Personal Narrative: My Heroic Journey

The way the narrator handled the situation with the curate was good. He basically told the curate to focus on the real problems and not to worry so much about God or his sins.

My family and I got up, got ready, and drove less than a mile down Old Hickory Boulevard to Forest Hills Baptist Church, like we had always done. Except, that day I packed my swimming trunks. On August 5th of 2007, I was baptized by a minister at my church. I was eager to get started. With both of us cloaked in white, the minster and I stepped into the baptism “tub” during the worship service. Colorful rays of light were beaming through the stained glass windows, the water was warm, and my mother was standing beside of me for comfort and reassurance; I was at peace. Out of the opening, I could see the watchful eyes of the choir, worship leader, congregation, and my family; I was at peace. As part of tradition, I was getting ready to be immersed into the water; I was at peace. While in the water, an extraordinary sensation of purification swept through my body. I, for the first time in my eight years of life, had truly felt cleansed from head to toe. This feeling was a direct action of the Holy Spirit entering and presiding in my vulnerable self permanently.

Sea gulls bickered on the warm, morning breeze over head. The waves lulled the vessel boat to-and-fro as it skimmed through Blackwater Bay. The water sparkled like sapphires, clear and bright under the sun. From the bow of the boat, Alayna peered out towards the Narrow Sea. Beyond the bay, adventure called her like a siren song. She longed to explore the lands beyond Westeros. However, this voyage wouldn’t ferry her towards that dream. She’d continue to dream of that journey. The schooner wouldn’t be sailing beyond the bay.

The unfortunate event began a completely new and terrifyingly dreadful life experience in which all my previous hard endeavors of securing the structurally sound habit of dedication, commitment, and studying I exercised extensively during my senior year, with the inner weapon of possessing powerful agency to absorb material with an extreme passion and letting my heart beat madly on long-distance runs whenever possible were indeed losing their color at a quickening pace. Suddenly I began to doubt my worth and the world’s lessons soon disappeared from my unawakened consciousness. The delicate networks of improvement and inner faith were becoming swept into a tide wayward, far out to sea where the light of my touch couldn’t embrace it.

 Standing in line for the baptism felt peculiar, from the vantage point of the soon to be baptized it looked similar to a group of children bobbing for apples in a communal line. As the probably now bacteria filled water encroached closer the main thought parading around my head was the triumph due to leaving boy scout camp for this, to become a born again Christian. Born again Christian, what an uncanny phrase I comprehended its meaning, but it still seemed a bit foreign, leading to the question of what it truly meant to be Christian. Before the train of thought could continue on its tracks I was dunked in

Change is inevitable. Whether it be positive or negative, change is constantly happening. More than often change can take you from the known world and spit you into the unknown, where you return a changed person. While embarking on the journeys provoked by change, you are on a hero’s journeys. The hero’s journey was popularized by Joseph Campbell. When describing what prompts hero’s journeys, Joseph Campbell said,

The presentation was definitely free of clichés and language. It turned into a very deep dialogue about Christ, and brought forth clarity, on how Mr. Herbert still feels like he is not truly saved, because he still falls short of sin. I begin to explain to him, once he accepted Lord as his Lord and Savior; God adopted him into the family. God’s grace and mercy covers his sin, as long as he confesses and repents. In his mind, Mr. Herbert truly felt that he was on the cross in the diagram, just because of his sin.

Rather than thinking of why Jesus Christ did not come to me at a sooner time, or why I did not recognize Him at a sooner time, this story reveals that I should trust Jesus’s timing. In His wisdom, He knows exactly what He is doing for His perfect will. Instead, I should rejoice that the resurrection and life are with me and that He is fulfilling His will in His ways, which are higher than my ways.

The cinematography captured the monks’ last supper while drinking wine and breaking bread. We see the monks laugh and cry as an expression of love for one another and to visually engage the audience. The background music, “Mary Did You Know,” and in particular the stanzas “This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you” and “The dead will live again” brought me to emotional tears. Essentially, these lines foreshadowed the fate of these Monks. Soon, the monks are kidnapped for following Jesus’ teaching and choosing to “love thy neighbor as yourself” (Mark [12:31]), react with nonviolence (Matthew [5:38-42]/ Luke [22:49-51]), and to love your enemies (Matthew [5:44]/Luke [22:27]) in order to perfect their Christian virtues of love, faith, courage, and hope.

Confirmation is a sacrament that has become an enigma wrapped in a riddle that ends with an open-ended question for teens all over the world. It has become an increasingly tough Sacrament to define and explain to those coming to the “sacrament of choice.” This book was chosen by most of us, not because of the size but because we have all been called upon to talk to confirmation classes and talking more intelligently and genuinely is what this generation is striving to receive. Since there is so much confusion over this sacrament it is imperative we try to live up to the exhortation in paragraph 59 of Sacrosanctum Concilium. “It is therefore of the highest importance that the faithful should easily understand the sacramental signs” (SC 59). Timothy Gabrielli’s book is meant to give the thinking and theology behind how this sacrament has been shaped by the twentieth century culture. This book is meant to stir up conversation and understanding of the need for more priority from the church and its leaders in the celebration of this sacrament.

On Easter Sunday, I invited two representatives from the congregation. We gathered with Randy’s family around Randy’s bed that afternoon. The family and those from the congregation read from the liturgy I had prepared. Randy took the baptismal vows, and I baptized him there in his bed in the ICU.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, outside of the act of creation itself, is the single greatest event in history. On the first Easter Sunday when the tomb is empty the trajectory of history is forever change and a new creation has begun restoring the fallen old creation. The resurrection brings great hope because in the resurrection the future breaks forth into the present reality both as a celebration of present victory and anticipation of future glory. The resurrection is not a single historical event, but it is the beginning of an ongoing restoration of all of God 's creation to be completed in the bodily resurrection of all people. Beth Felker Jones writes, “In the resurrection we have meaty hope, hope that extends into every part of creation and every aspect of human being.”1 Worship liturgy, whether consciously or unconsciously, can teach a great deal of theology, especially when considering theology of the resurrection. Giving considering to how the theology of resurrection is at work throughout worship and how it might lead to transformative living in the victory of the cross is of vital importance. Therefore, the following will examine the Easter Sunday 2016 worship service at Lansing Woodview Church of the Nazarene to specifically see how the doctrine of the resurrection and how it functioned in worship, its consistency throughout the service and its implications for the congregation.

Everyone in the United States has had some sort of interaction with a person from the church, at a church, in a church and has seen countless images of Jesus in various states of crucifixion to constantly remind you of his sacrifice, a promise to you that you are forgiven and you have a place in heaven. Now, this essay is not for everyone, some people cannot function without a crutch, or life is so bad this is the only escape from reality that is possible, this essay is for those who like me as a child was so confused about the Christian religion, but could never isolate those reasons until entering an age of wisdom and clarity.

“We are gathered here today”, the minister began, “To worship our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. Please stand to sing hymn 429 in the New Century Hymnbook – Loving and Forgiving.” As the organist played the opening chords, Kirra shook her head with disbelief. She couldn’t believe that she was finally here. Her internal recount had only just concluded before Kirra realised the congregation was sitting. She quickly joined them.

The priest spoke in a monotonous voice that seemed to drift on in low grumbles. A lot less attractive than the song that ensued before and she only sighed out of boredom. If the priest was ever sick and in need of a day off, she was sure they could rely on her to repeat at least half of the speech. After all, she’s heard it so many times, she could probably perform it in her sleep. Even a surprise baptism could make a flare of interest spark in the stultified teen.