DOCSLIB.ORG

1 the Glorious, Precious and Amazing Name of Jesus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
1 the Glorious, Precious and Amazing Name of Jesus 1 THE GLORIOUS, PRECIOUS AND AMAZING NAME OF JESUS Sermon preached by Pastor C. John Steer Autumn Ridge Church December 16-17, 2017 Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 The names we give our children usually require a great deal of thought and sometimes cause a few arguments along the way. Although I found that the choice gets easier as you have more children. The name of the first child is chosen with enormous care over nine months. By the time you come to number four you are happy to call them the first name that pops into your mind as you drive to the hospital. When Gretchen and I were selecting the name for our first child, we were going on a vacation which involved a long drive from Los Angeles to Eugene, Oregon. I bought half a dozen books on children’s names and Gretchen read them out as we went along. We started with the A’s. Agnes, no. Allegra, no. Annuska, no. Arial, no. Artemis, no. We made our way through to the Z’s and by the time we reached our destination we still hadn’t found a mutually acceptable name. I liked Elspeth, if it was a girl, but Gretchen said “We can’t call a child Elspeth Steer. She will be 12 before she can say her own name and will probably need speech therapy.” My parents had a much simpler system. They called me Christopher after my father and John after my grandfather. I think the whole process took about two minutes. But God took plenty of time to think about the name he would call his Son. And when the time for the birth arrived God was very specific. He didn’t leave it to Joseph to choose the name as would normally have been the custom. The reason was that Joseph was not the real father. It was the privilege of the father to name the child and God was exercising his rights as a father. So God sent an angel to make sure Joseph got it right. The angel informs Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) 2 Why did God choose the name Jesus? There are five reasons why the name Jesus is so powerful and perfect and how it helps us to understand the true meaning of Christmas. First, Jesus is a JOYFUL name. Christians love to say it. It brings joy to our hearts. Did you know there was a king in the Bible called Evil-Merodach (Evil Mare-oh-dock)? Aren’t you glad God didn’t call his Son that? Can you imagine trying to sing praise songs about that name? Instead God called his Son Jesus. Only two syllables, five letters. It is pronounced the same in almost every language. The name Jesus appears in the New Testament 1,274 times. It is the favorite term for our Lord. Of all the names and titles that are given to Christ the one most loved by his followers is the joyful name of Jesus. A thousand years ago Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a song about the name of Jesus. One verse says: No voice can sing No heart can frame Nor can the memory find A sweeter sound than your blest name O, Savior of mankind. Our children can say the name of Jesus almost as soon as they can say mommy and daddy. Jesus is a joyful name that fits this joyful season. Second, Jesus is an ENDURING name. Even though our Lord was born in obscurity over 2000 years ago and died like a criminal at the age of 33 his name is the most well-known in world history. The Roman government tried to stamp it out. The communists tried to obliterate it. Back in October a number of us were in Leipzig. We visited the university. We were told there used to be an exquisitely beautiful medieval university church built in 1231. However, in the days when the country was called East Germany the Communist authorities were so antagonistic to Christianity they blew it up. The townspeople wept in sorrow because they were so proud of their beautiful church. But then in 1989 Communism fell. The Berlin Wall came down and the people of Leipzig said “We have to rebuild our church.” The new church was about to open the week we were there. It is a dramatic illustration of the enduring nature of Christ over Communism. Scripture tells us that rather than fading away the name of Jesus will increase in influence until every tribe on earth has heard about it and there is not a people group on the planet that do not have a church dedicated to Jesus. 