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280 articles found for “Communion”
Baptized Member
[Church Offices]A baptized member is a church member who has received baptism (or baptism by immersion) and become a full member of the church. A person baptized as an infant who later becomes a full member through a confirmation examination is called a confirmed member, and the two terms are sometimes used together.
Acts 2:44–45
[Bible Verses]An account of how, after Pentecost, the believers lived together, had all things in common, and sold their possessions to distribute to each according to need. Although the passage is often idealized as a portrait of the early church community, it has been debated whether it sets a norm the church today should follow and how it relates to socialist thought.
Silvanus
[People]Silvanus was a first-century coworker who preached the gospel alongside the apostle Paul. He is named in the Pauline Epistles and in 1 Peter and is generally identified with the Silas of the Book of Acts.
Titus
[People]Titus was a Gentile coworker of Paul mentioned in the New Testament. He traveled between Paul and the church at Corinth, set the churches in Crete in order, and is the recipient of the Epistle to Titus.
Silas
[People]Silas appears in the New Testament book of Acts as a leader of the Jerusalem church who accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey. In the Pauline epistles and 1 Peter he appears under the name Silvanus.
Hur
[People]Hur was an Israelite leader who served alongside Moses and Aaron during the time of the Exodus. He is best known for holding up Moses' hands with Aaron during the battle against Amalek.
Matthew 18
[Bible]Matthew 18 is the fourth of the five discourses in the Gospel of Matthew. It teaches humility within the community of disciples, care for the little ones, the procedure for admonishing a brother who sins, and limitless forgiveness. It contains the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
Church
[Doctrine & Theology]The church is the community of those who believe in Jesus Christ. The word translates the New Testament Greek term ekklesia (an assembly of those who have been called out), and it refers first to a gathering of people rather than to a building.
2 Thessalonians 3:7–9
[Bible Verses]A passage in which Paul and his companions, though entitled to support from the Thessalonian church, worked night and day to provide for themselves and offered this as an example for the believers to follow. It is frequently cited in discussions of self-supporting ministry, bivocational pastors, and pastoral compensation.
Amish
[Denominations]The Amish are a Protestant community that separated from the Anabaptists of Switzerland and Alsace in the late seventeenth century. They emphasize believer's baptism and separation from the world, and they are known for their plain dress and limited use of technology.
Spiritual Direction
[Doctrine & Theology]Spiritual direction is a form of spiritual companionship in which a person of mature faith meets regularly with another individual to help him or her discern and deepen a relationship with God in prayer and in daily life.
Church in North Korea
[Denominations]The church in North Korea refers to the Protestant faith community within North Korea. In the narrow sense, the term denotes the Korean Christian Federation, the only Protestant organization recognized by the North Korean authorities, and the churches under its oversight.
Acts 21:9
[Bible Verses]A verse reporting that when Paul and his companions stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist in Caesarea, Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Because it records the prophetic activity of women in the early church, it is frequently cited in discussions of women's ordination and the gift of prophecy.
Acts 2:42–47
[Bible Verses]A passage summarizing the life of the first community of believers in Jerusalem after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, describing their devotion to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer, and their sharing of possessions. It is frequently cited as a model for the church, though interpretations differ on the sharing of property and the meaning of "the breaking of bread."
1 John 2:19
[Bible Verses]First John 2:19 addresses the departure from the community of those called "antichrists," stating that their leaving revealed that they had never been "of us." The verse is frequently cited in debates over the perseverance of the saints and the possibility of apostasy.
James 4:2–3
[Bible Verses]A passage in James 4 that rebukes quarrels within the community as arising from selfish desire and gives two reasons why believers do not receive what they want: they do not ask, or they ask with wrong motives. It is frequently cited in discussions of answered prayer and the motives behind prayer.
Jason
[People]Jason was a believer in Thessalonica who received Paul and his companions into his home during Paul's second missionary journey, was caught up in the ensuing riot, and was dragged before the city authorities. He appears in Acts 17.
Therapeutae
[History]The Therapeutae were a Jewish ascetic and contemplative community that the first-century Jewish philosopher Philo described as living near Alexandria, Egypt. Because the fourth-century church historian Eusebius presented them as Christians, they were long discussed in connection with the origins of the monastic tradition.
Carmelites
[History]The Carmelites are a Catholic religious order that originated in a community of hermits on Mount Carmel in the twelfth century. The order centers on contemplative prayer, a silent resting in God while gazing upon him.
Christian Education
[Doctrine & Theology]Christian education is the activity by which a faith community teaches Scripture and its faith tradition in order to nurture people in the faith; the term also refers to the academic discipline that studies this activity (Christian education studies).