Download or read book From a Soldier of Rome to a Soldier for Christ written by Lawrence H. Balleine and published by CSS Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Give your congregation a new perspective on the Easter story with this chancel drama that depicts the familiar events of Jesus' death and resurrection from the viewpoint of a Roman soldier. A series of brief vignettes portrays the soldier's transformation into a follower of Christ, and the drama climaxes as the soldier announces his new identity while the setting is altered. Congregational participation is encouraged through the singing of hymns between each scene. This adaptable piece is easy to stage and can be presented by any number of youth or adults (or a combination of age groups); most of the speaking is done by a narrator who speaks from the pulpit, so there's no need to memorize extensive dialogue. A list of props and costumes is included, along with simple instructions for the setting. Performance time is approximately thirty minutes. Lawrence H. Balleine is the pastor of Zwingli United Church of Christ in Monticello, Wisconsin. He previously served congregations in Indiana and Michigan. Balleine is a graduate of Lakeland College and Vanderbilt University Divinity School.

Download or read book Soldier of Christ written by Robert A. Ventresca and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Debates over the legacy of Pope Pius XII and his canonization are so heated they are known as the “Pius wars.” Soldier of Christ moves beyond competing caricatures and considers Pius XII as Eugenio Pacelli, a flawed and gifted man. While offering insight into the pope’s response to Nazism, Robert A. Ventresca argues that it was the Cold War and Pius XII’s manner of engaging with the modern world that defined his pontificate. Laying the groundwork for the pope’s controversial, contradictory actions from 1939 to 1958, Ventresca begins with the story of Pacelli’s Roman upbringing, his intellectual formation in Rome’s seminaries, and his interwar experience as papal diplomat and Vatican secretary of state. Accused of moral equivocation during the Holocaust, Pius XII later fought the spread of Communism in Western Europe, spoke against the persecution of Catholics in Eastern Europe and Asia, and tackled a range of social and political issues. By appointing the first indigenous cardinals from China and India and expanding missions in Africa while expressing solidarity with independence movements, he internationalized the church’s membership and moved Catholicism beyond the colonial mentality of previous eras. Drawing from a diversity of international sources, including unexplored documentation from the Vatican, Ventresca reveals a paradoxical figure: a prophetic reformer of limited vision whose leadership both stimulated the emergence of a global Catholicism and sowed doubt and dissension among some of the church’s most faithful servants.

Download or read book The Witness of a Roman Soldier written by Doyle Hammon and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2017-06-20 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple. He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. The Pilate commanded the body to be dilevered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting against the sepulcher. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, "After three days I will rise again." Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse that the first." Pilate said unto them "Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can." So they went and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch. (Matthew 27:57-66) In the end of the Sabbath, as it begun to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women "Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." (Matthew 28:1-6) Is it not possible and reasonable as well that the "watch," also referred to as the "keepers," were young Roman soldiers Carsus and Felix and that they were witness to the great event described in the above scripture?

Download or read book Soldiering for God written by John F. Shean and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2010-08-23 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses the role of Christians in the Roman military. Constantine’s conversion to Christianity led to the accelerated Christianization of the Roman army. The result was the creation of a Christian fighting force that was used to suppress paganism and Christian heresy.

Download or read book The Story of a Roman Soldier written by Mark Guy Pearse and published by . This book was released on 1899 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the story of the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his sick slave, using both a personal interpretation of the verses and a fictional depiction.

