Newsletter: Worshipping at Home

Greetings from HomeWorship 101™

Thanks for all of the positive comments I received to my last newsletter. It seems many folks are thinking along the same lines. You might notice that this is my first “html” email. If you have trouble reading this new style please send me a note. I have stayed with the standard format because the newsletters travel all over the world and not everyone has compatible systems. The trouble is that sometimes I write in phrases instead of standard sentences, (I’m really more of an artistic display and exhibit designer, then a proper button-down journalist, and I pride myself on a sharp presentation that gives the most information with as few words as possible). Sometimes my quick style confuses people and they have written me and asked for a little more detail in my newsletters. I’ll try to be a bit more thorough, but it will make the newsletters a little longer. This caused me to switch over to “html mail” because the problem with the longer newsletters in the standard format email, is that it gets chopped up a lot as it gets passed among friends, making it difficult to read.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my Spiritual Warfare chronicle was getting a little too big for a first time author / publisher and I was praying and wondering where the Holy Spirit and my good Angel was leading me. During my research of the very first Christians - the Nazarenes - and their Holy Days, I was inspired with a idea to produce a précis - abridged - version which is my HomeWorship 101Ô book / website. It was a tough project. No one encouraged me, except for my wonderful wife. Most of my Christian friends looked at me like a traitor - they said it sounded too Jewish. And as my book was coming together, I showed it around some people I knew in the Messianic community, they didn’t care for it either - they said it sounded too Christian. I was getting one of those nervous, doubting feelings again.

In spite of the critics, I soldiered on. In the back of my mind, I thought it was curious that no one told me I was wrong, they just didn’t like what I was saying. I still have that ‘60’s rebellious bone in my head, and the more that people told me not to write this; the more I thought I was right. Some people would just smile and sarcastically ask me, “So how are you doing with Errol’s religion?” I would respond, worshipping at home is not my religion, read the Bible, especially the Messianic - New - Testament. To tell you the truth, I wonder why every religion doesn’t have a home worship department. Some Greek orthodox, and Jews, have home devotionals or worship. I call mine “101” because I only teach the simple Bible basics.

“I will bless the LORD at all times…”
- Psalms 34:1

The above quote says we should bless YHWH, and those blessing begin with home worship. The trouble is that when I talk about worshipping at home, a lot of people just give me a polite blank stare. They simply do not understand what I am talking about. I used to wonder to myself, “Am I the only one who sees this?” It was a very frustrating and puzzling for me until recently when I discovered an old quote from a famous 19^th century preacher. When I found it, it was as if a great weight was suddenly lifted off me as I realized I wasn’t alone and I felt justified. Now the question is: “Is it the laity who do not want to learn? Or the priests who do not want to teach?” (Log on: http://www.homeworship101.com/wp_home_worship.htm )

Click for more detailed info: > Worshipping at Home By James L. Evans

When I completed writing my book, nobody wanted to publish it, so I did it myself. When the book was printed, religious magazines didn’t want to review it, so I created a website to get around the establishment and market it directly via the Internet. One question I get asked a lot is, “Why am I against the church?” I’m not against organized Bible-based churches; I just see their responsibilities as being a little different. Technically speaking: To go to a weekly meeting, pay a donation, and wait for your blessing, thinking once you hear your in good spiritual shape for the week, is paganism (Rev.2:6). And it is something YHWH hates! The weekly church meeting should be where you ‘learn’ your theology about our CREATOR. The home is where you put your theology, your spiritual knowledge, into practical ‘application.’

"Let them first learn--to show piety at home."

1 Timothy 5:4

Do not let a priest or rabbi, come between you and GOD! For example: When Abraham wanted to tithe to YHWH, he went to Melchizedek and gave a free will offering (Gen.14:20). But when YHWH asked Abraham to sacrifice - and or bless - his son Issac, YHWH didn’t tell him to go see a priest and have it done, Abraham had to do it himself (Gen.18:16-33). In the ancient days of the Patriarchs, the heads of the family always blessed or anointed their children and loved ones (Gen.ch.48). In the Gospels, because of problems with the religious orthodoxy, most believers worshipped at home. They believed the body, not some building, was the Temple of the Holy spirit (1Cor.3:16). And many seem to forget that in Acts ch.2, the Disciples did not conger up and distribute the Holy Spirit; it came from Heaven ‘directly’ to the faithful. The Disciples knew something Divinely special was about to happen, but they did not know what it would be.

