...1. What are some ways the Christian gospel is perceived in our culture? There are several different views and beliefs of the Christian gospel. Some include: the Bible is a nice story but is just that a story; if I just say a Salvation prayer I am saved; if I treat others well and do good deeds I will get into Heaven; and, the Bible was written so long ago that it is not really relevant in today’s time; to just name a few. The Christian view of the gospel is one of good news. The gospel, in the Bible tells us that God loved us as sinners so much, He sent His only Son to pay the price for our sinful nature by dying on the cross. By understanding, and believing in our minds, our bodies (heart), and our souls that: we are sinners; that God sent His Son to die for our sins; that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead; that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ; and by believing these things in our hearts and professing it with our mouths, we are saved. 2. What are some specific moral reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? One moral reason someone might reject the Christian gospel is that of greed. More and more today’s generation seems to be one of greed. The “me” generation; the “g” for greed generation; the “feel-good” generation; these generation examples seem to want whatever they desire and want to have it now, simply because it makes them feel good. This generation is full of people who have a selfish view of the world and what it can offer...
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...century the Christian gospel is perceived to be a thing of the past, that was then, this is now, philosophy, and it’s all about me attitude and what I can gain. Some perceive the Bible as just a good story, and nothing else. Most hope by living a good life, never doing anything they think is wrong, that they are going to Heaven. Some have this attitude of Why would a loving God send me to hell? They do not understand that being a Christian we have to live a separated life and the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ and that nothing we do outside of Christ will get us to Heaven. The gospel can be morally rejected because of a person’s worldview what they perceive to be right or wrong. First people must see themselves as being lost; before they can see a need for a Savior. No one wants to be judged for what they may believe is right, not understanding that God is our only judge and that it is by his standards that we are judged by not man’s. Some emotionally reject the gospel when they see a loved one suffering, or when one has lost a loved one. This causes a person to hardened their heart from ever hearing the gospel and knowing the true meaning of the word love and how God so loved us all that he sent his son to die on that cruel cross for our sins. The Christian gospel is rejected intellectually because of a person’s perspective of the Bible. Is the Bible believable? In a society that feeds off of power, fortune and fame the gospel of Jesus Christ sounds...
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...1. What are some ways the Christian gospel is perceived in our culture? In our culture the Gospel is perceived by some as a way to get into Heaven. They believe that to get into Heaven, they must be saved. They must believe in God, give themselves to Him, and accept Him as their personal savior. However, there are people who believe that the gospel and God are a myth. These people are surely damned. 2. What are some specific moral reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? Many reject the Christian gospel because of the bad things that are happening in the world. Their thoughts are “if God truly existed, why would He allow all the suffering and death that’s happening?” They find it hard to believe that loving God would not step in and get rid of the murders and rapes. 3. What are some specific emotional reasons people may reject the Christian gospel? People may reject it because of past dealings with Christians who caused havoc in their lives. People who were the subject of abuse by someone in the Church may reject the gospel because of the pain – mentally and physically – that they endured. Their thoughts would be “why would I want to be a part of a religion that has someone like this in it?” They associate their pain with the religion. Another reason could be the death of a loved one. “Why would a loving God take my mother who spent her life serving Him? Why didn’t He heal her?” They fail to realize that she was healed – just not on this side. 4...
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...OFFICIAL RULES FOR THE “New TOYOTA CAMRY GIVE-AWAY” NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING A PURCHASE WILL NOT SWEEPSTAKES PERIOD: The N EW TOYOTA C AM RY GIVE - AW AY Sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”) begins on May 14th , 2012 at 12:01 am EDT and ends on July 31, 2012 at 11:59 pm EDT (the “Sweepstakes Period”). HOW TO ENTER: During the Sweepstakes Period, there are two (2) ways to enter: (1) Online: Visit http://www.theglen.com/Camry/Giveaway and follow the directions provided to complete the entry form and submit to receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes. All online entries must be submitted by July 31, 2012 at 11:59 pm EDT to be eligible. (2) Via Mail: Handprint your name, address, city, state, zip code, daytime and evening phone numbers (including area codes), and date of birth on a 3" x 5" card and mail the card, with proper postage affixed to: “New Toyota Camry Give-Away” c/o Watkins Glen International, Attn: Ryan Pedersen, 2790 County Route 16, Watkins Glen, NY 14891. All mail-in entries must be postmarked by July 19, 2012 at 11:59 pm EDT and received by Sponsor no later July 23, 2012 to be eligible. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated [or mechanical] means or by any means which subvert the entry process are void. Limit one (1) entry per person, per email address and per household, regardless of method of entry. Entries received from any person or email address or household in excess of the limitation...
