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Christianity as a living religion
How religion affects child development
How religion affects child development
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My Christian Life has been “pleasurable pain” (I will explain what that refers to in detail later). I was born on June 9, 1984. I was blessed to be in a family of Christian. Therefore, I was destined to become a true follower of Christ. I was baptized on August 12 of that year at St. Rose De Lima. Most people say that from the moment I was blessed, I became a disciple of Jesus, a light bearer, but I believe I was a disciple for my Lord and Savior the moment I was born. I was conceived into a Christian family with a strong Christian background. I thank the Lord to this day for blessing me as He did.
As it was when I was born and still to this day, I was brought to Church every Sunday. As an infant and a child, I did not understand the true meaning of this. I thought it was just a day I was force to wear “uncomfortable” clothes and told to be quite (even though I rarely did). I was like most other children, as are some teenagers, I did not want to go to Church. I would run, play sick or try to do anything I could to not attend Church. For this misunderstanding, I only can credit that to my ignorance of my faith. If you were not dying in my house you was presumed to go to Church even if you was not apart on our family. I remember one instance when I slept by a friend’s house and his family, unfortunately, was not a regular participant in Church (I think I knew this). My mother came and picked me up that morning to go to Church. I remember this moment in my life because it showed how strong my family was and will always be in Faith.
As me being a Christian, I was taught in a Catholic School. I attended St. Leo the Great Elementary. There, I learned a broad description of my faith and why my faith entitled me to do and act a certain way. I receive my Holy Communion when I was in First Grade I believe. Even then, I did not really understand the true concept of what I embarked on. For this reason, I “kind of” go against receiving certain sacraments at a young age. Age is a vital part in the strength of our beliefs (a younger person may be weaker than an older one). How many young Christians “really” understand what they are doing or even saying? If a person does not understand what they are taking apart of, then why should they be included. Today, a person is read their rights and asked at the end, do you understand all of things that were being said. I believe th...
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...er away from me. I felt cheated. Until one day I talk to a friend of the family (we call him Uncle Jessey). He made me understand the cycle of death. After all the classes I have sat through dealing with my faith and all I have learned, nothing could have prepared me for this tragedy. I thank God for my Uncle Jessey kind words and for helping me to overcome my grandmother’s death. Another instance I remember is seeing Coach Deleica and Coach Griff at my grandmother’s funeral. At that moment I felt the true presence of my St. Augustine family.
A couple of days ago, I attended my senior trip. When I first got there I was just glad to be out of class but as the day progressed I began to talk to God. I began to hear the music of the Lord. I felt lifted at the end of the day. After I leave Church, I always feel lifted (if I go to the right church). I attend St. Peter Claver Church. St. Peter Claver is a predominant black church. It has a gospel type of choir. Mass is last a minimum of 90 minutes. Without this service I would not be able to go on with life. “I hope that God will forever keep blessing me and watch over my love ones and friends,”
St. Joseph and St. Augustine
Pray For Us.
Gregory’s Episcopal Church. She had said that she became overwhelmed by the realization of God and that He became very real to her. Miles also talks about how unbalanced and emotional she was, and didn’t know how to handle herself, but continually came back for more (Miles, 58-59). I love hearing Sara talk about taking communion for the first time because it seems so beautiful, how Jesus was able to move through her and come to life inside of her. There have been a couple of times when I would go on retreats and mission trips and take communion in a more meaningful way because of the people I had become close to and had gotten to know on those trips would be with me. When I am take communion at the First United Methodist Church on a regular Sunday though, it can almost become just a regular thing you do at church without really remembering its sacredness. I still feel it is important, but because I’ve been doing it all my life and I think it is easy to forget all the things tied to it. Overall I feel as though this book has made me explore different ways of being a part of a community and enabled me to see that God works through all of us whether we believe it or not. It’s also extremely refreshing to see Sara’s excitement for her newfound faith and how she deals with the problems thrown at her. In Sara’s case I think God made the impossible possible. This story is an
My father had always pressured me to follow his religious beliefs and traditions. At first I was eager to attend his church sermons and Sunday school because it made me fell like I was pleasing my father and he would reward me with praise and ice creams on the drive home. But as I got older I started to realize that certain rules and regulations of the church were unnecessary and some were even ludicrous. For example, at the age of twelve my father had announced that we would discard our television because the church th...