3 The book of Revelation describes our future in heaven when it says “They will see Jesus’ face, and his name will be on their foreheads." (Revelation 22:4) Heaven is an eternal place so the name of Jesus will last forever. Yes, Jesus is an enduring name. Third, Jesus is a SIGNIFICANT name. The name Jesus describes the purpose of his coming. The New Testament name Jesus is equivalent to the Old Testament name Joshua, which means “God saves.” The Jewish way of saying Jesus is Yeshua, which sounds very like Joshua. Sometimes when parents name their child it is just a pious hope. But when God had a son he knew exactly how he would turn out so God could choose the perfect name. The name that would fit everything his Son would do so he instructed Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:21) It was the first time God’s Son had that name. He didn’t own it when he was in heaven. It was given to him when he came to earth because what he would do here would precisely fit that name. Jesus was a common name in the first century, rather like the name John is today. Josephus, the Jewish historian, mentions 12 people called Jesus. It is rather wonderful that God would choose an ordinary name and fill it with extraordinary meaning. There are five other people called Jesus in the New Testament. One of them had the surname Barabbas, which means “son of the father”. But Jesus Barabbas didn’t live up to the name his father had given him. Instead of telling people that God saves, Jesus Barabbas grew up to be robber and a murderer. But Jesus the Son of God was different and his life shows the significance of his name. Fourth, Jesus is an UNEQUALED name. The book of Philippians contains a great passage about the name of Jesus when it says: “God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) It is because Jesus is an unequaled name that we need to treat it with enormous respect. The Third Commandment says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (Exodus 20:7) Christians are not to use Jesus’ name as an expression of surprise or as a curse word. The technical name for doing that is blasphemy which means we take something holy and treat it as if it is common. That is like dragging Jesus through the mud. 4 I think we can learn something from our Muslim friends. Every time they say the name Mohammed they add the expression “Praise be his name.” In a similar way we are to treat the name of our Lord with tremendous respect and reverence. For Jesus is an unequaled name. Fifth, Jesus is a SAVING name. When the angel said to Joseph, “You are to give him the name Jesus” he added a qualifying explanation. “Because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Why did Jesus come at Christmas? He did not come primarily to save us from our loneliness, fears or troubles. Being delivered from these is a byproduct of his coming. Rather Jesus came to save us from our sins. But the tragedy is we want to be saved from everything else but our sins. Yet that is why Jesus came. It was not an almighty experiment. It was not a trial. Rather it was a venture that was bound to succeed. “He will save his people from their sins.” It was not something Jesus may do. It was not something Jesus is hoping to achieve. Jesus is going to do it. “He will” is the first promise of the New Testament so let’s claim it. We can do so by using the Jesus’ prayer. This comes from the Eastern church in the 7th century. It is brief but it is powerful. It is a prayer we can use any time. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. That’s a prayer that God will always answer because his Son came to save sinners. Notice one letter that is very important. It is the little letter “s” at the end of the word sins. Most of us are guilty of ignoring that letter. We want to be saved from the penalty of sin but we do not want to be saved from our sins.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Harmony of the Life of Paul
    A Harmony Of The Life Of Paul A Chronological Study Harmonizing The Book Of Acts With Paul’s Epistles This material is from ExecutableOutlines.com, a web site containing sermon outlines and Bible studies by Mark A. Copeland. Visit the web site to browse or download additional material for church or personal use. The outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God Be The Glory! Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2007 Mark A. Copeland A Harmony Of The Life Of Paul Table Of Contents Paul's Life Prior To Conversion 3 The Conversion Of Paul (36 A.D.) 6 Paul’s Early Years Of Service (36-45 A.D.) 10 First Missionary Journey, And Residence In Antioch (45-49 A.D.) 13 Conference In Jerusalem, And Return To Antioch (50 A.D.) 17 Second Missionary Journey (51-54 A.D.) 20 Third Missionary Journey (54-58 A.D.) 25 Arrest In Jerusalem (58 A.D.) 30 Imprisonment In Caesarea (58-60 A.D.) 33 The Voyage To Rome (60-61 A.D.) 37 First Roman Captivity (61-63 A.D.) 41 Between The First And Second Roman Captivity (63-67 A.D.) 45 The Second Roman Captivity (68 A.D.) 48 A Harmony Of The Life Of Paul 2 Mark A. Copeland A Harmony Of The Life Of Paul Paul's Life Prior To Conversion INTRODUCTION 1. One cannot deny the powerful impact the apostle Paul had on the growth and development of the early church..
