A Practical Apocalypse

Paul was writing the letter to the churches of Thessalonica which is the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia. His purpose of writing was to praise them on their “faith and love” that Timothy had brought and to focus on the instruction on how to live their Christian lives. Paul was writing this letter while he was on his mission in Corinthian where he was farther south in the province of Achaia. He wants the letter to be read aloud “to all his brothers” which means all his believers in Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 it is confirmed of the conclusion that the churches of Thessalonica was mostly composed of gentile

Wacaster’s book, which is (as the title suggests) centered on Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, is very obviously intended to the common-level, “average” audience. Wacaster does not delve into complex conversations of textual variants, manuscript discrepancies, and disputations of authorship, nor does he use vocabulary or phraseology that is above the understanding of most individuals. Rather, Wacaster is simple, straightforward, and effective in communicating his points on the wonderful book of Galatians. With many commentaries that are written at a graduate and scholarly level, a more basic approach is much appreciated and needed.

Paul’s letter to the Romans can be broken down into four major sections. Within each of these sections there is a single compelling issue. Within the context of these respective issues, several interpretive questions can be answered through the interpretative process. These answers help us to understand how to apply the spiritual principals to our lives, as well as, help us compel other individuals to apply these spiritual principles within their lives.

Paul begins his letter by saying he is an apostle not from men nor through man, but Jesus

Situated near the site of Therma on the Thermaic Gulf, Thessalonica was located near the northermost reaches of the Aegean Sea. “The ancient city was founded in Macedonia (a region that encompassed roughly the northern half of the Greek peninsula) about 315 b.c. by Cassander, who named it after his wife, Thessalonica, the daughter of Philip II and sister of Alexander the Great.” (Martin, 1995, p.21)

A literary analysis is the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they affect the whole. Literary analysis focuses on how word techniques are used by the author to create meaning. One of the reasons that Paul penned his letters in Ephesians was to bolster areas that were weak in the church. In addition to that, Paul wanted to clarify central beliefs that may not have been well-defined. Probing Paul’s letter with such a supposition, reveals several frailties among the Ephesian that Paul needed to encourage and reinforce. One of these weaknesses are amalgamated with the word riches, which is present throughout the letter in Ephesians. In this portion of the essay I will break a portion of the text down into parts, in order to examine the different elements of this piece of literature, by analyzing a portion of the text.

It is safe to assume that the author is no stranger to death. He has seen many people close to him grieve. He has noticed that everyone grieves differently. He understands the need for God’s grace in the midst of grief to get one through the stages of grief.

Grief is a result of loss; be it a divorce, loss of a pet, home, job, or a relationship, but grief due to death is the most common form, known to mankind. This group will focus on five stages of grief, and the benefits of mourning after a loss. We will explore answers to questions, such as how should Christians grieve after a loss, what is normal in the grief process, and how long should I grieve? We will also discuss their responses to their own personal loss, along with the way that their responses are/were perceived by others in their lives, including family, friends, coworkers, and other Christians. Ultimately, the group member’s own personal experience will become the tool of empowerment that breaks the bondage of other peoples’ expectations of their grief process.

Laurie Burke, Robert Neimeyer, Meghan McDevitt-Murphy, Maria Ippolito, and J. Matthew Roberts from the University of memphis's Department of psychology wrote faith in the wake of homicide religious coping and bereavement distress in an African-American sample. It is focused on how mourners rely on faith following a loss during their bereavement period. However not all of the grievers find spiritual comfort because of negative religious coping methods signaled by behaviors and thoughts towards God or feeling spiritually abandoned or their faith community questioning God's power. This is compared to positive religious coping which is a pattern consisted of religious forgiveness seeking spiritual support collaborative religious coping spiritual connection

Our source of knowledge of the apostolic work of Paul comes first from the Book of Acts. The epistles written by Paul serve to further our knowledge of his mission. These letters were written to churches that he had founded or churches that were known to him. Luke’s account of Paul introduces us to the basic facts about this important biblical figure. A more complete understanding of Paul’s journeys can be gleaned from his letters. These epistles were written almost at the time they occurred and they comprise some of the earliest works contained in the New Testament.

While not every child who goes through grief has a faith-based background, God’s concern remains for each young person. In fact, Christ rebuked His own disciples when they were stopping the children from coming to see Him, as Jesus told these men, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matt. 19:14 NIV). Pond (2012) explains that children must have people in their lives who are willing to remind them that even during pain or suffering, “the only path to be taken is one of unrelenting determination to rely on the assurance of a relationship with God based on faith, supported by His character, and ignited by hope only found in the knowledge of His eternal purpose” (p. 48). These truths must be put into words that children can understand; and if cognitively this is impossible, the constant reminder of God’s faithful love offers them that needed reassurance. This faith can be regularly passed to the child through family, clergy, church workers, and friends.

     Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The second Beatitude tells us that we should

Is thought that the recipient of the letter were people from a province in central Asia Minor and Paul preached them during his first mission. The authors of the letter to the Galatians was Paul and Jesus Spirit. One of the main purpose of the letter or theme was to address the relationship from the Gentile Christians towards Judaism. The main points of the letter are to be truthful to God and commit to Him, in order to gain the Kingdom of heaven. In verse Gal 1:7 Paul clarifies that there is no other Gospel than the one that Jesus proclaimed. Paul explains that there is people that try to confuse Christians and pervert the gospel of Christ but he is warning us not to fall into that. It repeats over and over to not follow the law of the world but the teachings of Jesus Christ. We all are the church. The ones who believe on God are the church. To be the church in this letter means to believe in Jesus Christ and only worship God because He gave us freedom from sin and He is the only one that can lead us to the Kingdom of God. It also means to live by the fruit of the Spirit which is in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). It means to die to the sin, to reject the sin of, fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing (Gal 5:19-21), and anything that looks like

As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly

The previous section of the letter is the introduction and Paul’s note of thanks for the Corinthian believers. There is a distinct note of commendation and love in the first section before Paul begins to condemn and exhort the Corinthians for their poor behavior. Much of this behavior is linked to their boasting about their wisdom, or the wisdom of those whom they choose to follow. Therefore, much of Paul’s teaching is in relation to true wisdom, as opposed to worldly wisdom. Paul continues to address the issue of factions in the church by further concentrating on the issue of wisdom, before he begins approaching other issues from the report in chapters 5 and 6. Following this, Paul begins to address the questions posed by the