The Laughter Of Jesus And The Lord Of God

There a many reasons why we believe in Jesus and become Christians. First of all, God, our Father, has shown his endless and unconditional love for us. John 3:16 says: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” No one in the world can love us like him. The way people love others is conditional and limited. Their love changes according to time, circumstances, and also according to people. God’s love, however, has no end and embraces us everyone no matter who we are and what we do. God does not only love great, rich, and intelligent people. Rather, he cherishes people who are weak and poor, and those who have nothing to be proud

Jesus tells the crowd that just as bread was supplied for the people then, the Father is supplying bread for them right now. It is interesting that the people ask for that bread and they ask that it be supplied forever. Jesus’ answer tells them that they can have the bread and without them having to ask, it will be supplied for eternity. He says: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” God has sent Jesus to fulfill the spiritual hunger of the people.

In warning about the evils of greed, Jesus used a parable: “There was a rich man blessed with [fertile land.] He thought to himself, ‘What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘I know what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger barns! I will put all my good things together in my new barns. Then I can say…Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!’“But God said to that man, ‘Foolish man! Tonight you will die!... Who will get [your things] now?’ This is how it will be for anyone who saves things only for himself. To God that person is not rich.” (Luke 12:13 21)

Suffering compels you to look up and long for your heavenly redemption (Ps. 121; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17).

(Luke 10:25-37). Jesus taught this so that Christians would treat everyone the way that they would want to be treated. In Luke 6:20-26, Jesus said. “That the poor were special to him and that their suffering would be rewarded in heaven.” He also went on to say, “The rich who ignored the suffering of the poor would be punished.” One of Jesus’ most important teachings on poverty was in Matthew 25:31-46. To the affect Jesus said “Whenever you help anyone in need you are helping me.” Christians believe that when they help someone they are helping Jesus and that they will be rewarded for it. These are the main Christian teachings on wealth and poverty.

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul” (NIV Matthew 16:26).

You give them something to eat.” (Matthew Ch. 14:16) Christians believe in a final judgment day when God will judge them upon their actions. If they have led a ‘good’ life they will be rewarded with eternity in heaven with God, where as those who led a ‘bad’ life will be punished with an eternity in hell. Jesus speaks of helping the poor because it is what God asks of you and not because you want praise from your fellow men.

The Laughing Man Synopsis The Laughing Man is a text authored by J.D Salinger in 1949. The story is recited through a narrator who experienced this in his youth. Young boys attend this after school group named the Comanches, organized by a man that the boys refer to as the Chief. As these boys are engaged in sports, the Chief shares stories of the Laughing Man.

At first I was torn between doing a journal response for "I Believe In Laughter" or a "Calling We Should Heed". After, reading them both more than once my heart told me to go with a calling we should heed. I chose to construct a response to that one because, Mr. Joe's essay made me take a step back and look at the world we're living in today. Once, I did that he helped me see the world lacks humanity more than anything else. With so many social issues such as racism and homicides,  taking place  in the world today, we've let all these things not just separate us as a nation. It's taken on a key role in us losing  sight that at the end of the day we're all  still human.  Our lack of humanity has also made us fail as a community.  It is very

All throughout the beatitudes there seems to be the theme that it does not matter what is on the outside, but God sees and is only concerned with the inside of his children. Their hearts and their souls. It doesn't appear God cares much for material wealth or success in the world, but more so for what is in mans heart. Luke suggests ‘the poor' should be monetarily poor, and if they have any wealth they should give it all up to those more needy to give glory to God. Money and wealth may be seen by some as a sign of being in God's favor with darker signs and adversity a sign of some sort of punishment. Which should not be the case at all, Matthew seems to add "in spirit" more to identify wealth and social status is not the standard by which God will judge. Money and wealth do have an

Unfortunately, this fact is so true of our society today, but Yancey goes on to show how Jesus makes an extra effort to reach out to he poor. He gives a list, which he got from another writer, on the advantages of being poor. This list really made an impact on me. It showed me how I need to be more open to what God has to say, and not so involved with the materialistic and secular views of today. I need to focus on what God has planned for me, and not make my focus to be what other people think of me. “Strength, good looks, connections, and the competitive instinct may bring a person success in a society like ours, but those very qualities may block entrance to the kingdom of heaven” (Yancey 114).

     Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the first Beatitude. It tells us that we should accept people for who they are and not the material things they have. You should not treat a person who lives in a nice house and drives a nice car any different then someone who lives in a less desirable house and drives an old car. You should treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Just because someone can not afford some of the things as you might be able to does not mean that they are a bad person. We should accept everyone into our community.

The sermon commences with the eight beatitudes, with prescribed blessings that follow them. These beatitudes advocates righteousness in our hearts, unlike the pretentious righteousness that the can be associated with the law. The qualities that the beatitudes tell you to embody, puts Christ followers at somewhat of a disadvantage because of the selfish, deceitful nature of humans. The blessing or reward that accompanies these beatitudes aren’t for this world, and by this it introduces the notion of kingdom that is far greater than this world. This supports the concept of sacrificing and enduring persecution in this world, so you are rewarded in eternity. The sermon then strikes a metaphoric comparison with followers of Christ being the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. In Leviticus 2:13 it shows us how salt was categorized as being divine back then. This means that Christ followers are supposed to posses a sense of divinity, and shouldn’t lose this quality by conforming to the things of the

people of God: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of

Throughout the Middle Ages, art and philosophy has been lost in darkness, but with the reintroduction of ideas that came with the Renaissance in Italy, brought about a literary revival. One of the writers that influenced this revival is Dante Alighieri, a 13th century poet from Florence, Italy. His world famous epic, La Commedia, or more commonly known as The Divine Comedy remains a poetic masterpiece depicting truth and sin. The Divine Comedy, through the journey into the three hells, expresses a universal truth of good versus evil. Alighieri’s life of heartbreak with the influences of other famous poets like Homer and Virgil has affected his writing style, and through reviews by literary experts and their interpretation of Alighieri’s