The Chronicles of Narnia
The church I attend is having a family night this evening at a local theater, promoting the Chronicles of Narnia. Recently, I visited a Christian bookstore and was overwhelmed by the promotions for this movie, very similar to a recent visit to Barnes & Noble. In my mind that is what is so wrong with Christian bookstores today. They cater to the same public as the secular bookstores, using the same marketing strategies. There is no depth to most of the books on display, unless you can find a classics section. The church of the 21st century has a similar problem, no depth and all show.
Back to Narnia. A couple of years ago churches were tripping over themselves to promote the Purpose Driven Life and 40 day spiritual journeys. I was shocked that Bible believing
Christians could be so shallow and gullible. Why did we feel the need to go on a 40 day journey with some pastor in California to discover our purpose in life? Last year the rave was all about The Passion. I had to go and check it out for myself. Even though the movie did cause me to focus on the suffering of our Lord, I would not recommend it to anybody. Once again, churches were battling each other to rent out theater space. They even had post-movie counselors to help people "make decisions for Christ." And now we come to the latest fad of the church, a movie which I hope to see. In Revelation 17 we see a religious system described as a whore, which I believe represents the Roman Catholic Church. However, I believe the modern contemporary church is a whore to the world, falling all over itself to make the Gospel trendy, and unoffensive to those lost in darkness. They will use whatever gimmick seems to work, be it a rock band, exciting children's programs, movies, anything to seem relevant. What they do not realize is that have made themselves irrelevant, not realizing that they are supposed to be stewards of the mystery of the Gospel.
My people perish for lack of knowledge says the prophet Hosea. We are living in a time of famine of the Word of God as it relates to knowledge and doctrine. We as the church are the "called out ones" and let us act accordingly, not fearing the reproach of the world. Let each of us bear our cross daily for our Lord and Saviour and be beacons of Light for His Kingdom. Let us expose false teaching and methods in the church today and point her back to the old paths once again.
Soli Deo Gloria
Back to Narnia. A couple of years ago churches were tripping over themselves to promote the Purpose Driven Life and 40 day spiritual journeys. I was shocked that Bible believing
Christians could be so shallow and gullible. Why did we feel the need to go on a 40 day journey with some pastor in California to discover our purpose in life? Last year the rave was all about The Passion. I had to go and check it out for myself. Even though the movie did cause me to focus on the suffering of our Lord, I would not recommend it to anybody. Once again, churches were battling each other to rent out theater space. They even had post-movie counselors to help people "make decisions for Christ." And now we come to the latest fad of the church, a movie which I hope to see. In Revelation 17 we see a religious system described as a whore, which I believe represents the Roman Catholic Church. However, I believe the modern contemporary church is a whore to the world, falling all over itself to make the Gospel trendy, and unoffensive to those lost in darkness. They will use whatever gimmick seems to work, be it a rock band, exciting children's programs, movies, anything to seem relevant. What they do not realize is that have made themselves irrelevant, not realizing that they are supposed to be stewards of the mystery of the Gospel.
My people perish for lack of knowledge says the prophet Hosea. We are living in a time of famine of the Word of God as it relates to knowledge and doctrine. We as the church are the "called out ones" and let us act accordingly, not fearing the reproach of the world. Let each of us bear our cross daily for our Lord and Saviour and be beacons of Light for His Kingdom. Let us expose false teaching and methods in the church today and point her back to the old paths once again.
Soli Deo Gloria
posted by carolinabaptist at 5:11 AM
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