Christianity Articles

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Stephen Lawes @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 11:59 AM

In every church there are people who are gifted for intercession. It is important to identify who these people are and begin to equip and encourage them to take their place in the prayer ministry. Intercessors are able to press through in prayer in situations where many will just give up. They are instrumental in under girding the ministry of prayer as well as in imparting their understanding of prevailing in prayer to those just discovering prayer in their own lives. It may be helpf... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Stephen Lawes @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 11:59 AM

There is perhaps no more important a ministry in the Church than that of prayer. The Church cannot rely on programs, marketing strategies, or slick presentations in order to grow and complete the mission given to it. The Church needs the power and presence and direction of the Living God. The Scriptures are replete with instances demonstrating the importance of prayer. Jesus made clear the importance of prayer in the Church when he said in Matthew 21:13: "It is written," he s... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By T J Madigan @ Monday, 19th May 2008 @ 4:50 AM

I don't know if you are anything like me... But when I go to church I come away wondering what God truly thinks of it. I mean... I thought church was supposed to be a place where the focus was on Christ. Instead I find that preachers are more interested in trying to make people feel good, teaching them that God wants them to have an abundance of everything that this world has to offer. They teach us that if we give them lots of money then God will give us lots of money. And as for their pre... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Sunday, 18th May 2008 @ 10:04 PM

The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults or RCIA is something you may see advertised in your parish bulletin but not really know something about. You may be asked to be a sponsor but not really know what it means or if you can even participate in the process. But over the course of the last 30 years the RCIA programs, has gone though a major transformation that in the end returns the process to the roots of the early church even though it is still in its infancy relatively speaking. Its seem... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Sunday, 18th May 2008 @ 9:45 PM

Lent is the period of 40 days of fasting that is preceding Easter. Often this 40 day period is paralleled with the story of Jesus being in the desert for 40 days being tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1-11) and this is the reading for the first Sunday of Lent to remind us of that parallel. Originally Lent was no more than a word used for the Spring Season, similar to Autumn being referred to as fall. But in Modern time its a period for fasting, prayer and alms giving. The 40 days in the Cathol... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Sunday, 18th May 2008 @ 9:41 PM

The rosary has a long and honored tradition and its present form it can be dated back to the last 14th century. The present day rosary seems to have been the work of the Dominican fathers however there is parts that actually date back to St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order. St. Dominic was handed the method to pray the Rosary directly from The Blessed mother. And according to Alan de la Roche St. Dominic revived the rosary on this revelation. At the time St. Dominic was fight... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 3:00 AM

Though each calendar year there are seasons in which the church enters. Just like summer, winter and fall, the church also has seasons. Most people are familiar with the names of each of the liturgical calendar. The season are Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and of course, Ordinary Time. These are the basic division of how the Liturgical Calendar is divided. The churches use this way to decide what readings are used, when Feast Days and Solemnities are observed. Many of the Solemnities... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Tuesday, 13th May 2008 @ 4:51 PM

The Catholic Church since its inception has set itself aside from all other organized religion by being a sacramental church. As a Catholic you will often hear of the sacramental church and if raised Catholic as a child had these sacraments bestowed on you as grew up as both a person and a Catholic. The seven sacraments can be traced to Jesus himself. He gave each of these sacraments us and the Apostles upheld them during the formation of the early church. Each of these sacraments has sp... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Tuesday, 13th May 2008 @ 4:39 PM

Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras are most likely is never thought of as being rooted in any church let alone the Catholic Church. Its loud its raucous and its as far from the church as possible. In many ways the roots of the holiday have been forgotten and it has become a very secular celebration that is sometimes on the edge of good judgment. Most of all it's become one large party and a exclamation point on the decay within our society. But it is amazing to look back and wonder how did ... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Saturday, 10th May 2008 @ 6:51 PM

Today was a big step for any Candidate or Catechumen in the Catholic Church. This was the day that they are recommended by their parishes to the Bishop or Cardinal of their dioceses. In the first rite of the day the catechumens are asked to stand before the congregation and let the congregation know that they are prepared and ready to take the next step of their journey. After agreeing they are asked to sign the book of the elect, people that elected to be catholic. The candidates, are also as... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Beth Guide @ Saturday, 10th May 2008 @ 6:31 PM

