Throughout my second semester of Bible Survey while studying Matthew chapter 7, I learned several key characteristics of my life that I needed to change, but I also learned several applications relating to a long term relationship with my Creator. Often before Bible Survey I would read sections of the Bible, but over the school year and especially through my study of Matthew 7 I learned that the forum posts and studies that all of the students would do are essential characteristics of a Christ Follower, which I learned about in first semester. Matthew 7 concludes Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and offers six key arenas of life to examine: judging, pursuing Christ, paths to glory, true and false prophets, true and false disciples, and finally key foundations to our faith. I studied each section in depth and came away with many areas of my life that I needed to change. My goal through the study was to find life …show more content…
I realized that this sermon was kind of like Jesus ' inaugural address to the Jews. He wants the sermon to be a declaration that people will hear and easily distinguish a goal and purpose from the Sermon. He lays out his plans and goals and clearly tells His followers what He expects of them. This format of the passage helped me as it clearly taught me some things I needed to change relating to pride and anger. In one of my last forum posts I posted on how I would fix my pride as it related to judging others. I realized that Jesus did not just tell us what to do, but also how to change. I felt as if God was telling me that my pride was coming from myself looking and building on myself as if I were a rock instead of building on Him. I need to pursue God and my passage helped me realize that in storms, God will hold me safer than I can and this will result in a decrease of
If as believers we fail to completely trust the Word of God and form our life under its direction then our witness will become misleading and even confusing. Believer’s effort in diligently understanding, applying and holding full trust to the word of God in all aspects of our life will be instrumental in building our faith. Such a faith will elevate us to enable us rise above the unrelenting wave of our culture’s non-biblical ideologies. Biblical worldview is very important in order to develop a life, which can be emulated by others in diligence, integrity and honesty in the modern society (Tackett, 2014).
...hat share my faith and together worship Jesus. I believe that by being in fellowship with other believers I will have a strong opportunity to pursue and fulfill God’s purpose in my life, whether it is a daily or lifetime calling.
...Today as a Christ follower, we will never be satisfied if our life is not bearing lasting fruit because we are not fulfilling the purpose for which we were “grafted “into the Vine. Let’s examine the “fruit” of our lives. Is it the kind of fruit that reveals the character of Christ? Let’s not settle for fruitless Christianity. God will do the work of making us fruitful – we must only abide, surrendering our lives to His mission of making disciples of all nations through us. The whole notion of mission is to stretch out to work the work of evangelism not through hierarchy, sovereignty, rather through humbleness, hospitality, affection love for the others. That is what Jesus who portrayed as the one who we do not deserve to untie His sandals straps in the first Chapter of John, later become feet washer, intimate with humanity leaving His equality with God.
...ake myself accountable to seeking wise counsel (Proverbs 1:5, 11:14, 15:22), recognizing 1Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good;” thus, earnestly applying pertinent scientific methods and submitting to peer review (Entwistle 2010). I will continue to seek education in the disciplines of psychology and theology. I will progress to build upon the biblical foundation established, through my bachelors’ degree (a double major in Education and Bible), by means of continued reading in the disciplines, scripture, and through observation of the world around me. Ultimately, may all I do reflect my love for God with all my heart, soul, and mind and may I love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-39).
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
Overall, this book helped me become more aware of my weaknesses with my preaching style and also gave me tools to strengthen them. The examples are very basic and practical and helped highlight key skills and situations that a preacher can experience when doing a sermon. This book added more knowledge to me and gave me new insights that I can use as a tool when I go back with my ministry as a youth worker.
In this first part of this paper I will be explaining my worldview. There are three influences I will focus on to give an in depth look at how I came to my worldview. The three influences are religion, family, and my career choice. I think the biggest part of my worldview comes from my religion so I will start with that. I am a Christian and with that comes certain beliefs. Those beliefs lead my life daily and contribute to my worldview. One those beliefs is to spread his word. God’s word is such an important part to look at because it gives a framework to guide my life in every aspect. The Bible is filled with commandments, stories, and scripture that reference to how to look at life from a moral, social, and personal standpoint. We can actually begin to see the purpose for our through the word as well. Life’s purpose, according to the Bible, is for God’s glory. We are supposed to praise, worship, proclaim him, and follow his will. “Everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made,” (Isaiah 43:7) I like this verse because I feel like it reminds me of what God has done for me. From that ...
