u can follow the sermons online. When u do not feel up to going to Church have Church at home. Don't stay away too long though. Remember Christ came for the sick, the discarded, the lowly and shed His precious blood so that they(we) could have a chance at life eternal. Do not let opportunity pass u by! Pick up your cross or try to at least; I'm sure God will do the rest.
Peace be with you my brother. We are all sinners my friend. If you cannot find a sin in your heart this is the devil speaking to you. The only person with no sin in his heart was and will always be Jesus Christ. The only person that came close to Christ in this aspect was our beloved Mother of God, the holy virgin Saint Mary. She did not sin, neither in thought, nor in deed, nor by action but she was born of original sin due to the fall of Adam. As such, Christ is the New Adam, the New Covenant, that which is pure and without sin.
My friend, neither you nor I are Jesus Christ nor the Virgin Mary. We need Church in our life. Sometimes we go to church and we feel empty inside and I believe this is what you are feeling. This feeling of emptiness is caused by us not understanding what is going on around us. When we have a clearer image of our Holy and Divine Liturgy, we are not bored. We do not feel that we are sinless. We want to fast, and do many more things.
We fast not because we want something from God; We fast out of obedience for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights to lead us by example.
We fast out of duty and obligation to our Lord. We fast out of sacrifice. We fast because it is a humbling experience. We fast because it helps us to become closer to God.
User157, Please speak to your Father of Confession. You opened this topic for a reason and I believe that you will ultimately do the right thing. No one just opens a thread like this with the intention of stating something and letting it go; You opened it for a reason. It was a cry for help and I tell you, as God and these forum members are my witness, God has heard your cry and He invites you to dine with Him.
Ponder on this next verse, brother. It will guide you to Him. There is no wrong or right in this discussion; Only the future of your eternal salvation:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).
"The only unforgivable sin is the perpetual refusal to repent. This is true for the believer, who has been baptized and confirmed in the Orthodox faith, but refuses to heed to the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and for him who refuses the Holy Spirit. Our Lord confirms this truth saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" [Mark 3:28,29]" (Coptic Orthodox Dioceses of the Southern United States).
Thankyou Rony. Though I do not like some of your judgements in your post I believe you say them out of love and I am kind of seeing them as right in some way anyway. So I will make my way to church it seems. I feel more willing to go now. Perhaps your judgements are right, fasting will not harm me anyway. I will live longer I take church attendance seriously now.
My name is not Jeremiah I can not stand the inconvenience of going to church and not finding my FOC. I guess I can talk to any priest. But perhaps my FOC knows me better? how can my priest know me any better than you? he does not see me more often than any other priest I prefer forums because there is bound to be one righteous person who will tell the way though I must also know my FOC's views
[quote author=user157 link=topic=12899.msg152132#msg152132 date=1329498133] My name is not Jeremiah I can not stand the inconvenience of going to church and not finding my FOC. I guess I can talk to any priest. But perhaps my FOC knows me better? how can my priest know me any better than you? he does not see me more often than any other priest I prefer forums because there is bound to be one righteous person who will tell the way though I must also know my FOC's views
Friend, your FOC is not just a mere person; He is close to God and communicates with Him similar to Moses when he spoke to God in the mountain.
Our priests hold the body and blood of Christ. Our priests are guided by God. Our priests know when God speaks to them, and when the devil masks himself as God's voice.
Our priests are priests for a reason, and confession with them is necessary for our salvation. It is a sacrament. God is present in your confession and directs the words and judgments of our FOC whilst we speak to him. These are tools given to us freely, and are ways for us to get a free ticket straight to Heaven.
Do not take the FOC for granted, he is an invaluable tool on your sojourney on this earth into Heaven.
