CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
EFFECTIVE PRAYER
(James 1:2- 8, 5:13- 18) Prayer is a means of communicating with God. Prayer is very important in the life of a Christian. It is the means of interacting with God and it also serves as a weapon of defence against the evil ones. This was the reason why Christ, during his earthly ministry, emphasized much on prayer. He told his disciples that they should watch and pray and even taught his disciples how to pray. (Matthew 6:1-14) ST. JAMES TEACHING ON EFFECTIVE PRAYERS (James 1:2-8, 5:13-18) Conditions for effective prayers: Some of the conditions for effective prayers are steadfastness, perseverance and faith. St. James said: “Count it all…
FAITH AND WORK
(James 1:22-27, 2:14-26) ST. JAMES TEACHING ON FAITH AND WORK Faith means trust or belief. St. James, in his epistle, admonished Christians who genuinely believe in Jesus Christ to reflect their belief and faith in their lifestyle. This means that Christians in their daily life should practice the gospel of Jesus Christ and the word of God which is love, honesty, forgiveness, humility, faithfulness and charity. Any Christian who does not practice these virtues is not regarded as a faithful Christian. According to James, Christians must combine their faith with work. This means that any Christian who does not practice the moral principles of Christianity is not a good…
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
(Galatians 5:19 – 25, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9-10) Fruit in the biblical concept refers to human conducts. Fruit of the spirit are godly conducts and those of the flesh are ungodly. THE FRUIT OF THE FLESH (Galatians 5:19 – 21) Apostle Paul admonished the Galatians Christians to walk in the spirit so as not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. The flesh is contrary to the spirit. The works of the flesh are against the law of God. He listed the works of the flesh as adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,…
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Different Types of Spiritual Gifts 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 Spiritual gifts are the special spiritual endowments given by the Holy Spirit upon the various members of the church for the common good of the church community. Essentially, the Church of Christ is a single spiritual community with it members having special individual abilities or gifts to serve God. All spiritual gifts are from one Spirit (God). The purpose is for enhancing the churches’ growth and well-being. Such spiritual gifts are as follows: The utterance of Wisdom. The utterance of Knowledge. Faith. Gifts of Healing. The gift of Working Miracles. The gift of Prophecy. The gift to distinguish between spirits. The gift…
FORGIVENESS
Philemon 1 Forgiveness literally, implies having no more wish to punish someone for an offence earlier committed; or simply, to show mercy to someone, no longer having ill-feelings towards him. In the New Testament of the Holy Bible, forgiveness is used to show God’s initiative by which He restored man, full of sin to His fellowship. The offender must have shown a sign of remorse and must have decided for Christ to live a new life. Paul began by congratulating Philemon on his creditable role in the service of the church and for his love and faith in Jesus. In Paul’s Epistle to his friend, Philemon, he appeals to him…