Christianity is one of the largest religions in world with believers spreading across barriers of language and culture. Christianity can come in many forms with beliefs on different subjects varying wildly, but there is one practice that remains relatively the same: church attendance. The ritual of getting up every Sunday morning and attending a church service including a sermon by a pastor and sometimes a smaller, more focused lesson given during what is called “Sunday School”, is something that is practiced by many faithful Christians across the world and the United States, in particular. Attending church is a practice that is integral to the Christian faith as it is shown in the Bible. It informs and impacts the lives of many believers of
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
I will be describing and exploring my first visit to a Catholic Church. I attended Sunday mass with an ambassador in our class, CCC, on April 13, 2014 at noon. The service was actually called Palm Sunday because it is the Sunday before Easter. The service lasted about an hour and a half and took place in the interfaith portable on campus at UCI. I have grown up in a house that is not religious and have not attended a church before. My family’s race is Caucasian and I am independent when it comes to religion. I decided to attend a Catholic Church for my cultural plunge to get the experience and to see what it is like to attend church. I have always listened to my friends tell me they are going to church and that they are this religion. But I have never been able to experience what going to church is like.
Within two days of my father's mothers death, there was a receiving of friends gathering at the Church on Tennessee's campus. At first it started off with just family members and close friends talking and comforting each other. My grandmothers passing was very tough on me and other members in my family but it hit my father the hardest. After several moments of catching up with family members the first of many people started piling into the Church. Many of my family's friends and loved ones of my grandmother began to make there way over to me and my father. Each person that greeted me would say the same thing. "I'm so sorry this happened to you Stokes. Your grandmother was an amazing woman and she will be deeply missed. She is in a better place now." I thanked all of these kind words while fighting back tears. One of the toughest parts of the evening was when the people inside the Church would offer their condolences to my father. "If there is anything you need, just let me know" was one of the more redundant and frequent sayings that were spoken to my father. Even though all of the condolences were worded differently, I noticed the same sound of hesitance and uncertainty the voices. All of the people who wanted to offer help to my father in this time of need, were unsure how to do so. I understand what the people must have even
As my friend Jenni and I entered the hall of the big church, a feeling of apprehension overwhelmed us. Our feelings were soon comforted when we entered a sea of smiling faces and outstretched hands. A sense of belonging engulfed us. Ms. Shirley, an older colored woman was first to extend her arms. She did not know us from Adam, but it did not matter. She threw her arms around us. "You girls have the prettiest smiles", she declared. "I am so glad you came to be with us this morning." Words can not describe what the act of kindness did to our feelings of apprehension, and that was just the beginning.
I cannot say that I have suffered the loss of a close family member and can only imagine the effect it could have on my life. From the time he was a young child, John Bosco seemed to have a clear understanding of God’s ways; and what he didn’t understand was often made clear to him by his mother “Mama Margaret”. She seemed to know, even at an early age, that her son was destined to do good in the name of God. She taught him by example from an early age and continued to support him and all his good works throughout his life.
We all know the horror stories about being forced to go to church each and ever Sunday, and there are so many teens that see going to church as an inconvenience, but why do we look at it that way? Could it be because we don’t understand the concept? Maybe it’s because we think Sunday is our “sleep day” to catch up on the loss of sleep from the rest of the week. There are a lot of teens that enjoy church because they understand the concept, or because that is the only place they feel that they can be themselves. I can honestly say that I have been on both sides of this spectrum. I was once a teen who decided that every Sunday would be a day to sleep instead of a day to worship. Now, however, Sunday’s are the days that I get up out of bed at 8:00 and I go to church. I’m sure you’re thinking, why on earth would she want to get up so early just to go to church to sing some stupid songs and listen to some boring man preach? Well, for me… it’s therapy for my soul and for my life.
