A Revival of Worship
I received an email from a gentleman that had just recently begun attending Family Church. This man had experience in attending church but admitted that he was quite shocked at what he found when he walked through our doors. He saw people lifting their hands in worship and shouting praises to God. He wrote, “These practices (of raising hands in worship, shouting praises, and TEACHING on unknown tongues) seem strange to me too. I agree that they ARE scriptural. But most American Christians don’t worship like that. It gives a “cult” feel to the service.” I immediately sat down and wrote out several scriptures on the subjects in question and gave them to this man. He was very appreciative.
I believe that this gentleman represents a demographic of Christians at large. I believe we are on the brink of an awakening amongst sincere people. This man wasn’t trying to be offensive but he couldn’t understand why these things seemed so foreign to him though he has spent years in church. The answer is this: The Church at large in America has moved so far from the Biblical pattern of worship that it seems cultic when we actually do what the Bible says. This man was just happy to receive the truth on the subject. His email was a blessing to me. Family Church is not the authority on what is worship. The Bible is the authority and it is time that the Church woke up to it and began practicing it. These are the days when believers and those that need Christ will seek straight Biblical teaching at all costs. Churches that water things down to become seeker sensitive are going to fail. People are not drawn to powerlessness. You cannot teach doctrines for the comfort of man and expect God to bless your assembly. People need to experience the genuine power of God.
Let me ask you some questions: Was worship made for man or for God? Do you seek your comfort in forms of worship or do you long to please God and make Him comfortable? Our comfort and God’s comfort are seldom the same thing. The manner in which a church addresses that question will determine God’s blessing on their work.
I am going to be bold: Are people getting saved at your church? Are their lives changing into the image of Christ? Are marriages getting restored? Are the sick being healed miraculously? If you sincerely answer “no” to most of those questions then you are attending a cemetery not a New Testament church. I know that makes some of you upset and I am certainly not saying that Family Church has arrived. But I challenge you to search the scriptures and worship God with the uncompromised Word. He desires to attract the lost and hurting world with His power. That power will not be released until God is exalted according to His Word.
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti, NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
