Should I Leave My Church If I Think It Is Changing for the Worse?

My church is been making a lot of changes. I don't like in order to become more contemporary. I'm wondering what sort of guidance you could give me. That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity hi this is Bill Meyer along with pastor Adrian Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us with your question. At 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673. You can also email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com and you can post your question on her Instagram or Facebook account.

Today we have a good news story to share with you when Aaron SoCal lost her job as a chef due to the COBIT 19 pandemic.

She said she let herself wallow in self-pity for one night and then she started baking bread a lot of bread. Aaron was a chef at a private company in Canada, but she was laid off due to the coronavirus the next day she decided she needed to help other people well over the past four months. Aaron say she is baked more than 800 loaves of bread at home sometimes close to 40 a day, and she's donated them to people in need in the Toronto area.

Aaron once lived on welfare, while raising her kids as a single mom and she says she felt compelled to help feed her community and give her life purpose during the lockdown. She has since teamed up with the community food sharing organization and set up a go fund me account to help with the cost of ingredients and gas money is not a beautiful threat is a beautiful story and I'll be honest, Bill.

It convicts me because my wife bakes cookies every night, but we don't share them with anyone and not a good thing. So I think what I have her listen to this story in particular say look but we have to we really have to start sharing the cookies because this is not a bus, especially for chocolate chip you confirm with me you will send you some more mobile. Aren't they cute will appear to our first question of the day. Kenneth wrote to us, and he asked this. Why should I trust radio and TV pastors. They ask people to put 100% of their trust in God and then they ask us to give our money or time to fill their coffers while they were $1000 suits does the Holy Spirit work better in expensive suits yeah I mean from cookies to false teachers in the church. I like this transition that were doing here, Bill. No Kenneth God is not used thousand dollars suits. The way that the word of God advances is through the preaching of the word, and the Holy Spirit working with the word to transform hearts. I am also sensitive to the fact that there are false teachers out there and I think that we have to be because Jesus himself warned us about this. The apostles warned the church about this. I think a minute is actually in my mind, one of the most gripping passages in all of Scripture in acts chapter 20 when the apostle Paul is meeting with the Ephesian elders and she's warning them about the false teachers could better get it creep into the church summaries as we begin to rise up among you seeking to lead the church, God's people astray and pulses there in acts chapter 20.

Remember that for three years, night and day. I did not cease to warn you with tear. This is a serious thing. Jesus warned us, the apostles warned us Peter right. In the book of second Peter if you want to expose on false teachers read second Peter because second Peter chapter 2 begins. False prophets also arose among the people. Just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and then Peter goes on to describe them, listen, and listen to his description bold and willful. They do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels though greater in might and power do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord, but these like you rational animals, creatures of instinct born to be caught and destroyed blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant will also be destroyed in their destruction suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They counted pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you, they have eyes full of adultery insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed, Kenneth. I think that's what you're talking about false teachers. Peter says you have hearts trained in greed, accursed children, forsaking the right way they have gone astray. The Bible has all sorts of warnings about this and it is heartbreaking that you know on TV, in particular any of these televangelists that are up there and there preaching one false doctrine.

What we call the prosperity gospel is this idea that God just wants to bless you to have health, wealth and happiness. And that's with the gospel as it points people to themselves and not to Jesus. Typically you don't hear very much about sin, repentance, justification, salvation, what you hear is people being told what they want to hear God thinks you're great God is happy with you. Just the way you are God wants to make you rich. Well guess what that message is going to be popular.

No matter who shares that message but that's not the message of the gospel people that tried to use the word of God in order to get rich there condemned, according to the Scriptures that one thing that that I just have to say Kenneth is a pastor and I'm sensitive to this because we see all of these abuses you know people see the televangelists on TV and then they get really uncomfortable whenever anyone talks about money related to spirituality related to the Christian life. But one of the things that we need to understand is that Jesus had no problem talking about money and possessions, and he is God him.

He's not a false teacher. The reason he talked about money and possessions is because he knew he said where your treasure is, there will your heart be also is what we have to be really careful. I want to be careful as a pastor, one that I'm not ashamed to talk about this because this is one of the areas where I think a lot of people are enslaved. We idolize money, riches, possessions as a society. A lot of people this is what they live for and that needs to be called out to, but at the same time it's not the job of pastors to preach false doctrine and then to try to get rich off of the message that there preaching, that's horrible. So we have to follow Jesus's lead. We have to be faithful to the Scriptures.

Preaching what they say calling out the sin that they call out greed, lust for money so on and so forth and pointing people to Christ and Christ.

As I said had no problem talking about these things and exposing the cinnamon all of our hearts. Federal some strong words, but some very important words. I think that all of us need to remember especially when were watching a media pastor and evaluating what they have to say this is core Christianity with pastor Adm. Sanchez and if you have a question for you can email us at questions at core, Christianity.com Olivia wrote to us and said my question is, how important do you believe it is to include a dedicated slot specifically for the public reading of Scripture in our worship services and can you tell me what most informs your thinking on this.

