Reflection On Morning Service Sermon

Grand Rapids first is an Assemblies of God church. As a result, its theology is closely related to that of the pentecostal denomination. Also, the worshippers varied from toddlers to the elderly. Because of this context, worship was very diverse. The worship team sang songs that were familiar to both the youth and to the elderly. Also, the words of the songs were projected on a screen for people who were not conversant with the songs. Additionally, Pastor Sam preached in a way that was applicable to both the old and young. During his preaching, he gave quality examples that resonated with everyone’s life, no matter the age difference.

For three years, I have been a leader in Route 56, a preteen program of fifth and sixth graders for my church. Every month we meet on a Friday night to play games, worship, and do a Bible study. This program allows me to show them love, hear about their personal life, and have fun in a caring place. I wanted to join this group, because I wanted to know what each of the preteens are going through.Whether if they were in a bad place or good at the moment. It was important to me to demonstrate love around them to demonstrate through my actions that they are loved, because I did not have someone to be there for me throughout my preteen years. My parents fought constantly, I was bullied at school, and betrayed by people I trusted.However, when I joined the church’s youth ministry they showed me an amazing amount of brotherly love. The pastor, leaders, and students care for one another, so it is a support group for all us. This ministry taught me how to love others. When I was informed that Route 56 needed help I did not think twice and signed up. Throughout the three years I have had the privilege to allow the children to feel comfortable to express themselves. Some of them were closed off or simply hung out by themselves when they were new to the program, but I have seen them grow out of their shells interacting with

There are three stories from Jesus' Galilean ministry that stick out to me. The stories that stick out to me are, The Sermon on the Mount, the story of the Pharisees trying to trick Christ, and the third is the story of when Jesus fed 5,000 people! All these stories show the power of God and the transparent teachings of Christ.

Preparing for the event was very nerve-racking and I felt extremely anxious and apprehensive. The church attendance was all African Americans and mostly low-income with a mix of young and old. The church itself is very old, established in 1787, and sits in one of Carbondale’s poorer neighborhoods. I have been to this church before though, for work purposes to do a homeless count at the soup kitchen, so I was a little familiar with the church in general. Based on the soup kitchen experience the attendance of people in the church was pretty much as expected.

The pastor, Mitch Maloney, is the long time senior pastor at North Cleveland and has a very distinct style of preaching. It’s classic preaching that is heavily rooted in scripture, is pentecostal to the core, and features the occasional conservative political opinion. It appeals strongly to the older generation; however, Maloney has the ability to draw in attenders of all ages. This can be seen by the large number of Lee students in attendance every Sunday morning. Sunday morning evangelism is very “churchy”, but that should not carry a negative connotation due to the fact that North Cleveland is indeed a

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6, NIV). Mankind throughout the ages has interpreted the scriptures, more or less with their worldly assessment. We as Christians struggle with truth and understanding of the true nature of the Scriptures. Some Christians are not scholars or willing to put the time into Scriptures to understand the Scriptures as a whole. Some people believe what they want, discard what is not useful and form their own individual assessment of Scriptures. I have offered Bible studies classes for the congregation and none were interested in attending. From time to time, one of the visitors or the two new members will ask me a question about Scriptures or the sermon. I try to remind them they / we have a Rector to turn to. In the past, Reverend Janis has told the vestry that they needed to take “Safeguarding God’s People class” and offered the class to the congregation. The turnout for the class was disappointing to me, as only three of us showed

Once during a passionate sermon at church, my pastor had made a vivid statement about incorporation of sin in law. Pastor Smith stated, “the world has developed loopholes to maintain its dignity by incorporating sin into the law, and as long as we are operating under the law, our actions are perceived as being justified”(Smith). Reflecting on his theory has brought me to the realization that the United Stated has established a profitable industry, governed by the creation and the manipulation of laws. Although, it’s ideal to believe that the standards of laws were truly orchestrated with the foundation of equality, justice, and freedom. It is imperative to be informed of historical events that has transpired through the history of the black race each operating under the ordinance of law. Beginning with the development of slavery, to the alarming rate of black men behind bars. I am compelled to present the clause of injustice that has labeled the United States as the home of 25% of the world 's prisoners ().

