When it comes to religion, we tend to think that the Catholics were the first Christians and that Henry VIII of England started his own version so that he could legally divorce his barren wife. If you're a Christian and you are not a Catholic, then you are some branch of protestant, be it Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Nazarene, Episcopalian, et cetera. What may surprise most people is that the fundamental Christian church, and not Rome, was actually the first to follow the teachings of Jesus.
The Catholics got their start in the 2 AD, while the Christian fundamentalists gathered for the first time about six weeks after the Resurrection. Back then, it consisted mostly of Jews, Gentiles and a handful of others. The Apostle Luke wrote the Book of Acts somewhere around 80 AD to document the beginnings of Christianity and the spread of the gospels to the Roman Empire.
According to the Book of Acts, it is possible to define the exact moment the Christian church was formed. On the first Feast of Pentecost after Christ ascended into heaven, the 12 apostles and around 124 other followers, including Jesus' mother and brothers, gathered in one place. Without warning, a strong wind came and filled the entire building. Above every head were tongues of fire. Everyone there was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking with other tongues, meaning in other languages.
This is referred to as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is replicated in everyone who is baptized as a follower of Christ. The act of baptism serves as public confirmation that an individual is born again after renouncing sin and the devil, declaring that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for our sins.
The acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit is what separates fundamentalists from other Christians. Some people go their entire lives thinking that the Holy Ghost referred to Jesus after the Resurrection and that he left the planet when he ascended into heaven.
In John 14:15-18, Jesus tells us that he will ask his Father to send down a helper to live with us until the end of time. If you have been baptized, did you ever feel overwhelmingly sad when you were in a church? That was the Holy Spirit letting you know that you are a sinner and that you need to get yourself straight with God and get baptized. Your first time back there after being baptized, that sad feeling was replaced with a feeling of elation.
That feeling of electricity when you're on your feet with your fellow worshippers, praising your Creator with the same enthusiasm as you do at a concert or a football game, that's the Holy Spirit, too. When your pastor blesses you and channels God's power so strongy that you fall into a faint, that is also the work of the Holy Spirit. When you come to, it's like waking up from the most refreshing sleep ever.
Jesus did not abandon his children when he ascended into heaven. God delivered on his promise, as he always does. He sent us a helper to guide, love and protect those who love him and obey his principles. Whenever two or more people are gathered in the name of the Lord, he is there.
The Catholics got their start in the 2 AD, while the Christian fundamentalists gathered for the first time about six weeks after the Resurrection. Back then, it consisted mostly of Jews, Gentiles and a handful of others. The Apostle Luke wrote the Book of Acts somewhere around 80 AD to document the beginnings of Christianity and the spread of the gospels to the Roman Empire.
According to the Book of Acts, it is possible to define the exact moment the Christian church was formed. On the first Feast of Pentecost after Christ ascended into heaven, the 12 apostles and around 124 other followers, including Jesus' mother and brothers, gathered in one place. Without warning, a strong wind came and filled the entire building. Above every head were tongues of fire. Everyone there was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking with other tongues, meaning in other languages.
This is referred to as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is replicated in everyone who is baptized as a follower of Christ. The act of baptism serves as public confirmation that an individual is born again after renouncing sin and the devil, declaring that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for our sins.
The acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit is what separates fundamentalists from other Christians. Some people go their entire lives thinking that the Holy Ghost referred to Jesus after the Resurrection and that he left the planet when he ascended into heaven.
In John 14:15-18, Jesus tells us that he will ask his Father to send down a helper to live with us until the end of time. If you have been baptized, did you ever feel overwhelmingly sad when you were in a church? That was the Holy Spirit letting you know that you are a sinner and that you need to get yourself straight with God and get baptized. Your first time back there after being baptized, that sad feeling was replaced with a feeling of elation.
That feeling of electricity when you're on your feet with your fellow worshippers, praising your Creator with the same enthusiasm as you do at a concert or a football game, that's the Holy Spirit, too. When your pastor blesses you and channels God's power so strongy that you fall into a faint, that is also the work of the Holy Spirit. When you come to, it's like waking up from the most refreshing sleep ever.
Jesus did not abandon his children when he ascended into heaven. God delivered on his promise, as he always does. He sent us a helper to guide, love and protect those who love him and obey his principles. Whenever two or more people are gathered in the name of the Lord, he is there.
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