Yeah well it's certainly something that the church is done from the very beginning. Paul told Timothy in first Timothy chapter 4 verse 13 until I come devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and to teaching, I think it's so important Olivia that our worship services are saturated with Scripture, with the word of God.

We shouldn't go to church to hear the opinion of a man, a he's got great jokes he so funny. I just like listening to him so on and so forth that. No, that's not why we go to church.

We go to church to hear a word from the living God, and we have that word in Scripture is of the job of a pastor is to preach, teach, read the word of God on a Sunday morning because we need to hear that word. That's what all of us need. We need to hear the word of the forgiveness of our sins that were clans that were washed by the blood of Jesus. We need to be exhorted to watch out for false teaching a mint with just the previous question talking about false teachers and and how they lead people astray.

We have to be on guard and the only were to be on guard as if we know the word of God and were not in a know it unless it's rightly taught. So I think that this is one of the things it's so important you know we have a hard time today listening to Scripture we don't like long Scripture readings you know people are just going to get bored and that's not really that exciting. It's the word of God.

We need to help our people understand this is God's word. Let's be attentive.

Let's receive it in our hearts with meekness because, as Paul told Timothy elsewhere is that word of God is able to save our souls. Faith comes by hearing Paul said in Romans 10 and hearing by the word of God.

If you want more faith in your life. Boy studied the Scriptures listen to the Scriptures.

This is just so so important and there's one other passage that I want to bring up here because I think it again.

I think it emphasizes why this is so key for us to have Scripture reading in our worship services in the book of Nehemiah chapter 9 when she read the first few verses with some of this now.

The 24th day of this month. The people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with birth on their heads and the Israelites separated themselves from all the foreigners and stood and confess their sins in the iniquities of their fathers, and they stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God, for 1/4 of the day. Next, that we can pay that with a long Scripture reading why they choose to read so many verses in the service will listen to this. They stood up and read in their place from the book of the law for 1/4 of the day for another quarter of it. They made confession and worship the Lord their God.

Why is it important to have the Scripture in our services because it leads to confession to worship and exposes our sin.

It shows us how much we need God help shortly fall of his goodness of his law, but it also reveals to us the gospel is free forgiveness of our sins, and that leads to worship and so I think our services are our Christian worship services have to have the reading, the public reading of Scripture as a part of the hunting you see this in Scripture and I think it's what leads to confession. What leads to worship what leads to us being built up in the faith. Thanks for your question. This is core Christianity and along those lines, a drill we have a really cool offer for our listeners today. Yeah, it's a resource called nine things everyone should know about worship were excited about this one because we get all sorts of questions.

Yet what is worship who should we worship, how do we worship well, there's nothing more important than knowing and worshiping the triune God had a nine things everyone should know about worship. You can find a helpful overview of what God says about worship in the Bible. Why worship is so important for us as Christians. The practice throughout our lives.

You find on our website. Core, Christianity.com it's free when you sign up for our weekly newsletter so head over to core Christianity.com/offers to download nine things everyone should know about worship and you will love our weekly newsletter just chock-full of some great content for you. Here's the phone number to call if you'd like to ask us for that, by phone at 833-843-2670 3833 the core. We also want to tell you about a special program we have coming up on the 17th of this month were to be dedicating an entire core Christianity program to the topic of marriage. Yeah that that is going to be up. We've been getting so many questions on marriage and so if Outlook lets us devote an episode to this the author to the Hebrews that in Hebrews chapter 13 verse four. Let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous that we live in a culture today that really doesn't honor marriage as Scripture calls us to.

We've devalued it but it really is this precious gift that God is given to us and so we want to talk about it for an entire program give us a call with your questions about marriage for that special day. You can also email us a question at questions at core, Christianity.com and there's a way to record your question on our website. This is pretty cool if you go to core Christianity.com/radio you'll see a little microphone icon there on the right side of the page. If you click on that you can record your question right there and would love to collect as many questions as we can about the topic of marriage. So make sure to get those and sometime this week or early next week. Let's get back to another question. This one came answer or Instagram account is from Robert. He says how, when and what made God decide to have a specific group of people to call his own, especially when in the first place. He graded each and every person in his image. Why did he choose Israel and call other tribes his enemies and actually fight them using his chosen people. Well, I think that the first thing that I would want to say this is clear. According to the Scriptures, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament that God loves his creation and he loves the whole world you think of John 316. Obviously, for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life in even in the Old Testament under the old covenant. One of the reasons God raised up Israel was to be a light to the nations so that his salvation would flow to the whole world and this sort of worldwide focus of the good news of the gospel is so clearly articulated throughout the Bible. I think of a place like Galatians chapter 3 verse eight this is Paul talking about the promise that was made to Abraham. So in the Old Testament, and he said the Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, number Gentiles, that just means non-Jew that the nations of the world. Those that are Jews. The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles the world by faith, preached the gospel before hand to Abraham, saying in you shall all the nations be blessed. So the goal that the thrust of even the Old Testament is the blessing of the nations through the promise of God given to Abraham. Ultimately, the promise that was articulated way back in Genesis chapter 3 that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. This is the blessing of redemption set forth before the whole world.

