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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 in infancy who later becomes a full member through a confirmation examination is called a confirmed member, and the two categories are sometimes referred to together.
Lord's Supper
[Worship & Rites]The Lord's Supper is the rite instituted by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. In it believers share the bread and the cup in remembrance of Christ's death, and it is one of the two sacraments observed by Protestants.
Baptism
[Worship & Rites]Baptism is a rite in which water is used to signify that a person has come to faith in Jesus Christ and become a member of the church community. Most Protestants count it, together with the Lord's Supper, as one of two sacraments.
Sacrament
[Worship & Rites]A sacrament is a rite believed to have been instituted by Christ that signifies God's grace through visible signs such as water, bread, and wine. Protestants generally recognize two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Short-Term Missions
[Christian Life]Short-term missions are trips in which church members travel to domestic or overseas mission fields, for periods ranging from a few days to several weeks and in longer cases one to two years, to assist local churches and to engage in evangelism and service. In Korean churches the practice is also widely known as a "vision trip."
Baptism by Sprinkling and by Immersion
[Controversies]A debate over whether the biblical mode of baptism is sprinkling or pouring water on the head or submerging the whole body in water. In Korean Protestant usage, the same Greek word is rendered by two different terms: Presbyterians, Methodists, and others use a term meaning a rite of washing, while Baptists and others use a term meaning a rite of immersion.
Gospel of Luke
[Bible]The Gospel of Luke is the third book of the New Testament and one of the four Gospels, recording the life of Jesus Christ from his birth to his ascension. It is regarded as the first volume of a two-part work, continued in the Acts of the Apostles by the same author.
Council of Chalcedon
[History]The Council of Chalcedon was a church council convened in 451 by the Eastern Roman emperor Marcian. It adopted the Chalcedonian Definition, which confesses that Jesus Christ has two natures, divine and human, in one person.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10
[Bible Verses]1 Corinthians 6:9–10 lists a series of sins and declares that the unrighteous "shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Disputes over how to translate two Greek words in the list have made it a central text in the debate over homosexuality. The passage also figures in discussions of how assurance of salvation relates to the conduct of the Christian life.
Acts 16:31
[Bible Verses]Acts 16:31 records the answer of Paul and Silas to the jailer of the prison at Philippi: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." The verse is widely cherished as a text of hope for the salvation of one's family. It raises two questions: whether "thy house" is a promise to the whole family, and whether household baptisms support infant baptism.
Matthew 18:15–17
[Bible Verses]Matthew 18:15–17 sets out a step-by-step procedure for when a brother sins: one should first admonish him privately, then with one or two witnesses, and, if he still refuses to listen, tell it to the church. It is the foundational text for church discipline, and its scope of application is debated when it is applied to conflicts and crimes within the church.
Matthew 22:37–40
[Bible Verses]In this passage Jesus, asked which is the greatest commandment, names love for God and love for neighbor and declares that all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. It is accepted across denominational lines as a summary of biblical ethics.
Caleb
[People]Caleb is a man of the tribe of Judah who appears in the Old Testament books of Numbers and Joshua. One of the twelve spies, he joined Joshua in urging Israel to take Canaan, and the two of them were the only members of the Exodus generation to enter the Promised Land.
Naomi
[People]Naomi is a woman from Bethlehem who appears in the Old Testament Book of Ruth. After losing her husband and two sons in Moab, she returned to her homeland with her daughter-in-law Ruth, and through her grandson Obed her story is linked to the house of David.
Eli
[People]Eli was an Israelite priest who served at the sanctuary in Shiloh at the close of the period of the judges. He raised the boy Samuel but failed to restrain the wickedness of his two sons, and his house came under judgment. His story is told in 1 Samuel 1–4.
Revelation 1:16
[Bible Verses]A verse describing the figure "like unto the Son of man" (the risen Christ) in the vision John saw on Patmos. Interpretations differ on the meaning of the seven stars, the sharp two-edged sword proceeding from his mouth, and the face shining like the sun.
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.
Thaddaeus
[People]Thaddaeus was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark call him "Thaddaeus," while the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts record him as "Judas the son of James." The two names are commonly understood to refer to the same person.
James the Son of Alphaeus
[People]One of the twelve disciples of Jesus, distinguished from James the son of Zebedee by the addition of his father's name. He is traditionally also called "James the Less," although it is uncertain whether the two are the same person.
Caesarea
[Bible]Caesarea was a Roman-era port city on the Mediterranean coast. According to Acts, it was where Cornelius was converted and where Paul was held in custody for two years. It is distinct from Caesarea Philippi in the northern interior.