Christian mysticism

Sanctification: Finally, after working through the meat of the ordis salutis, I arrive at the heart of soteriology: sanctification, a union with Christ, and a covenantal partnership with God to be kingdom-bringers. Although sin nature still affects us as Calvin notes, the election and mercy of God, the imputation of Christ, and the impartation by the Holy Spirit lead me to a point in which I no longer am defined by my sin nature. Literally, my sin nature died when Christ died. When Jesus died…

Preaching in both the OT and NT is defined as an oral address to the people of God to shape their identity and style of life. Preaching challenges people to acknowledge the Lord in their lives and seek his diving will for their purpose. Freedman (2000) defines preaching as speaking the word of God, exhorting, and witnessing, while shaping the identity of the people of God. Preaching is to make a speech about religion in a church or other public place: to deliver a sermon. Preaching is an…

responsibility to save lives to be part of building His Church by adding one stone at a time. In Closing, on Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit came down and through powerful preaching of Peter Sunday Church was born as Jesus promised. As Christians gather together on Sundays, they grew in faith and then went out to share the gospel of Christ. The people’s lives were being changed through the…

John Calvin came up with covenant theology to cover the over all flow of the bible. The first time Covenant Theology was really used was in the 16th and 17th centuries by Ursinus, Olevianus and Cocceius. This theology was used mainly by the Reformed Churches and was it 's predominant theology around the 17th and 19th centuries. Covenant Theology is a system of theology that views God 's dealings with man in respect of covenants rather than dispensations (periods of time). It represents the whole…

The ministry of the laity is the work of mission or ministry that every single person who is a believer is called to do. Each person has a responsibility to proclaim the Good News not just those who are in ministry. There are many different settings that we as believers can preach the Good News without having to be in a church or be a pastor. In the following paragraphs, I will unfold a plan that will train the laity to minister in their Home and Neighborhood Settings. Often there has been a…

door for pedophiles to more easily target children. As such, because of ties against both the LGBT crowd, and sexual offenders, many Christians have said they would boycott Target. On the outside, that appears to make sense, however, it no longer does to me the more I think about it. This is probably the most radical statement that I’ve thought of, but, Christians DON’T need to boycott Target, at least not physically. As far as providing monetary spending in their store, you don’t have to…

Sermons Every sermon was meant to focus on ethical behavior and how to have a christian life (“Journal of Church and State”, 2014). McMahon (n.d.) stated that, we like preachers that are entertaining, Puritans on the other hand didn’t. There preachers had to be able to read the Bible and explain the plain meaning, note and discuss key points, and be able to apply the text to real life situations. They didn’t care to hear how the preacher’s day has went they just wanted the word to be preached…

who come across his path everyday and in every context He should pray that the Lord will give him such opportunities. Discipleship The pastor is called to equipped the saint for ministry. Therefore he must make sure that he is developing mature Christian in his ministry. The primary means whereby this can take place is from the pulpit. Therefore it would be wise for the pastor to plan his preaching. Doing so will allow him to develop an objective and a plan for his preaching. It should be…

2016 service on Baptism. The January 3, 2016 Worship Service Program follows the 2016 (Year C) Lectionary Calendar found on the internet. The program not only gave the order of service, it also provided information concerning what period of the Christian year we were worshipping in. On the program, we introduced the season of Epiphany which is the period of the visit of the Magi and the baptism of the Lord. The table is covered in white and prepared with the Holy Communion. The first…

Before looking at Peter 's preaching, it is helpful to study who Peter was. Peter was a fisherman, a Jew, a Galilean, and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Peter joined the ministry of Jesus at the beginning and studied under Christ for three and half years. During his time with Christ, Peter made many mistakes, but he also had many triumphs. Peter was the only disciple to walk on water, and Peter was in the “inner circle” of Jesus’ disciples. He had the opportunity to get close to Jesus and learn…