According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Cenacle (the site of the Last Supper) in Jerusalem was the “first Christian church.” The Dura-Europos church in Syria is the oldest surviving church building in the world. As per archaeologists both the Aqaba Church and the Megiddo church have been considered to be the world’s oldest known purpose-built church, pitched in the Roman Empire’s organizational Diocese of the East in the 3rd century. Several authors have cited the Etchmiadzin Cathedral (Armenia’s mother church) as the oldest cathedral.
According to the Book of Acts, Jerusalem was the first center of the church. And according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the location of “the first Christian church“. The apostles lived and taught there for some time after Pentecost.
People feel excited to be with God at Christian church. But why do people feel excited and pleased at the Christian church let’s understand it by understanding what people do at the Christian church?
- Fellowship
- To Do the Sacraments
- To Worship God
- To Give, Not to Receive
- Fellowship
In Christian churches, people come together for fellowship with other believers. No one understands a follower’s journey like any other follower. In Christianity, people meet at least once a week to share the daily experience of the Christian church.
Those who are going through difficult times can rely on the fact that others in the congregation have gone through the same hard times and provide motivation. Those in their more productive seasons can help others in need gather, so there is no need between them.
- To Do the Sacraments
Sacraments are the different denominations in Christian community churches (mostly represented by Catholicism).
Holy Communion: The Church requires believers to take the Holy Communion several times a year (Luke 22:14-20). They will eat bread or some kind of wafer that reflects the body of Jesus, and wine or grape juice that reflects the blood of Jesus.
Baptism: As an outward sign of an inner condition, the believer is watered (by soaking or sprinkling) to represent the death of his old self and the existence of his new self in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Churches are divided on whether babies, adults, or both can be baptized.
- To Worship God
Christians go to church to worship God. He gives us 168 hours a week, and believers choose to attend church for 1 or 2 hours during those weeks in return for his dedicated time.
Christians worship God through praise, the song we sing as a congregation. But there are many other ways in the church:
Volunteering: Christians worship God by volunteering in church ministry. Whether they sing on the worship team, help teach children’s Sunday school, or serve as greeters at the door, Christians choose to worship God by giving back directly to the church community. (1 Samuel 12:24, Romans 12:1, Galatians 5:13, James 1:22)
Giving: Christians worship God by dedicating a percentage of their income to God by entrusting their finances to God. (Acts 20:35, Hebrews 13:6, 2 Corinthians 9:7)
Prayer: Christians come together to pray. You choose to meet the needs of other parishioners, the local community and the world. (Matthew 18:19-20, James 5:14-15)
Attention to the message: The message delivered by the pastor equips the church with the tools to clearly examine the Word of God and share it with the world. Choosing to focus on what God has to say is a way of honoring and honoring him. (Proverbs 2:1-5, Romans 10:17, James 1:19)
- To Give, Not to Receive
Especially in the United States, Christians can approach the church with a mindset of acceptance. Christians want to know what the religious organization has to offer, and when they don’t donate properly, Christians tend to go to the nearest church.
Here are some examples of what we hope to achieve in the church:
- Favorite way to worship or preach
- specific programs and groups – any number of other things
Christians forget that the biblical reason for meeting in church is to worship God (Devotion: Romans 12:1), dedicate their time and money. And end up with the tools of ministry, which they then give away. Christians listen to sermons ready to share the gospel.
One reason people don’t go to church is that they approach the idea of church with a mindset of receiving rather than giving. Granted, some are exhausted from church service or need time to recover from the church that hurts them. If so, they probably don’t fall into that category.
Mark
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.