    [Show full text]
  • How Was the Sermon? Mystery Is That the Spirit Blows Where It Wills and with Peculiar Results
    C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL S FORUMEMINARY The Sermon 1. BIBLICAL • The sermon content was derived from Scripture: 1 2 3 4 5 • The sermon helped you understand the text better: 1 2 3 4 5 • The sermon revealed how God is at work in the text: 1 2 3 4 5 How Was the• The sermonSermon? displayed the grace of God in Scripture: 1 2 3 4 5 1=Excellent 2=Very Good 3=Good 4=Average 5=Poor W INTER 2008 C ALVIN THEOLOGI C AL SEMINARY from the president FORUM Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. Providing Theological Leadership for the Church Volume 15, Number 1 Winter 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters, REFLECTIONS ON Every Sunday they do it again: thousands of ministers stand before listeners PREACHING AND EVALUATION and preach a sermon to them. If the sermon works—if it “takes”—a primary cause will be the secret ministry of the Holy Spirit, moving mysteriously through 3 a congregation and inspiring Scripture all over again as it’s preached. Part of the How Was the Sermon? mystery is that the Spirit blows where it wills and with peculiar results. As every by Scott Hoezee preacher knows, a nicely crafted sermon sometimes falls flat. People listen to it 6 with mild interest, and then they go home. On other Sundays a preacher will Good Preaching Takes Good Elders! walk to the pulpit with a sermon that has been only roughly framed up in his by Howard Vanderwell (or her) mind. The preacher has been busy all week with weddings, funerals, and youth retreats, and on Sunday morning he isn’t ready to preach.
    [Show full text]
  • The Healing Ministry of Jesus As Recorded in the Synoptic Gospels
    Loma Linda University TheScholarsRepository@LLU: Digital Archive of Research, Scholarship & Creative Works Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects 6-2006 The eH aling Ministry of Jesus as Recorded in the Synoptic Gospels Alvin Lloyd Maragh Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd Part of the Medical Humanities Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Maragh, Alvin Lloyd, "The eH aling Ministry of Jesus as Recorded in the Synoptic Gospels" (2006). Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects. 457. http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/457 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by TheScholarsRepository@LLU: Digital Archive of Research, Scholarship & Creative Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects by an authorized administrator of TheScholarsRepository@LLU: Digital Archive of Research, Scholarship & Creative Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY Faculty of Religion in conjunction with the Faculty of Graduate Studies The Healing Ministry of Jesus as Recorded in the Synoptic Gospels by Alvin Lloyd Maragh A Thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Ministry June 2006 CO 2006 Alvin Lloyd Maragh All Rights Reserved Each person whose signature appears below certifies that this thesis in his opinion is adequate in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree Master of Arts. Chairperson Siroj Sorajjakool, Ph.D7,-PrOfessor of Religion Johnny Ramirez-Johnson, Ed.D., Professor of Religion David Taylor, D.Min., Profetr of Religion 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank God for giving me the strength to complete this thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Theological Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount
    Supplement to Introducing the New Testament, 2nd ed. © 2018 by Mark Allan Powell. All rights reserved. 6.45 Theological Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount The Early Church In the early church, the Sermon on the Mount was used apologetically to combat Marcionism and, polemically, to promote the superiority of Christianity over Judaism. The notion of Jesus fulfilling the law and the prophets (Matt. 5:17) seemed to split the difference between two extremes that the church wanted to avoid: an utter rejection of the Jewish matrix for Christianity, on the one hand, and a wholesale embrace of what was regarded as Jewish legalism, on the other hand. In a similar vein, orthodox interpretation of the sermon served to refute teachings of the Manichaeans, who used the sermon to support ideas the church would deem heretical. In all of these venues, however, the sermon was consistently read as an ethical document: Augustine and others assumed that its teaching was applicable to all Christians and that it provided believers with normative expectations for Christian behavior. It was not until the medieval period and, especially, the time of the Protestant Reformation that reading the sermon in this manner came to be regarded as problematic. Theological Difficulties Supplement to Introducing the New Testament, 2nd ed. © 2018 by Mark Allan Powell. All rights reserved. The primary difficulties that arise from considering the Sermon on the Mount as a compendium of Christian ethics are twofold. The first and foremost is found in the relentlessly challenging character of the sermon’s demands. Its commandments have struck many interpreters as impractical or, indeed, impossible, particularly in light of what the New Testament says elsewhere about human weakness and the inevitability of sin (including Matt.