Download or read book The Victorious Christian Soldier in Christ s Army written by Urian Oakes and published by Puritan Publications. This book was released on 2020-08-28 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to be a conqueror in Christ's army? In fact, the question really is, what does it mean to be not only a conqueror, but more than a conqueror and good soldier in Christ's ranks? Oakes, in this wonderful work on answering that question, dives deep into Paul’s statement in Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” The truth proclaimed by Oakes is that there is a “more than ordinary triumph” over all those enemies that oppose themselves against the progress and advancement of a Christian in his way to the fruition of the sweet fruits of the everlasting love of God in Jesus Christ. That all true believers have a transcendent, and incomparably glorious conquest and victory in all their severe engagements with the enemies of their peace and happiness, through the love of God in Christ Jesus. Every true believer is a soldier, and engaged in a warfare. Every true believer has a constant fighting work before God, and there is no end of his war in this world, not any time in which he can stop fighting. Yet, a true believer is never totally and absolutely conquered in any engagement with the enemies that war against him. Every true believer manages a successful war, and is sure of a conquest. A believer’s victory and conquest are incomparably glorious. Every believer obtains this glorious victory and conquest through the Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God in Christ is the absolute first cause of those victorious proceedings, and this infallible conquest of believers. These believers are the greatest soldiers who have ever lived, and are comforted in their fight by the blessings of Almighty God through Christ. All believers must know and consider that they are soldiers in Christ’s army, and have a fighting work, a warfare, before them until they reach heaven. They must, as faithful soldiers, improve their skill in fighting, and harness the spiritual power of the everlasting Gospel of Jesus for their victory. We wait, and pray, and look, and long for that glorious day, when our warfare shall be ended, and we shall go out of the field victorious, and triumphant, as absolute conquerors. This work is not a scan or facsimile, has been carefully transcribed by hand being made easy to read in modern English, and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Download or read book Echoes of a Prophet written by Gary T. Manning Jr. and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2004-12-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Echoes of a Prophet examines intertextual connections to Ezekiel found in John and in Second Temple literature. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain many allusions to a number of Ezekiel's oracles, while other Second Temple works refer to only a few of Ezekiel's oracles, and those only rarely. In each case, Manning examines the evidence for the presence of the allusions, studies the implied interpretational methods, and comments on the function of the allusion in advancing the author's ideas. He also analyzes John's allusions to Ezekiel: the good shepherd, the vine, the opened heavens, imagery from the "dry bones" vision, and water symbolism. He observes that John has a few unique tendencies: he alludes to all five of Ezekiel's "oracles of hope" and primarily uses that imagery to describe the giving of the Holy Spirit and new life through Jesus.

Download or read book Soldiers of Christ written by Thomas F. X. Noble and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Roman Army and the New Testament written by Christopher B. Zeichmann and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though New Testament scholars have written extensively on the Roman Empire, the topic of the military has been conspicuously neglected, leading many academics to defer to popular wisdom. Against this trend, The Roman Army and the New Testament provides a clear discussion of issues that are often taken for granted: Who served in the military of early Roman Palestine? Why did men join the Roman army, seemingly at odds with their own interests as subject peoples? What roles did soldiers serve beyond combat? How did civilians interact with and perceive soldiers? These questions are answered through careful analysis of ancient literature, inscriptions, papyri, and archaeological findings to paint a detailed portrait of soldier-civilian interactions in early Roman Palestine. Contrary to common assumption, Judaea and Galilee were not crawling with Roman legionaries with a penchant for cruelty. Rather, a diverse mix of men from Palestine and nearby regions served as soldiers in a variety of social roles: infrastructure construction, dispute mediation, bodyguarding officials like tax-collectors, etc. Readers will discover a variety of complex attitudes civilians held toward men of Roman violence throughout the Roman East. The importance of these historical issues for biblical scholarship is demonstrated through a verse-by-verse commentary on relevant passages that stretches across the entire New Testament, from the Slaughter of the Innocents in Matthew’s nativity to the climactic battle with the Great Beast in Revelation. Biblical scholars, seminarians, and military enthusiasts will find much to learn about the Roman army in both the New Testament and early Roman Palestine.

Download or read book Speaking of Jesus written by Carl Medearis and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some of us fear moments when we need to defend our theology. Some of us seek them out. But we are seldom ready the way Jesus seemed to be ready. So how do we draw others to God in the midst of these ordinary conversations the way Jesus did? In Speaking of Jesus, Carl Medearis draws on his experience of international reconciliation between Muslims and Christians to remind us of the heart of the matter: Jesus. Here he gives us tools, stories, and the foundation we need to move beyond “us” and “them” and simply talk about the One who changes it all. As Carl writes, “While others are explaining and defending various isms and ologies we’re simply pointing people to our friend. The one who uncovers and disarms. Who leads people right to himself. The beginning and the end of the story. A good story indeed.”

Download or read book Early Christians Adapting to the Roman Empire written by Niko Huttunen and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Early Christians Adapting to the Roman Empire: Mutual Recognition Niko Huttunen challenges the interpretation of early Christian texts as anti-imperial documents. He presents examples of the positive relationship between early Christians and the Roman society. With the concept of “recognition” Huttunen describes a situation in which the parties can come to terms with each other without full agreement. Huttunen provides examples of non-Christian philosophers recognizing early Christians. He claims that recognition was a response to Christians who presented themselves as philosophers. Huttunen reads Romans 13 as a part of the ancient tradition of the law of the stronger. His pioneering study on early Christian soldiers uncovers the practical dimension of recognizing the empire.

