MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

By JULIAN HANCOCK

Before seeing what Scripture has to say about church attendance, I can offer several very good reasons why it is extremely beneficial and desirable for Christians to attend church on a regular basis.

If your denomination has a formal liturgy, such as the Episcopalian for example, during the course of each year, Bible readings – and correspondingly sermon topics – will touch on all significant extracts from the Bible. So that if you merely attended church every Sunday for, say 5 years, then you will have been reminded of the essential teachings in the Scriptures 5 times.

Another very important reason for regular church attendance is the opportunity to worship God (and Jesus) through communal hymn singing. Who bothers to sing hymns alone at home? Very few I would guess. However when singing in the setting of a gathering of fellow Christians, to the accompaniment of organ music, well I can speak for myself and say that I sing with great gusto in this environment.

As well as serving as a form of praise to the Almighty, hymns are educational because, for the most part, they are each based on a particular verse in the bible.

And then there is the remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for us in the Holy Communion or Mass. Refer to LUKE 22: 19, 20 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

Whilst Jesus does not suggest that we observe this ritual every week, the more often we do, they more often we are reminded of the primary purpose of his incarnation and mission. It is symbolically important that we share the body and blood in a group situation, signifying that we are all members of a single family.

It is also important that we pray together, including speaking the words of the Nicene and/or Apostles’ Creed. This reminds as of, and reaffirms our faith and trust. In the Anglican (Episcopalian) Book of Common Prayer there is also a General Confession which we might not think to do at home alone.

For anyone who attends a church which DOES NOT use the Book of Common Prayer, I strongly recommend that you obtain a copy of this very carefully constructed book and read it, and use the liturgy contained therein at home, or in any other situation where you are unable to attend a church service.

And yet another good reason for attending meetings of a Christian community is to take advantage of the various Bible Study groups, at which you can address to your Pastor any questions which will inevitably arise.
Now I shall have a look at what Scripture has to say about the importance of regular church attendance.

1 THESSALONIANS 5: 11 – 15 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.(12) And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; (13) And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. (14) Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. (15) See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

HEBREWS 3: 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
HEBREWS 10: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
JAMES 5: 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
COLOSSIANS 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
1 CORINTHIANS 10: 16, 17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (17) For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

The overall message is, as I see it, that Christians are a family – distinct from all other people on earth -- and that, as such, they should share together as they would in a corporeal family.

1... God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2... God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3... God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4... God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5.. God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

6... God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

7... God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated! your neighbors.

8... God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.

9... God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

10... God won't have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He already knows your decision.

By GRET RACINE

There were several reasons why Jews, at the time of the Roman occupation (of Palestine) rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Messiah, as I understand, is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew word "mashiach", which means "king". (So does "melech", but it's a slightly different kind of king). A mashiach was foretold to the Jews in Biblical prophecy who would be "a warrior king" who would lead them to freedom from the Roman occupation (in this case; it could just as easily have been the Egyptian or Assyrian or Greek or any other occupation, since no mashiach would need to come at any other time).

Well, the Roman occupation didn't end with the freedom of the Jews; quite the opposite, in fact. The year 70 saw the total destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and by the year 135, the population was scattered to the winds in what became known as the Diaspora or dispersion. It was patently obvious to the authorities left that no mashiach had come forward to lead them to victory and freedom, ergo, no prophecies could have been fulfilled and the Messiah was still to come.

Furthermore, the sometimes hostile sparring between the two major groups of early Christianity -- Paul's (Saul's) pro-Gentile faction and Jesus' (carried on by his brothers) anti-Gentile faction -- came to a head when the Pauline faction won out. To any Jew tinkering with the idea of joining up, this major blow was quite enough to make him/her think again. To associate with Gentiles was an absolute no-no, and if the new religion were to be weakened by allowing them in, by abandoning the age-old laws, it was seen as another cop-out for would-be Jewish converts.

Today, while Orthodox Jews still believe in the coming of a physical Messiah -- a "warrior" who will restore the holy city, restore the Temple and lead all the Jews of the Diaspora back to Israel -- Progressive Jews believe in a messianic age, a time of world peace and harmony, when neighbours can live with respect and toleration for one another rather than in fear and anxiety. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I can't see that happening for a long, long time. Can you imagine what would happen if somebody strong enough rose up and announced he was the "mashiach" of prophecy and charged onto the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem with an army and tried to take out the Arabs and the mosques there? The place would be awash with the blood of both sides and more, whoever came to aid either side, and if the third world war hadn't broken out already, then it certainly would this time. Violence and bloodshed are not the way to go; only proper negotiation can achieve a lasting peace.

Personally I believe that, whatever happens in the future in Israel, if the "Messiah" is still able to return -- still wants to return is more to the point -- he probably wouldn't be a "warrior" with an army behind him, but he would be an orator and a supreme negotiator. He would be charismatic and calming. And if there are those who didn't want to know, well, it probably wouldn't matter in the end anyway. Such a person would win the day with WORDS rather than swords (well, guns and tanks then) and the "non-believers" (I prefer "non-acceptors") would be put firmly in their boxes and left there to rot! Yes, I think only the spiritually enlightened would recognise such a person because there's already enough killing and bloodshed in the world and we can do without more. What is it they say? The pen is mightier than the sword? You bet it will be when the time comes!