Data Point One — Near death experiences where someone died and somehow came back to life, provide testimonial proof that Heaven and hell are real, and the God of the Bible is real, and that Jesus truly is the Son of God. Thousands of people across all cultures and religions, including Muslims and Hindis, have had near death experiences, and they report having met Jesus, and by and large they turn to becoming Christians if they weren't already. The rest of the world doesn't tend to hear about it because they don't follow or don't encounter such topics. Jesus spoke in John 8:32, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Absorb this, contemplate it, and adjust course!



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Which Church Should I Start Attending?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Not every religion or variation of Christianity is equal in the sight of God, who holds every truth.

Generally, the closest church to your home is the right church, with the exceptions noted in the previous post. Don’t go to a church like “Jehovah’s Witnesses” and “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: The Mormons”. If you were raised Catholic or are a former or fallen away Catholic, you should return to a Catholic church and arrange a confession with a priest, or arrange to be confirmed in the church having taken RCIA classes, which teach you much about the faith. The classes start in Autumn and end at Easter. If you know nothing about the Catholic faith, it would be better to first learn more about it and reach out to any Catholic you may be acquainted with. The Catholic church session, called a Mass, has various parts that go in sequence. Fundamentally the Mass has a heritage from traditional Jewish liturgy like they have in synagogues. Amidst the scriptural readings, it involves standing up and sitting down at various parts usually without any cue, sort of like the congregation is on autopilot. It involves some recitation and singing from memory with people that only know this kind of church. To them, this is “church”, barely complete without the expected distractions of babies and toddlers. Various worship songs are sung from a hymnal at particular points, instead of several songs one after the other. A normal Sunday Mass often goes 55 to 65 minutes, and multiple Masses are held per Sunday at many Catholic churches. Check on the Mass schedules. If you work on Sunday, you can attend a Saturday evening “vigil” Mass to fulfill your obligation to attend every week.

I grew up going to a Baptist church, and they tend to be common. They start with the church goers dividing up into classes, men of like ages, and women of like ages, along with boys of like ages, and girls of like ages, or married couples classes, etcetera. The small classes have a Bible study to start the Sunday morning. Sections of the Bible are read and discussed, and a leader usually will have a teacher’s guide book to go by to help lead. This goes around an hour. People then go and visit and mingle before sitting in pews in the church. Worship songs are sung from a hymnal for perhaps 30 minutes. Then a minister preaches a sermon for usually anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. (By contrast, a Catholic homily may be 7-15 minutes.) Some preachers devise a set of topics to cover on consecutive Sundays. They write out their sermon to gather their thoughts and points to touch on. Some are more self-determined about what they feel like they should be preaching about. Some get direction from God on what they should be preaching about to their church. God speaks to the Catholics and the non-Catholics. Jesus is above all churches. He meets us where our faith is, and despite if we believe one thing and disbelieve another thing. Some people He brings into one church; some people’s path leads them to another church. Although you should settle on a church and not move around restlessly. You might be served to explore various churches closest to your home. Ask a churchgoing neighbor where they go. Wherever you go, make friends and acquaintances. Say “Hi”. Memorize names and faces. Look for peers and identify the church leaders. They can give you a proper welcome.

Bonus: Here is a short YouTube video speeding through the various Christian churches that are out there.

Next: What Bible should I get?