Two scriptures that have been the cornerstones of my faith.!The first scripture is 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. The second is Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. In the early years my family and I attended Holy Innocence Episcopal Church in Brandon, Florida. I was baptized as an infant and confirmed at the age of twelve in the Episcopal denomination. During this time of my life my mother divorced my father and two other men but always made it a priority to make sure we were involved in the local church regardless of the circumstances surrounding our family life. At an early age I begin to understand the importance of the local church and what the it could do for a struggling family. …show more content…
In 1992 we had to move to Plant City for his work. This is where I believe there was a providential moment where I met my life long friend Scott McIntosh who invited my to church at the First Baptist Church of Plant City. This would change my life as I was struggling with the move to a new city during the beginning of my adolescence, leaving ten year old friendships behind. Once again the church was there for me, this time in the form of a youth group. It was here were I started to understand what it meant to have a servants heart! My faith begin grow even more as i begin to understand and feel His unconditional love. I found myself serving on Sundays and participating in local and national mission
The Bible never makes of the specific reference of the trinity, the Bible does talk about the divine existence of each of the three members of the Trinity, God (The Father), The Son (Jesus Christ), and the Spirit (The Holy Spirit). It is still a complex idea for me to understand fully but scripture does indeed tell of the work and existence of the trinity.
J. I. Packer presents a compelling summary of how believers should know God through Scripture as well as experientially in living the tenets of Scripture, a true experience of Christ living in us. Packer illustrates God’s nature through Scripture and His character of wisdom, majesty, personal unfailing lovingkindness, yet righteousness, judgment and wrath which do not diminish God’s nature or righteousness. In God’s judgement His wrath is justly shown against sin and those who reject Christ. While reading, a love beyond measure, God’s love becomes self evident. However this divine love is characterized in His terms and not ours. Packer’s key question is not asking if God is for us and again not solely for us on our terms but rather, are we for God? His question is also quality over quantity do we know much
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.
In the Beginning: Bibles Before the Year 1000 is a great exhibit for people in their teenage years and anyone older. I really like the way the web page is set up. There is a video interview playing at the start of each informational page at the top of the page and there are pictures in the video and to the right of the text of the different discoveries of ancient biblical texts. I like all of the visual aids in this exhibit. In the Beginning: Bibles Before the Year 1000 is an exhibit I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of the bible; it is very informative and user friendly. I enjoyed reading about the ways that Christianity spread throughout the world and how the bible evolved from papyrus, parchment, and animal skins to leaf-books, manuscripts, and hard cover books. I admire that the creator of the exhibit has included a “resources” tab at the top of the page for people to view a chronological list of the events talked about in the exhibit. There was also a “who’s who” section in the “resources” tab explaining who each character in the exhibit was throughout history and their importance.
loved us so much that he did that for us so that is the least that we could
After going through this amazing book of law called the Old Testament, I’m asking myself if the author can top this book with another. My honest and human answer would be not, but God’s best, was yet to come. This Old Testament contains a “to do” and “to be”, aware list, that can be effective for coming generations. However, this being said, I wonder if it was necessary, to go through all these steps and sacrifices, to finished what was started. Old Testament itself reveals in many passages that God has a lot more to offer. And yet again, my human brain questions the time and how He does it. Was it necessary to wait so long? Four hundred years of suspense and quietness like someone press the mute button, generations passed by and some may have heard, how God delivered this nation from Egypt captivity, others may not. The commandments and all the rules and regulations given to them by God, were to remind them that, obedience to God can set them free. God promised to Israel nation a Savior, He promised a Messiah that would restore a broken relationship with Him.
Mystery of the New Testament The New Testament is a part of the Christian Canon, which is inclusive of the Old and New Testament. The New Testament consists of twenty-seven books, and is the foundation of the Christian religion. The New Testament has set the bar for Christianity as a religion, but many questions surround the New Testament. These questions surrounding the New Testament have continuously sparked controversy.
My view on the world is full of hope, disappointment, fear, but most of all a complete realization that people are hurting in this world and my daily actions do influence people's’ lives. If I were to be able to meet someone from another country, I wouldn’t take that opportunity lightly whatsoever. I believe interactions like that can connect people and form the relationships necessary for the betterment of all people. To explain my view better, I’d carry my bible, a letter from a peer in school, and my grandma’s Mexican tea cakes.
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
During my seventh grade year, my church went to a youth rally at a local church on weekend. Because of this rally and the message it sent, I realized and wanted to give my life to Jesus through baptism. It was awesome, I got home as a young teenager and actually talked to my mom about what it really means to be a Christian and to pick up your cross and follow him. So that very next weekend, my dad baptized me in front of the whole church on Sunday morning. It was an awesome feeling knowing that because of Jesus’ grace and mercy, I will be with him one day and spend eternity with him. Although I was on top of the world at this point, I still didn’t know fully what I had gotten into. So the next few years, I live the typical Christian life. I was trying to be the perfect person by doing the right stuff, I would try not to cuss, I would try to wear as many WWJD bracelets as I could so that I wouldn’t have to talk to them about Christ and they could just see it on my wrist, I would not join in on conversations with my friends that I knew were not right, I was just living life on cruise control.
But as I grew, I learned much about the miracles of Jesus and the promises that He made with us. Through His teachings, my faith was strengthened. I know your faith can be strengthened as well. All you have to do is look to God for guidance. He is all knowing.
To many Christians the Bible is the most important book ever written. It not only teaches us the story of God but also how to live for and through Him. Without the bible we would not know who He is and we would not know how to have faith in Him. There are many ways to gain a relationship with God but reading the Bible helps us secures our faith in Him. People must study the Bible before they quote the verses just because they feel like it is relevant to their situation; meaning, in order to understand the true meaning of verses, we must study its context.
• Philippians 4:13- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. • Psalm 55:22- “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” • Psalm 34:17- 19- “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
In our first class session we accomplished a lot, we learned about the key themes that can be found in the New testament and how one goes about questioning the themes and connecting the new and old testaments. The one major theme that we found to be one of the big ones of the New Testament was Jesus and all his deeds, death and resurrection. When this theme was first revealed to the class, I thought well obviously! But once we began to talk about all the other themes such as restoration, redemption, the church and the building relationship between the Jews and Gentiles. And Dr. Hall began to connect each theme together with a link and with each connection every last theme eventually led back to Jesus and his deeds, death and resurrection
A response to the interpretation of Acts 4:32–36 as an endorsement of a type of communal living as being normative for the Christian church.