13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah
No doubt then the sabbath is important to be kept as the Lords day for church
You said when u go to church that you feel like people are looking and judging you, personally I think that you go to church for God. Also pope shenouda said something that if u can't live a heavenly life on earth how are u going to live in the paradise. :)
You said when u go to church that you feel like people are looking and judging you, personally I think that you go to church for God. Also pope shenouda said something that if u can't live a heavenly life on earth how are u going to live in the paradise. :)
Personally, I go to church so I can practice being in heaven, if you get I go to church not to be praised by people or looked out but rather to focus on my relationship with God, pope shenouda said so,etching very interesting actually he said how do expect to live in heaven if you cant even practice on Earth. :-))
Comments
u can follow the sermons online. When u do not feel up to going to Church have Church at home. Don't stay away too long though.
Remember Christ came for the sick, the discarded, the lowly and shed His precious blood so that they(we) could have a chance at life eternal.
Do not let opportunity pass u by! Pick up your cross or try to at least; I'm sure God will do the rest.
God bless u
Peace be with you my brother. We are all sinners my friend. If you cannot find a sin in your heart this is the devil speaking to you. The only person with no sin in his heart was and will always be Jesus Christ. The only person that came close to Christ in this aspect was our beloved Mother of God, the holy virgin Saint Mary. She did not sin, neither in thought, nor in deed, nor by action but she was born of original sin due to the fall of Adam. As such, Christ is the New Adam, the New Covenant, that which is pure and without sin.
My friend, neither you nor I are Jesus Christ nor the Virgin Mary. We need Church in our life. Sometimes we go to church and we feel empty inside and I believe this is what you are feeling. This feeling of emptiness is caused by us not understanding what is going on around us. When we have a clearer image of our Holy and Divine Liturgy, we are not bored. We do not feel that we are sinless. We want to fast, and do many more things.
We fast not because we want something from God; We fast out of obedience for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights to lead us by example.
We fast out of duty and obligation to our Lord. We fast out of sacrifice. We fast because it is a humbling experience. We fast because it helps us to become closer to God.
User157, Please speak to your Father of Confession. You opened this topic for a reason and I believe that you will ultimately do the right thing. No one just opens a thread like this with the intention of stating something and letting it go; You opened it for a reason. It was a cry for help and I tell you, as God and these forum members are my witness, God has heard your cry and He invites you to dine with Him.
Ponder on this next verse, brother. It will guide you to Him. There is no wrong or right in this discussion; Only the future of your eternal salvation:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).
"The only unforgivable sin is the perpetual refusal to repent. This is true for the believer, who has been baptized and confirmed in the Orthodox faith, but refuses to heed to the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and for him who refuses the Holy Spirit. Our Lord confirms this truth saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" [Mark 3:28,29]" (Coptic Orthodox Dioceses of the Southern United States).
I take church attendance seriously now.
May God bless you. I have faith in God that you will find the path of righteousness and your heavenly reward awaits you.
I can not stand the inconvenience of going to church and not finding my FOC. I guess I can talk to any priest. But perhaps my FOC knows me better? how can my priest know me any better than you? he does not see me more often than any other priest
I prefer forums because there is bound to be one righteous person who will tell the way though I must also know my FOC's views
My name is not Jeremiah
I can not stand the inconvenience of going to church and not finding my FOC. I guess I can talk to any priest. But perhaps my FOC knows me better? how can my priest know me any better than you? he does not see me more often than any other priest
I prefer forums because there is bound to be one righteous person who will tell the way though I must also know my FOC's views
Friend, your FOC is not just a mere person; He is close to God and communicates with Him similar to Moses when he spoke to God in the mountain.
Our priests hold the body and blood of Christ. Our priests are guided by God. Our priests know when God speaks to them, and when the devil masks himself as God's voice.
Our priests are priests for a reason, and confession with them is necessary for our salvation. It is a sacrament. God is present in your confession and directs the words and judgments of our FOC whilst we speak to him. These are tools given to us freely, and are ways for us to get a free ticket straight to Heaven.
Do not take the FOC for granted, he is an invaluable tool on your sojourney on this earth into Heaven.
My name is not Jeremiah
Oh my bad, i didn't mean to write Jeremiah, i was just reading that book while posting so i subconsciously wrote it, my bad, lol.
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah
No doubt then the sabbath is important to be kept as the Lords day for church
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