When trying to put together a solid timeline of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), you have to go back to the early church at the point when the 12 Apostles were in charge of it, directly. They would go though the towns and countries spreading the Good News and would come upon small communities where individuals would come together in small groups and study the works of Jesus. They would communally work on the call ot conversion. This was being done at a time when persecution was... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Earl Hall @ Sunday, 27th April 2008 @ 8:56 AM

Most people today are concerned about just one thing, money. Our society and now even many in the church are consumed with wealth and prosperity. Is there anything wrong with wealth and prosperity? No of course not. What is wrong is this. Have you ever heard the term, "fake it till you make it"? This term simply implies that you need to act like you are in a certain place, situation or feeling that you do not actually posses. Oh by the way, I will explain the title shortly, "G... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Mike Fletcher @ Sunday, 27th April 2008 @ 8:43 AM

With Mother's Day nearing, it is important for us to reflect on the Bible verse from Exodus 20:12, "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy God giveth thee." It is really important that we take the time to honor thy mother, and not just on Mother's day. It is so important that it is the Ten Commandments. The first four Commandments teaches how to appreciate, worship, and obey the one true God. The six following Comm... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Linda Dipman @ Thursday, 24th April 2008 @ 11:14 AM

My greatest fear is that my life will be unfulfilled. My daughters biggest fear is that an evil person might take or hurt one of her three young children. Recently, I met a woman whose biggest fear is cancer. My elderly neighbors biggest fear is dieing alone. What is your biggest fear? Does fear seem to control you? Have you ever felt fear because you knew that the problem you were facing took away all of your control? A fear that drove you to your knees begging God to protect you ... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Jeremy Baldwin @ Thursday, 24th April 2008 @ 7:48 AM

What can make a kiss so sensational, that it is still talked about and discussed generations later, and even heatedly debated a couple thousand of years later? It makes you wonder, that must have been some kiss! and it really was. The kiss in question was between Jesus and his now infamous disciple Judas Iscariot, whom as you may recall, signaled to the Roman Soldiers, whom Jesus was, by kissing Jesus on the cheek; in the Garden of Gethsemane. This single act, so innocent in and of it... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Rohit Chopra @ Saturday, 19th April 2008 @ 1:08 AM

Perhaps one of your favorite Christmas movies is National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, its one of the all-time Christmas favorites. If you are one who treasures this Christmas classic, you probably consider the idea of this decoration as one of the funniest parts of the film. The reasons for its hilarity are completely universal; anyone who is struggled with a string of Christmas lights, whether that be an outdoor Christmas light decoration or not, knows just how absolutely maddening this decor... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Bob Yeager @ Friday, 18th April 2008 @ 2:14 PM

Everyone on Earth practices a central devotion to some idea or thing. The prime question becomes to what can I devote myself that will surely offer the greatest possibility for peace, joy, health and wealth? In the inner world of beliefs, we either devote our energy to the ego-self or the God-Self. Few people realize that there are no other options. Devotion to the ego-self ultimately comes down to an addiction to one's own thoughts. Devotion to the God-Self comes down to a ... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By David Jordan @ Thursday, 17th April 2008 @ 12:58 PM

How often do you go into a restaurant, enjoy a great meal, okay a decent meal, and then get the fortune cookie/bill. Everyone takes one of the cookies, cracks it open and reads the fortune to each other. Many times, we laugh at the fortune and leave it on the table. However, once-in-a-while we keep one of those fortunes because we think, "wow, that really applies to me," or at least I hope it applies to me. How often do we take verses we have heard from various preachers and te... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Linda Dipman @ Thursday, 17th April 2008 @ 10:29 AM

Often we can go through life living one day at a time without really going through any more than the normal demands of everyday living. Getting up each morning, eating breakfast, going to work and looking forward to the weekend when we can spend time with our families. Every once in a while we are thrown a curve ball when sickness grabs us and we have to work in a doctors appointment. Nothing too earth scattering, just something that takes medicine to help cure the ailment quicker. Ju... more...

Religion and Spirituality » Christianity | By Rohit Chopra @ Wednesday, 16th April 2008 @ 2:51 AM

If individuals were to be polled regarding their most favorite time of the year, probably the most often mentioned holiday would be Christmas. If you asked these same individuals to elaborate on their answer as to why it is the most favorite time of the year you would get a variety of answers. For instance, some of these answers could include their belief system surrounding the holiday, a time of sharing gifts, gathering of family members together, eating of special food, etc. Another rea... more...