<p> The author of Hebrews is concerned that the persecution of a spiritually immature and discouraged Christian community may cause them to relinquish their mission and lose certain rewards inherent to obedience. He argues that God swears an oath in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 in order to assure his people of the certainty of his promises (Heb. 6:13&ndash;20). He demonstrates that specific elements of the divine oath have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, guaranteeing the eventual consummation of the inaugurated promises of this oath and providing certain benefits that enable Christians to fulfill their divinely appointed mission. These embattled saints can endure attacks from their enemies because Jesus Christ is the anointed king who will utterly defeat his enemies, and he is the promised priest after the order of Melchizedek who grants direct access to his heavenly throne for the power to persevere faithfully in the last days. Therefore, the thesis is that the author of Hebrews views Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 as oaths of God, reassures his audience by proving that God is bringing to completion all the elements of his oaths, and encourages them to take advantage of the benefits provided by God&rsquo;s oaths.</p>

<p> The project director conducted the current project to improve his sermon delivery practices and skill level, better equipping him to combat the consequences of exposure to technology and consumerism in his congregation. He researched the impact of technology and consumerism on the ability of his listeners to absorb and retain sermon content. Once he identified consequences of exposure to technology and consumerism, the director researched which sermon delivery characteristics or mechanics he could use to abate such consequences. The director then implemented a sermon delivery methodology in his preaching to abate such consequences by consistently employing the identified characteristics and mechanics. He measured the effect of the delivery methodology on his listeners&rsquo; cognition through the use of a pre-test and post-test, administered to project participants. Surveys contained statements related to each participant&rsquo;s ability to understand and remember the content of the director&rsquo;s sermon in relation to various delivery characteristics and mechanics. Subjects responded to statements on a scale using strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree, and strongly disagree. Comparative analysis of survey results before and after project implementation revealed that consistent use of the identified delivery characteristics improved his listeners&rsquo; ability absorb and retain sermon content.</p>

<p> This study created a method for measuring the presence of Christian-voodoo syncretism in three Protestant denominations in the north of Haiti. Estimates of voodoo practice among Christians have ranged from 50% to 75%, a;though it is unclear how these percentages were derived. The researcher created a Voodoo-Protestant Scale (VPS), which tests for the presence of fourteen Christian-voodoo syncretistic practices and fifteen Christian-voodoo syncretistic beliefs. The VPS was written and administered in Creole, but the study contains an English translation. A scoring system for the VPS is also explained in Chapter Three, in which four points are counted for "strongly agree" and two points are counted for "agree" responses to <i>syncretistic practice</i> questions (PQs), and two points are counted for "strongly agree" responses and one point is counted for "agree" responses to <i>syncretistic belief </i> questions (BQs). Zero points were counted for "neutral," "disagree" or "strongly disagree." The VPS therefore had scores that ranged from zero to 88. The VPS allowed the researcher to make determinations about the extent of syncretism within the population (the percentage of the participants) as well as the depth of syncretism for each participant (the VPS score itself). The VPS was administered to 218 individuals who attended churches in the Church of God, Baptist, and Evangelical denominations in four urban areas (Milot, Plaine du Nord, Cap-Haitian Petite-Anse and Vaudreuil) and in three rural areas (Grand Bassin, La Jeune, and Maliarette). First, with respect to extent, the researcher discovered that 212 of 218 participants evidenced some syncretism of some kind (97%)&mdash;only 6 of 218 showed no trace of Christian-voodoo syncretism. Second, with respect to depth, the researcher discovered that 84 of 218 (39%) evidenced low syncretism (VPS scores from 1-14), 94 of 218 (43%) evidenced intermediate-level syncretism (VPS scores from 15&ndash;30), 25 of 218 (11%) evidenced high syncretism (VPS scores from 31&ndash;48), and 9 of 218 (4%) evidenced super-high levels (VPS scores from 50&ndash;88). Thus, these results offer a more nuanced picture of Christian-voodoo syncretism in Haiti. The study concludes with recommendations for church leaders.</p>

