I can remember bits and pieces of my baptism when I was 8 years old, and all of it brings wonderful memories: The white jumpsuit, my smiling relatives, and the spirit that was present when my Dad baptized me. A couple days before my baptism, I promised I was going to be perfect for as long as I could, and that I would do everything to follow Jesus Christ. Those days have long since passed, and unfortunately I wasn’t able to keep perfect for too long and my efforts to follow Christ have from time to time fallen short. So what was it that changed, did I become a less adequate disciple as time went on? I would like to think that is not the case, and I can draw parallels to Peter who struggled through the same process as I did. The story of Peter …show more content…
Before Christ’s crucifixion, Christ said to his disciples, “All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad…Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.” (The Holy Bible, Matt. 26.31-33) Peter’s intentions are pure and his testimony is strong, as he said in Matthew 16, “Thou art the Christ.” (Matt.16.16) These was a precarious time to be a follower of Jesus Christ and many have forsaken him because of his teachings. There were many priests that were conspiring against Christ, and yet here is Peter, the Rock, who said was willing to die for him. But then, Christs says, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” (Matt. 26.34) This was unfathomable, and yet Peter did just that when he was questioned by others in the court outside of Jesus’ trial and wept bitterly because of it. Why did he do it? Peter when placed in the situation where his life was in peril if he announced his loyalty did something that any person fearing their life would do, and that is going into survival mode. This passage shows how real the disciples are, and that they made as many mistakes as we do today. Peter was not yet fully converted, but he was not doomed to destruction. Christ later visits the disciples, …show more content…
So how can this apply this passage to us as latter day saints? Even though I have not been a perfect disciple since my baptism, I was endowed with the gift of the Holy Ghost a few minutes later, and that has been a great blessing in my life. I am very grateful for the grace of Jesus Christ, that even though I fall short time and time again, he will make up for it. We have spoken in class of Alma and Paul who went to extremes to persecute followers of Christ, and yet they were brought up to know the goodness of God. If they can repent so could Peter and so can we! It starts with the repentance process which begins with us recognizing our sin with Godly sorrow. Peter experienced this when he wept bitterly after the cock crowed. We then have to pray and ask forgiveness, and forsake these sins, we are using the grace of Jesus Christ and inviting the Holy Ghost back into our lives. Even though we are imperfect and have so many distractions in our world today, we can still be wonderful and power Disciples of Christ. In this world, strong disciples are needed and like Peter we can be a powerful force for
continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-3) Therefore, the disciples
not take a stand in the situation. He took care of Paul when he (Paul)
From observing Peter in school, what do you think was the function of his inappropriate behaviors? Justify your response with examples from the
Mark's Gospel and Nature of Discipleship In Mark's Gospel, there are many accounts of Jesus' disciples and Apostles which are helpful to Christians as examples of the nature of discipleship. In this part of my coursework essay I hope to address questions involving what Mark's Gospel tells us about Jesus' disciples and Apostles, as well as defining the principle of what being a disciple entails, and defining also who the apostles were. This is because by learning about past disciples and the Apostles, a modern disciple of the Church can learn about the nature of discipleship. A disciple is somebody who is inspired enough by somebody to learn about them, listen to their ideas and follow them and their way of life.
As a matter of fact, Peter died saving one of his servants who fell overboard on one of his many expeditions. One will have to wonder what kind of man had this much energy to revolutionize their countries. In accordance, one will have to study the personal history of this great man. Consequently, one should learn his methods in achieving his goals.
First of all, there are several ways that can explain the passage. The first way is that everything has a symbolism. The ship is Israel, while the disciples are the remnant. Jesus going to pray is like Jesus dismissing the Jews for a time and leaving them for a time. The waves are the the nations which toss about those that around them, with the help of the waves of persecution. Just as the disciples were troubled when Jesus came unto them, those that are not right with the Lord will be frightened when the Lord returns. Then, as he did in this story, he will call out and calm the fears of the people. Then Peter, who stands for the church, which is also called out from Israel, was called out. In the symbolism, this stands for the church being caught up in the air to be with the Lord. When the Lord does rescue “Peter”, the wind will forever be calm for the Christian.1
“ ‘Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.’ ” Then [Peter] began to curse, and swore an oath, “ ‘I do not know the man!’ ” (The Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha, Mathew. 73, 74). Strong and bold, Peter swore to never disown Jesus; however, Peter lied to himself, Jesus, and the other disciples. Moreover, Peter, acting greedy and selfish, chose not to suffer with Jesus, yet escape freely. In other words, lying to the people and disowning Jesus, Peter proved to be self-serving. Realizing his mistakes, Peter devoted his life and love to the Lord, purifying himself from the sins he committed. Similarly, in Puritan society, Puritans initially were seemingly self-serving people, fighting for their chance at being predestined.