So then why Israel well the choice of Israel revealed that God doesn't just choose on the basis of merits our merits. You know he doesn't pick us because were special. But on the basis of his wisdom. He wants to display his glory in and through his people. Listen to what God said to Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verses six through eight, as he's telling them here why he chose them for you are a people holy to the Lord your God, the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples were on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and shows you, for you were the fewest of all people, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with the mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt and was supposed to happen.

Was this was supposed to lead to humility. No one could say no Israel I could say God chose us because we were the greatest among all the nations he wanted to display his greatness in picking the best well know, Israel was the fewest they were constantly rebelling against the Lord.

It's one of those things that we see over and over again in the Old Testament and get God called them, so that through them. The gospel might go out to the nations that we know if you're familiar with with the story of redemption that Israel committed idolatry turned away from the Lord did not obey the voice of the Lord. And so what did God do.

He sent his son Jesus came and he said John 15. I am the true vine.

It's so interesting about that that statement right there is the vine was the picture of Israel in the Old Testament. You see this in the book of Isaiah and Jesus comes in.

He says I am the true Israel, the true son of God who is come to bring salvation to the world. So one of the things that we see here is one. The fact that God chooses to display his greatness, his glory he didn't choose Israel because they were wonderful.

They were great. They were obedient know they were the fewest of all the peoples, and God wanted to display his power through them and to we have a narrow like all the arrows of Scripture point us to. We have an arrow pointing us again to the true Israel, the son of God Jesus who brings salvation to the world and let me just add one other thing here just practically fruit for each of us and I know many Christians who wrestle with this idea they think and as I reflect on my life.

I look at the mistakes that I made, especially as believers talk to the believers were coming to the end who are nearing death.

And this is a look back at her so much that I am brokenhearted over so many missed opportunities so many sins times. I disobeyed the Lord and it makes me wonder, did God really choose me boy. I look at my life and I just feel like what's going on why this discrepancy here between what I confess in the way I lived while God doesn't choose us because he sees that were going to be amazing in order to go do this that and the other because were going to be great.

No, even with our sins were trophies of God's redeeming grace he puts on display his mercy through us through you. He reveals how deep his love is in saving sinners and boy that's something that should lead us to rejoicing. What a beautiful picture of redemption you have paid for federal thank you.

This is core Christianity would love to hear from you. If you have a question for us.

You can call us anytime at 833 the core, you can record your question on our website at core, Christianity.com/radio. You can also email us at questions at core, Christianity.com Ray emailed us and he said I'm not happy with the direction my home church is going. We made several changes over the last year to become a more contemporary place. Could you provide me with some guidance on how to deal with these changes, something that a lot of people wrestle with, especially as the church that they are in begins to make changes in one direction or another and I think what's so important for us to grasp as we think about these things is the distinction between what we call the elements of worship and the circumstances of worship to the elements of worship are what makes a worship service. The preaching of the word we talked about that earlier you having having Scripture central in the service reading Scripture, the preaching of the Bible, singing, praying to the Lord the offering. Even the Lord's supper baptism. These are all the elements of worship and they are what makes a worship service. A worship service. The circumstances of worship are things like when you meet the style of the music you know is it more contemporary.

Are you singing at a hymnal that kind of a thing. Is there a projector up there. The circumstances of worship are meant to help us to worship the Lord, instead hindering worship there meant to help us engage in the worship of the triune God. So we don't need it. 5 AM in the morning because probably people would have a difficult time singing to the Lord and staying awake if we were meeting at 5 AM circumstantially right we could if we wanted to, but this is not wisdom. Well, what I would say to you Ray is if the elements of worship are there. If the word of God is being faithfully preached at your church. If you are receiving, fellowship, communion with Jesus through the Lord's supper singing to the Lord, songs of praise. Praying to the Lord in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. That's the most important thing we may not always appreciate the particular circumstances of worship or I think all of us. In other those songs that that come on are those hymns that we hear that we think, oh, you know this one just warms my heart. This is this this is my song, and then there are the songs that we just think about man. How could anybody sing to this, but there are people in the church like it and so we want to be sensitive to the fact that the circumstances of worship. Don't make the worship service and we can be loving to our brothers and sisters in the church by saying, to be okay with I might not preferred this particular style. This circumstance, I'd like to maybe meet earlier or later in the day or or whatnot, but out of a love for my neighbor.

I'm okay with this. So many people. I think today in the church. Their focus when it comes to finding a church is on the circumstances and not the elements their thinking primarily of style of programs things like that. Not is the word of God being faithfully taught is Christ being preached you don't that's the main thing and what one of things I want to commit to getting what we want to make it on this program over and over again is what is so important for you to be in a church with two it's important for you to be in a good church as well. Church were those things are happening. If the primary issue is the circumstances right. Maybe I I'd take a step back and say well can I live with this unit.

I might not appreciate that the more contemporary songs but can I live with this because the gospel is being preached and that's what worship is all about, and Christ is being exalted and my brothers and sisters are growing and I can go with them. Thanks for listening to core Christianity to request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us@corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673 that's a 33, the court when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this podcast and be sure to join us next time. As we explore the truth of God's word together