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For years I have been calling the established churches "christian country clubs". It's been a rollercoaster ride: hoping and praying that we have finally found our place. We live in the Bible Belt or south Mississippi, USA. It's very difficult to find a good Bible believing church which preachs the whole word of God. Most of the ones we have attended have religious control spirits, big time. Recently after a very inappropriate Sunday School lesson on death and dying; my ten year old was asked "What will be on your toomb stone? Who will speak for your funeral? How do you think you will die?" When confronted the teacher was not apologetic.After several other problems I decided to home Sunday School my child. We have been having very good lessons on the Holy Spirit. She had been told by the church Sunday School teacher that the gifts were not for today. She cried almost every Sunday about something which went against our personal beliefs. After vowing to not sit through anymore boring sermons, my husband and I decided to meet in the basement of our business on Sunday afternoons at 3pm (no interference with the established times.) We have been meeting for about 6 weeks now. Last week was a difficult meeting. I was very discouraged. But i asked the Lord to please give me some encouragement that we were on the right track. The next day a man came in our store. He said that my husband and i had witnessed to him in the early 70s. My husband encouraged him to pray to receive Jesus, but he refused. He did, however, allow us to pray for him. Later he accepted Christ in a hotel room where he had gone to kill a man! He could not get that prayer out of his mind. He also had a vision of an angel. Anyway, i cannot give anymore details but of course this greatly encouraged me. We have great kids ages 25,24,20 and 11; they are meeting with us. The praise and worship is very good. God is blessing. But i get weary answering the age old question: where are ya'll going to church? i call it "Our Family Worship Center which meets in the basement of our store. Does anybody have any suggestions about what to say when we are called on the carpet for starting our own church? Thanks for letting me write this. God bless you! Terry Keith
CharlesC
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Terry, Be encouraged. A few years ago, the Lord led me out of the institutional church, as well. At the time, I didn't even know about meeting in homes. I can relate to the frustration that you are experiencing. Our Lord Jesus Christ knows about your committment and loyalty to Him. Remember that he has already sent the Holy Spirit, to lead and guide you into all truth. The Lord wants to bring you higher. He will bring you from a place of despair, confusion, defensiveness, and criticism; and bring you into His place of perfect peace. First of all, remember that fellow Christians are our brothers and sisters. We must have love for one another. If we are to speak truth to them, our words must be inspired by the Holy Spirit. We must esteem others greater than ourselves, and we must restore them in a spirit of meekness. We must have discernment. Yes, there are many religious spirits. There's no sense in trying to have a conversation with the wrong spirit. Even the carnal Christian cannot receive the things of God, for they are spiritually discerned. The Holy Spirit must be touching the person, if they are to receive. When the Holy Spirit leads me to share what I'm doing, I usually tell them that I do what they did in the first churches; I preach in public and meet informally in homes. There's no need to try to convince anyone of anything. We need to intercede for others, so that the Lord will remove the religious bondage from our brothers and sisters. Then, as we walk in love and walk in the Spirit, and lift up Jesus, He will draw the people. Our Lord Jesus Christ is building His Church. Don't be anxious. Cease from striving. Rest in Him. He is in you. He is Peace, in you. Meditate on His Word, day and night. Continually worship Him. As you spend much time and quality time with Him, you will be conformed into His image. Then, you will begin to work with Him, as He builds His Church. The relationship is more important than the ministry. The fruits are more important than the gifts. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, then all the things you need will be added unto you. Hallelujah! Be encouraged, Terry, In the future, we will see the glory of Acts restored to the Church. How we meet, where we meet, and why we meet are all important to our Lord. Once again, people will see men and women of God turn the cities of the world "upside down". I am preparing a web-site in order to share my experiences with the Lord as He builds His Church. As the Holy Spirit leads you, Terry, feel free to stay in touch with me. Email; Charles12@homestead.com May our Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless your family. Love, in Him, Charles.
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Wow. That is so cool. A simple and totally true reply would be to answer with His. Where do you go? To Him. Where do you meet? With Him. How do you meet? Around Him. Everything must be Him! Jesus! SEMPER FIDELIS! ben \o/
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