<p> Problem: This dissertation investigates the first century Greco-Roman cultural backgrounds and the literary context of the motif of the image of the beast in Rev 13:14, 15, in order to answer the problem of the author&rsquo;s intended meaning of the image of the beast to his first century Greco-Roman readers. Method: There are six steps necessary to accomplish the task of this dissertation. These steps are taken in the form of the exegetical studies which are done in six chapters, respectively. Following the introductory chapter, the second chapter is a brief history of the historical interpretations of the image of the beast in Rev 13:14, 15, starting with the interpretations from scholars of the first three centuries and continuing on to the present. This historical survey in Chapter 2 demonstrates that an in depth exegetical study of the image of the beast is much needed. Chapters 3-6 were an attempt to make up for this deficiency by providing an exegetical study of the image of the beast motif in its original cultural and literary context of the book of Revelation. Chapter 3 is a study of the image-of-the-beast motif within its immediate context of Revelation 13. Chapters 4-6 provide a study of the image-of-the-beast motif in the latter half of Revelation, i.e., Revelation 14-20, with Chapters 4-5 studying the image-of-the-beast motif in the chapters (Revelation 14-16, 19, and 20) in which this term occurs, and Chapter 6 studying this motif in the chapters (Revelation 17, 18) in which this term is absent. Conclusion: As I have come to see it, the narrative of Rev 13:14, 15 depicts the attempt of an unholy trinity to counteract God&rsquo;s goal for the plan of salvation, i.e., the restoration of Imago Dei in human beings in the last days by creating the image of the beast on Earth. The image of the beast is an end time entity, comprised of a community of people who reflect the character of the dragon, and has the three-fold religious-economic-political power to impose false worship on Earth. The image of the beast is best identified with the end time Babylon the Great of chapters 17-18.</p>

The figure of David in the narratives of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles has inspired and fascinated writers, artists and the devout since ancient times. They have been drawn by the complexity of the character, presented as chosen by Yahweh to be king of Israel, exhibiting strong traits of leadership, but as beset by weaknesses in human relationships. Can an "historic" David be discovered amidst the several characterizations? While a definitive answer is not possible, the recognition that the narratives contain differing characterizations frees the student to distinguish between elements that are common, such as David's blamelessness before Yahweh, and those that are unique to certain stories, such as David's anointing by Samuel. / A review of the biblical scholarship on these narratives is followed by a chapter on modern sociological-ethnographic studies of the early Israelite monarchy. The efforts of several scholars to apply modern literary approaches to biblical narrative focuses on the analysis of characterization in literature. (An Appendix presents a review of the work of Russian Formalists and French Structuralist narratologists.) Finally, eight fairly distinct characterizations of David are analyzed in the narratives, according to the degree of human traits presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-03, Section: A, page: 0963. / Major Professor: John F. Priest. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question, &ldquo;What is the theological understanding of congregational worship in the Bayside Church of Christ, Virginia Beach, Virginia?&rdquo; The Bayside Church of Christ, Virginia Beach, VA is an independent, middle-size church which is conservative in matters of theology, doctrine, and cultural worldview. The church has experienced healthy membership growth in demographic, racial, and ethnic integration, but faces potential challenges in sustaining congregational worship that reflects its diversity. It was the researcher&rsquo;s concern that the issue was due to the absence of an identifiable, articulated, and implemented theology of congregational worship in the context of the church&rsquo;s changing demographics. The church needed to understand and adapt to its evolving membership diversity so that greater participation, vitality, and mutuality in its congregational worship would be ensured. </p><p> The goal of the ministry project detailed herein was to identify the theology of congregational worship in the Bayside Church of Christ and assess whether authentic participation, vitality, and mutuality reflective of the church&rsquo;s diverse membership exist. It was believed that the church would benefit from a theological understanding and evaluation of its congregational worship in light of the church&rsquo;s diverse nature. The ministry project investigated and assessed the worship beliefs, experiences, and perceptions of the members. Formalized instruction was also offered on the role of diversity, inclusion, and vitality in congregational worship. </p><p> The ministry project concluded that a study of congregational worship in the Bayside Church of Christ led to greater awareness of the existing worship theology being shaped by the congregation&rsquo;s changing ethnicity and demographic makeup. It is believed that increased understanding can in turn increase participation, mutuality, and spiritual growth for the membership. This work is offered in the hopes that the Bayside Church of Christ along with other researchers, church leadership boards, and congregations will benefit from the effort to understand and improve congregational worship in Churches of Christ that possess ethnic, racial, and demographic diversity.</p><p>

