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Cross
[Doctrine & Theology]The cross was an instrument of execution in ancient Rome. In Christianity it refers to the event in which Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross and died, and to the confession that his death was an atonement in which he bore sin in the place of others. It is the foremost symbol of the Christian faith.
Moderator of Presbytery
[Church Offices]The moderator of presbytery is the officer who represents a presbytery and presides over its meetings. In Presbyterian churches, a presbytery is the governing body made up of the churches of a given region and their representative ministers and elders. The moderator is elected at a stated meeting and usually serves a one-year term.
General Assembly Moderator
[Church Offices]The general assembly moderator (Korean chonghoejang) is the person who represents and presides over the general assembly, the highest deliberative body of a denomination. The office exists in many denominations, including Presbyterian, Holiness, and Baptist churches, and its term and authority vary from one denomination to another.
Alpha Course
[Christian Life]The Alpha Course is an introductory course in the Christian faith that began at Holy Trinity Brompton, an Anglican church in England. Combining a meal, a talk, and small-group discussion, it introduces the basics of the faith to people outside the church.
Moravian Church
[Denominations]The Moravian Church, or Moravian Brethren, is a Protestant denomination that originated among the followers of Jan Hus, the fifteenth-century Bohemian reformer. It was renewed in 1722 at Herrnhut, Germany, and is known for pioneering Protestant foreign missions.
Ninety-five Theses
[History]The Ninety-five Theses are ninety-five Latin propositions issued by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517, criticizing the sale of indulgences. They are regarded as the starting point of the Reformation.
Great Awakening
[History]The Great Awakening was a Protestant revival movement that arose in the British North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, centered on figures such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. The name is also applied to the Second Great Awakening of the early nineteenth century.
Romans 8:1–2
[Bible Verses]The declaration that there is "no condemnation" for those who are in Christ Jesus. Cherished as a classic text on the assurance of justification, it raises the question of whether freedom from condemnation is purely a forensic declaration or also includes the transformation of life.
1 Corinthians 10:31
[Bible Verses]The verse that reads, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." As a proof text for the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it serves almost as a motto of the Reformed faith and is widely cited as a passage on the holiness of everyday life and work.
1 Corinthians 13:13
[Bible Verses]The verse reads, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity" (KJV). It is widely known as a summary of the three Christian virtues, and several explanations have been offered for why love (rendered "charity" in the KJV) is the greatest.
Hebrews 10:25
[Bible Verses]The verse exhorts believers, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another," and to do so all the more as they see the day approaching. It is widely cited as a basis for attendance at corporate worship, and since the COVID-19 pandemic it has been at the center of debate over whether online worship can take the place of this "assembling."
Hebrews 11:1
[Bible Verses]The verse reads, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." It opens Hebrews 11, the chapter on faith. Translations and interpretations differ on the meaning of the Greek words rendered "substance" and "evidence."
John 1:1
[Bible Verses]The opening verse of the Gospel of John declares that the Word, who existed in the beginning, was with God and was God. Because it is a key verse affirming the deity of Jesus, it has long been at the center of a dispute between proponents of the doctrine of the Trinity and groups that reject that doctrine and translate the verse differently.
John 3:3–5
[Bible Verses]The passage in which Jesus tells the Pharisee Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." It is the source of the expression "born again" (regeneration), and denominations differ over whether being "born of water and of the Spirit" refers to baptism.
John 11:25–26
[Bible Verses]The passage in which Jesus, after the death of Lazarus, tells Martha, "I am the resurrection, and the life." It is one of the "I am" declarations in the Gospel of John and is the passage most frequently read at Christian funeral services.
John 13:34-35
[Bible Verses]The passage in which Jesus, at the Last Supper, gives his disciples the new commandment to "love one another." He says that their love for one another is the mark by which others will know they are his disciples. Discussion centers on what is "new" about the commandment and whether the scope of this love is limited to the church.
John 14:6
[Bible Verses]The passage in which Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." It is a representative text for the exclusivity of Christian salvation and the verse most often cited in debates over the relationship between salvation and other religions.
Acts 1:8
[Bible Verses]The passage in which Jesus, just before his ascension, tells the disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them they will receive power and be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The verse previews the narrative of the entire Book of Acts and serves as a leading watchword for missions. The nature of the experience of the Spirit implied by "receiving power" is debated.
Acts 20:35
[Bible Verses]The verse in which Paul, taking leave of the elders of the church at Ephesus, urges them to remember the words of the Lord Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It is one of the rare verses that preserve a saying of Jesus not recorded in the four Gospels, and it is widely cited to encourage sharing and giving.
Habakkuk 2:4
[Bible Verses]"The just shall live by his faith" is God's answer to the prophet Habakkuk. Quoted three times in the New Testament and a central basis for the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith, it is counted among the most influential verses in the Bible.