When the hour brings stillness, even in the midst of confusion, I think that allot of us, if not all, has a private sanctuary hidden within our conscious being. Nothing complex or difficult to reach just a state which we can readily retreat to and sort out our experiences of life. Perhaps for most it is an unnamed region that we find ourselves when deep in thought. It may be the product of meditation or contemplation or imagination or whatever four or five syllable words you may choose. But it is real. It may not be a tangible substance such as wood, stone or iron, but to our spirits it is an anchor to weight us to the realities of our life. It is, in spite of our hopes and dreams, our escape within us bearing a reality that can …show more content…
I’m basically a non-denominational guy so the major consideration for a church was a large parking lot. Well that would get me in the door but they had better be preaching the Bible if they wanted me to stay. It was very interesting visiting all those churches across this great land. One thing of great interest was found in a small church located in Lodi, CA. A Baptist church if my memory is correct. As I was leaving I noticed a phone on the wall of the foyer with a sign beneath which read one thousand dollars a minute. I inquired with one of the members to learn that this phone was a direct line to God. To say the least I was impressed. I have sense then in many churches across the country noticed the same phone with the sign one thousand dollars a minute. At my inquiry the answer was always the same. "A direct line to God." My adventures finally brought me to the Church on the Knoll located in the lovely community of Ballengee, West Virginia, the almost heaven. They too, even in this small church of only twenty-four members had that phone a direct line to God. The only difference was that the price was only twenty-five cents. But as I shared in the worship service the personal testimony and witness of each member further impacted me. I felt that I had been brought into a sacred family of God. The Love of each for each was overwhelming. The welcome I felt was a measure beyond genuine. I found this to be also true of
Typically, a church is to be a very safe and sacred place where no-one would
The outside observation that I went to, was the church service that was interpreted at Wind City Church. I often don’t go to church one because I haven’t really found the church for me, and it’s hard for me to understand and actually take in what it being said by the pastor, and when I do understand, sometimes it’s just hard for me to believe what is said, however, I do believe in God. Anyways, when I went to the service I wasn’t all that interested in going, but it turned out really good. I feel that it was a great observation for me, and it was very influential somehow.
Currently my family and I attend the Enola First Church of God which is tucked away into a cul de sac off of the Wertzville road scarcely situated beyond the Enola boundary in which Pastor George Jensen presides. We have been attending this church for the past 20 years, mostly due to the charismatic Pastor Jensen’s unique aptitude to transverse biblical studies into effortless understanding concerning life’s day-to-day circumstances.
This paper is a discussion of a non-religious persons encounter during a site visit to an Apostolic Church, which takes a very literal interpretation to the Christian Bible. Many topics are discussed within this paper such as materials present in the church, the ritualistic practices, socioeconomic status of members present, and the subjective reaction to the service.
Human beings have 4 basic needs that must be met. They have physical needs where they need to fix a problem in their life, they have social needs where they need to belong to something they have ego, needs where they need to feel important and they have spiritual needs where they need to connect and help others. People will attend church to fulfill a need. The church needs to communicate to people how to discover their purpose, how to have better
On Monday the 22nd, I went to the local Crossroads Baptist Church, located close to home at in Leesburg, VA. This was my first time experience as I am Hindu and my parents never exposed me to any churches. Dr. Kenneth K. Baldwin was the pastor at the time I went. Luckily, I got the chance to speak with him after the service. After our discussion, I realized that he had a great vision for his church and is doing a great job leading it to in the right path. I sensed his passion for preaching as they were evident during the service through his tone and demeanor. Despite this being my first visit to a church, I learned a lot of interesting things about churches and Christianity.
Ok, the atmosphere is important as well. You want to be in a church where the atmosphere is peaceful and not confusion. Where there is love and not pride. Friendliness, and not selfishness. Overall, you want to feel at home. Having an atmosphere with example I mention above will help you adjust and feel comfortable
Another thing I thought was interesting was the topic of salvation. In the Gospel of Luke, a rich, young ruler approached Jesus with the question of how to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded by listing the Ten Commandments and the young ruler claimed
My church is my favorite place to be. I go to Cornerstone Bible Church. This is the place where I grew up. I have met so many friends there. Everyone is really nice. People always have an I’m-there-for-you smile on their face. We are all like one big family.
On Sunday July 19th I went to North Tampa Church of Christ. This church was not my home church location but throughout the summer I started to attend this church on a regular basis. I really loved this church and it became necessary to attend every week. Since I had grown so attached to this church, I did not want to leave to go to a church that spoke a different language. I did, however, listen to the message as though I was someone who did not know what was being said. I focused a lot on body language and hand gestures to figure out exactly what he was saying. The message was on “Living by Faith”, this message was one of the best I had heard at this church and I really enjoyed being there with a different mindset.
The church that my team and I attended was a great cultural experience. The people here are very welcoming and willing to put their guest first. When we first arrived, an older gentleman escorted us to the front from and told members in those seats to move. Even though we created quite the scene, all we could do was laugh. There was not much we could do.
From the moment that I stepped out of the car and onto the St. Joseph’s Abbey property there was a silence, which was peaceful and unusual for me. As we left Holy cross where students walking out of Hogan and other cars driving by filled my ears, there was a striking difference with the abbey in which there was almost complete silence apart from our group of students conversing with one another. This really surprised me because it was unusual for me to be in such a calm and silent place and I instantly felt this feeling of peace come over me. I think that this silence and serenity is indicative of a simpler life in which one is able to block out all the distraction of the world around them and focus on their connection with God, which is
Church is not a boring place to come sit on a pew. The church is not the building. The church is a group of saved, baptized believers, who have covenanted together to carry out the Great Commission. “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end, Amen.” (Ephesians 3:21)
I decided to join an elective called Outreach (our first Outreach in Middle School) this year and one of the field trips we went to was at Dino Papavero Senior Center. I asked an elderly lady there if she believed in Jesus and she said yes and I shared my testimony with the people there as well. I felt very nervous to do these things, but I did them with the power of God only. We also did 2 skits called, the “Unexpected Letter,” which was about Jesus conquering death and how mighty His power is, and “It’s All about Me,” which was about how we use to think it was all about us, but once Jesus died for us we had a change of heart. At school I would feel a pulling of the Holy Spirit to help others when they were down. One of them was Erika and when people were bullying her at school the Lord told me to shoot her an email that had a song called Greater. Another person was my buddy Joseph and when He was going through some things I would let him know that I would be praying for him. At Activate I have a friend in our small groups whose name is Evan and I would ask him how his walk with the Lord was going and he would say, “it's alright,” and would ask me the same question and I told him it was good. I feel that this year I have been able to communicate my faith in different ways without being scared and it is all by God’s astonishing power and
Every person no matter what age, gender, race or ethnicity may have exceedingly different views of what tranquility is to them. For some people it may be found in a secluded forest surrounded by trees and sanctified silence. For others it could be on a beach with the noise of crashing waves and the salty smell of the sea. Some might imagine the solitude and safety of their own home. And some might dream of a serene land they’ve never before seen. I imagine my tranquility at the top of Mount Sunapee in Sunapee, New Hampshire. I see the glistening snow and the bare trees blowing in accordance the wind and as I glide down the mountain on my snowboard it’s as if this moment is the only thing that matters in the world. Most people when asked how they have experienced tranquility will respond with a wistful and nostalgic image of somewhere they feel their calmest and happiest. However, Charlotte Smith’s “To Tranquility” and William Wordsworth’s “It is a beauteous Evening” argue that you are only able to experience the pleasures of tranquility when you aren’t conscious of the world around you in both the beginning and end of your life.