Little Bit Of Scripture On Sunday Morning example essay topic

I can't think of a time when I didn't believe Christ was my Savior. I cant' think of a time when I wouldn't have answered, "Yes, I have a personal relationship with Christ". But I can think of a time (a long, long time) when that relationship was on my terms and by my rules. I can think of a time when I listened to a little bit of scripture on Sunday morning - but it had no place in my life the rest of the week. I was born into an Episcopalian family. I was baptized as an infant.

I attended church every Sunday, religious education on Wednesdays, and Bible camp in the summer. Scripture was something that was recited by the priest at our Sunday service. Often my eyes had glazed over by the time the congregation responded with, "Praise be to thee, O Christ". Outside of Sunday service, scripture did not play a big part in our lives. In fact, I've heard it said (with almost a sense of pride) that, "Episcopalians don't evangelize". In college, I roomed with a friend from my church.

Looking back, I can't think of one conversation we ever had about faith, God, Jesus, or scripture. We both came from families who wouldn't think of missing Sunday service or Sunday school. But it was definitely a Sunday thing. It was kind of a private thing. We were good people. We believed Jesus was our Savior.

It's just that He was a really, really personal Savior -- we didn't wear Him on our sleeve. My second year of college, I stopped going to church. It felt so good to sleep in on Sunday morning. I was still a good person - I was just taking a little break.

I believed in Jesus, and I stilled prayed to God here and there. But the little bit of Scripture that I had been exposed to on Sunday was now fading. I was on my way to making my rules for living, instead of living by God's rules. After college, I got married. Six years later we had our first child.

At that time, I decided to go back to church and make sure my child was baptized and had a religious education. I re-joined the Episcopal church I had grown up in. Four years later, not long after my second child was born, my father passed away unexpectedly, and I discovered my husband was having an extramarital relationship. You might think that I would have turned immediately to my priest and to people in my church. I didn't.

Church was still this Sunday thing. During this period, I remember feeling so much hurt and pain. But I can also remember feeling better when I worked on forgiving. I remember feelings of comfort and contentment washing over me, encouraging me to move on with life.

Looking back, I know it was God taking care of me. I'm grateful He didn't respond with, "Sorry, I'm only available on Sunday between 9: 00 and 10: 00". The crisis passed. In spite of all the comfort God had given me during that painful time, I didn't recognize it or give him credit. Church was still in its designated spot - Sunday morning. Over the next few years my life really fell into place.

I had a control that I had never experienced before. I was climbing a career ladder at work, I was doing a great job as a single parent raising two children, and I was financially sound. John came into my life a few years after my divorce. I can look back and recognize it was part of God's plan. At the time, however, I just thought I was lucky to have John and two sweet little girls come into my life.

John and I married. Our life had two careers going, a bigger house, a bigger garden, two to four children, and all the activities that come with children. With all our activities, I skipped church a few times. It sure felt good to sleep in on Sunday. Soon I skipped more often. Finally I quit going all together.

Under my rules, this was okay. God knew I was still a good person and that I believed in Jesus. Life went on this way until three of our teenage children got invited to youth groups. All three went on to commit their lives to Jesus. Our children prayed for us and brought other Christians into our lives who prayed for us. Those prayers were powerful.

Those prayers had to open my eyes to the fact that I was not living by God's laws. Those prayers had to soften my heart so that I would be willing to accept God's Laws. It was not long ago that I said things like: "I don't think we should pray to God for little things - think of all the people with big problems he is busy helping". Or things like: "If I do go back to Church, Sunday service will be the extent of my participation". Then I changed my stance a little, and said things like: "Well, I'll join a small group, but I'm not going to evangelize". Most recently, I've found myself saying: "Okay, I accept that God commands me to worship, to be a participating member of God's family, to model my actions after Christ, to serve believers, and to share the Good News with unbelievers".

A few weeks ago, I had lunch with my friend, Judy - a friend who took me under her wing 18 years ago when I went through my divorce. Judy almost always has two to three people under her wing who need support and guidance. I was really excited about giving her a copy of The Purpose Driven Life. She excitedly accepted the book, and said she knew just the person she was going to lend it to. This was a small action on my part, but it's a step forward in accepting God's control. If you ask me today whether I have a personal relationship with Jesus, my "yes" is much different from my "yes" in the past.

It's a "yes" based on God being in control and based on God's Laws - not mine. My heart is open to obeying God and putting him at the center of my daily life.