Churches of Christ

what the true life in Christ is all about. The congregation was losing their sight, forgetting the uniqueness and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. “The Colossians seem to be grappling with certain spiritual practices that they have been told are required for fullness of life.” Whatever practices may be, Christ was losing his supremacy on one’s life. Paul’s prayer depicts a sincere desire for the congregation to grow in the knowledge of God, through which an appropriate Christ-centered life would…

Saul, who would later become known as Paul after his radical conversion to Christ, was a man who represented the most extreme pathway towards Christianity one could take. A highly educated Jewish religious leader, Saul hunted down and persecuted Christians for what he believed to be ultimate blasphemy. Saul experienced an incredible interruption on his mission to eliminate Christians. In Acts 9:1-6, Jesus himself appeared in a bright light, and commanded Saul to turn from his ways and follow Him…

Paul epistles In studying the 13 letters written by Paul, we can lay them in two categories, the church, and to people. To the churches are Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians, Colossians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. To people, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. After Paul conversion, his goal was to reach the Jews and Gentile and teach them the way a Christian should live. He warns them that there is no excuse for anyone to say that there is no God. He further…

in order to live like Christ you must be thankful, so therefore it is a part of the main theme, the overall message is instead strive to live in Christ’s image. A good example of living like Christ would most definitely Paul, who is none other than the author of Colossians. Historical and Literary Context We know Paul is the author because in the greeting of Colossians Chapter 1 it says, “Paul…

Christianity is the world’s largest religion, with over 2.4 billion known adherents. Widely practiced through South America, Europe, Russia and most dominant in North America. There teachings are based on the life, death and teachings of Jesus Christ from almost 2,000 years ago. Christianity is one of the most influential religions in history. They have one god that created heaven, earth and the universe. In the United States 70.6% of adults 18 and up identify themselves as Christians. Biblicism…

The word “Alleluia” is a Latin translation of “Hallelujah” (Hebrew for Praise the Lord). It sounds odd for us to omit a word when we gather for worship giving thanks and praises to God. Alleluia is traditionally used as the chief term used for the gathering of angels, archangels, saints, and etc. to praise God. We use Alleluias as a way of joining in this gathering but, why do we give it up for Lent which is the only time it is typically not used within the Church Year. The practice of…

important? • Communion is the act of remembering the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This symbol of eating “his body and drinking his blood” reminds me of all that Christ has done for me. For me, communion is a holy time of remembering God’s gifts and acts of love towards me, and a rededication of my life to following Christ. Communion is also a time of self judgment where I pause to reflect on how my life lines up with God’s expectations. Also, I have come to communion not only at…

The general impressions of this letter written to the church of Romans by Paul gives me the idea he is addressing several core issues that he had come across in the startup churches. Some of these core issues may be specific to the church in Rome however other issues may have been general issues that a lot of new community churches through the entire region were experiencing. The issues included the Jews desire to determine if Gentiles were eligible to receive salvation and if the Gentiles were…

Dividing the churches into “wards,” each community has a home church where they attend services. Members can attend services at other wards, but only in the home ward are members allowed to serve, teach, and work. The church services opened in a typical manner with a hymn and an opening prayer. Then the bishop stood up to talk about church business. Because there was not anything pertinent at that time, there was another hymn sung. The singing is done while sitting down, though. The next…

The rite of baptism is a means by which God communicated grace. The baptised infant becomes free from the chains of sin and is joined to the body of Christ. In the Catholic Church the baptism starts off by the priest greeting the community in the church and goes on to ask questions to the parents and confirms the parents wish for baptism. After the priest has questioned the parents the priest, parents…