Blog Post #4: Prayer

Blog Post #4: Prayer

A Written Response By Lily Jeffs

1. What are new things that you learned about prayer from this unit? Be specific.

I learned many new things about prayer within this unit that I was personally able to relate to my specific practice of prayer. With this, I learned that prayer is a way for people to communicate with God to address different personal thoughts including requests for help or giving thanks to others. Prayer is also a primary way for a believer of Jesus Christ and other prominent religious figures such as Mary to communicate their emotions and desires with and become closer to including the religion of Christianity as a whole. Many types of prayer include a silent personal prayer (recognizing God in silence), Lectio Divina (listening and discussing scripture), meditation, and recited prayer. Personally, I sometimes pray to God if I feel that I am in need of help, but I usually speak with others including my parents or siblings before I communicate with God. With saying this, I like that prayer is very personal and allows me to connect with God and his spirit as if he was with me and fully understands my thoughts. Prayer is ultimately a direct way to become closer with different religious figures who can help assist those who seek help in life. An image that evidently reflects the theme of prayer is shown below in which a follower of Christianity is shown praying to the holy cross that connects himself to Jesus Christ and allows him to gain help and wisdom from the Son of God.

2. Can you see yourself implementing any new prayer practices?

After thoroughly learning about what prayer is within the religion of Christianity, I can see myself implementing some of these practices within my religious life. Specifically, I am interested in writing a letter to God about what I need help with in life as well as discuss I am grateful for. This would allow me to organize and express my thoughts and connect with God as if he was a close friend. I also want to begin reciting more traditional prayers that are found throughout the Bible. Specifically, I would turn to a different page of the Bible each morning and choose a quote I find inspirational in which I would try to connect this quote throughout the rest of that day. A third prayer practice I would consider applying to myself is the daily examine. With this, I would be able to reflect on the different things that happened throughout the week solely with God and use it to inspire myself to continue living each day at a time and focus on the different positive and negative moments that occurred within each day. An image that evidently reflects these proposed prayer exercises is shown below in which someone is praying to God whilst reading different Biblical passages that represents the practice of reciting religious prayers whilst communicating with God.

3. What were the main messages you got from the movie The Case for Christ?

I learned many different messages relating to God and Christ within the movie The Case for Christ. With this, I was taught by the character of Leslie and her religious mentor and friend known as Alfie that God forgives all of his followers in which everything happens for a reason in the name of Christ. I was also taught that God's love is unconditional and that he is there to guide us when we are in need of help. As specifically stated by Leslie from John 1:12 towards Lee after he tells her that he has accepted Christianity, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." When reflecting on this quote, it has greatly influenced my life by showing me that God's message and Jesus' passion towards Christianity allows any who encounter this religion have the ability to become attached to it. This quote also showed me that God holds an everlasting amount of power that can be used to heal myself as well as guide me through certain situations when needed. Conclusively, The Case for Christ increased my understanding of who God and Jesus were as well as the major role they can play in one's life. An image that evidently reflects these messages is shown below in which Jesus is shown sharing God's message to different children and teaching them about the religion of Christianity, similarly to how Alfie taught Leslie more about God by taking her to her church.

4. What new things did you take away about yourself from this unit, perhaps from Lectio Divina, the Gratitude class, the meditation, or the movie?

I learned many new things about myself from this unit. Specifically, I was able to identify the types of prayer I enjoy practicing and what my relation with God was like before and after completing this unit. I was also given the opportunity to reflect on different things that I was grateful for that I wouldn't of been able to identify without taking part in this assignment. Apart from just my personal experiences, this unit also allowed me to connect with my peers and have an understanding of how they interpreted different prayer pieces. This also gave me the opportunity to increase my understanding of the relations various religious figures had with each other after reading the Bible in this activity. After watching the movie, I was given a thorough understanding of how Jesus and God can impact one's life and what role they play in the Christian society as a whole. This unit ultimately taught me many different things relating to God, Jesus, the Bible, and accepting this through the personal form of gratitude. An image that evidently reflects these messages is shown below in which Mary is given Jesus as a blessing from God so that she can care for him and share is word of Christianity and compassion to others, similarly to my experience where I learned more about God through sources including The Case for Christ and reading different Bible verses.

Works Cited

Allison, Cat. “Grasp God.” Pinterest, 28 Dec. 2014, www.pinterest.com/pin/312296555385713340/. 

“Embroidery.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/183451384796960682/.

Jesus Clip Art Black And White | Clipart Panda - Free Clipart Images, www.clipartpanda.com/categories/jesus-clip-art-black-and-white.

“Leadership Quotes And Lessons From The Case For Christ Movie.” Brian Dodd on Leadership, 8 Apr. 2017, briandoddonleadership.com/2017/04/08/28-leadership-quotes-and-lessons-from-the-case-for-christ-movie/. 

Madlen “Praying Hands.” Pinterest, 8 July 2013, www.pinterest.com/pin/388857749046471104/.