Which brings me to Fowler’s Theory of Faith Development, specifically Individual-Reflective Faith which occurs in early adulthood. Growing up as a family we went to church every Sunday and sometimes even twice a week, everyone in my family was a catholic and that was expected from all of us, no questions asked. I even got baptized as a baby and did my first communion when I was about nine years old. I did not mind the expectation from my family when I was little because I loved church, especially the singing. Then came a time where both of my parents started to work on Sundays, so did my sister, and so my brother and I helped out at my parents restaurant. Ever since then we really have not made church a priority, I believe this is what effected my encounter with my mother when I was eighteen years old. I was currently taking a class called “religion in the modern world” and learned about all rituals and how different religions support different things than others, and it got to me to reflect on what religion I grew up learning about. Some things I liked and some things I was horrified by. So talking to my mother, I was telling her my opinions and what I believed in and that there is not just one way to believe or think. She was furious, I was stepping out of the norm, but it had been because of my Individual-Reflective Faith than lead me to this stage. I am very thankful I was able to reflect on my faith, I now have a stronger bond on my beliefs and now my mother totally supports me on it, so it was all for the best that I went through this
The day finally arrived when I ‘felt the call’ in Sunday school. I remember my friends smiling and encouraging me to let the teacher know what I experienced so they could help me through it. They told me how proud they were and explained that I had to promise from now on to try and live a sinless life. I felt I was ready for the challenge, so I hastily nodded my heart and promised them I would try.
Praise God; that was the phrase I would here every morning when my dad would drop me off for school. Although my family has gone through many hard times, they have grown to know Christ and wanted to share that with their kids. I grew up in the kind of household that if you said “shut up” then you were going to be spanked several times. I knew one thing on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights; you go to church. Church became a hobby to me, I didn’t hate going there but it was just what you did. I thought that all families were like that also, I didn’t realize till my teenage years that not everyone goes to church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. But as I grew older and started really listening to what my friends would talk about at school, I saw that life wasn’t all about going to church and being a Christian for some people.
Christianity is pretty simple its all about one life, the life of Jesus the Son of God. The christian life is a life that consists of following Jesus, all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ and give your life to him. Becoming a christian offers eternal life after earth, it gives you greater ethics, support through out life, and a life after death. Becoming a christian relies on constant progression, its not enough to be a christian in name you have to live the Christian lifestyle. As a christian you will learn to strive for better morals. Your goals as christian need to be how do I become a better Christian and be more like God.
Everything that I had to deal with since my childhood starting from an alcoholic father to seeing domestic abuse in my parent's marriage has shaped me to turn to God to find peace. My father is slowly recovering from being an alcoholic and the problems between my parents have been resolved and they have a more than happy marriage as I advance to the next phase of my life. The struggles in my life have always left me to turn to God and I’m proud to follow the steps to guarantee me the access to eternal bliss. I’m not going to be discussing my materialist struggles but rather my spiritual struggles because those are the hardest to overcome, but the result of being in eternal life is worth everything. I reside in The Light of The World, Church of The Living God, Ground, and Pillar of the Truth a church that believes that there is still a living and authentic apostle of Jesus
Glory to God Church. It is great to be in the house of the Lord. Let Just take the moment to praise him right there because He has be so amazing. He have been better than I have been to myself. He desire honor because he is the head of my life. Thank you Dr. Huzinig for giving us the oppurinity to preach and thank classmates and friends for being here this afternoon I just was thinking about God faithfulness the other day. I took a mission trip to El Salvador with an amazing time to proclaim the Gospel. You know not too many have it made out like us. I telling you most of us take life for granted. We complain and gobble about not have this and not have that while others are struggling trying to get the things we use daily. However