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...Works and Words: Why You Can't Preach the Gospel with Deeds And why it's important to say so. Duane Litfin [ posted 5/30/2012 10:43AM When it comes to the enduring question of word versus deed in the Christian's calling, the issue is always one of balance. How are Christians to think about the relative roles of words (proclaiming the gospel) and deeds (loving action) in what Christ has called his people to be and do? We need to set our scales to a balance that matches Scripture. "Balance" may sound simple, but finding and maintaining our equilibrium on such a complex subject is never easy. It's like walking a tightrope. Only one direction will keep us upright and moving forward, and any number of missteps could lead us to fall off one side or the other. Misguided claims abound. Here's a prominent example. How often do we hear these days, with passion and approval, the famous dictum attributed to Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary"? In this saying, the word-versus-deed question rears its head, stressing in this instance how important it is for Christians to "preach the gospel" with their actions. Let the gospel be seen rather than spoken, it's implied. Words may serve a useful backup role, but our actions must take center stage if we are to make a difference in the world. At first blush, this sounds right. Except that it isn't. According to those who know the relevant history well—the Franciscans—Francis never uttered these words...
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...Summary of the Chapters In chapter one of Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer doesn’t waste time explaining the general truths. He already expects his readers to know that God is sovereign over His world. He is the author and source of all things, therefore, our prayers do not force the Lord of all to do anything. Packer wants his audience to realize that because the God is sovereign, we cannot save ourselves. Our salvation comes through Him and in Him; it is nothing we did ourselves. Packers gives two examples, that he believes can prove that God is sovereign in salvation. The first, he argues that we (Christians) thank God for our salvation. By doing so we acknowledge that God is solely responsible for our salvation. We do not thank ourselves for being saved, do we? No, because we know that it is God who is in control. The second way we acknowledge that God is sovereign in salvation, is that we pray for the conversion of non-believers. Packer defends his reasoning by saying, “Do you limit yourself to asking that God will bring them (non-believers) to a point where they can save themselves, independently of Him?”[1] Again, by praying to God for the salvation of others we practice the act of acknowledging God is sovereign. Proven now, that God is sovereign, in chapter 2 the author explains what an antimony is and how to deal with hardships that come along with it. An antimony is an appearance of a contradiction between conclusions which seem equally...
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.........................3 HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL SETTING ...........................................................4 LITERARY CONTEXT .................................................................................4 PRESENTATION OF TEXT ...............................................................................6 SCRIPTURE PASSAGE .................................................................................6 TEXT CRITICAL NOTES .............................................................................7 OUTLINE OF PASSAGE ...............................................................................7 PHILIP HEADS TO GAZA…………………………………………………… 9 PHILIP EXPLAINS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE………………………………10 THE EUNUCH IS BAPTIZED………………………………………………...11 PHILIPP CONTINUES SPREADING THE GOSPEL MESSAGE……………12 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………13 SUMMATION…………………………………………………………..13 APPLICATION…………………………………………………………15 WORK CITED…………………………………………………………………...17 INTRODUCTION ORIENTATION AND CONTEXT Significance of Text Acts 8 opens with the stoning of Stephen, a Grecian Jews who we first meet in chapter six. The stoning of Stephan begins a severe persecution against the church in Jerusalem and as a result all except the apostles are scattered into the countryside of Judea and Samaria (Acts...
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...awesome lesson to learn from, especially when it comes to a particular method to evangelize, “the lesson should be” “what really works most effective for one person, may not work the same for someone else”. The LORD say to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jer.1:5 NKJV). How comforting it is to know, that Christians can go the One who knows everyone, better than anyone on earth and in this truth, “everyone can be free, to be who he or she were created to be”! “The Christians true identity is through God’s deity”! Newkirk 2 To evangelize is to tell a good message. In the New Testament the term implies a good message, as in a victory. While some people might attempt to make us...
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... If he does not live as one revived, no one will care to listen, and the listeners will be kept from some of the light that could have come their way (John 17:21, Hebrews 12:14, Matthew 5:16). If a testimony has been lost, we must ask for forgiveness and begin to shine forth the Light of Christ. Third, the evangelist must be a person of prayer. He must be pleading with God for opportunities to share the gospel, and he must be interceding on behalf of particular souls. He knows that salvation cannot be manipulated, and he is trusting God to release some of the captives of the devil Fourth, the evangelist must know the message of the gospel. He knows that God is holy, that man is a sinner, and that Christ is the sacrifice for sin. He knows that a person must repent of his sins and put his trust in Christ in order to be made righteous before a holy God. He is not afraid to talk about hell and breaking the law of God. He is eager, however, to share about the free gift of the grace of God through Jesus Christ Fifth, he has practiced and rehearsed how to share the gospel. He has some “mental handlebars” of what verses to use and what questions to ask. He understands the...