Blog Post #3: The 4 Gospel Writers

Blog Post #3: The 4 Gospel Writers

A Written Response By Lily Jeffs

1. What are specific things that you learned about the Gospel Writers from the group presentations?

When reflecting on the group presentations, I learned many different things relating to the 4 Gospel Writers found within the Bible. With this, I learned that Mark was a religious figure who wrote to the Gentiles within 70 A.D (during the time of the Jewish revolt) to proclaim Jesus' good work even though he wasn't an eyewitness and instead got this information through his friend known as Peter. His book was also originally written in Greek and symbolized a winged lion. Apart from what I learned about The Gospel According To Mark, I also learned about Matthew in which he was a man who wrote to the Jewish people within 55 - 60 A.D to teach them about who Jesus was as a reflection of his earlier work of traveling with Jesus as an eyewitness to his story. His work was similarly written in Greek and symbolized a winged man. The third Gospel I learned about was the Gospel According To Luke, in which it was written for the Gentiles within 70 - 100 A.D to share Jesus' teachings and to show how Christianity wasn't biased using the information he had learned from Paul. This writing piece was also originally written in Greek and symbolized a winged bull. Lastly, I learned that the Gospel According To John was written to within 90 A.D to the Gentiles and the Jews to show that Jesus was the son of God and believed in the eternal life using the information he had gathered from being one of Jesus' favorite disciples. An eagle looking into the sun acts as a symbol for this work that was originally written in Greek. All in all, I learned various things relating to the gospel writers of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John within these project presentations. To correlate with this reflection, I chose the photo shown below because it includes a visualization for modern day viewers for what each of the writers looked like through their symbols and the major role they play in the church and the religion of Christianity today.

2. Based on class discussion, what were similarities you saw within the 4 Gospel readings?

There were many similarities I noticed within the 4 Gospel readings. With this, it is shown that they were all originally written in Greek as this was a very common language spoken and read during this time. It was also shown that all 4 symbols are winged because they symbolize the characters found within the Book of Revelations. These readings were all written between 50 and 100 A.D that greatly contributes to style of writing each historical figure holds and is written towards the Gentiles and the Jewish people. While Mark and Luke weren't eyewitnesses to Jesus' life, Matthew and John were, therefore forming many similarities between these two separate pairs of writing including the amount of detail they include about Jesus. When reflecting on the specific similarities, all four Gospels include a scene where revolutionaries abuse Jesus. They also share the fact that Jesus was all powerful and forgiving and was the mighty son of God. Conclusively, the 4 Gospel readings hold many similarities that were specifically noticed by me during the class presentations and discussions. One image that correlates with these similarities is shown below in which all 4 writers are pictured together, indicating that they act as a unity to portray Jesus' story to others.

3. Based on class discussion, what were differences you saw within the 4 Gospel readings?

There were many differences I noticed within the 4 Gospel readings. With this, it is shown that each writer has a different symbol that represents their stories. They are also written during different time periods that has an effect on the style of writing and information included within these readings. When reflecting on the specific contrasts between these Biblical stories, Matthew and Mark describe a different story describing the guards standing at the tomb and the saints being raised during Jesus' burial. Furthermore, an area known as the Skull that is shown within The Gospel According To Luke is different compared to these stories. A scene that is also contributes to the differences found within these readings is found within the Book of John in which unlike with others, Jesus' legs aren't broken and instead blood and water comes out of him that isn't noted within Luke, Matthew, or Mark's story. It is ultimately shown that the 4 Gospel readings have both similarities and differences that greatly contribute to the making of Jesus' main story. With this, one image that represents these contrasts is shown below in which all four writers and their symbols are facing each other, showing that each of their works are put against each other and compared to distinguish the different viewpoints of Jesus' life.

4. From information you gathered from the presentations and class discussions, which Gospel would you prefer to read and why?

After reading through the notes I took on the 4 Gospel Writers, I would prefer to read the Gospel According To Matthew. Because he personally knew Jesus as a friend and eyewitness and travelled with him, I would be reading information published by someone who had actually seen Jesus and knew him well. Consequently, I would be given the opportunity to fully relate and understand a true description of who Jesus was that might even convince me to start praying to Jesus instead of just God after learning more about his story. Because Matthew was so close with Jesus, reading his Gospel would also give me an accurate insight to who Jesus was as a person and how he lived his day - to - day life. Matthew also published his Gospel only about 20 years after Jesus' death, therefore allowing it to be a recent account on the interactions he held with Jesus. Matthew's Gospel is ultimately the most accountable for describing Jesus' story due to the strong relation he held with him as well as the close publishing date of his Gospel in relation Jesus' life. With this, one image that correlates with my preferred Gospel is shown below in which Jesus is personally calling on Matthew to join him on his travels, therefore showing viewers that they held a close relationship that Matthew's Gospel was solely based on.

Works Cited

          “Christian Symbols | Four Gospels.” PreachingSymbols, www.preachingsymbols.com/the-four-      evangelists.html.

          “Jesus Calls Matthew Coloring Page | Free Printable Coloring Pages.” Super Coloring, 28 Oct. 2014, www.supercoloring.com/pages/jesus-calls-matthew.

           “ГРАВЮРИ.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/hkrysko/%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%B8/.

            Wilson, June. “Reading the Gospels in Perfect Harmony.” June's Journal, 1 July 2012, junesjournal.com/reading-the-gospels-in-perfect-harmony/.

*All other information is from the class presentations