations are always translated into the modern tongue of the translation. The KJV was translated into a (now) archaic form of English. That language reflected the culture at the time. Because of this a modern reader may not know that both the gender term for males and the term for all mankind are both translated into "men". So what's so bad about that? It clouds Biblical answers for the roles of men and women. If you read the Koine Greek, you would know that when Paul, for example would address the congregations as "Brothers", it is really better translated as "Brothers and Sisters". And you'd also know that when he describes the requisites for fastors and other leaders of the churches, he uses the gender term for men. That would seem to eliminate women from the pulpit, wouldn't it? That is why for example, the Pastors in my denomination are ALL educated in the orginal tongues of the scripture. When it's time for the sermon, although I'm sure they read it in English, they do go back to the Hebrew or the Greek for better understanding. I assure you, the first century christians were not reading KJV Bibles nor Luther Bibels nor the RSV or NIV or ESV. The clearly consistent pattern we find in the Bible is the privilege and responsibility to appraise all religious views that we come into contact with and then to respond to those views by speaking the truth in love. When we find that the religious views of others are in agreement with the Bible message (especially when they are centered in Christ and his work, faithfully pointing sinners to God's gracious pardon of sinners based totally on Christ's work), then we rejoice and affirm the truth. However, when we find that the religious views of others involve departures or denials of Bible truths, we are to expose the errors as errors and lovingly warn the people of the dangers of falsehood. And when we examine and discover that someone's religious views are a combination of truth and error, we affirm and rejoice in the truth but then identify and expose the error at the same time. The goal is always to strive, in love, to serve the religious needs of others by pointing them to God's truth and warning them against departures from God's truth. Unity in the Church is not good if the agreement is not good if it is not consistant with God's word. I'm a Confessional Lutheran and my church's doctrine I believe is solidly backed by the Scriptures. I reject deciscion theology. God chose us, not the other way around. The only decision man ever chose about accepting Christ is not to. I reject the errors in Calvinism and Arminianism, for example. That is a reason I will not commune with their followers. We claim to be Christians and Protestants and Reformed denominations all claim Sola Scriptura and yet many claim that there is no Divine Presence in the Lord's Supper and Baptism when clearly the Bible says otherwise. I'm sure followers of other denominations have concerns about Lutherans. It's not that I'm so enamored with the KJV. I chose to read it the most because it's what most people read. No matter what group of people I'm around the KJV is more accepted across the board than other Bibles. If I run into someone reading the ,message bible ,or american standard I may offend someone. But if I'm well read in the KJV I can explain it and direct them where to read whatever it is in their Bible. When it comes to modern tongue of the translation this is one of the reasons I'm going to School. I don' t like some of the translations that are out there, some take away from the word. I want a better understanding of the word even though I know Jesus is part of my life ,and I'm enjoying my salvation I just can't learn enough. When I'm talking about Unity in the Church I said there is only one Gospel ,I didn't expound to deeply on this for a reason. Look at what you said about this topic it sounds like you have a automatic separation in one way or another between you and other Christians just because of their denomination. Now since the Bible was not written with denominations it seems to me that at some point and time believers just didn't get along and broke off in different churches. Now I could be wrong but in reading the Bible I just don't see believers having to break up the church like it is today unless flesh or the world was involved in the church. I guess what I'm saying is that MAN has messed up somewhere. Now that denominations exist I don't necessarily think there bad if they are used properly obviously I don't want to go to a church that doesn't believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 4:1-3 1.Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2.Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3.Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 3.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4.And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. When it comes to denominations I've have seen ,and heard of mixed denominations coming together and you could not tell who belonged to what it just looked like people going to church. By putting to much emphasis on denominations ,and not what is believed by the believer it seems to me that denominations can also weaken the Church as a whole. I'm not 100% on what a Confessional Lutheran is ,but a ex-Lutheran goes to my church she came in very knowledgeable in the "Word" to the point she became a Sunday School teacher almost right off the bat. In talking to her about being Lutheran she said she liked it ,but just found most Pastors boring. But the word is the word ,and I don't believe that the name on the outside of the building necessarily tells you what is believed on the inside of the building. As for me I grew up C.O.G.I.C (Church Of God In Christ) you just can't walk up to any C.O.G.I.C and see a good example of the Holyness church I grew up in. Now I'm Non-Denominational you definitely can't walk into just any Non-Denominational church to see whats being believed ,and thought in my church. I try to keep in mind that a persons denomination doesn't necessarily define their believe ,I know who you are talking about in the Lords Supper and Baptism not all of them believe the way the masses do the gospel is not hidden to everyone just the unrighteous. Just like you said some of the things that they believe go against what is written in the Bible ,but to me having the denominations the way that they are now gives them more security in their ways because of all the choices that are out there. And with the walls that we have put up between us as believers ,whose kingdom are we building? |
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As with every question that vexes you, go to a quiet place and pray to GOD. It should be a place that you know that you will not be disturbed or disturb others and just talk to GOD. There aren't any magic words, spells, or incantations. Just talk to him. But, there is a catch. Most folks, including myself, miss this part. Be prepared to listen. And remember that GOD does not shout. He whispers. We must listen carefully. One other thing. When it is GOD speaking, there is no turmoil, no conflict, no contention. Only peace. If you are not at peace with the answer, keep asking and listening. |