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NASB | Acts 2:42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:42 They were continually and faithfully devoting themselves to the instruction of the apostles, and to fellowship, to eating meals together and to prayers. |
Subject: One Pastor and one assembly? |
Bible Note: Bereaniam - It seems fitting enough to draw a distinction between the professional church hopper who, like a rabbit, has no intention of ceasing to hop; and the temporarily displaced soul who, like a weary fly, is buzzing around earnestly looking for some place to land. The trick is not to become so enamored by hopping that one turns into a rabbit! The unsettling scourge of our time is that there are too many splinter groups, too many unorthodox groups who call themselves churches. Time was when you could buy a Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge car and pretty well know what you were getting. And time was when you could join a Baptist, Methodist or Presbyterian church and pretty well know what you were joining. But today, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, its like eating a box of assorted chocolates, and you never know just which ones have all the nuts in them until you've "inquired within." ..... It takes a certain amount of effort and a great deal of soul searching and prayer, but finding a church that adheres to sound doctrine is not an insurmountable task. Having a church on every corner in your community should, all things considered, make the job easier. ..... And, no, Berean, I do not believe that the practice of "flitting" in today's vernacular is in any way comparable to the Christians who, in the dawn of church history, went from house to house. In all probability it was for two reasons: (1) a way to elude detection and escape consequent persecution, or simply (2) a custom of rotating meeting places whereby various families would take turns being hosts. In any event, I don't believe the analogy of the practices of the ancients to modern "flitting" or "church hopping" holds up. I do pray that you will find a church home, and of course by church -- this was one of your questions -- I don't mean a building. The church never has been and never will be a buiding, no matter how many structures, whether renovated cow sheds or ornate cathedrals, are called churches. --Hank |