Martha's Serving

After I attended the Al-Anon meeting I was able to sit down with one of the sponsors Martha. Martha is a Caucasian woman in her mid-sixties. Martha’s daughter Kim was twenty-six when she started drinking, Kim drank for almost ten years. Martha said it was very stressful for her, Kim was going through a divorce, then lost her job, her drinking spiraled out of control. Kim lost everything and I was the one who had to pick up the pieces. Kim moved back home, was always borrowing money, her drinking was so out of control she ruined a few family gatherings Kim would go as far as stealing from us, and all the lies, Kim would tell Martha stated.

An audience of Jews, a familiar road, and a dangerous road to travel alone, was familiar to this audience. Jesus redefines the word “neighbor.” The heroes in this story were the people whose race was different than theirs. In this story, the Samaritan—viewed as a lowly heathen, disrespected by the Jew—was the hero. The people who we assume are the bad guys, people undeserving of our respect, can be the people Jesus calls, “our neighbor.”

Blanche’s baths represent the shedding of lies and negativity from her life. She is seeking a new beginning but unfortunately due to Stanley will not be given that chance. Stanley makes sure that his wife hears what he knows before Blanche tells her otherwise. He makes sure todo it when Blanche can’t defend herself. Stanley’s motive is to get Blanche out of the house and to never return.

There is encouragement to congregants to get involved with Bible studies, small groups, reading the Bible, praying, and more (“2011 Summary Report”). This concept is moving in tremendous ways due to the congregants having a choice to take actions with their faith. It is also known that with having bigger Churches, there is a higher demand for volunteers. And along with the need for volunteers, and the more contemporary feel, there are more opportunities to serve. Serving is encouraged but not required, giving the congregants freedom to chose (Got questions).

Of all of the tasks one can do, by far the noblest act is sharing one’s self to others and living in service. Though it is daunting at times, ultimately, serving others, whether through simple acts of kindness, participating in charities, or actively assisting to create a better future, is something I am willing and currently doing. In addition, both my current actions and the mindset I have behind my actions (both religious and secular) lay the foundation of a lifetime of service.

“Christianity - “Jesus said that he did not come to be served, but to serve.”

Our posting may be different, our duties and gifts are not the same, but our job is to do His will and walk according to our calling. The role of a soldier is primarily to complete the mission that is assigned to him or her. Our mission is to do the will of our Heavenly Father. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28: 19-20

The Jewish people had strict laws against the Samaritans because they were seen as a lesser people. The three things that are wrong with Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is that Jews were not supposed to speak to Samaritans, Men could not address women without their husband there, and rabbis shouldn’t address a lady of the Samaritan status. The Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews because of their ancestry and their perceived imperfectness. The Jews felt that they would contaminate themselves by passing through the Samaritan territory, so the crossed over the Jordan River instead. When Jesus left Judea to go to Galilee he went through Samaria and this

There a number of reasons why the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was inappropriate in the historical and cultural context. First of all, the Samaritans were considered a second class Jew because they intermarried with the Assyrians and indulged in pagan traditions. Even though they were descendants of the Jews, there were ongoing conflicts between the Jews, and the Samaritans were not allowed to offer sacrifices at the Jerusalem temple, so they built their own. They believed that the Bible consisted of only the Pentateuch and it variated from the teachings of the Israelites. Additionally, the Samaritans did not welcome any Jews and if the Jews had to travel through this land, they were to “shake the dirt off their feet”.

For this project, I am placing myself in a hypothetical context as a staff pastoral counselor at my home church in Valley City, ND, serving a congregation of approximately 200. I have chosen as my overarching goal for life to serve others in the capacity for which the Lord has gifted me and prepared me to counsel and minister to them. 1 Peter 4:9 tells us that, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of

I have served Jesus though repairing bikes for the poor. It helped me understand the importance of transportation in people's lives. Sometimes a person's only way of getting to vital destinations such as the doctor, the grocery store, school, their job, or home is by bike, because they do not have enough money to afford a car. By repairing their bikes, am helping them quickly get to any necessary destination.

Rather in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). To receive joy in serving we must build spiritual unity between one another other by putting others before ourselves. This is accomplished by serving others not for personal benefit, rather for the benefit of others as modeled by

The greatest gift and most fulfilling action one can give is oneself in service to others. Guided by this principle, I am drawn to Martha’s Table’s mission and work in dignifying the needs of others and creating strong communities. Growing up on a family farm in North Dakota, three values my family deeply instilled in me were the value of food, education and relationships. My upbringing revolved around when to plant and harvest our fields and the effort it took to raise quality product. Education was of utmost important, particularly with my mother, grandmother and older sister being teachers. Through their example and teaching, a desire for continuous learning was formed within me. Finally, I was raised by the farm community my family lived

The pornography debate has been an issue within the feminist movement that has been pushed to the periphery in recent times. It is not as widely seen on the main stage of the feminist agenda and this may be because of a division in feminist thought with regards to pornography. Generally speaking, there are “pro-sex” feminists who believe that women have the right to do what they wish with their bodies and there are “pro-censorship” feminists who believe pornography is inherently degrading and violent towards women. In this paper I am going to discuss the views and opinions held by each faction of the pornography debate and I will discuss the pros and cons of each view and discuss how every day women (i.e. not scholars/academics) feel about pornography.

Studies also show that marijuana can cause serious damage to a user’s mental state. Some medical marijuana users, instead of a euphoria, can get an unpleasant experience. Bad experiences when under the effects of marijuana can lead to a user developing long-lasting mental disorders. Irrational fear, anxiety, and PTSD can all stem from these experiences (“Medical Dangers of Marijuana”). These mental disorders are serious issues and can drastically change the lives of those diagnosed with them.