Through the divinity and humanity of the Christ, Christians and believers share the stories through word of mouth. The Son of God is also evident from the sacred texts of the Gospel testimonies which include the wonders and recoveries on people achieved by Jesus, and from the witness to his death, resurrection and ascension into heaven by his followers and other eyewitnesses. The beliefs of the divinity recognise his relationship to God as Son. Jesus’s divinity showed Jesus’ role to be the salvation of humanity and to resurrect and rise to defeat death. In the Gospel of John 1:14 “The Word became
There are people who live in a secular world, worlds that is non-religious, but who identify, in their hearts, with Christianity. They are a breed of people who are challenging the Church to become ecumenical in its thinking and if the Church will not get out into the community to help others this group will be found doing the work of the ‘Church’. Pastoral Carers and/or Ministers have challenging roles that must include these Christians who will most likely never come into their Churches. The inclusion of these people will exemplify the most powerful form of love that could ever exist, a love that is unconditional and a love that does not come with wrong motives. The traditions of man must give way to this new generation of worshippers, worshippers who are not frequenting the Church but are in the communities helping, reading ‘spiritual’ books to help them learn about being great people, and having a relationship with God.
To survive as a church in this modern western world, we need a huge paradigm shift of being missional. “Missional” is the buzz word today for outreach, evangelism, holistic gospel, and more. So it’s broad meaning can get lost in its overuse. I would define it as the incarnational reality of Christ naturally lived out to others, especially those far from God. Or more simply, Christ in us loving others far from God.
The good news of Jesus Christ is intended to transform a person’s life.” The power of the gospel is the force which drives sanctification in the lives of those who follow Christ. Paul states in 18:17, “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” The Christian life, both publically and privately, provides a glimpse into what God is like to those around them. The importance of integrity isn’t for integrity’s sake, but rather for the chance of someone to put their faith and trust in
As Saint Augustine wrote in Book I, Chapter I of Confessions, “Thou hast prompted him, that he should delight to praise thee, for thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee.” Who we are and why we are here in Christianity is very much connected. To be created in the image of God is to say that we have things like a mind and a personality, as God also has, and as such, we are creative and on a smaller scale, we can create, and in so doing, point back to the creativity of the Creator. According to the Westminster Confession, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” To glorify God is man showing the greatness of God’s creation, the pinnacle of which is man in God’s image. However, we are not only to glorify Him, but also to enjoy Him for who He is. John 17:3 sums up the point of life: to know God.
Beginning in chapter 12 Paul discussed how Christians are to live. In Romans 12:1 Paul urges the Christians: “in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” Paul continuously reminds the people to live above reproach and renew their minds so that they do not become part of the world. In the entire book of Romans Paul discusses the topic of how we as Christians should live, but Moo makes a great point in our book of how chapter 12 is a more in depth teaching on this matter. Moo states that "All theology is practical, and all practice, if it is truly Christian, is theological. Paul's gospel is deeply theological, but it is also eminently practical.
The Lord is the Spirit. The church of Christ is Christ present through the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit calls us to Himself, then develops us and sends us out into the world to do His work. We of course, are given a work to do through His strength and direction. That is the task of building the church by making disciples.
Blessed Pope John XXIII is a channel for people to live out the Gospel message and celebrate his loyalty, mission and ministry that live on through Christians today. Pope John XXIII impetus influence on Christianity cannot be ignored; he is, for all intents and purposes, the figure central to the modernising of Christianity in the twentieth Century. His short time as Pontiff resulted in social and religious reform, as Vatican II became the channel for his vision of a universal Church to be fulfilled. His strong stance on ecumenical dialogue throughout the world promoted social equality, and his liturgical reform enabled Christians from around the world to redevelop relationships between clergy and
In his view, the Church's first and foremost goal isn't the individual experience, but rather the ability for humans to create the Kingdom of God on earth. For Raushenbusch this could be done through what he called the “social gospel.” “Since the Kingdom is the supreme end of God, it must be the purpose for which the church exists.”[7] By living each day in love, humans should theoretically be able to live like Jesus Christ and in turn reform society. This focus was influenced by many factors. One prevalent factor, which led to this sense of urgency toward social reform, was the migration of the population. In Emerson's time, the majority of American citizens lived in rural areas.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) As a church we recognize that we serve the Triune God, and we stress the importance of developing our relationship with God and with Jesus, yet it seems to me that there is a lack of talk about our relationship with the Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit? I believe many of us regard the Spirit as something of an essence or wind-like force that surrounds us and leads us to be like God.