1) "Jesus died and rose again according to the Scriptures. The prophets foretold His death. The apostles recorded it. All Scripture converges upon the Atonement. To a dying Saviour and a risen Lord bear all the Scriptures witness. The fundamental and omnipresent theme that is at the heart of the Bible message is the answer to the question, how shall a sinful man be righteous before God? And the answer is, through the atoning death of Christ" (Samuel Marinus Zwemer, The Glory of the Cross, pp. 31-32).
2) I started attending Trinity Evangelical Church (www.trinity-evangelical.org) shortly after my wife and I returned from our honeymoon. To the best of my knowledge Trinity is currently seeking to be recognized by the CREC (Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches) and two of the heads of households are under review to become Elders. My wife and I really enjoy attending Trinity Evangelicals, the primary reasons being it is small and intimate, there are lots of children running around, and the Worship and Covenant Renewal Service doesn't start until 12:30 PM, which allows us to sleep in on Lord's Day.
In between semesters of my junior year at IWU I spent two and half weeks in Tucson, Arizona. I would wake up fairly early each morning and go out to my grandparent's back porch to read the Scriptures and other books for devotional and pleasure reading. Tucson is surrounded by mountains, and their peaks (though not extremely high) assisted in lifting my heart to the Lord. When I wasn't reading the Scriptures or My Life by President William Clinton, I started and finished The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. I didn't realize it then, but now I have come to understand the influence those quiet times with God and the Scriptures and R.C. Sproul's book have played in the formation of my spiritual life and mind.
Though I do not understand all of the beliefs and the arguments for Reformed Theology, I have recently come to the realization that I now feel partial to Reformed Theology. They (proponents of Reformed Theology) didn't have to prove anything to me in order for me to crossover, for there ultimately was no argument waged; the main reason for the crossover is that I do not think they are overly concerned with immediate results and short term benefits and I believe there is a sincerity for worship and corporate Holiness that I have not found in any other tradition I have come in contact with.