    [Show full text]
  • Ordination Sermon Adam Back
    Resolving Transfiguration Arguments: the keys to faithful ministry in Christ (Adam Back, Charlene, Madeleine) There is a legendary high school football play in 2019 in which a player from Fairfield High in California picked off a pass from the opposition. Unfortunately the intercepting player took off running for the wrong end zone. One of his own players chased him for 50 yards and stopped him at the 10 yard line to avoid an embarrassing safety. I once did something similar in a rugby match in SA but this was due to a concussion! As I read about the responses of Peter and his fellow apostles in this event of the transfiguration of Jesus, and in the stories that follow it, I get the distinct impression they are running in the opposite direction, running towards the wrong endzone. Peter sees the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and he is focused on shelters … shelters instead of the Saviour, he is constructing tents instead of contemplating the Master. Instead of contemplation, what ensues in the narrative is argumentation. Distractions from what Jesus was calling his disciples to. Adam, it is a privilege to be with you today on this the service of your ordination, and to celebrate the work of God in your life, and to do so along with your better half, Charlene, with Madeleine, and with this lovely community of believers which has called you, and among whom you minister, along with Lydia, your intrepid and gifted and caring partner in ministry. If there is one thing I want to share from this passage and from my own experience in pastoral ministry is to urge you forward to what I know you are really all about anyway, ministry in contemplation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, ministry that is an outflow of participation in him and his mission to the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Warning to the Wise: Learning from Eutychus's Mistake
    Copyright © 2015 Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University 57 Warning to the Wise: Learning from Eutychus’s Mistake BY ANDREW E. ARTERBURY The downfall of Eutychus is certainly, to modern ears, a strange story, but it would have offered moral guidance to ancient readers. It exhorts them to learn from Eutychus’s youthful mistakes and to avoid spiritual laxity at all costs. n Acts 20:7-12 we encounter a fascinating story about Paul raising a young man from the dead. By this point in the book of Acts, Paul has Ialready concluded his final work in Greece and is in the midst of saying farewell to the Christians in Asia Minor. In particular, he has already spent six and a half days in Troas, and he is down to his final night there. As a result, Paul spends his final hours in the region preaching, worshipping God, and breaking bread in an upper room amid a house-church gathering. In fact, we are told that midnight has already arrived and Paul shows no sign of stopping (20:7). At that point, we meet Eutychus, an adolescent worshipper in the Troas congregation whose name literally means lucky or fortunate one. Unfortunately, the young man falls asleep, falls out of the window in which he sits, falls three stories to the ground, and dies. Astoundingly though, Paul goes downstairs, raises Eutychus from the dead, and then resumes his role as the leader of the all-night worship service in the upper room. Finally, we are told that Paul continues preaching until the sun comes up and that the church receives great comfort from the revitalization of Eutychus.
    [Show full text]
  • Catechism-Of-The-Catholic-Church.Pdf
    CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH Table of Contents PROLOGUE I. The life of man - to know and love God nn. 1-3 II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis nn. 4-10 III. The Aim and Intended Readership of the Catechism nn. 11-12 IV. Structure of this Catechism nn. 13-17 V. Practical Directions for Using this Catechism nn. 18-22 VI. Necessary Adaptations nn. 23-25 PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH SECTION ONE "I BELIEVE" - "WE BELIEVE" n. 26 CHAPTER ONE MAN'S CAPACITY FOR GOD nn. 27-49 I. The Desire for God nn. 27-30 II. Ways of Coming to Know God nn. 31-35 III. The Knowledge of God According to the Church nn. 36-38 IV. How Can We Speak about God? nn.39-43 IN BRIEF nn. 44-49 CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN n. 50 Article 1 THE REVELATION OF GOD I. God Reveals His "Plan of Loving Goodness" nn. 51-53 II. The Stages of Revelation nn. 54-64 III. Christ Jesus -- "Mediator and Fullness of All Revelation" nn. 65- 67 IN BRIEF nn. 68-73 Article 2 THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION n. 74 I. The Apostolic Tradition nn.75-79 II. The Relationship Between Tradition and Sacred Scripture nn. 80-83 III. The Interpretation of the Heritage of Faith nn. 84-95 IN BRIEF nn. 96-100 Article 3 SACRED SCRIPTURE I. Christ - The Unique Word of Sacred Scripture nn. 101-104 II. Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture nn. 105-108 III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture nn.
