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1000 articles found for “Church calendar”
Exodus 25:2
[Bible Verses]Exodus 25:2 is the verse in which God, through Moses, asks Israel for offerings to build the tabernacle and directs that offerings be received only from those who give willingly from the heart. It is frequently cited as a basis for the principle that giving should be voluntary, especially in building-fund appeals and church dedication sermons.
Galatians 3:26–29
[Bible Verses]A passage in Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia declaring that those who belong to Christ through faith and baptism are sons of God and heirs of Abraham, without distinction of ethnicity, social status, or sex. It is frequently cited in discussions of baptism, the ordination of women, and the relationship between the church and Israel.
Galatians 4:9–11
[Bible Verses]In this passage Paul rebukes the Galatian believers who, after coming to know God, were turning back to serve the "weak and beggarly elements" and to observe days and seasons. It is frequently cited in discussions of Sabbath and festival observance, the church year, and legalism.
Titus 1:5–9
[Bible Verses]In this passage Paul instructs Titus, whom he had left in Crete, to ordain elders in every city, and he lists the qualifications of an elder or overseer (bishop). It is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between elders and overseers and of the qualifications for church officers.
Acts 2:42–47
[Bible Verses]Acts 2:42–47 summarizes the life of the first community of believers in Jerusalem after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It describes their devotion to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer, and their sharing of possessions. The passage is frequently cited as a model for the church, though interpreters differ on the sharing of property and the meaning of "the breaking of bread."
Revelation 21:12–14
[Bible Verses]A vision in which the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem and the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb on its twelve foundations. The passage is frequently discussed for what it shows about the relationship between the Old Testament people of God and the New Testament church.
Song of Songs 5:2
[Bible Verses]A scene in the Song of Songs in which the beloved, drenched with the night dew, asks the sleeping woman to open the door to him. The verse is read as a poem celebrating love between a man and a woman, and also as a picture of Christ knocking at the door of the church and of the believer's heart, a reading frequently cited in preaching.
Ephesians 2:14-17
[Bible Verses]A passage stating that Christ, through the cross, broke down "the middle wall of partition" between Jews and Gentiles, made the two into "one new man," and reconciled both together to God. It is frequently cited in discussions of church unity and reconciliation, and interpreters differ over the scope of the law said to have been abolished.
John 17:20–23
[Bible Verses]A passage from the prayer Jesus offered just before his arrest, in which he asks that later believers, who would come to believe through the disciples' word, may be one as the Father and the Son are one, so that the world may believe. It is the text most frequently cited in discussions of church unity.
John 15:26–27
[Bible Verses]In this passage Jesus says that the "Comforter" (Paraclete), "the Spirit of truth" whom he will send from the Father, will testify of him, and that the disciples will also bear witness. The text speaks of the witness of the Holy Spirit together with the witness of the church, and it served as a key proof text in the dispute between the Eastern and Western churches over the procession of the Holy Spirit.
John 10:16
[Bible Verses]In the Good Shepherd discourse, Jesus says that he has "other sheep... which are not of this fold" whom he must also bring, so that there will be "one flock" (KJV: "one fold") under one shepherd. The verse is often cited in support of the mission to the Gentiles and of church unity, and interpreters differ over the identity of the "other sheep."
Isaiah 43:16–21
[Bible Verses]A passage in the Book of Isaiah that promises Israel in Babylonian exile a "new thing" greater than the Exodus, in which God parted the Red Sea: a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. In Korean Protestant churches, it is widely cited as a text for New Year sermons and for annual church mottos.
Haggai 2:4–5
[Bible Verses]Haggai 2:4–5 is a word of encouragement to the leaders and people who had returned from exile and had grown discouraged while rebuilding the temple, urging them to "be strong … and work" and to "fear ye not." Because it grounds this encouragement in God's presence and the Exodus covenant, it is frequently cited as a text of encouragement for church building projects and new ministries.
James 4:11-12
[Bible Verses]A passage in the Epistle of James teaching that to speak evil of or judge a brother is to judge the law, and that God alone is lawgiver and judge. It is frequently cited as a warning against slander and condemnation, and discussion of it also addresses how such judgment differs from legitimate discernment and church discipline.
Mark 12:13-17
[Bible Verses]In this passage, the Pharisees and the Herodians ask Jesus whether tribute should be paid to Caesar (the Roman emperor), and Jesus answers, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17). The passage is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between church and state.
Septuagint
[Bible]The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into ancient Greek, produced in Alexandria, Egypt, beginning around the third century BC. New Testament writers frequently followed it when quoting the Old Testament, and the early church received and used it as its Old Testament.
Widow
[Bible]A woman whose husband has died. The Old Testament law designated widows, along with the fatherless and the stranger, as people to be protected. In the New Testament, widows appear both as recipients of the early church's relief and care and as examples of faith.
Monastery
[History]A monastery is a community of people who withdraw from the world to cultivate their faith through prayer, labor, and ascetic discipline, or the dwelling place of such a community. Monasticism originated in the deserts of Egypt in the third century, and monasteries became a central institution of the medieval Western church.
Rock
[Bible]A rock is a large, solid mass of stone. In the Bible it appears as the actual rock that gave water in the wilderness, and it also serves as a figure for God's unchanging protection, for Christ, and for the foundation of the church.
Betrothal
[Bible]In the Bible, betrothal (espousal) is the stage before marriage in which a man and a woman become legally bound to each other. It appears in Old Testament law and in the account of Mary and Joseph, and it also serves as an image of the relationship between God and his people and between Christ and the church.