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...The four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 1. Introduction The term Gospel means good news, a message which was desperately needed (Guthrie, 1965: 11). According to Talbot (2013: 69) gospels can be divided into 2 groups namely the Synoptic gospels- Matthew, Mark and Luke and Gospel of John. He explains that Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels because they have so much in common. Kotze (6), outlines their similarities and differences as follows: |Mark | |Matthew | |Luke | |Total: 661 verses | |Total :1068 verses | |Total: 1149 verses | |600 verses parallel to Matthew | |505 verses parallel to Mark | |380 verses parallel to Mark | |61 verses peculiar to Mark | |235 versus parallel to Luke | |235 versus parallel to Matthew | | | |328 verses peculiar to Matthew | |534 verses peculiar to Luke | There are suggestions due the similarities and differences that (1) Mark was the original writer and was copied by Matthew and Luke (2) Matthew was original writer copied by Luke, and Mark made a shorter version. The material where obtained from the following suggested sources: (1) Oral tradition – the good news spread by word of mouth before it was written down (2) An earlier...
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...wonderful plan for your life. (2) Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life. (3) Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life. (4) We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives. An advantage of this method is that it begins with positive note, “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life,” which may cause non-Christians to be more receptive to the message. Due to the fall and sin, mankind is at variance with God (Ephesians 2:13-16) and there may be a tendency to reject a message concerning God without ever hearing the message. However, starting with such a positive introduction may cause an individual to “lower his guards” so he can hear the Gospel. Another advantage of this approach is that it can be easily communicated in print form and makes for a useful tract, especially considering the positive opening law. One disadvantage of this method is an increased likelihood that individuals who come to Christ as a result of the Four Spiritual Laws may be disillusioned should they find life’s struggles to exceed their perception of “God’s love and wonderful plan.” Tragedies, job loss, being persecuted for Christianity are challenging life experiences to which Christians can fall victim (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12). For...
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...multiple methods to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those methods all contained several characteristics that set Paul apart from all other missionaries, as these are used today. As Paul went about fulfilling the great commission his legacy can be identified by these key characteristics. Paul ministry was focused on planting a church, his goal to spread the Gospel and convert individuals not just preach to local crowds. Paul’s method of operation was to come into a community begin to evangelize, establish the congregation and the church. These communities of Jews and Gentiles formed by Paul and his team established the local church and he moved on to another location. The path chosen by Paul in his commitment to preaching Jesus Christ to those in the who would listen. Paul preached to all that Christ died for all sinners and every person was in an equal position before God as a sinner. Paul preached redemption through Christ Jesus for all. One the important characteristics Paul had was that he preached to the crowd, he had an understanding that the message would identify with the audience as the Gospel related to that community, by no means did Paul change the word of Christ, he was an educated man and used it in his work spreading the Good News. Throughout Paul's travels he was willing to endure hardships and persecution in his mission to the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Paul understood that he would suffer for the message we was destined to deliver, even...
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...Evolution of Gospel Music The culture of African Americans dates back to the beginning of times in Africa. So many things were carried across the world such as culture, art, music, and different cultural practices. The music of African Americans has transcended across different cultures. Gospel music is one of the sacred forms of music for African Americans. This is one of the hottest music genres currently out, and it is not only meant to relay a message to people but change their hearts in the process and help people endure positive out takes on life. Gospel music has a long rich tradition with great contributors such as Thomas Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Kirk Franklin. Things such as gospel music workshops and conventions exist today to educate individuals on this peculiar style of music. Recently, I held a gospel music workshop and many things were involved in putting it together. The following paper will discuss my research on the evolution of gospel music and elaborate more on why I decided to do a gospel music workshop. African American gospel music has been implemented with secular and non-African American elements. This has caused many individuals to wonder “what is gospel music?” This musical phenomenon has moved beyond the walls of the “black church” and includes many aspects (Wise 1). Gospel music can be defined from a cultural, spiritual, or musical perspective. There are underlying theological and spiritual principles Gospel music was...
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...About the Arthur of this book “The Art of Personal Evangelism”, the Arthur is Will McRaney. Will McRaney having served a variety position of evangelism. He earned his Ph.D. in Evangelism from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1992. And He has served as assistant professor of evangelism at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He also works for the Ministry Enhancement Group as co-founder for training and consulting group in the areas of church growth and leadership development. He presently is director of the Evangelism Strategy Department of the Florida Baptist Convention. According to his introduction, McRaney states his purpose is to blow the dust off the biblical essentials and help the readers connect the timeless message of the past with the postmodern culture of the present in which God means everything and...
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...Jeremiah is without doubt one of the saddest books in the Bible. It details the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah at a time where God’s people were entrenched in sin. Despite all of Jeremiah’s efforts, his tender pleading for Judah to repent, and his warnings of God’s coming judgement, the people still refused to turn from their wickedness. Chapter 18 is one of many sections in Jeremiah that clearly depict these depressing events. Jeremiah is commanded by God to speak to the people, and his message concludes with a warning of punishment and an urgent call for repentance (Jeremiah 18:11). However, the people did not heed Jeremiah’s admonition. Instead, they replied, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every...
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