What’s In Your Church?

Wednesday, 07/22/26 at 07:22
A Voice Shouting

July 22, 2026

Are you asking yourself the following question?…How does my church compare to the early church of the Book of Acts? If not, you should because there is hardly any alignment between the practices of the early church and what’s taking place in contemporary Christian churches today. Let’s take a look at a few of today’s practices and compare them to the church built by Jesus through the Apostles.

• Did the early church celebrate Christmas? NO
• Did the early church celebrate Easter? NO
• Did the early church host Sunrise Services Easter morning? NO (it’s pagan sun worship)
• Did the early church celebrate Halloween or host Trunk-or-Treat events? NO
• Did the early church set up rock bands to attract and entertain people? NO
• Did the early church have machines blow smoke into the sanctuary? NO
• Did the early church act as a coffeehouse to entice attendance? NO (fellowship meals did occur)
• Did the early church have Worship Directors, Children’s Ministry Directors, etc.? NO
• Did the early church have endless ministries? NO
• Did the early church sell merchandise in their houses of worship? NO
• Did the early church host yard sales? NO
• Did the early church separate the children from their parents during church gatherings? NO
• Did the early church offer a special prayer of salvation? NO
• Did the early church wink at sin and God’s righteous judgment? NO
• Did the early church downplay the need for baptism or call it an act of works? NO
• Did the early church baptize with sprinkling? NO
• Did the early church offer infant baptisms? NO
• Did the early church have opulent buildings/mega churches? NO (they met mostly in homes)
• Did the early church offer altar calls at the end of their meetings? NO
• Did the early church host field trips, conferences, seminars, concerts, movie nights? NO
• Did the early church offer playgrounds, fun zones, bouncy houses and face paintings? NO
• Did the early church host planned and scheduled revival events? NO
• Did the early church have women pastors? NO
• Did the early church have a formal church membership process? NO
• Did the early church fly political flags? NO
• Did the early church allow inappropriate attire? NO
• Did the early church leaders wear skinny jeans and t-shirts? NO
• Did the early church host VBS, Easter egg hunts, harvest fests, etc? NO
• Did the early church incorporate? NO
• Did the early church form an alliance with the governing authorities? NO
• Did they pursue celebrity status? NO
• Did they focus on numbers as a measure of their success? NO
• Would Paul have allowed phones into church gatherings? NO (he would have rebuked them)

The early church focused almost exclusively on teaching the Word of God and passing on what they learned from Jesus (wholesome teaching). Their ministries included feeding the poor, assisting the needs of eligible widows and helping orphans. What’s going on in today’s church is nothing like the early church and most of it is a distraction or worse.

(2 Timothy 4: 2-4) Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

In the above scripture, Paul is handing the torch to Timothy. He is instructing him on how to move the church forward with proper biblical teaching: (1) Preach the Word of God, (2) teach it truthfully, (3) rebuke false teaching, and (4) he warns of a future church overcome with false teaching and a rejection of the truth.

Are contemporary churches following the teachings of the Apostles or have they developed man-made practices that have a form of godliness, but are far from it? It all looks and sounds reasonable, but is it biblical or man-made? You decide.

(2 Timothy 3:5)  “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people”.

In closing, I want to share with you two sermons on the topic of Contemporary Christianity that you likely haven’t heard from your pulpit. It’s bold, direct, compelling…and it’s the kind of sermon Paul would preach if he walked into our churches today.

https://letgodbetrue.com/sermons/index/year-2000/contemporary-christianity/

If you truly want to assess where your church stands in comparison to the early church, take the time to listen to these sermons. If nothing else, it will lead you to ask questions like: What has my church been feeding me?; Are my church practices biblical?; Am I being led astray? And, Why am I tolerating my church to operate in a manner that has no resemblance to the Book of Acts church?

May God’s grace be with you all.