On November 8, 2016, many Americans will vote for either one of two candidates running for the highest office in the land, wishing to become the most powerful person in the world. This election is truly extraordinary, as we have never seen in the recent history of the USA two candidates who are both very much disliked by a majority of the people, and whose reputation is one of being untrustworthy and dishonest. The mud-slinging libelous contest by both candidates and their campaigns is unparalleled, with new charges and accusations being raised on a daily basis.

The media is having a field day, with endless discussions and mindless debates, and people are taking positions, not because they are convinced of “their” choice, but they fear the “greater evil” of the other candidate.

We hear many in the world talking about their financial contributions to their particular church organizations. And although the practice of giving a full ten percent in tithe may not be followed, the practice of giving to churches is still prevalent. According to Giving USA, 32% of charitable contributions in 2015 were directed towards “Religion”, totaling $119.3 billion dollars (givingusa.org).

But what is “Religion”, as defined by those millions of people tithing to their churches? Is it true religion or just a shadow of the church Christ is head of? We know that the vast majority of these people are not tithing to God (as His Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to understand). Most don’t know God, but they are still practicing, to some degree, the commands of God. If these tithes are filling the coffers of false churches, does God acknowledge what so many are doing?

Before we look at the Bible’s straightforward answers to this subject, let us first of all look at the current state of affairs in society today. There is no doubt that there are those who espouse a very liberal approach, perhaps none more so than those who are involved with the gender agenda which includes many sexual variations and perversions.

In an article in the Brighton Argus newspaper (UK) on 28th January 2016, Brighton school children were asked to choose from a list of terms to describe their gender.  The selection list included: “Agender,” “All genders,” “Androgynous,” “Bi-gender,” “Boy,” “Demi-boy,” “Demi-girl,” “Female,” “Gender fluid,” “Gender nonconforming,” “Genderqueer,” “Girl,” “In the middle of boy and girl,” “Intersex,” “Male,” “Non-binary,” “Not sure,” “Others (please state),” “Rather not say,” “Tomboy,” “Trans-boy,” “Trans-girl,” Tri-gender,” “Young man” and “Young woman.”

In the first four installments of this series, we addressed questions related to God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; not to engage in “business”; whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath; and attendance of and proper appearance in our Church worship services. In this final installment, we will address proper conduct during our Church services.

We need to understand that God has given His Church the responsibility to teach His law, including proper conduct during Sabbath services. In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul tells Timothy: “I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground (or foundation) of the truth.” We are not to “despise the church of God” through improper conduct (compare 1 Corinthians 11:22).

In the first three installments of this series, we addressed questions related to God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; not to engage in “business”; whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath; and attendance of Church services. In this installment, we will address guidelines for proper appearance in our worship services. The next and final installment in this series will address proper conduct during our Church services.

In addressing our proper dress code during Church services, we stated the following in our Q&A on wedding rings:

“Some have raised the issue that the wearing of rings… especially by women… allegedly violates biblical injunctions… This assumption is wrong… James 2:2-4 speaks about a ‘man with gold rings, in fine apparel,’ coming into our assembly or church services. James is not saying that the man should stop wearing gold rings or fine clothes; rather, his point is that the brethren should not show favoritism towards him and look down on those in the church who do not possess such fine things…”

In the first two installments of this series, we addressed questions related to God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; not to engage in “business”; and whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. With this third installment, we will begin to address God’s teaching on Church attendance, and we will focus specifically on God’s command to attend Church services. In the next installment, we will address guidelines for proper appearance and conduct in our worship services.

We will start with quoting from previous articles on the issue of Church attendance, while adding explanations regarding questions which have arisen.

In a previous Q&A, we asked, “Does the Bible command regular personal attendance of Church members at weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Days services?”

In the first installment of this series, we addressed questions related to God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; and not to engage in “business.” In this installment, we will concentrate on the question as to whether it is permissible to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. We addressed this question in a previous Q&A, stating the following:

“The Church of the Eternal God in the USA and its corporate affiliates in Canada and Great Britain have consistently taught that it is not wrong to eat out on the weekly Sabbath or annual Holy Days (which are also called ‘Sabbaths’ in the Bible), depending on the circumstances. At the same time, we must always keep firmly in mind that whatever we do or say or think on the Sabbath should be in realization of the fact that we are spending time that God has set aside for a holy purpose (Isaiah 58:13-14)… This is not to say, however, that a Christian should engage in shopping on the Sabbath [but see our comments below], except in a real emergency… Nor should this… be used as justification or an excuse for a refusal to prepare for the Sabbath on the previous day…

True Christians know and have proven for themselves from the pages of the Bible THAT they are still duty-bound today to keep the weekly Sabbath–the time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset–as it is holy time.  But often questions may arise as to HOW to keep the Sabbath. Are there any principles or passages in the Bible which tell us what kind of activities are permitted, and which are prohibited? Are we told how to apply those passages and concepts practically, in an individual situation?

In this new series, we will address many of those questions which have puzzled and perplexed Christians for decades. We will begin with quoting statements which we have made through the years in our literature regarding proper Sabbath observance. In this installment and the next one, we will concentrate primarily on God’s command not to do “work” on the Sabbath; not to pursue our own “pleasure”; not to engage in “business”; and we will discuss whether or not we should eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath. We will address and answer specific questions which we may not have addressed before in writing.

Acts 20:7 reads, in the Authorized Version: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight.”

Some claim that this passage proves that the disciples took “communion” on the first day of the week—on Sunday. Others claim that this passage proves that the disciples took “communion” on the weekly Sabbath. And then there are those who say that this passage has nothing to do with “communion”—regardless as to when Paul’s “breaking of the bread” occurred.

To address first the concept regarding “communion on Sunday” and “communion” in general, we stated the following regarding Acts 20:7 in a previous Q&A:

One of the foundational practices of every Christian is prayer. It is a tool that we rely on to communicate with God, through Jesus Christ as our Mediator, to share our innermost thoughts. When prayers that we present to God, especially those which include a request, seem to go unanswered, it can be a frustrating experience. Why would God, who promises never to forsake His children, decline to answer their prayers according to their expectations? When this inevitably happens to a Christian, it is helpful to understand exactly why prayers might not be heard and otherwise seem to fail.

To begin with, God clearly instructs that prayer is one of the primary tools that should be used to communicate with Him. Jesus Christ provides some excellent instructions to follow that describe how to pray to God, resulting in being openly rewarded when performed properly (compare Matthew 6:5-13). We have also produced a free booklet, Teach Us to Pray, which describes in great detail how to succeed in our prayers. With such a great promise of being heard by God by following such a simple model, what are the reasons that prayers might seemingly not be answered? Several examples follow which describe different types of situations that can cause God not to answer our prayers according to our expectations.