Why have we temporarily replaced regular Sunday meetings and other Church meetings with Internet broadcasts?
1. Because of the biblical exhortation to subjection to the superior authorities (Rom. 13: 1; 1 Peter 2:13, 15). The ban, announced on Friday, March 13, applies to gatherings of 50 people or more, but its aim is to limit the spread of the virus and is accompanied by a recommendation not to leave your homes, except in an emergency.
2. While children and young people in good health show high resistance to the effects of the coronavirus, they are carriers after infection, although they may not show symptoms of the disease themselves. For this reason, the congregation of asymptomatic people does not eliminate the risk of contagion, regardless of the size of the congregation .
3. The temporary state of epidemic threat introduced is not a step directed against the churches and the proclamation of the Gospel by them, so it is not the case of Acts 5:29 "We must obey God rather than people", in which one must choose between obeying the Word of God, calling for attendance at church gatherings (Heb. 10:25), with a human command restricting this possibility.
4. The Lord God Himself instructed Israel to scrupulously follow His own sanitation in the event of a leprosy plague such as the isolation of the infected (Leviticus 13:46, 50; Deuteronomy 24: 8).
5. In the light of the Scriptures, not to expose to unnecessary threats is a wise action (Proverbs 22: 3 "The prudent one sees danger and hides, but the little ones go forward and suffer harm"). The belief that God will always protect a Christian from the consequences of his unwise choices, even based on biblical verses such as Rev. Exodus 12:23, or Psalm 91: 3, is a vital temptation to be resisted in following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus when He Himself was similarly tempted (Matthew 4: 6-7).
6. Limiting contagion is an act of love for one's neighbor (Luke 10: 27-37). This applies not only to getting infected and getting infected in the church, but as a consequence of creating a threat to one's immediate non-church environment. The Lord Jesus, as an example of love for his neighbor, presented the action to protect the life and heal the victim, in contrast to the attitude of the priest and Levite, indifferent to others, but most likely religiously motivated (fear of breaking the commandment in Leviticus 21:11).
7. The Lord God used emergency situations that disturb the stability of the church life to achieve His sovereign purposes, such as in Acts 8: 1, where He scattered the church in Jerusalem to preach the Gospel. Although His ways are untraceable (Rom. 11:33) and His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55: 8-9), the atmosphere of fear and dread of the epidemic in the world of unbelievers favors the presentation of a message of rescue and salvation that is only in Christ .
8. As Christians, we should trust God and His promise to use all circumstances for good in the believer's life, and use the current crisis as an opportunity to share the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15). Our services, broadcast over the Internet, provide this opportunity through their coverage.
9.The change in the mode of our services is temporary, and after the resumption of regular Sunday meetings at the church headquarters, we will continue to broadcast the services live over the Internet to provide the teaching of God's Word and provide remote service for those who may need it. .
10. RECONCILIATION Christian Community elders are available in all matters of life and faith, whether related or not to the present crisis.