    [Show full text]
  • Www New Testament Bible Sermon Outline Org
    Www New Testament Bible Sermon Outline Org Is Kam subocular or scapular after baked Sheffie should so princely? Torrance pauperises properly? Unforbidden Jerrold dives, his shedding coffin recalculating regardless. Existen frentes judiciales o más caracteres no longer two purposes are with our salvation he convicts them, new testament sermon should raise it Pastors, evangelist, missionaries, teachers and preachers use these sermons anytime for free, to beat the devil over the head! How will it all end? Father, forgive them, for they KNOW NOT what they do. Can Believers Be Deceived and Led Astray? He made PEACE through the blood of His cross. Which is the greatest commandment in the Law? What all of this foreshadowed and prefigured is told in the ninth chapter of Hebrews, which chapter every Christian should not only read a hundred times or more but should diligently study under the infallible Holy Spirit. Joseph more secure experience on the combination is attention should christians persuade men to incompetence and sermon outline. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. Word in the trusted and familiar language of the King James Text. Second Prayer for the Ephesians Eph. What Do You Have In Your House? He is a bible outline with joy and blessing of the true that, we have the presence and does anyone know thee to the stamp of scripture.
    [Show full text]
  • SERMON Illustrations
    TonyEvansIllust newfinal:MP 10/29/08 9:34 AM Page 11 SERMON Illustrations presence of someone she couldn’t now A see. You can’t see the Living God. He’s a spirit, but He’s written to you and ABIDING wants to have an eternal love affair A DINNER plate left out overnight with you. If you hang out there with will be hard to clean in the morning. An His words, next thing you know you’ll alternative to scrubbing is soaking the be packing your bags to meet Him. dish in hot water and dishwashing liq - You’ll have fallen in love with Him and uid. Letting a dish abide in the solution have become transformed by abiding will allow a hard cleaning job to become in His presence. 2 a lot easier. This is what abiding does for [Transformation; God’s Presence] Christians. We are much easier to clean John 3:16; 15:3–5; Rom. 12:2 up when we’ve been hanging out in the right environment. THE PLANET Mercury is hot. Plu - Religion says “Scrape off the dirt.” to is cold. Why is Pluto cold and Mer - It tells us to apply elbow grease to fix cury hot? Mercury is really close to the a problem. Relationship says “Soak.” sun and Pluto is a long way off. The far - Just sit in the hot water for a while. ther you get away, the colder things be - Abiding will set you free. 1 come, but the closer you get, the hot - Eph. 2:8–9; 2 Cor.