Gwendolyn Brooks' "The Preacher Ruminates: Behind the Sermon" gives an eerie look into a minister's mind. Indeed the poem's premise is made clear from the opening line: "It must be lonely to be God" (1). The poem proceeds to note that while God is a much-revered and respected figure, he has no equal. The preacher's revelation provides the reader a unique perspective into religion. Brooks points out due to God's position of omniscience, it is not possible for a figure like Him to have friends. Throughout Brooks' poem, the preacher implores the reader for answers to his questions, finally concluding that to be God is indeed a lonely life and

The Sermon on the Mount is a sermon given by Jesus Christ found in the book of Matthew in the Holy Bible. The beginning of this sermon includes a list of blessings called the Beatitudes. Jesus uses these to explain God’s favor towards those who are striving for righteousness. For those who had come to believe and follow Jesus as the son of God, every word that he spoke in the Sermon on the Mount was intended as words of encouragement for Jesus’s disciples and were taken as such. For those who were skeptical, the crowd, that Jesus was truly the son of God, Jesus’s words took on a totally different meaning. The Beatitudes, simple words that promote the humility of man, were explicit words of encouragement for Jesus’s disciples. Yet at the same time, to the crowd listening, the Beatitudes were an implicit invitation to become men of God by believing that this man is God in the flesh, God in spirit, God almighty, God omniscient, God omnipresent, and God omnipotent.

I had only been to services at this location twice prior, but I was somewhat familiar with the pastor’s presentation style and had acquainted myself with several members of the congregation. In this situation, I found myself being more focused on content during the formal portion of the service, and completely people-oriented during the post-service gathering. Even though the pastor was speaking of very emotional and personal issues, I focused more of my listening on the information being relayed and the Bible verses to which he referred us. I also found myself mentally organizing the information into data categories; which I now feel was very inappropriate and may be indicative of the characteristics of an action-oriented listener.

The sermon at the mount is a collection of teachings and sayings that Jesus preaches to people at Galilee. It takes place after Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist. This is the longest teaching by Jesus in a single preaching. It is found in the New Testament in the book of Matthew. It transverses chapter five to seven of the Gospel of Matthew. The main theme of sermon of the mountain is how people should relate with other people and God. The sermon is preached at a mountain when Jesus saw the crowd and his disciples’ were following him, he sat at a level ground on the mountain and started to preach. The Preaching’s can be divided it four major parts; The Beatitudes, Lord’s Prayer and parables.

The point of this assignment is to discuss the passage chosen, as well as information regarding the historical/cultural background of the passage and applying it to my life as a human being. It is also important that I apply this information on the passage to the Christian life or church ministry. The passage I have chosen for this assignment is from Matthew chapters 5-7 and is labeled “The Sermon on the Mount”. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest and most prominent of the five discourses of Jesus in Matthew. The whole point of the Sermon on the Mount was to show people who converted to Christianity how to live. It is to show how Christians should live in their actions, words, thoughts, and others ways of life. With that being said, this way of life was preached by Jesus Christ as he “went up on the mountain” to deliver his powerful message. The information for this passage is in, of course, the bible and our textbook “Encountering the New Testament”, as well as many other resources on the web that are related to the bible and passage.

In one of the last writings of the New Testament, Jude writes to the church in order to plead with them to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Justifying his appeal, he writes that “certain people have crept in unnoticed…who pervert the grace of God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” In this short, urgent letter, Jude begs the church to struggle for the faith, depending upon the sovereign God who alone is “able to keep you from stumbling”. Similarly, in another of the later writings of the New Testament, Paul commands Timothy to“entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” that which he had “heard from me in the presence

Christianity is the religion based on the life, death and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as the Christ or Messiah. Jesus was a Jewish teacher and prophet who lived in Palestine in the first century CE. He revealed himself to be the Son of God in fulfillment of Hebrew scripture, and taught that the Kingdom of God was imminent, bringing with it forgiveness and new life for all who believed. His claim to be the Messiah roused opposition from religious and political authorities and he was imprisoned and crucified. His followers believe that after his death, Jesus was resurrected before being taken up to heaven.

The sermon on the mount shows us Jesus 's ethical teachings on how a person should live his or life, the distinction from the law, and this has a reaction from the society. Jesus ' Sermon on the mount has had a huge impact on the Christian religion and somewhat shaped the religion in a sense. It has been a reference point for Christian ideals on the right way to live your life. It was a well constructed, alluring sermon that must have captivated the minds of the people.