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Love in the message: Difference between revisions
→What we see in the message
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=What we see in the message= | =What we see in the message= | ||
How is love displayed in message churches? | |||
When we started asking questions | ==Caring for the poor?== | ||
Paul told about his meeting with James, Peter and John in Jerusalem and said that: | |||
:''...they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ga 2:9–10.</ref> | |||
However, the experience that we and many others have had with most message churches is that they are insular, self-focused and not interested in helping anyone that is not "one of them". In fact, we are aware of situations where members of a church wanted to do something to help the poor of their community and the response from the deacons was that the individual was "being carnal". | |||
When disaster strikes in some part of the world, what we generally hear is - "Thank God no believers were hurt", rather than an outpouring of love for those that were hurt. | |||
==Reaction to questions?== | |||
When we started asking questions - honest sincere questions - about the message, we were met with shock. | |||
Peter clearly tells us how to behave: | Peter clearly tells us how to behave: | ||
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==How are those that leave treated?== | ==How are those that leave treated?== | ||
Most individuals that leave William Branham's message are not contacted after they leave by either the church leadership or those in the congregation. If those in the message really think that those who fall away from the message are lost, one has to wonder why there is generally no attempt to go after them. '''Didn’t Jesus talk about leaving the ninety-nine sheep''' grazing on the hillside to go and look for the lost sheep? One wonders what kind of Christians those in the message are when they don’t even make a half-hearted attempt to go after those that have left. | Most individuals that leave William Branham's message are not contacted after they leave by either the church leadership or those in the congregation. If those in the message really think that those who fall away from the message are lost, one has to wonder why there is generally no attempt to go after them. '''Didn’t Jesus talk about leaving the ninety-nine sheep''' grazing on the hillside to go and look for the lost sheep? One wonders what kind of Christians those in the message are when they don’t even make a half-hearted attempt to go after those that have left. Is that the mark of real Christianity? | ||
=Quotes of William Branham= | =Quotes of William Branham= | ||