Growing in Christ...What is the Best Formal Conduit?

[0isez]

In terms of serving to foster and advance my growth in the Christian walk, what would you say is the most important?
1. Church Attendance
2. Group Bible Study (at home)
3. Sunday School (adult)
4. Group Bible Study (with fellow congregates)
5. Personal Bible Study (memorization, meditation etc.)
6. Church Seminars (retreats etc)

While I understand all are important and necessary for balancing the Christian life, I was mainly concerned with the conduit God uses to bless our knowledge of Him in the most satisfactory way causing a response to the Holy Spirit's leading as He reveals a new pattern of behavior as 2 Timothy 3:16 implies.
Predictably, I was told by a pastor that preaching was the most effective in penetrating the Christian psyche during church attendance and it was the highest form of involvement (hearing the Word) with God. But conversely, he despised media preaching (even if it was the same sermon). With that said I leave it to you. Looking forward to your answers.

 

[RamistThomist]

Hearing preaching and taking the Lord’s Supper

 

[JD]

Heidelberg Q&A 65 - 91 would be very helpful on this point, I think.

And the whole second half of the Belgic Confession

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

In a very practical way, you need to do what it takes to keep yourself passionate about the things of God. What is it that fuels your passion? For me it is regularly thinking about how the gospel has transformed my life. How I passed from death to life, how my sins have been forgiven, how I've been made new. This makes the religion real and alive inside of me. From there, I think understanding the scriptures is vital. There is so much bad teaching that leads to improper worship and living. So all in all, having a passion for Christianity, and having sound beliefs through studying the Bible is probably the best path of growth. For me at least. Blessings!

 

[chuckd]

Hearing preaching and taking the Lord’s Supper

And prayer. We should all self reflect on how much time we spend on the things listed in the OP versus time we pray.

 

[RamistThomist]

Q. 88. What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.

 

[Jeri Tanner]

How Christ Matures Our Faith

Dr. Joel Beeke | Cornerstone Presbyterian Church

www.sermonaudio.com

For real. We need to gain a sight of Christ, according to knowledge.

 

[TheInquirer]

1. Church Attendance
2. Group Bible Study (at home)
3. Sunday School (adult)
4. Group Bible Study (with fellow congregates)
5. Personal Bible Study (memorization, meditation etc.)
6. Church Seminars (retreats etc)

If you neglect #1, the benefit of the others are going to be very diminished I would think. The gathering of the saints is the only one of those both commanded by God explicitly and involving the full body of Christ in its local expression coming together for worship. It is an absolute must.

If I were to rank the rest based on my personal experience, it would be #5 - my personal times in the word and communion with God over the years. None of the rest come close.

For me, the rest are "optional" to participate in as time and season of life and benefit warrant. The quality and benefit of all those are going to vary depending on teacher, leader, format of the group, etc.

What is maybe explicitly missing from the list is opportunities for you to serve others as a way to grow your faith. If your mindset is only about "receiving" but not "giving" in some way, I think is going to skew your growth in maybe a "narcissistic" (for lack of a better term at the moment) direction. You must learn to both love God and love others. Of course you can do that within the groups and formats mentioned but something to keep in mind.

 

[MyCrows]

In my life, according to my own flawed observation, these.

1. Personal time in God's Word
2. Personal time in prayer
3. Hearing the Word preached
3. Prayer/Christ centered conversation with other believers
4. Partaking in the Lord's Supper
5. Sharing my faith with others.
6. I realized after no.4 that I couldn't properly rank the first 4, and that several of them are rooted in the church.

Seek to deepen your communion with Christ through ALL the means of grace, taking none of them for granted, doing none of them simply for the sake of doing them. He's given us ones that we participate in with others, and some to grow us in Him in private.