Download or read book The Young Roman Soldier written by Paulette Sizemore and published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-11-03 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marcus, who is the main character in the book The Young Roman Soldier, begins his saga remembering the many times that he and his father spent in his father's sitting room having "man-to-man" talks. One of his father's usual gruesome tales was about the time that he and his band of evil Roman soldiers had gone out into the countryside and had slaughtered hundreds of innocent Jewish male children-all which were under two years old. The purpose of the massacre was to kill the "dreaded" Christ Child, who was prophesied in the Jewish scriptures to be their future King and Messiah. Both Caesar and King Herod had given the cruel soldier all the glory and honor for having done the job well. The young man also elaborates on the many tragedies that he as a child had endured, from his baby sister's having been taken out into the wilderness and left to die, to the unexpected deaths of both of his parents. He then speaks about his life as a Roman soldier and how that he finally discovered the truth about the death of the Christ Child. When he knelt at the bottom of the cross of Jesus, he realized, as he touched His bloodstained feet, that he, Marcus, was touching the feet of the real Christ Man-the Son of God. From that day, his life was changed forever, and he experienced real unconditional love for the first time.

Download or read book The Soldier Who Killed a King written by David Kitz and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A stunning story of Holy Week through the eyes of a Roman centurion Watch the triumphal entry of the donkey-riding king through the eyes of Marcus Longinus, the centurion charged with keeping the streets from erupting into open rebellion. Look behind the scenes at the political plotting of King Herod, known as the scheming Fox for his ruthless shrewdness. Get a front-row seat to the confrontation between the Jewish high priest Caiaphas and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Understand as never before the horror of the decision to save a brutal terrorist in order to condemn the peaceful Jew to death. If you've heard the story of Passion Week so often it's become stale, now is the time to rediscover the terrible events leading from Jesus's humble ride into the city to his crucifixion. The Soldier Who Killed a King will stun you afresh with how completely Christ's resurrection changed history, one life at a time.

Download or read book Life of a Roman Soldier written by Don Nardo and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains how the discipline, courage, and preparation of the Roman soldier combined with the strategies and tactics of his commander and the organization of the military establishment resulted in the conquest of many lands for the Roman Empire.

Download or read book The Soldier of Christ written by mère Marie-Loyola and published by . This book was released on 1904 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Onward Christian Soldier written by MSG (RET) James Kennard II and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2024-02-23 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MSG Kennard will help you navigate through the following: Can Christians serve in the Military? What are the pitfalls of military service? What are some great take aways of military service? What about becoming an officer? Should you go active duty or join the National Guard/Reserves?

Download or read book A Tribute to a Converted Soldier written by Rev. Martin Francis Edior and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2012-05-31 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There was a Roman soldier whose name was Saul. He was appointed by the Jewish council to put a stop with the conversion of the Jewish citizens who were converting to Christianity. His assignments were to imprisoned or crucify anyone who was worshipping in the Christians faith or spoke the words of Christianity. They sent him to Damascus to investigate and to arrest if necessary, as he and his company of soldiers were travelling on this road to Damascus, a dazzling, bright light shone down from the heavens and struck him off his horse. The others scampered away with fright. Saul remained on the ground when a loud voice was heard saying, Saul! Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Saul shaking with fright answered nervously, Who are you Lord? The voice replied, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Meanwhile his soldiers had calmed their horses and stood by as they observed their Centurion lying on the ground as he responded to the voice. Saul asked, Lord, what do you want me to do? The voice replied, Arise and go into the city and you will be told what to do. Saul tried to opened his eyes to see and found out that he was blind as he howled out, I am blind, I cannot see anyone or anything. His soldiers friends went to him and helped him on his horse as they quickly departed to the city as instructed. In that city there was a disciple named Ananias, the Lord visited him in a vision and instructed him saying, Arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold he is praying. Ananias replied to the Lord, Lord I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem and you want me to go to him? Yes, you must go for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, Kings, and to the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake. Ananias obeyed the Lord and went to Saul and healed him. After a few days he had recovered his sight and his health. Ananias and the few disciples who resided there invited him into their fold. They baptized him and immediately, the power of the Holy Spirit overpowered him and he went and began his preaching with boldness and without fear. They changed his name to Apostle Paul. Soon the Jewish leaders found out that their centurion soldier was now a Christian and so they were totally disappointed with him. They began to plot in arresting him for his betraying of his duties as a Roman soldier sworn to abide with their demands and orders. Saul was not afraid of their threats but as time went on with his ministry with the doctrine of Jesus Christ, they finally captured him and put him into prison as they tried to figured out his crimes against their policies. During this time in prison, he began writing many letters to the various churches and to his friends, Timothy, Titus, Philemon and others with words of encouragement, consolations and advices. Today those same words of encouragement, consolations and advices are bestowed upon us. Let us too be aware . . . .