Kolev, Kaloyan Writing Assignment One 9/8 The Sermon on the Mount 10/05/2015 Medieval European History The second most important teaching of The Sermon on the Mount is that God’s followers should not worry about food or clothing, because life is much more than that. Jesus assures the people that if they serve their Father, they will be able to “seek and find” everything they need to live a comfortable life (7:8).…
A message of hope, liberation, and inspiration is what comes to mind when reading 121st division of Psalms. This particular Psalm has been a source of inspiration when inspiring worshipers to worship God. It has personal inspired me to look past my hurts, pains, sorrows and situations to toward the source of my hope, God. This particular passage of Psalms reminds me that, the true and living, God never stop caring for or watching over his children. This Psalm, much like the 23rd division of Psalms written by David, the advantages of having a personal relationship with the Lord.…
Through reading the book, Delighting in the Trinity, I discovered how God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all connected and how that affects my life today. I learned what God desires for his people and how He wishes for us to live a full and flourishing life. As I continue my journey at Taylor University I see how God wants us to live together in fellowship and love one another with the same love God has for us. Reading Michael Reeves book has helped me see the love God has for me. I often take for granted His love and don’t put much thought into it.…
When Kathy asked me to share with you my personal experience on how I have dealt with the spiritual works of mercy, I was thinking "Oh my goodness, what do I know about the Comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses and bear wrong patiently?" These jobs belong to Father Mark, Deacon Allison or Kathy Boyer here, definitely not me. But then I thought why not me? We have been through life and have witnessed many wonder works of mercy, which undeniably leaving some impacts in our lives.…
Much like Psalm 1, most of these proverbs deal in comparisons and contradictions and the most blaring example is the seemingly endless list of differences between the paths of the wise and the wicked. Not only is good and wickedness contrasted in these proverbs, but also wisdom and foolishness (though the terms can be synonymous with good and wickedness). What is interesting is how wickedness and wisdom are portrayed in different ways. On one hand, there is heavy use of feminine imagery where wisdom is depicted as a woman crying out in the streets for people to heed her. She or it is to be valued above earthly and material treasures, whereas the “loose” or “strange” woman that represents wickedness or foolishness is to be avoided at all…
I listened to a sermon given by R.G. Lee called, “I Love Jesus Because.” He is a very enthusiastic preacher and he starts out by saying, “I love Jesus because I can pray in his name.” We need to be grateful to Christ and love him because we can pray in his name. When he prays in Jesus’ name, he rolls upon the mind of God, all the memories he has. He has forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ.…
“Set your affections on things above; love one another; commune at the table of our Lord in one spirit; worship in spirit and in truth; and if daily adoring, imploring, and living the divine Life, Truth, Love, thou shalt partake of the bread that cometh down from heaven, drink of the cup of salvation, and be baptized in Spirit,” wrote Mary Baker Eddy in 1898 (Christian Science Versus Pantheism). Mrs. Eddy (as she is colloquially referred to by her followers) was the woman who came to found the Christian Science religion, based on the metaphysical New Thought movement, in 1879 (Christian Science, “What is Christian Science?”). For individuals who are born into the modern Christian Science church, understanding the concept of “divinity” in the…
The process of sermon formation takes on a different character for each preacher, a character as unique as the preacher themselves. The best approaches to preaching put the text first and allow the Holy Spirit through the text determine the best way to preach a particular passage. My personal approach to sermon formation has evolved over time as I have grown in my Christian walk, as my knowledge of the Bible and as I gain more experience as a preacher. My approach has especially evolved after having the opportunity to apply many of the concepts that were studied in the course of this semester. Currently I remain one of three people in our church pursing ordination as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene all being mentored by our senior pastor.…
Was it really a prayer? In our Navi class, we are learning about Jonah and why he ran away from God’s command. First Jonah was commanded by God to go to Nineveh, instead of going to Nineveh, he went to Yaffo and got on a boat to Tarshish. By making a bad mistake, Jonah made the sailors pay for his consequence with a big storm. When the sailors asked Jonah who he was he said, “I’m a Hebrew I fear the Lord, God of Heavens, and the creator of the land and the sea.”…
The book, Psalms of Faith by Ray C. Stedman is about one man’s interpretation of the book of Psalms and how one can gain insight into daily living from the book itself. The themes of each chapter come from certain Psalms, such as, A Song of Foundations, which covers Psalm one, or How to Handle a Bad Conscience, which is on Psalm 51. Each one of the Psalms has its own unique meaning and personal application on how one should apply themselves in certain situations. The book of Psalms itself was written by David and includes Psalms of lament, or mourning, and Psalms of thanksgiving to the Lord in times of happiness. They were used in the Temple as praise songs and still can be today.…
Psalm 143 is most widely known as being one of the seven Penitential Psalms. As Psalm 143 falls into this grouping, it also means that it is considered a lament of repentance. While there is not an obvious transgression that David, the writer of the Psalm, is begging for repentance for, it is clearly shown through his words that he needs God to intercede in his life and save him from his transgressions and predicaments. Through his imploring of God to save him, David does not lose hope—he still continues to praise God for the goodness he has done and will do. While, by the end of the psalm, the inflection has grown more optimistic, Psalm 143 still contains the vital ingredients of a lament.…
When you read the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), did your heart leap for joy? Were you thrilled when you heard that the workers whotoiled and slaved all day long in the hot sun were going to get the same day’s wages as those who worked for only one hour? Be honest. Listen to the parable: A landowner hired workers early in the morning and promised to pay them what amounted to minimum wage – one denarius.…
The introduction to the meaning of worship in spirit and in truth defines a person’s relationship and experience or encounter with God. Therefore, the two key ideas that was of interested in the book review was: what worship is and what worship is not. Worship is spiritual, therefore, the evident of true worship has to come from the heart, mind, and soul of a person. The heart, mind, and soul are components of spiritual transformation in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Secondly, worship is loving others, as example of God’s love for the world, (Jn. 3:16, EVS).…
Introduction Partaking in Holy Communion is an important part of being a Christian as is it is a practice that Jesus himself sets up in the New Testament and the apostle Paul gives specific teaching around. Many denominations have different traditions and practices when partaking in Holy Communion or Eucharist. Holy communion is most commonly experienced in three settings; individually, in a small group and corporately. This discipline celebrates the past, future and present and connects us with god. Summarise your original understanding of the discipline before the course started My understanding of Holy Communion is based around Luke 22:19-20NLT 19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it.…
Prayer is a vital spiritual discipline in the life of every follower of Christ and must be treated as such. Not only did Jesus demonstrate the importance of prayer through his life, but the bible blatantly commands followers of Christ to pray. Therefore, it is vital that children’s ministry make every effort to help instill this value in children, that they would make prayer a priority. However, due to the limited impact a church has on a child’s life, it is necessary for children’s ministry to recognize the importance of family prayer and encourage this in every way possible. Before discussing how to best incorporate prayer into children’s ministry, it is vital to establish the power and importance of prayer for all members of the body of…