In the book, “The Element” by Ken Robinson he discusses how different education systems all over the world are but focuses on the education system in the United States. The reason being is that he believes that there are faults that need to be fixed because it doesn’t focus on the students individually and discovering their “element” but, on academics, business and state testing. Robinson claims that education itself is supposed to be a process in which it develops all resources.
Senior, Donald. 1998. "The Gospel of Matthew and the Passion of Jesus : Theological and Pastoral Perspectives." Word & World 18, no. 4: 372-379. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed March 13, 2014).
This semester has proved to be a real awakening to what direction I need to be pursuing in my spiritual walk. I have learned so much through this course. Some of the things that I have learned that have become more important than they were in the past are; the need for silence, the need for community, the need for direction, and above all how utterly helpless we are when we try to “do” everything, including ministry without seeking God first.
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.
As an image bearer of God this assessment is an evaluation my faith and spiritual development while learning to function as a believer in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This personal assessment is essential in the strengthen and development of witnessing for Jesus and spreading the gospel through effective ministries to win souls for Christ. This course gives the essential strength of one’s faith that is paramount in creating a spiritual foundation of becoming an effective Christian. Psalms 95:6 states “Come let us bow down in worship, and let us kneel before our Lord our maker “(The Holy Bible, NIV 2010). A person’s faith starts with a single act based on personal beliefs and trust in the teaching and words of Jesus Christ. As a leader in the Church and military the development of my personal faith is important in evaluating the spirituality and personal convictions of an individual person that is willing to save souls for Christ.
Over the past year and a half I have felt a tremendous calling placed upon my life to spend my time on Earth pouring everything I am into a Christ centered ministry. When I first arrived in Southern California, from Indiana, I thought I had my whole life figured out. It was my belief that God had already made it completely obvious how I would spend the rest of my life serving his kingdom. I could not have been further away from the truth. God has revealed so much truth and knowledge to me that I am still having trouble wrapping my head around. Through my classes here at Vanguard and the community that surrounds me I have seen and felt God move in amazing ways. However, through the book Jesus is____. written by my favorite pastor, Judah Smith, I have been opened up to new concepts and ideas that have been nothing short of mind blowing and full of Jesus’s truths. While writing this book, Pastor Judah asked himself the question time and time again, “Who is Jesus to me?” He also asks the reader at the beginning of the book, “Who is Jesus to you?” This book challenged me, made me smile, and convicted me. Judah’s love for Jesus is evident. His passion to make Him known is confirmed. The book traces different aspects of what the Bible says about Jesus and who
In ministry it is important to note that the different people involved in your ministry will be at different stages of their spiritual growth. Having an awareness of your own personal theology will be important for how you go about teaching the students who are involved in your youth ministry. One part of personal theology is spiritual formation. Duffy Robbins states that spiritual formation is, “the growing into the likeness of Jesus” (448). Another main part of personal theology is community. Understanding and having an idea of both spiritual formation and community helps with the formation of personal theology of ministry. This paper will share five areas of theology and how they relate to practical theology in youth ministry. The five areas of theology include view of God, view of people, view of sin, view of redemption, and view of scripture.
New Testament Survey shaped me into a better person because it helped me understand my faith. I always grew up with my faith, I was never taught to challenge my beliefs and myself. Through this class I learned to ask questions because through questions you can strengthen your own understanding. Doctor Sim is always so caring and so sweet. He genuinely cares about each and every one of his students, I believe that is why I did as well as I did in this class. Doctor Sim made me interested and he made me want to become a better person each and every class. There was never a class when I didn’t walk out in a good mood and ready to put the lessons into practice.