“In baptism every Christian has enough to study and to practice all his life. He always has enough to do to believe firmly what Baptism promises and brings – victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sin, God’s grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with his gifts. In short the blessings of Baptism are so boundless that if timid nature considers them, it may well doubt whether they could all be true.”
Poem, hymn or combination of the two, “Rock of Ages” is a brilliantly designed and masterfully executed recipe for salvation. Whether a person is in the prime of life or on the brink of death, this work of art was intended to serve everyone. It touches on the unapproachability of God apart from a mediator, it brings up double imputation, it shows the futility of our own works in securing salvation, it foretells God’s righteous judgment on the last day and in the end it provides hope in salvation. In conclusion, as Toplady would agree, Christ is the rock and in his cleft, we find salvation. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (The Holy Bible, John.
The outcome of peasants only led to more trouble. Peter the Hermit can be viewed as a figurehead of the people’s crusade. Peter can be described as a charismatic man who delive...
Paul then continues on to talk about the way in which the Philippians need to compose themselves and tells them to “stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel” (1:27). He says this because at the time the Philippians had a lot of forces that opposed them, just as Christ did when he was here on earth. Rather then becoming boastful or prideful Paul urges the Philippians to be like a servant who gives all the glory to God and not upon
In the trial, the story was painted differently by Luke and Paul, arguably because, Paul in (Gal.2:1-10) related the venue of the meeting - Jerusalem, possibly because Paul was in attendance for the dialogue; whereas that did not reflect in Luke’s storyline. Luke arguably narrated the story from the spectacle of the report he heard or read from the apostles later. However, his report is striking because his story was exhaustive apart from the fact that he did not mention the venue unlike Paul. Another striking difference in the two pericopes is that in Gal. 2:2 Paul noted that he consulted with the leaders of the apostles perhaps, Peter and James and John who gave to him and Barnabas ‘the right hand of fellowship’, (Gal.2:9) whereas in Acts 15, Luke reported it as a public meeting of some leading apostles.
I know who you are—the Holy One of God?’” and again in 3:11, “whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God’”. The disciples are ignorant to fact that the man who called them to drop everything and follow him was the Messiah. Peter properly identifies Jesus in chapter 8 when Jesus asks who they believe he is, but later when Jesus goes into the details of his death Peter denies it and Jesus addresses him as Satan. This is also the point in which Jesus says, “take up your cross and follow me” meaning that they too will
When Jesus called His disciples, His invitation was simple. He invited them to follow Him. The same is true today. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His last charge to His disciples, and the charge was simple. He called his followers to go and make disciples. Much effort has been placed by Christians to fulfill this charge, commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus chose to fulfill the implementation of the New Covenant through 12 men who He called, appointed, and commissioned, and he only had a few short years to prepare them for the task (Willson, 1990). His methods were unconventional and were revolutionary for that time. His disciples were to be trained extensively by Jesus, living with Him for three years prior to His ascension. He taught about servant leadership and its meaning for both the leader and follower Matt. 20:25-28). From the beginning, Jesus put in place a careful plan, and an examination of His actions in the Gospels showed that Jesus left behind the pattern to be replicated. His methods, which included the incorporation of three different levels of discipleship, included His interaction with Peter, His closest three (Peter, James, and John), and finally the group of 12. This paper identified and analyzed the three levels of discipleship Jesus modeled, these discipleship methods were then measured against modern leadership theories, and Jesus’s level of involvement and interaction with his disciples were critiqued in light of these modern theories in an effort to determine the effectiveness of this approach.
However, it is to my understanding that this is a lesson regarding the leadership of the House of worship of Jesus Christ, mutually ancient and modern. In Acts, nevertheless, the command was to preach to scattered Israel in addition to reveal the gospel all over the Roman Empire and as far as they could. This commandment was not deprived of its troubles. Long, treacherous travels, oppressions, concerns of Church guidelines, assimilation of foreigners,