Comments on: My first church experience… http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:11:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Charles Grooms http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-862 Charles Grooms Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:42:22 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-862 Rachel, I am Spiritual as well. Here is a Fictional account of the 40 days Jesus spent with his disciples after his resurrection. So here is my question. Q: If you spent 3o days with Jesus after his resurrection would you have the right message? Go to www.40dayswithjesus,ning.com for a Free! e-book Rachel, I am Spiritual as well. Here is a Fictional account of the 40 days Jesus spent with his disciples after his resurrection. So here is my question. Q: If you spent 3o days with Jesus after his resurrection would you have the right message? Go to http://www.40dayswithjesus,ning.com for a Free! e-book

]]> By: Mike http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-735 Mike Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:23:20 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-735 I think Jorge has it about right. If organized religion works for you, that is fantastic. But you don't NEED it, it is simply a resource and a gathering place for others to help you find your "GOD". I spent my younger years searching and questioning. And what I discovered was that the onus was really on me to find, refine and develop my spiritual nature. I personally found organized church to be much more of an impediment to this than an aid. But I don't look down on those who find it a tremendous help in their own personal searches. We are all unique individuals on this big blue orb. And in the end all that we have is each other, in the here and now. The fact is that even if we personally know thousands and thousands of people in this life; that 50 years after we die there will be precious few of the living who will remember us at all. So in the big scheme of things we are here for just an instant. And then we are gone. So as Jorge said, "Love yourself and love others as you do yourself". That is an almost universal tenet of every major religion that man has invented. So that is truly the bottom line. I think Jorge has it about right.

If organized religion works for you, that is fantastic. But you don’t NEED it, it is simply a resource and a gathering place for others to help you find your “GOD”.

I spent my younger years searching and questioning. And what I discovered was that the onus was really on me to find, refine and develop my spiritual nature. I personally found organized church to be much more of an impediment to this than an aid. But I don’t look down on those who find it a tremendous help in their own personal searches.

We are all unique individuals on this big blue orb. And in the end all that we have is each other, in the here and now. The fact is that even if we personally know thousands and thousands of people in this life; that 50 years after we die there will be precious few of the living who will remember us at all. So in the big scheme of things we are here for just an instant. And then we are gone.

So as Jorge said, “Love yourself and love others as you do yourself”. That is an almost universal tenet of every major religion that man has invented. So that is truly the bottom line.

]]> By: Jorge http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-719 Jorge Sun, 09 Aug 2009 17:40:52 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-719 Dear Rachel, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mohamed, Universe, Positive thoughts, the All, I Am, etc all exists within you already. Church is a place where you can gather and walk with said names; anytime and anyplace. No building required and all the ceremonies therein. Love yourself and love others as you do yourself. Bottom line . . . Peace and Love Dear Rachel, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Mohamed, Universe, Positive thoughts, the All, I Am, etc all exists within you already. Church is a place where you can gather and walk with said names; anytime and anyplace. No building required and all the ceremonies therein. Love yourself and love others as you do yourself. Bottom line . . .

Peace and Love

]]> By: Theresa Mayhew http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-717 Theresa Mayhew Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:28:17 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-717 Hi Rachel, Thanks for sharing your experience with your first worship service. As a member of a non-Christian religion, I am always interested in how people find their chosen path to God. It's important for us to respect how people come to our services, to make them feel welcome without overwhelming them. Test driving different services is a great idea. I think you have to get a feeling for how a congregation is before making a commitment to joining one (if that's your intention). Sounds like you have a spiritual nature and are doing just fine on your own. All the best, Theresa Hi Rachel,
Thanks for sharing your experience with your first worship service. As a member of a non-Christian religion, I am always interested in how people find their chosen path to God.

It’s important for us to respect how people come to our services, to make them feel welcome without overwhelming them.

Test driving different services is a great idea. I think you have to get a feeling for how a congregation is before making a commitment to joining one (if that’s your intention).

Sounds like you have a spiritual nature and are doing just fine on your own.

All the best,
Theresa

]]> By: New Jerusalem http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-714 New Jerusalem Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:08:59 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-714 Rachel, Rachel I ask you think about the message shared, and send me an email soon, and let's chat ok... Acts 7:48-50, 1 Corinthians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16 Yes, I believe in God... I am very thankful for my salvation, and I really enjoy the refreshing Love God shares... When I hear someone claim they don't believe, Have they ever once diligently started seeking him? Can one see what Love looks like? Does Love have wings? Does one experience true Love, and not believe it's real? Can one believe the wind, and gravity is real or not? One has free-will, But if they claim not to believe, The wind will still blow, and they shall continue to dance in what they call gravity... Acts 4:10-12, John 14:6, Isaiah 45:18 Kind Regards, raptureprophecy.com nj Rachel,

Rachel I ask you think about the message shared, and send me an email soon, and let’s chat ok…

Acts 7:48-50, 1 Corinthians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16

Yes, I believe in God…

I am very thankful for my salvation, and I really enjoy the refreshing Love God shares…

When I hear someone claim they don’t believe, Have they ever once diligently started seeking him?

