THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
(John 14:15-28: Acts 1:3-5) After the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, he made several appearances to the disciples within a period of forty days. He gave them the Great Commission to evangelize...
Category: CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
Christianity and Islam have a common origin. Both religions trace their origins to the same ancestor: Abraham. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. While the Muslims trace their descent from Ishmael, the Christians...
PAUL EARLY LIFE AND CONVERSION
Paul’s nativity and education (Acts 22:1-5, 26-30) Sometime after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, another boy was born to a Jewish family. This Jewish family was living abroad in the town of Tarsus...
TEACHINGS THAT WILL FOSTER UNITY
The Bible contains teachings that will foster greater unity among the various denominations in Nigeria. These include: Faith and works. Humility. Impartiality. Forgiveness. When we practice the teachings of: Christian Giving, Faith and...
CHRISTIAN GIVING
Giving is an act of charity. It may take the form of donating money for a worthy cause. Giving may also take the form of sacrificing our time, effort or energy for a worthy...
CHRISTIANS LIVING AMONG NON-CHRISTIANS
Christians living in the community (1 Peter 2:9-25; Matthew 5:13-16) The community is made up of a group of people living in an area or neighborhood. As Christians we live in the community with...
PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
The word peaceful is derived from the word: Peace. Peace describes a situation or condition in which there is no war, no violence, no fighting, no quarrelling, no disorderliness, no intolerance, no disagreement, no...
THE MINISTRY OF PETER
Peter and Simon, the Magician (Acts 8:14-25) Peter was the first disciple to be called by Jesus. Later Jesus appointed him to lead the Church, after his death and resurrection. Jesus did this when...
PAUL AND HIS TRIALS
Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem and his arrest (Acts 21:17-40) When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he was arrested, and tried before the Jewish Council. A plot was hatched to kill him, and he was rescued...
PAUL TEACHING ON LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul taught about the qualities of love in order to help us understand what love is all about. Paul wrote that: ‘Love is patient...
PAUL TEACHINGS ON THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR AND OBEDIENCE TO CONSTITUTED AUTHORITY
Paul’s teaching on: ‘The Dignity of Labour’ (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Colossians 3:23) Dignity means respect and labour means work. Therefore, dignity of labour refers to respect for all types of decent work. Paul’s teaching...
THE CHURCH COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM
Acts 15:1-35 After Paul’s first missionary journey, many foreigners had joined the Church which was from the beginning confined to the Jewish Christians. Then some of the Jewish Christians came from Judea and taught...
PAUL FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY
Acts 13 and 14 After his conversion to Christianity, Paul began to preach in Damascus that Jesus was the Son of God. The Jews in Damascus did not like the idea that Paul had...
PAUL THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY
Paul in Ephesus: (Acts 18:23-28; 19:1-41) Paul’s third missionary journey took him to Ephesus. Paul first went to Caesarea and greeted the members of the Church there. From there he came to Antioch and...
PAUL IN ATHENS
Acts 17:16-34 From Philippi, Paul and companions, Silas and Timothy came to Thessalonica where he (Paul) was well received by both the Jews and the Greeks. But some of the unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica...
PAUL SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY
Acts 15:36, 18;22 Paul separated from Barnabas on the second missionary journey because of John Mark who wanted to accompany them again. John Mark had abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey....
SELECTION OF THE SEVEN DEACONS
Acts 6:7-7 In order to solve the problem of discrimination or partiality in the distribution of food and other items among the early Christians, the apostles discussed the matter. Peter said the apostles could...
JESUS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LAWS
(Matthew 5:17-20) Laws are made to control the behaviour of people in a society so that everyone can go about his or her work in safety and in peace. Without laws there would be...
JESUS AND HIS FAMILY
Names of Jesus’ siblings (Matthew 13:53-56; 12:46-50) After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary had other children, both boys and girls. The boys were James, Joses, Simon and Judas. The names of Jesus’...
CALL TO OBEDIENCE
To obey means doing what you are told to do. Therefore obedience means doing what you are told to do. It is to comply with the rules and regulations at home and at school,...
CALL TO FREEDOM
Freedom means liberty, emancipation, independence or self-determination. It has to do with liberating or delivering people from slavery, oppression or foreign or colonial domination. In the Bible, God called Moses to liberate the Israelites...
RECONCILIATION
Reconciliation is the means or process by which we bring back or restore good relationship that had been broken between two individuals or groups of people. When relationship is broken, it is very important...
BIBLICAL ACCOUNT OF FIRST HUMAN DISOBEDIENCE
To disobey means to defy or to break the rules or to go against the laws of the land or society. Therefore disobedience means defying or breaking the rules or going against the laws...
