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Susanna Bythesea's avatar

“Seminary class” - that is so accurate! Maybe even “seminary class” and “those who think or have seminary class envy”. The amount of drivel being preached from the pulpits is enough to drive anyone away. I know so many evangelicals - family members, friends - who claim to be voting for Trump while holding their nose. WHY? What POLICY do you disagree with? None. They just don’t like HIM. How can people who should be familiar with all the flawed characters God used for his glory, throughout the Bible and history, be so petty and shortsighted.

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Janet's avatar

Excellent point. This is why I left my mainline church. Seminary quality sermons. The world is crumbling around us and not a word about preparing ourselves and warning those around us to put on the armor of God and seek His face. There will be many caught by surprise. Jesus had a few words to say about this.

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Elaine H's avatar

That is why I love cornerstone chapel in leesburg VA. Pastor Gary Hamrick. I don’t live there, so I am part of their online congregation. Give it a try.

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Sunnydaze's avatar

We’ve been tuned into him for almost 4 years now!! We love him! We cannot find a church to go to in person anywhere around us that isn’t blowing smoke and blah blah blahs from the pulpit. We want the Bible, we want politics involved, we want the state of our world addressed, we want the TRUTH! We get that online with Cornerstone. So as much as we’d like a community - we’ll take the truth over mingling and pleasantries.

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Austin's avatar

Try looking at a Calvary Chapel in your area. I had looked for a church for YEARS. I had to settle for a Baptist church.....which shut down for months during Covid. Then I found a Calvary Chapel. I knew I was in the right place, 1) the pastor preaches ALL of the Bible, 2) he DID NOT shut down during Covid. 😍

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Austin's avatar

Oh, and the pastor invites anyone who is not born again to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.......EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY! In all my years, I have NEVER heard a pastor do that.

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sadie's avatar

I've attended several churches that always end that way. Baptists mostly do it and used to be Nazarenes did. I'm not exactly for it because church is for the believers.. not a place to proselytize. I get that the pastors don't want to miss an opportunity tho and actually, few churches are run according to scripture these days, so I'll just be glad the Word is going out no matter the details.

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Austin's avatar

Church is for believers? Really? According to Jesus in Luke 5:30-32:

"But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them, “It is NOT THE HEALTHY WHO NEED A DOCTOR, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” [Emphasis mine.]

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sadie's avatar

Read on into Acts and Paul’s letters… Jesus was not conducting church. He was the Messiah and brought his gospel TO the people. Church itself, as in meeting together, is for the believers to encourage one another to good works, where believers learn how to grow, to relate, how to be a Christian. It is for prayer and praise. And the covenant of communion. We go out into the world to share the gospel. “church” … or the meeting together … is for believers already. I know that’s not a popular opinion. And if you’re not familiar with house churches or cell churches it will be very foreign. But small groups are where growth discipleship occurs. Not the entertainment style of big churches.

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Donna Oliphint's avatar

The late Frank Barker at Briarwood Presbyterian in Birmingham, Alabama always ended his sermons with, “How should we respond to this (sermon)? Well, if you’re a Christian…. If you haven’t given your life to Jesus…”

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Trudy's avatar

I’m live in PA and my sister and I drive down to Pastor Gary’s church, Cornerstone Chapel in VA at least twice a year. We went to hear him with his Election Sunday message in September, powerful!!! He is an amazing man of God and so compassionate and passionate about the state of our country. I too watch him online every week!

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Sunnydaze's avatar

Love love love his election sermon!

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Janet's avatar

I listen to a few others online. I will look at him. Thnx.

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Trudy's avatar

Janet, Pastor Gary is a wonderful preacher, teacher of the Word of God. He is, as I said to Elaine, a compassionate and passionate man in wanting all to come to know Jesus as Savior. If you can, listen to his message from September, it was his Election Sunday message and well done. Go to YouTube, Cornerstone Chapel VA and look for that title, Election Sunday message. 💗🙏🏻

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Julie Ann B's avatar

It took us several years to find a great church in the Kansas City area but ended up in a great Presbyterian Church (PCA) which faithfully preaches God’s Word and has an active, involved congregation of all ages. But we still often listen to sermons by Pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone, Pastor John MacArthur from Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA. and Pastor Jack Hibbs from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, CA. All are excellent!