Can one see what Love looks like? Does Love have wings? Does one experience true Love, and not believe it’s real?

Can one believe the wind, and gravity is real or not? One has free-will, But if they claim not to believe, The wind will still blow, and they shall continue to dance in what they call gravity…

Acts 4:10-12, John 14:6, Isaiah 45:18

Kind Regards,
raptureprophecy.com

nj

]]> By: Feiyie http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-713 Feiyie Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:46:30 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-713 No religion can ever save a person. Because only Jesus is the way, like He said "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life..." No matter how a person is prayerful or a Bible reader or a very good person who loves everyone, those are *nothing* and are not the *qualifications* to meet God the Father in Heaven and everything still goes back to the fact that we must accept Jesus Christ. God sent His Son into this world to die for us and save us. The church is the *body of Christ* so no matter how spiritual we can ever be, we still need to be connected with other *children of God*. And in Revelation, the church is the *bride* and Jesus is the *groom* and one day, Jesus will come back for His *bride*. "I’ll continue to live each day, day by day, on my own terms." - Note the *own*. Wow, that's a pretty strong one. Yes, we all have a life and we make our own decisions. God gave us a freewill so we can decide for ourselves that we think is right and could make us happy. But no matter what decisions we make, good or bad, they are all God's will for us. If it's good, He blesses us. And if it's bad, He teaches us. Funny how people blame God when bad things happen to them and when good things happen, they praise themselves because they say they've done it on their own and think they're great. The real thing is, we should blame ourselves if bad things happen to us because we were the ones who made that certain decision and we should praise Him and give all the glory to Him alone when He blesses us. I believe that we can never live in our own terms no matter how great we are. There is always someone behind us -- and that is God. But anyways, it's a great post and I admire the honesty and openness. Hearing other people say Christians are crazy or whatever is overrated. Crazy Christians do exist, in my opinion. They sometimes 'adjust' to the things of the world, which is just ridiculous. We should never ever modify the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Why are there crazy Christians? Christianity has different denominations and there are different churches that teaches different doctrines. Just like internet marketing. There's affiliate marketing, blogging, web 2.0, etc. I could say the church you've visited is a Gospel preaching church. Like Frank said, "It sounds like the church you went to was a pretty solid, Bible Believing church… As such, they’re not always going to tell you what you want to hear… they’re going to tell you what you NEED to hear." If you have time to visit them again, feel free to do so. I think it's a really good church. Church is not built to *flatter* us and tell us what we want to hear. Jesus built the church to tell us the truth and nothing but the truth and as you know, truth hurts. Well... At least you gave the church a shot. I suggest, you give Jesus a shot too. Try to experience Jesus and He will never let you down. :) May you discover Him more and more as you read the Bible. God bless ya. Feiyie No religion can ever save a person. Because only Jesus is the way, like He said “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life…” No matter how a person is prayerful or a Bible reader or a very good person who loves everyone, those are *nothing* and are not the *qualifications* to meet God the Father in Heaven and everything still goes back to the fact that we must accept Jesus Christ. God sent His Son into this world to die for us and save us.

The church is the *body of Christ* so no matter how spiritual we can ever be, we still need to be connected with other *children of God*. And in Revelation, the church is the *bride* and Jesus is the *groom* and one day, Jesus will come back for His *bride*.

“I’ll continue to live each day, day by day, on my own terms.”

- Note the *own*. Wow, that’s a pretty strong one. Yes, we all have a life and we make our own decisions. God gave us a freewill so we can decide for ourselves that we think is right and could make us happy. But no matter what decisions we make, good or bad, they are all God’s will for us. If it’s good, He blesses us. And if it’s bad, He teaches us. Funny how people blame God when bad things happen to them and when good things happen, they praise themselves because they say they’ve done it on their own and think they’re great. The real thing is, we should blame ourselves if bad things happen to us because we were the ones who made that certain decision and we should praise Him and give all the glory to Him alone when He blesses us. I believe that we can never live in our own terms no matter how great we are. There is always someone behind us — and that is God.