<p> According to the Great Commission, the clear call of Christian leaders is to make disciples (Matt. 28:16-20). Many key Christian leaders and thinkers cite personal Bible reading as one of the key components to the life of a growing disciple. Unfortunately, research shows that many American Christians are not actively reading the Bible outside of Sunday morning services (Stetzer, 2012). Thus, a mixed-methods study was done of a group of infrequent Bible readers from Crossway Church to assess the impact of the SOAP method of Bible reading on their spiritual lives. The group committed to reading one chapter of the Bible using the SOAP method five days a week for nine weeks. Qualitative interviews were conducted after the nine weeks, and the results of the participants' pre- and post-group Transformational Discipleship Assessment scores were analyzed to determine the kind of impact consistent Bible reading had on their lives. The researcher found significant spiritual growth in the lives of those who participated. Implications for the researcher's church as well as the local church at large are articulated in this dissertation.</p><p>

No description available.

<p> In this study of Christian spirituality, I examine the dynamics of shame within post-Holocaust biblical hermeneutics and demonstrate how hospitality might function as an alternative hermeneutic. Shame can serve two hermeneutical functions for those biblical scholars who strive to interpret the bible without perpetuating Christian anti-Judaism or supersessionism. First, shame can be transformative. As a biblical scholar encounters a biblical text with anti-Jewish potential, the experience of shame for this potential allows a biblical scholar a means by which the biblical text can be appropriated. Through this experience of shame, the biblical scholar's identity as a post- Holocaust Christian is reinforced and, therefore, transformed. Second, the biblical scholar who experiences shame for a biblical text's anti-Jewish potential might recast this shame through practices of interpretive shaming. These practices stigmatize the biblical text, general readers, and Christianity for their complicity in perpetuating Christian anti-Judaism. Practices of stigmatizing shaming can be problematic because, through the process of shaming, the text, its readers, and Christianity are deemed to be flawed without hope for reform.</p><p> One way to end this cycle of shaming is to develop interpretive practices that transignify shame. Through such practices, a biblical scholar might still experience shame for a biblical text's anti-Jewish potential, but this shame is not recast. One option for the transignification of shame is through the use of interpretive practices of hospitality. These interpretive practices encourage a post-Holocaust biblical interpreter to approach a biblical text's anti-Jewish potential with a spirit of openness while still setting limits for acceptable interpretation. In order to demonstrate this hermeneutic of hospitality, I use the interpretive practices of hospitality to provide a post-Holocaust interpretation of Rublev's <i>Trinity</i> icon and Genesis 18:1-15.</p>

<p> The "Breath of Fresh Air" project explores the potential for a "Circle of the Word" ministry model to spiritually empower incarcerated men and women while deepening the discipleship of local church members through relationship with imprisoned persons. Circle of the Word is a biblical storytelling workshop structured by peacemaking circle processes. The model was implemented with men at a state prison and women at a county jail. Volunteers from a local church assisted with the jail program. Data results affirm the model's potential. As a spiritual intervention, Circle of the Word joins the restorative justice movement to end mass incarceration.</p>