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let's forget about ourselves and magnify the Lord and worship Him... 
church in Jurong West vicinity
City Harvest (Liz R.)
Sorry, City Harvest is not Traditional Church, Lolz...eom (Emmanuel)
The true City (Ivan)
Impressive (RTC)
What great feats of men to turn the wasteland into a holy masterpiece sanctuary of God! (Ivan)
All praise to a great God who rewards those with great faith (and also gives grace to those with mustard-seed faith) (Keith)
You are probably thinking (RTC)
what i think (Keith)
Similarities? (RTC)
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what appears in the title is part of the lyrics of a song i used to sing during my youth group days. the song just came to my mind while i was thinking about an appropriate title for this posting :-)
anyway...happy new year, and below are my responses to your comments: YOU: ++Like I explained to Ivan. The similarities between the house church and the cell group is largely superficial. There are radical paradigms underlying the house church model. ME: three questions: 1. do all cellgroups (from different churches) share the same underlying paradigm? 2. are all cellgroups run in the same way? 3. it is impossible to have cellgroups that truly model the house churches in NT? YOU: ++I hope you do not define corporate worship solely as that taking place during Sunday Services for that would be begging the question. How is meeting in a home and singing songs of worship not corporate worship? Who defines corporate worship as Sunday service styled worship? Popular opinion? ME: i believe that we both share the same understanding of the definition of corporate worship. as opposed to personal worship, corporate worship involves a group of people. it doesn't matter whether the group is less than a dozen or more than a thousand. YOU: ++Thanks for your candidness. You put it all down to personal preference. May I ask why this preference? What attracts you to a large worship experience? ME: it's the joy of witnessing a multitude of people of different background, age, and race praising and worshipping our Lord under the same roof. that is not to say that i don't like worshipping in a smaller group. fact is, i enjoy worshipping as a cellgroup also. YOU: ++That's understandable. So what were some of the changes noted before and after the change from home to building? ME: there are certainly changes. some may be perceived as positive, and others, negative. but frankly, i would say i see more good than bad. YOU: ++How would you assess your statement with reference to the NT who did it all without the church buildings? ME: as i said earlier, it doesn't matter to me whether the objectives are met in a church building (like how it's commonly being done now) or in a house (like in the NT times). YOU: ++I think the purpose is there. The question is, how do we do that? Do we follow the ways of man's traditions or do we first look to the Scriptures? How much of what we do in church today have biblical basis? Or are we indifferent to what the Bible says? ME: i agree it is important to look to the Scripture. but where it is not explicitly taught as a principle or a guideline, i wouldn't insist on strict adherence to a "pattern" that has been derived from the narratives of the text. the 'how' is important. but the 'why' is much more important. i'm quite flexible about how/where a worship service is conducted. but i will not compromise when it comes to why we gather for worship. YOU: ++It worked very well for me too, before I learned about the house church and how church should be. I challenge you to think deeper about what true church life is and discover a deeper dimension of church life than the cell group has to offer. ME: thank you for your good intentions. i've started (and will continue) to read up more on the subject. as it is, i believe that the Father's heart is pleased when one comes before the Him trusting fully in the Perfection of the Lamb instead of relying on how one comes forth or what one does. We worship the Father in Spirit (of Christ) and in Truth (who is Christ). Grace be with us all. Keith
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Answers by RTC, 2002, Jan 03
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