But anyways, it’s a great post and I admire the honesty and openness. Hearing other people say Christians are crazy or whatever is overrated. Crazy Christians do exist, in my opinion. They sometimes ‘adjust’ to the things of the world, which is just ridiculous. We should never ever modify the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Why are there crazy Christians? Christianity has different denominations and there are different churches that teaches different doctrines. Just like internet marketing. There’s affiliate marketing, blogging, web 2.0, etc. I could say the church you’ve visited is a Gospel preaching church. Like Frank said, “It sounds like the church you went to was a pretty solid, Bible Believing church… As such, they’re not always going to tell you what you want to hear… they’re going to tell you what you NEED to hear.” If you have time to visit them again, feel free to do so. I think it’s a really good church. Church is not built to *flatter* us and tell us what we want to hear. Jesus built the church to tell us the truth and nothing but the truth and as you know, truth hurts.

Well… At least you gave the church a shot. I suggest, you give Jesus a shot too. Try to experience Jesus and He will never let you down. :) May you discover Him more and more as you read the Bible.

God bless ya.

Feiyie

]]> By: Stompermom http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-706 Stompermom Mon, 25 May 2009 22:26:57 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-706 Thank you for sharing! I was very impresssed with your objective description of your experience. Sounds like you visited a great church with friendly people. Nicole Thank you for sharing! I was very impresssed with your objective description of your experience. Sounds like you visited a great church with friendly people.

Nicole

]]> By: James Legacy http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-660 James Legacy Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:19:28 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-660 On a side note, dying on a cross is a good way to increase your number of Twitter followers. On a side note, dying on a cross is a good way to increase your number of Twitter followers.

]]> By: Doug http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-652 Doug Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:10:25 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-652 Hi Rachel, Very interesting post. I noticed something, those who left comments for you seem to love and care for you very much, may their comments leave little doubt in mind as where that love comes from Rachel. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you... Doug PS - I recommend when reading the story of the Prodigal(Lost) son in Luke 15:11-32 notice in verse 20 how when the lost son's father sees his boy returning home that he "ran" to meet him. I find this most interesting, and I believe God will run to anyone who sincerely seeks to return to Him. Hi Rachel,

Very interesting post.

I noticed something, those who left comments for you seem to love and care for you very much, may their comments leave little doubt in mind as where that love comes from Rachel.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…

Doug

PS – I recommend when reading the story of the Prodigal(Lost) son in Luke 15:11-32 notice in verse 20 how when the lost son’s father sees his boy returning home that he “ran” to meet him. I find this most interesting, and I believe God will run to anyone who sincerely seeks to return to Him.

]]> By: Mo http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience#comment-651 Mo Sat, 27 Dec 2008 21:10:07 +0000 http://rachelrofe.com/my-first-church-experience/#comment-651 Rachael, It took a lot of courage for you to post about your spiritual experiences considering how much on this topic gets a boatload of opinions. I don't want to sound spiritual but it may for someone that would entirely ignore the facts that a spiritual world does exist of which we cannot understand nor duplicate. Opinions about heaven vs hell, good vs evil, or God vs the devil are points well taken but in the description of a christian seems to be a gray area to pinpoint and define. The two things that I have observed over the years is not to depend on a church or a man to define only an opinion. Going straight to the facts and apply some faith with the evidence of His word, ie. bible, gives value to your belief. The second is a quote of which I have verified that is profound by C.S.Lewis, also the author of the Narnia books, and he said "Those that say to God 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says 'All right then, have it your way"! After that has been said I believe a true christian would carry that attitude around not to judge but to open the invitation to discover if and who God is. Based upon your last statement: I’ll continue to live each day, day by day, on my own terms. I’m glad for the experience though and plan on reading the Bible soon, just to learn more. I can gaurantee that if you follow through with your reading of the 66 books of the bible you might find that christians are real people with a real God. Rachael,
It took a lot of courage for you to post about your spiritual experiences considering how much on this topic gets a boatload of opinions. I don’t want to sound spiritual but it may for someone that would entirely ignore the facts that a spiritual world does exist of which we cannot understand nor duplicate. Opinions about heaven vs hell, good vs evil, or God vs the devil are points well taken but in the description of a christian seems to be a gray area to pinpoint and define.
The two things that I have observed over the years is not to depend on a church or a man to define only an opinion. Going straight to the facts and apply some faith with the evidence of His word, ie. bible, gives value to your belief.
The second is a quote of which I have verified that is profound by C.S.Lewis, also the author of the Narnia books,
and he said “Those that say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says ‘All right then, have it your way”!
After that has been said I believe a true christian would carry that attitude around not to judge but to open the invitation to discover if and who God is.

Based upon your last statement:
I’ll continue to live each day, day by day, on my own terms. I’m glad for the experience though and plan on reading the Bible soon, just to learn more.

I can gaurantee that if you follow through with your reading of the 66 books of the bible you might find that christians are real people with a real God.

]]>