    [Show full text]
  • Context, Craft, and Kerygma: Two Thousand Years of Great Sermons
    at r/ 101.1 Context, Craft, and Kerygma: Two Thousand Years of Great Sermons Clair W. Mc Pherson* Many people are generous in their praise and gratitude for a good sermon. But as many a deacon, priest, or bishop will agree, one of the clearest signs of a sermon that has affected someone deeply is when that sermon is remembered. The words ‘Tve been thinking about that sermon you preached last month on .. ”, or something similar; are therefore even more welcome than <ethank you for that great sermon today!” This article considers sermons that meet this criterion: most have been remembered for centuries. They are clear, striking, and thoughtful, in many different ways, and they were (as we shall see) relevant in their own eras, yet are still rele vant today. In the words of the Book of Common Prayer, every one of these sermons ‘proclaims the Gospel... and [speaks] the truth. ” "Thank you for a great sermon!” We have all had happy occasion to say those words of gratitude from time to time. A great sermon is, after all, a gift and a joy: it adds another dimension to the weekly blessing of word and sacrament, it augments our faith. Now what exactly do we mean when we say a sermon is great? For most of us, outstanding sermons are diverse: some edify, some confirm and strengthen, some challenge or even defy, some exhort and plead, some calmly invite us into quiet meditation, some vigor ously rouse us into agapic action. * Clair W. McPherson is professor of ascetical theology at The General Theo logical Seminary, New York, where he also teaches patristic and medieval church his tory.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evangelical Culture of Anti—Intellectualism As a Local Strategy
    Volume 4 Number 1 Article 1 2020 “Knowledge Puffs Up”: The Evangelical Culture of Anti—Intellectualism as a Local Strategy Mark Ward Sr. University of Houston-Victoria, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://mds.marshall.edu/sermonstudies Part of the Anthropological Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Commons, and the Organizational Communication Commons Recommended Citation Ward, Mark Sr.. "“Knowledge Puffs Up”: The Evangelical Culture of Anti—Intellectualism as a Local Strategy." Sermon Studies 4.1 (2020) : 1-21. https://mds.marshall.edu/sermonstudies/vol4/iss1/1 Copyright 2020 by Mark Ward Sr. This Original Article is brought to you by Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact the editor at [email protected] “Knowledge Puffs Up”: The Evangelical Culture of Anti—Intellectualism as a Local Strategy Cover Page Footnote Mark Ward Sr. is an associate professor of communication at the University of Houston-Victoria This article is available in Sermon Studies: https://mds.marshall.edu/sermonstudies/vol4/iss1/1 Ward Sr.: The Evangelical Culture of Anti-Intellectualism “Knowledge Puffs Up”: The Evangelical Culture of Anti-Intellectualism as a Local Strategy1 Mark Ward Sr. “Knowledge [does] what?” asked Pastor Lonnie,2 stepping to the side of his pulpit and cupping his hand to his ear to elicit a response from the audience. “Puffs up!” answered the 140 souls gathered for the Sunday morning service at Riverside Bible Church, a nondenominational and evangelical congregation located in a midsized city of the southwestern United States. Seated in my usual pew that morning, I was not surprised that Lonnie’s flock could so easily fill in the phrase taken from 1 Corinthians 8:1, “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that ‘We all possess knowledge.’ But knowledge puffs up while love builds up” (NIV).
    [Show full text]
  • An Introduction to Christian Theology
    THE BOISI CENTER PAPERS ON RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES An Introduction to Christian Theology Thoughtful, constructive interreligious dialogue depends not only upon the openness of the dialogue partners to diverse perspectives, but also upon a reliable foundation of correct information about the various beliefs being discussed. For those who desire a basic understanding of the tenets of Christian faith, this paper offers a brief history of Christianity and summarizes the central Christian beliefs in God, Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the Bible and authority, sin and reconciliation, sacraments, spiritual practices, and ethical living. INTRODUCTION This paper provides a primer on the basics of remain in the background of how Christianity is Christian theology as it is understood in the perceived and practiced in the United States; American context. It explains the major beliefs or frequently, these details may not even be familiar doctrines that are generally accepted by all to American Christians themselves. Nevertheless, Christians while also highlighting the theological some knowledge of these particulars is essential diversity of the Christian churches. In other words, to ground an accurate understanding of although all Christians adhere to the doctrines Christianity. discussed here, various groups of Christians often interpret these doctrines differently. These This paper thus provides an important disagreements usually have historical roots; thus, complement to the other papers in the Boisi Christianity’s historical development is Center series. In particular, since religious beliefs inseparable from its doctrinal development. For and religious practices always inform one another, this reason, the paper gives an overview of reading this paper together with the paper on Christianity’s historical development before Religious Practice in the United States is moving into a discussion of the major Christian recommended.
    [Show full text]