In my humble opinion: No mere mortal can guarantee you a place in Heaven. The spiritual power tools available ‘directly’ to the believers are governed according to the Order of Melchizedek (Heb.7:1-3). And Hebrews 6:20 tells us that the Order of Melchizedek is also where the Church draws its power. In my mind a priest should be a spiritual coach teaching his church membership how-to use the spiritual power-tools - pray, anoint, bless, etc - not be paid to be a simple master of ceremony.

Too many churches have a fee-for-service mentality, and even the more the Bible based Protestant churches are not much different. They may have a different philosophical point of view from the Catholics as to ‘how’ our CREATOR works, (directly empowered vs. empower a priest and then the people), but much of their holidays and habits still come from the Roman Catholic church. Here is a good example on a different view of the responsibilities of a church priest: When it comes time to publicly dedicate a child to GOD (anoint for a Christening, proper age baptism, etc.), then it should the priest standing on the side coaching the parents on how to perform ceremony in front of the congregation, instead of the parents simply paying a priest to do it for them.

Often, I quote Confucius, “To lead an untrained people to war is to throw them away.” What I mean is: What good is spiritual knowledge if you do not know how to apply, or ‘invoke,’ it? Once when I was channel surfing I came across a travel show featuring Las Vegas, NV. They talked about a man who in the early 1960’s started the Gamblers Bookstore and wrote several small how-to booklets on the different types of gaming that Las Vegas has to offer. The gambling establishment felt threatened and hated him because they didn’t want their trade secrets told, so they made his life miserable. In his mind, he wrote the booklets so that the gamblers would be more educated about what they were doing in an effort to “enhance” their gaming experience. It took about twenty years, but eventually the establishment saw the light in having an educated customer and now even promotes the idea. I’m not endorsing gambling, but my idea is the same - to educate the consumer, and “enhance” the spiritual-life experience. The spiritual concept is simple: When a person recognizes YHWH’S Covenant Blessings, and accepts the spiritual responsibility to pass it on, it gives one a place in YHWH’S universe as an Ambassador of the Kingdom, and as a Priest, wise in the use of YHWH’S Spiritual Power-Tools to counter the darkness (2Cor.5:20; 1Pet.2:9).

In spite of the critics, I am making many new friends, from all around the world. It truly amazes me. Still, many people have a hard time putting me into a category when indexing my website and book. There is no home worship category; so some place me in Christian, Messianic, Bible study, Bible history, Hebraic roots, etc. Some folks just call me “a thinking mans religion.” I’ll accept that! So let’s think about this for a moment. If you are going uncover spiritual truths you have to think outside the box. It may startle some of the faithful to hear that YHWH did not begin religion (Jam.1:19-27). During the time from Moses to King Saul, the Israelites lived under a theocracy: meaning YHWH, our CREATOR, according to the Order of Melchizedek, directly governed them. In this time, there was no centralized ruling authority. There were no men-in-black rabbis or priests. There was no central high church, synagogue, or high priest, rendering moral decisions. The national leadership came from individuals – men and women - called Judges (see the book of Judges and 1,2 Samuel).

After about 450 years, Israel rejected this system of governance, and YHWH’S warning as to the consequences of man’s government is clearly recorded in 1Samuel 8:11-18. Revelation ch.17 tells us that the deceiving spirit of Babylon infects a-l-l the world’s religions. And when the conquering Messiah arrives on Earth, He will destroy this man designed system (Dan.2:44). During the Millennium rule of the Messiah, the spiritual / moral clock will reset to as it was in the time of the Judges. It doesn’t mean that we will be living in tents, our technology will be advanced, but the Holy Days will be the same, and the spiritual lessons they teach will be the same. It will be a time when the parents will once again know how to bless their children instead of having a priest do it for them. And the world’s faithful will be a blessing to the Kingdom instead of always looking for one.

In my humble opinion, the Bible is the most unique book in the possession of humankind. It is a complicated book, and I’m not here to win Bible debates - I don’t have that much energy. But if I can get you thinking - and reading - about it, then I have already won.

Enjoy the journey of learning…
> Home worship or church worship? Or both? http://www.homeworship101.com/NL_2006_01.htm
> The Ancient Path of YHWH http://www.homeworship101.com/NL_2008_01.htm
> Thinking Persons Religion http://www.homeworship101.com/NL_2005_01.htm
> Covenants of YHWH http://www.homeworship101.com/bb-c5_sacred_covenants.htm
> Order of Melchizedek http://www.homeworship101.com/bb-c4_order_of_melchizedek.htm

Take care. Blessings, Errol.
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Errol Mueller, chronicler extraordinaire
e-mail: errol@homeworship101.com
website: www.homeworship101.com
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Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.
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#WSC 2003-03, posted 03/19/03. Revised 02/24/09

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