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Yuma's Freezing's avatar

My pastor said that we are to "go and tell", not "sit and listen." I should probably say*former* pastor. The church split up about a year after he left. The remnants are nothing like that church used to be.

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Robyn Welch's avatar

I love my little church. Traditional song service, awesome preacher. We're finishing Revelation in the next few weeks. He preaches the Truth, only according to the Word.

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Oma's avatar

Janet, stream Tomoka Christian Church, Ormond Beach, Florida and listen to Pastor Joe Putting- Tomoka.cc

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Robin Greer's avatar

A local big name book writing pastor in Nashville Ray Ortland came out in support of Kamala. I hope many of his congregation left. You can’t claim to be a Christian and support abortion up to birth.

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Cheryl Caraglior's avatar

Ray Ortland is one of the shepherds for sale in Megan Basham's book. Just sayin'

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Robin Greer's avatar

Well then, that makes sense now.

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Gaye's avatar

Watch Allie Beth Stuckey and this great Nashville pastor! https://youtu.be/3PM5nlHhLiw

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Fre'd Bennett, MAHA's avatar

Ahem. Melania does.

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PamelaZelie's avatar

Yes, when I heard that I immediately began praying for her conversion.

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Sunnydaze's avatar

Um…excuse me….Melania Trump agrees with abortion up until birth???? What?? You have proof of her saying that? I have never heard this. 🤨

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Fre'd Bennett, MAHA's avatar

https://time.com/7050707/melania-trump-abortion-views-memoir-interview-donald-trump-reaction/

That's just one source - there are many.

The truth is that the Trump campaign wanted Melania's pro-abortion stance to signal their support to the 20-something females who are overwhelmingly pro-abort, secure in the knowledge that their pro-life base will never waiver, but will go along willingly to support abortion.

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Fre'd Bennett, MAHA's avatar

Did you not hear any news about her book about a month ago?

In it, she definitively declares that abortion is up to every woman - no exceptions

I'll go look for the quotes for you.

The Trumps are both pro-abortion. They wouldn't have allowed her pro-abort book to come out so publicly right before the election of they weren't.

Which is another reason for me not voting for Trump.

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Pixie Prissy's avatar

People who do not like Trump dislike him because they were told to dislike him. I have followed him closely since 2016. Here’s what I see in and Donald Trump. Someone who is kind, loving, empathetic and sympathetic, courageous, fearless, and generous (without calling attention to his generosity). I see him is a fine man. Also many Christians call him and unrepented sinner. Only God knows if Trump has repented. If you’re not God, please stop saying he’s an unrepented sinner.

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ViaVeritasVita's avatar

Because they haven't actually read the Bible. A year or so ago, I looked into Gab, (I'd been absent for a year) and this popped up on my screen: Why does Satan want you in church? So you won't be reading your Bible. And in truth, as long as I was a regular church-goer, I just didn't "get around" to reading my Bible in a disciplined way. That changed, April 2023. Also, I have learned not to take lightly those screens which pop up out of nowhere.

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Jeff C's avatar

That's because you weren't in a good church. A good church will make teaching God's Word the cornerstone of the service. A good church will study the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse and understand the whole counsel of God. A good church won't jump around in the Bible cherry-picking passages that make the pastor feel good, but will teach all of it. If people aren't squirming in the pews now and then it's a sure sign the Bible isn't being taught.

God does want you in church as He commands us in the Bible to come together and fellowship with others. God doesn't want you out of church entirely but in a good Biblical church.

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Sunnydaze's avatar

I don’t remember God commanding us to go to CHURCH, but yes to fellowship together. Church made sense for that. I submit that a good Bible preaching church is harder to find now that we are awake to the schemes of the devil and how he has used and abused pastors from the pulpit. I wish we could find a good truth speaking bible based teaching church in our area but we have come up empty. We are left to fend for ourselves online - but have found a spot in Cornerstone Chapel out of Virginia. We lack the fellowship God talks about in person, but we have friends and family that are like minded and Christian in real life walking with Jesus that we get to hang out and have quality time together when they come visit. It’s not often enough but we cherish it when we have it. Until God leads us to an in person church we do the best we can.

