Open Your Bibles

Do you take your Bible to church? You should. How else are you going to know if your pastor is telling the truth or not? You might say, "My pastor wouldn't lie!" To that I ask, "How do you know?"

How can we tell if our pastors are telling the truth? The answer is simple. Do what the Bereans did in the Book of Acts.

"10As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." - Acts 17:10-12

Each Sunday in the church I attend our pastor says, "Open your Bibles to . . ." and then gives us chapter and verse for the lesson that day. He teaches us right out of the Bible. He tells us the original Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic meanings and the context that each teaching was set in. Does your pastor do that? He should.

So many of today's pastors are interested in filling the pews and keeping the congregation from falling asleep. They tell stories of their own lives instead of stories about God. An occasional story is not bad if it is use to illustrate scripture but the true stories in scripture are always the best.

Many of the bigger denominational churches have a set service with prayers and liturgies that are repeated each week. Why do they do that when Jesus Himself said, ""In praying, don't use vain repetitions..." (Matthew 6:7)?

The pastor of the church I attend would be the first to tell you not to trust a single word he says. He would want us to read and study the scriptures for ourselves to see if what he says is true. Ask questions. Be good Bereans!!

Pastors can change and evolve in their teaching and not always for the better. Trust the Bible!! Trust God's teaching!!

There are many good pastors out there but they ARE getting harder and harder to find. If your pastor says something that doesn't line up with scripture, ask him about it. If he is a good pastor he will appreciate your asking. If he comes back at you with a "How dare you!" comment, run.

"5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. " - Proverbs 3:5-6

Vain Repetitions In Prayer? - Dr. Randy White
The Word - Sara Groves