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is an informal way to investigate
Christianity or just brush up on the basics. It explores who Jesus is, why He
came and what it means to follow Him.
You
don't need to know anything about the Bible.
You
won't be asked to read aloud, pray or sing.
You
can ask any question you want but you won't be asked a question.
We
have
just completed the latest course. Contact
darren@stcatherinestranmere.co.uk
for details of our next course.
More
general information on Christianity Explored may be found at christianityexplored.org
You
may like to read the testimonies of two people who completed a recent course we
held:
Who are you?
Claire Jones. I recently married David Jones in August 2007. I’m
28 and work in the Computing Services Department at The University of
Liverpool. We live in Prenton together with our pet cat Mr Moo.
What were you like?
I was brought up in Prenton, Birkenhead and went to Woodchurch High School
and then went straight to work. I was never brought up to be any religion
but was never told what to believe or not about anything. My mum’s side
of the family have never been churchgoers, except for occasions such as weddings
and christenings. My main experience of church and religion came from my
Dad’s Mum who was raised and continued to be a Catholic for her whole
life. I was christened this way and occasionally went to Sunday services
with my Nan. As I got older, I just saw it as something she did and never
understood why it was important to her or anyone. When I met Dave, St
Catherine’s was brought into my life but on an occasional basis and more
because Dave’s family regularly attended Sunday services. My main aims
in life were to get a good job and to have fun.
What changed your mind?
My mind was changed relatively recently. Dave and I had always wanted
to get married in church but at the beginning it was more about the setting and
the people we had met at church rather than for any other reasons. My mind
started to change when we were invited by Darren to do a short course on getting
married under God. This brought to the forefront about what Christianity
is about, what it meant to take our vows under him and what it means to/for the
people who witness it. After our marriage, we attended Christianity
Explored, which explained many of the foundations of Christianity to me and
helped me to understand and be less cynical about believing in Him. For
example, I had always questioned Christianity in a science fact based way and
never really received any answers that satisfied me until Christianity
Explored. I realised I had to accept certain things and basically have
faith in the truth.
What’s the best thing about being a Christian?
The main thing is knowing that God loves me and watches over me over
everything I do and think. This has made me think before I do and say a
lot of things. It also makes me feel like there is always someone there
and gives me confidence to make decisions about things. I also have
someone I can always talk to when I need advice and I am alone.
What’s the hardest thing about being a Christian?
Allowing God to be involved in all decisions in my life. Sometimes I
feel like I want Him to be there as and when I find it convenient just so I can
do whatever I want. The main word in that sentence was ‘I’ and was all
about me and I know this is the wrong way to think. I am still relatively
new to this and still struggle especially because the majority of my friends don’t
understand nor do my parents. I still feel like I am being pulled in two
different directions, but I hope that I will continue to learn what is best for
me as I go into the future.
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My name is Paul. I
am 37 years old, have two hobbies, Gardening and cooking and I have four cats. I
was brought up in Wallasey. I went to Sunday school then stopped and didn’t go
to Church until later on in my teens. I always believed in something but didn’t
quite know what. I prayed to God when people were dying and went to Church for
weddings or funerals. I was 20 when I heard about Jesus, when I worked in a
nursery full of Nuns. As I left work a man approached me and invited me onto a
bus for a cup of coffee. I had a talk to him and he invited me to Church that
night. I went and invited Jesus into my heart that night. The words spoken in
the sermon felt as if the sermon was just for me. God used me from that day on
and the more he taught me the more I wanted to know.
I had a group of
brothers and sisters who were all on fire for God and gave me so much
encouragement. But I knew I had started a personal friendship with Jesus that is
so strong. However, I struggled with depression, alcohol and marijuana. I had no
self worth and was desperately lonely. God is still helping me with depression
the alcohol has been cut down and I no longer do drugs. The
only high I need is the deep joy of belonging and the love that Jesus
gives. The best thing about being a Christian is the deep feeling of God’s
love and confidence you receive from him. Someone so vast loving me. The hardest
thing: Seeing people like myself who struggle with their walk with God. I spent
time away from God and his Church where I put myself in a whole range of ungodly
places only to learn that living life in an ungodly way brings pain and misery,
sometimes even death. I still visit some of those places but not to get drunk or
have promiscuous sex as I used to. I go to witness because every person saved
from the ungodly party on earth is one more guest invited to God’s party in
heaven (Rev 4:6-7)
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