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Jeff C's avatar

Hi Sunnydaze, I urge you to consider Aloha50's comment above as it's very well stated and much more clearly and compassionately laid out than what I said. God commands us to fellowship because He knows it's good for our soul.

You are absolutely right in that the command is to fellowship (not sit in a building called a church) but that means learning about, praising, and worshipping God together with other Christians. As Aloha so well put it above, it's key to our spiritual growth.

If you like Pastor Gary's at Cornerstones heart and teaching I'd suggest you check out a Calvary Chapel in your area. Cornerstone is part of the Calvary Chapel movement and most of these pastors trained under Chuck Smith who taught them to teach the Bible this way in a kind but uncompromising fashion. I can't vouch for them all of course, but the overwhelming majority are solid Bible churches led by men that love the Lord and emphasize fellowship.

Many of them don't have "Calvary Chapel" in the church's name but are still affiliated with the movement.

https://calvarychapel.com/church-locator/

https://calvarycca.org/churches/

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Donna Oliphint's avatar

Hebrews 10: 23Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

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Sunnydaze's avatar

25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

I know what the Bible says. I don’t see God “commanding” us to go to church though. I see a commandment of thou shalt not kill. There’s a difference in that statement. It is a command. “Not neglecting meeting together” has a different tone and is not made as a command.

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Aloha50's avatar

This is true. Seems as though there's quite a few on here who think that listening to a sermon online every week is good. That's not fellowship. If that's in addition to local church attendance then great but should never replace. From a practical point of view, they miss out on all the blessings of having a community of like-minded people to share life with. I often think how people who have church local community (friendships) are blessed when a crisis occurs (usually health). Hospital visits, meals, etc....the local church is there for you. The online Church attender gets none of that. Something to think about.

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RJ Rambler's avatar

Today cleared the air of vaccine approvals and bragging rights! My nose isn't so tight today. Abortion and LGB-Z gender must be taken a negative stand on until I can breathe free. I do feel like he's USED Christianity to his advantage but at least he sees it's use in lawfulness and freedoms. Melania is as big an objection in my mind..his closest ally and 'partner in crime'. You can say my panties are in a twist or two still. But TRUTH is that these are the choices God gave us for a time and purpose. Only God is perfect in all His ways. All others are imitators and/or usurpers.

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Sunnydaze's avatar

🎯

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Deb's avatar

Every Christian should read the book that was written by Megan Basham. It is excellent! The church is the last stronghold standing in the way of the globalist one works government. We who call ourselves Christ followers need to stand up strong against this evil! There are still good churches in America with some strong pastors who take their calling seriously. If you have been disenfranchised by one church ... Find another. Satan wants nothing more that for the church to fall into complete disarray and die! Don't allow that to happen our watch! I truly believe that our country is a gift to each of us from God and we need to do a better job of protecting her!

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Bandit's avatar

My church sure isn't standing in the way of anything! They're all for communism/socialism/fascism. It breaks my heart to be the only one there against the takeover. 😭😭😭😭😭

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Sunnydaze's avatar

I bought her book and started reading it. Unless we can find a biblical church in person (which so far we haven’t) we’ll go online to Pastor Gary Hammerick in Virginia.

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PamelaZelie's avatar

I’m not going to find another one, Deb, although I understand your point. As a Roman Catholic, we Traditionalists are standing strong and fighting back against the evil that has infiltrated the Church we love. I will live as a Catholic and die as a Catholic, standing firm on my faith in Jesus Christ and the Magisterium of the Church.

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dan herrick's avatar

I was saying thirty years ago that amillenialism is a virus you catch in seminary. A couple decades of expositional preaching from both Testaments is a tolerably effective cure.

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Pat Wetzel's avatar

Now that is something to think about.

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