Deception tastes sweet like candy like your favorite candy. When discernment dies deception dominates. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 John 4:1-3) Seach the Scriptures daily. (Acts 17:11) Let God the Holy Spirit lead you (Romans 8:14) with His gift of discernment and His other spiritual gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)

Even if an angel from Heaven (or Angel Studios) should preach another Gospel (Galatians 1:8) or another Jesus than the Jesus described in the Bible (2 Corinthians 11:4) use discernment. Run from deception.

Stick with the way the earliest Christ-followers overcame deception. They did three things: (Revelation 12:11) 1) They set aside pride and relied on the blood of Jesus for forgiveness of their sins. 2) They testified about the true Jesus — the Creator in human flesh (John 1:1-14) — and their testimonies are recorded in the Scriptures. 3) They practiced radical self-denial and were even willing to die for the truth. (Luke 9:23)

Deception is devastating. Don’t be entertained by it. Avoid it at all costs. Learn to worship the way the first Christ-followers did.

Jesus has so much more for His followers! I believe that Jesus wants us to meet together as so much more than a passive audience. I believe we are called to go far beyond church as usual. Here are the biblical reasons why I believe that:

* When describing how He wants to build His followers together, Jesus used the name of the ancient Greek townhall meeting — “ekklesia” — where anyone present could speak up in the gathering. (Matthew 16:17-18) I believe that was a deliberate word choice, not an accident.

* The Bible says that Christians are supposed to “be doers of the word not hearers only.” (James 1:22)

* Jesus told His disciples to go and make disciples, not to stay and make audiences. (Matthew 28:19-20)

* When the Bible tells Christians to assemble themselves together, it tells us that we are to actively exhort and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:25) We are called to connect with each other heart-to-heart.

* The only place that the Bible tells Christians what to do “when you come together,” says that everyone has something to share. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

* The Bible says that Christians are supposed to be “led by the Spirit,” (Romans 8:14) It’s very difficult to be led by the Spirit when we have been trained to simply sit through another weekly religious program.

* There are 50 something one another commands in the New Testament. Passively listening to a sermon by the same person each week trains Christians to depend on a pastor instead of ministering to one another. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

* The Bible says that all Christians are priests. (Revelation 1:6) That means that every Christ-follower can hear directly from God. When Christians are turned into a silent audience, it hinders them from being priests who lovingly minister to one another.

For many more reasons, google my book: Beyond Church Ekklesia.