Week 3 - THE CORE BELIEF

Session delivered by Rachel (info taken from PPT)

THE LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE LIFE OF JESUS?:
Most of the evidence about the life of Jesus comes from the accounts in the Gospels, but references to Jesus can also be found in the writings of Jewish and Roman historians eg Tacitus and Josephus who lived at around the same time. From these we learn that:
Before Jesus’ birth an angel told Mary that her child would be the Son of God. Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem in Judea (now part of Israel).
Choirs of angels announced his birth to shepherds, and Wise Men from the East visited him.
When Jesus was in his late twenties he began to teach and perform miracles. He gathered around him large number of followers, called disciples.

Why was Jesus executed:
His teaching upset the Jewish leaders and they called for his execution, saying that he had offended against the Jewish religion (blasphemy) and was also a threat to the authority of the Roman Empire.
The Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate ordered his execution by crucifixion.
His disciples said that three days after his death Jesus rose again, and appeared to them on various occasions. Eventually they saw him ascend from the earth and return to Heaven.

Understand the importance to Christians of Jesus’ death and resurrection:
By allowing his own son to die, God showed his love for the world.
Because Jesus died to save everyone from sin, his death means that all people have been given salvation.

How Jesus’ Sacrifice (death and resurrection) affects people’s lives today:
Suffering has meaning. People offer their suffering up for other people just as Jesus offered his suffering up for us.
 because Jesus rose from the dead, though you may have to suffer for a while- it will pass just as Jesus’ suffering and death passed.
 Jesus has given us Confession so that our sins can be forgiven, we can be healed and make a new start.
 because Jesus has forgiven us, we can show greater forgiveness to others.

Why is the Resurrection important to Christians? 
The resurrection is important because it is proof that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is the incarnation, God in human form on earth for only God can rise from the dead.
    Also the resurrection means that those who truly believe in Jesus will have eternal life in heaven with the father and death and sin will have been overcome.
    The resurrection brings back to all the believers the good creation and that God created the world for good. When Jesus rose from the dead he gave freedom from sins to his people.
   Jesus sacrificed his life for us and to cleanse the world of sin which was confirmed when he rose again, this was an act of love.

Message from Joanna

Following post is direct copy of information written by Joanna:

We are now a quarter way through our programme and I would like to thank everyone, speakers and participants alike, for making it so enjoyable for me to organise.We began with a look at prayer - which is the life-blood of our relationship with God.  A healthy spiritual life has a balance of prayer with others and private prayer.
We then looked at Salvation History whereby the Jewish people came to understand that they had a relationship with the One True God, and how that understanding matured over the centuries, culminating in the birth of the Messiah.
We then faced the central question - do we believe that the historic figure, Jesus, is indeed truly God and man and did he rise from the dead?  If we accept that truth we can call ourselves Christians
And last week we saw how the Holy Spirit is central to understanding of God and to our ability to live the Christian life.
There is something I have been meaning to ask, but haven't yet...
Does anyone have any views on "inclusive language"?  When talking about God I try to avoid "He" but it can sometimes result in clumsy English.  However I do know that some people have strong views on this - so please tell me what you think.
Meanwhile, if you are on holiday, enjoy the break, and I hope to see you all next week. 
God Bless you all, Joanna

Week 4 - The Holy Spirit

Many thanks to Norbert for an fantastic session with some great information that provided for a very thought provoking session. Summary as provided by Norbert is as follows:

We discussed names and symbols of the Holy Spirit, amongst
them the dove, water, flames of fire, and the anointment with oil.
Then we discussed the role of the Holy Spirit in the Scripture and Church.
We Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God and fully a person.
In the Old Testament the Spirit was only given to selected people
(priests, prophets and leaders). After Jesus' death and resurrection,
he sent us all the Holy Spirit as our counselor, comforter and helper.
As "true
children of God'' we all receive diverse gifts and the same fruit from
the Holy Spirit.
Together, we are all members of one Church (like different parts of one
body).
Being open to the Holy Spirit, each of us can individually become a temple
of the Holy Spirit.

Week 2 - Salvation History

Week 2 - Salvation History
Session led by Erica Smith
Outline of topics discussed :
St Matthew began his biography of Jesus, 'This is the geneology of Jesus the Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham'.
Hopefully after our whirlwind tour of the Bible we are able to understand more clearly the way in which the most significant "covenant mediators", Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus fit into 'The Greatest Story ever told'.
We can now see the 'big picture' that will help us make more sense of the selections from the Bible that we hear in Mass or read on our own and hopefully we can appreciate in Jesus' words and actions reminders of Adam, Moses, David and other great covenant mediators.

Group then discussed their own personal histories in small discussion groups.

Week 1 - Prayer led by Marie Melia (details to follow)

Welcome

Hi All
This blog has been created with the intention of posting information relating to the weekly sessions of the 'Journey In Faith' Group 2012.

The group meets on a Thursday evening at 7.30pm in the Jubilee Room and the meetings are open to anyone who wishes to come.

There are three reasons to come to the meetings:

• You are not a Catholic and are curious about what we believe and why
• You are a Catholic but would like a ‘refresher course’
• You would like to support interested non – Catholics as they explore their response to Catholic teaching.

It was my suggestion that this blog may provide a platform for people to discuss the concepts raised during the weekly sessions and allow members to post their thoughts and start discussions.