WHO IS GOD
As Christians, we get our ideas about God from the Bible. Therefore, it is the Bible that helps us to know who God is. The Bible says that God is the Supreme Being. God...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
HUMILITY
Philippians 2:1-11; 1 Peter 5:5-11 Humility, simply put, is that state of mind depicting a modest opinion of oneself. It is one of the greatest attributes of a christian, without which one’s claim to...
JESUS THE SON OF GOD AND CHRISTIANS AS CHILDREN OF GOD
Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-7 In several places in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the Son of God. For example, at his baptism, God’s voice declared: “This is my beloved son in whom...
NEW LIFE IN CHRIST
Romans 6:1-4, 12-14; Colossians 3:1-17 Paul’s idea of a new life in Christ is that some virtues ought to distinguish someone who says he is living such a life. He also lays emphasis on...
LAW AND GRACE
Law in the context of religion means a body of God’s instructions ordinances, statutes and commandments, as presented through prophets or holy persons, aimed at guiding man in his relationship with God and his...
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
Literally, the word- Justification means pronouncing a culpable or guilty person innocent, hence, scrapping whatever punishment such a guilty fellow would have faced because of the offence he committed. “Justification By Faith” therefore, as...
MISSION TO THE GENTILES
In those days, whosoever was not a Jew was designated a Gentile. Jews regarded Gentiles as outcasts and sinners. No form of communication whatsoever was allowed between the two set of people. However, any...
OPPOSITION TO THE GOSPEL MESSAGE
Acts 4:1-31, 5:17-42; 6:8-15; 7:1-60; 9:1-2; 12:1-24 As earlier mentioned, the Jewish religious leaders did all within their power to stop the spreading of the gospel. But the more they fought the disciples, the...
FELLOWSHIP IN THE EARLY CHURCH
The arrival of the Holy Spirit gave rise to the aggressive spread of the gospel. This period therefore marked the beginning of the early churches in Judea, Samaria and other parts. Those first few...
THE ASCENSION, THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE MISSION
The Ascension in this context refers to the manner in which Jesus was taken to heaven. The Ascension -Acts 1:6-11 Shortly after his resurrection, Jesus called together his apostles and they were all...
LOVE
Love is that deep feeling of affection one has for another. Love is natural and difficult to comprehend. It is caring, gentle, kind, enduring, patient, not jealous, not boastful, not irritable, not resentful, does...
SIGNS OF JESUS
Often time, the Jews demanded signs (miracles) from Jesus to convince them that he is the messiah. In most cases, Jesus refused to show such signs because he felt the people ought to be...
RESURRECTION AND APPEARANCES OF JESUS
The Resurrection -Matthew 28:1- 8, Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-11 As earlier stated, among the people who witnessed the death and burial of Jesus were three women- Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Salome....
THE TRIALS AND DEATH OF CHRIST
THE TRIALS OF CHRIST There are two different trials of Jesus Christ – the Jewish trial and the Roman trial. Jesus was arrested after he was betrayed by Judas. He was then taken to...
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY AND CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
The Triumphal Entry -Matthew 21:1-12; Mark 11:1-14; Luke 19:29-44 With the Transfiguration over, all of Jesus’ attention was then focused on the Passion and eventual death. Thus, his whole mind was in Jerusalem. In...
THE TRANSFIGURATION
Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36 All the synoptic gospels gave account of the transfiguration. By transfiguration, we mean the miraculous change in the appearance of Jesus. Jesus took three of his disciples –...
MISSION OF THE APOSTLES
Mission Of The Twelve -Matthew 10:1-15; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-16 After Jesus had taught his disciples both privately and publicly, he decided to send them out to practicalise what they had learnt. The three...
SERMON ON THE MOUNT
The Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by Matthew is a summary of Jesus’ teachings (Matthew chapter 5 to 7) on christians’ real attitude and concept of life. It also contains the ‘beatitudes’, that...
THE PARABLES
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM A parable may be defined as any short story, bordering on familiar events or everyday experience, with the aim of illustrating a religious or moral situation. In the course of...
THE NATURE OF MIRACLES
Stilling The Storm -Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25 Three main Greek words are used in the New Testament to describe miracles. The first one is ‘dunameis’ which literally means ‘acts of power or...
DISCIPLESHIP
CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP (Matthew 4:18-25, 9:9-13, Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-17, Luke 5:1-11, 27-32) Disciples mean follower, one who takes another as teacher and model. The synoptic gospel writers agreed that James and John the sons...
THE BIRTH, BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION OF JESUS
The Birth -Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-40 The account of the birth of Jesus is narrated by only Matthew and Luke; and both differ to an extent. We shall dwell on both in this...