I decided to go to a Baptist Church here in Virginia Beach. The reason that I chose Bayside Baptist Church was because most Baptist Churches that it was close to my house and I went with a Baptist friend that went there and although it was a lot different from my own catholic faith, I enjoyed it very much. The Pastor, started out the service with an opening prayer which led us into a hymn about America and how wonderful our country is. I grew up in a Catholic Church thats was very strict. I went to the eleven o’clock service on Sunday. After a few songs and a few prayers Pastor Reyes got up to deliver his sermon, or message as he liked to put it. The message was one that hit me kind of hard, he was telling us how the majority of Americans don’t like to hear the truth, mainly because the truth hurts. He was also saying how we, as Americans, are very materialistic and take a lot of things for granted. He stated that we must not worry about all the “hub-bub” around us, because if we believe in god, pray, and know in our hearts that our prayers will be answered God will provide for us. The service wasn’t one of much length and ended in prayer instead of the normal communion. Although I am not a Baptist, I enjoyed this church service so much that I think I would attend this church again.
I did some research on the Baptist faith, to see what I was getting my self into, and here’s what I found out: The first identifiable Baptist group began in 1608-1609 it was led by John Smyth (1570-1612) and Thomas Helwys (1550-1615). They were puritan separatists and believed that Christ died for the entire world, not simply for an elect chosen before the worlds foundation. They called this a “general” atonement which meant that all people were potentially elected toward salvation and ne ...