FOR WRITERS

FOR READERS

FOR PUBLISHERS




FREE CHRISTIAN REPRINT ARTICLES

Christian Articles for All of your Publishing Needs!

LIKE US
Translate this Page Here

FOR WRITERS

FOR READERS

FOR PUBLISHERS




Word Count: 793

Send Article To Friend Print/Use Article

Contact Tolulope Adewole


Church In Crisis

by Tolulope Adewole  
2/24/2015 / Christian Living


Samantha awoke with a start; her fitful sleep had been interrupted by the phone alarm. It was already 7:35 a.m. As the haziness cleared from her eyes, she also realized that it was a Sunday- church day! She groaned and turned her face to the wall, wishing she were ill.

After some minutes of struggle with dismal thoughts, she gave up trying to be ill and sat upright. The service took off at about 8:45 am. She had better be ready or she would face her parents' wrath again! She hated Sundays, as far as she was concerned it was the most boring, unproductive and mind-numbing day of the week. How she despised the individual who had made Sunday church service mandatory!

She should not feel this way, after all she was born-again, and she had been a member of the Heaven Seekers' Assembly ever since they moved into the area about 12 years ago. She had been baptized there, and after some training sessions, had become a member of the 'Evergreen voices' otherwise known as the church choir.

However, she wished someone would enlighten the leaders about the disenchanting nature of routine. Every Sunday service was set out in the same order! Was it such an abomination to adjust the program, or incorporate some new ideas to enliven the service? Then, there was the irritatingly long sermon where the Pastor went over his points again and again as though his sole intention were to lull his congregation to sleep. No wonder only a few people ever responded to the alter call. Most of them had heard the same message before, only with a different title.

Also, these boring messages, most of them ranting about the importance of holiness, seemed to have little or no impact on the listeners. A lot of them had life styles that did not conform at all to biblical standards as far as she knew. Some still smoked and drank heavily in the recesses of their homes. One of the ushers was a well-known bikini model and another featured regularly in a popular X-rated serial. Some of the youth group members belonged to a notorious street gang, and the drama director had just undergone a church disciplinary action because he confessed to having a sexual relationship with a recently divorced new convert. She knew all this because malicious gossip flowed like waste water within the church. The choir was the home base of hypocrites. Gerald, the youth pastor's son, who spoke in tongues while playing the keyboard, was dating a close friend of hers and they had heavily defiled the bed!

Samantha sighed, she was absolutely disgusted with it all, but her parents insisted that she attend anyway. What a hard life! With these errant thoughts fouling up her mind, she was in no mood to say her prayers that morning; well, what did it matter? She would be saying prayers for half the day anyway! Getting off her bed, she switched on the stereo set, hoping some hip-hop music would pep-up her mood, but as she navigated through the stations, she heard someone preaching about God's patience, love and mercy. Using Genesis 18: 17-33 as a reference, the preacher talked about Abraham's prayers for God's mercy upon Sodom and Gomorrah when he was informed about the plan to destroy these cities. Although these cities were eventually destroyed, Abraham's nephew, Lot with his family, was spared because of Abraham's prayers.

The message struck home in Samantha's heart, she suddenly realized her error. She had no right to judge other people. They had flaws alright, but so did she- what with her self-righteous and critical attitude, and her constant struggle with gossip and malice? She understood that she would always need God's grace and mercy to remain righteous. She also learnt that her duty whenever she saw any defect in the church was not to worry or gossip about it, but to take it to the Lord in prayer and wait upon Him for the solution. She had never ever prayed for the pastors or the choristers or anyone in the church. Rather, she had joined others in the criticizing and condemning game.

She felt so ashamed and began to shed tears as she knelt down and prayed that God would forgive her. Then, she prayed for the church and for that day's worship service. She also decided to set aside some minutes every day to pray for the church. She immediately felt better, stronger and happier, like a load had lifted off her shoulders. Now, she avoids gossip like a canker, prays regularly for the church and encourages rather than criticizes others. She has many stars in the crown that awaits her in heaven; how about you?

TeeCrown.

Tolu Adewole (TeeCrown). A Christian, doing my best to live life fully, purposefully and to God's glory.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Tolulope Adewole

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

User Comments

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:


Not readable? Change text.



The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer


Main FaithWriters Site | Acceptable Use Policy

By using this site you agree to our Acceptable Use Policy .

© FaithWriters.com. All rights reserved.