Ordination Questions 6 & 7

I decided to start posting these 2 at a time. So here are 6 & 7.

Disclaimer: Feel free to read the answers and use them for guidance. Please don't plagiarize. It's likely your BOOM knows how to use Google. That's the basic amoral reason to not copy. The moral reason is that plagiarism is lying. The more important reason is you need to answer these questions. The Board needs to know what you believe. Even more so, you need to know what you believe. 

This post contains links to all the questions.

Note: Because of plagiarism concerns I have included only the opening sentences of each answer. Good luck with your paperwork.

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6. What is your conception of the Holy Spirit in personal faith, in the community of believers, and in responsible living in the world? It seems that the Holy Spirit suffers as the forgotten person of God. Many prayers and other acts of worship address and praise God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Spirit, though, often goes unacknowledged. We cannot ignore the Spirit. If we are to truly worship God, truly experience God, and truly do the work of God’s Reign, we can only do so through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of Christ among humanity. The Holy Spirit is how we, as Christians, experience God. The Spirit is how God works in us and through us. Article III of the Confession of Faith says this about the Spirit: “[The Spirit] convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. [The Spirit] leads men [and women] through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. [The Spirit] comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth” (Discipline ¶103). 

The Holy Spirit first calls attention to sin in our lives. Through the Spirit, we experience God’s prevenient grace...

7. What is your understanding of the Kingdom of God, the Resurrection, and Eternal Life?

Last June, I preached a sermon on a few of Jesus’ “Kingdom” parables. In that sermon, I explained a bit of my understanding of the Kingdom of God. 

“There is something important to know about these parables. Actually something important to know about that phrase, ‘The Kingdom of God’ or sometimes it’s ‘The Kingdom of Heaven.’ The word translated as kingdom is basileia. It does not refer to geographical boundaries of a kingdom, but to the reign and rule of a king or the sphere of influence of a king. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is the sphere of influence of God rather than a specific location. In other words, it is not simply a reference to heaven. That is why many times instead of Kingdom of God I will say the Reign of God. Therefore, when you hear ‘The Kingdom of God is like’ you can think of it as meaning ‘As things go in this parable, so they go under the reign or authority of God’ or ‘When God reigns it will look like this.’”

The Kingdom of God is best understood by the phrase “already and not yet.” Jesus’ life and ministry on Earth signified the inauguration of God’s reign. “The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15 KJV). John Wesley said in his sermon “The Way to the Kingdom”, “As soon as ever God hath spoken to thy heart, ‘Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee,’ his kingdom comes.” The Kingdom is present in the work and ministry of Jesus. The Kingdom is also present in the work and ministry of the church – the Body of Christ.

The Kingdom of God is inaugurated but not fulfilled...