Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.
Billy SundayRead
Whenever a day comes when I can stand and preach God's Word without an agony of anxiety lest the people will not accept Christ; whenever a day comes when I can see men and women coming down the aisles without joy in my heart, I'll quit preaching.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of genuine passion and joy in preaching and sharing faith.
Billy Sunday expresses that true preaching comes from a heartfelt desire for people to accept Christ. He conveys that if he ever loses the joy and excitement in witnessing conversions and the accompanying anxiety about acceptance, he would feel it is time to stop preaching. This reflects the importance of passion and authenticity in one's purpose and work.
In practice
During a church service to inspire congregants about the importance of authentic faith.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.
The saloon is a liar. It promises good cheer and sends sorrow.
I don't believe there are devils enough in hell to pull a boy out of the arms of a godly mother.
The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion, you have got a leak in your religion.
The church is not a dormitory for sleepers, it is an institution for workers; it is not a rest camp, it is a front line trench.
The backslider likes the preaching that wouldn't hit the side of a house, while the real disciple is delighted when the truth brings him to his knees.
It is not enough to be a member of the Church of Christ, one needs to be a living member, in spirit and in truth, i.e., living in the state of grace and in the presence of God, either in innocence or in sincere repentance.
No other religion, no other, promises new bodies, hearts, and minds. Only in the gospel of Christ do hurting people find such incredible hope.
Our Christian identity is belonging to a people: the Church. Without the Church we are not Christians.
May Mary, who in the freedom of her 'Fiat' and her presence at the foot of the cross, offered to the world, Jesus, the Liberator, help us to find him in the Sacrament of the altar
The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life
The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.
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