Tips To Help You Discover Your Faith
Making a decision to give your life to Jesus is the most important decision you can ever make. We hope you will continue to explore your journey of faith. Below are some tips to help you along the way.
Consider becoming a part of our church family. The messages on the weekends will help you connect the dots. Consistency is a key. Meeting with other Christians can help you find courage for your new way of living. The Bible teaches that we should gather in clusters for the purposes of strengthening one another and inspiring each other to become all that God has in mind for us.
Habits take time to form, but they are the core of healthy living. We hope you will decide early on in your new faith to belong to a Christian community that teaches from the Bible and honors Jesus Christ.
We have designed a Foundations Class for you that will help you understand the core beliefs of the Christian faith. This class meets on Wednesday nights and is offered twice per year. It is five weeks in length and is intended to help people get off to a great start on their spiritual journey with Christ and to provide an interactive environment where questions can be answered and opinions expressed. For more information, contact Pastor Dave Larmour at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Take a minute and view a video from Rick Warren, the author of the best selling book “The Purpose Driven Life”; you may find this helpful as you continue to explore the Christian faith.
Pray daily
Prayer is talking to Jesus just like you would talk to your closest friend. Find a place where you can be alone and talk to Him is important. Prayer has been called the ‘Great Conversation’ where we can express how we feel to a God who always takes time to listen to what is in your heart.
As a Father, he is prepared to act on your behalf and loves to hear the voice of his children. Prayer is a way for us to become increasingly conscious of the presence of God. It is true that God is with us all the time, but when we pray; we choose to acknowledge this truth and receive life and perspective from being consciously close to him.
Private prayer and corporate prayer were both esteemed practices of Jesus and you can also receive prayer at the front of the auditorium at the end of every worship service. If you would like to give your life to Jesus here is a simple way to begin on the journey of faith…
PRESENT yourself to Jesus believing that he knows you and loves you.
CONFESS YOUR SINS AND TURN by taking personal responsibility for the sins you have committed and choose to move away from them. Each of us has sinned and to sin means to ‘miss the target’ with our lives. Each of us is like an arrow that has been released from a bow and we have fallen short of the intended target.
ASK Jesus to forgive you and invite Him to be the Leader of your life.
PLEDGE YOUR LOVE to Jesus. Tell him that you want to follow him in every area of your life and ask him to show you how to do this.
You can begin by talking to God like this, “Father, I am sorry for what I have done. I turn toward you asking for you to forgive me. I invite you to come into my life and make me brand new. I now give my life to you. Help me to follow you and to live the way you want me to and most importantly, help me to bring a smile to your face by how I live. Amen.”
Read the Bible regularly
Start reading in the New Testament, because this will help you understand the life and teaching of Jesus. The self-titled gospel written by a friend of Jesus named John is a great place to start.
There are many different versions of the Bible. Some are easier to read than other versions because of their contemporary language. The New International Version or the Message Bible is a great version to consider. If you don’t have a Bible, let us know and we will get one to you.
Consider being baptized
Baptism doesn’t save you from your sins, but it does provide a public context for you to declare that you are a follower of Christ. Baptism is a symbolic act that identifies the person being baptized with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Bible encourages that every Christian should declare before friends that they have decided to follow Jesus. Baptism is that wonderful opportunity! If you have decided to follow Christ, the next step is to be baptized. If you would like to be baptized please contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we will be sure to let you know of our next baptismal class, so that you might be adequately prepared for baptism.
We regularly have opportunities for people to ‘go public’ with their faith. If you have any questions, the baptismal class is a great way to explore whether you adequately understand this next step of Christian obedience.
Hang out with people who believe
Building friendships with other people who have signed up for the journey of faith in Christ is critical. There are 100’s of millions of followers of Christ around the world and we are stronger when we walk together. No one was intended to journey with Christ in isolation. Why not consider joining a small group or to one of our sub-congregations that meets semi-regularly.
Tell your friends about your journey towards faith in Christ
Your new faith is meant to be shared! Lovingly and sensitively begin living out your faith before your friends and family. Being an authentic Christian is all that’s required. Being yourself before others will be enough for them to see a difference in you and this will likely lead them to ask you questions about your values and new found faith.
Be encouraged, every time you speak to others on behalf of Christ, he is helping you and promises to give you wisdom and sensitivity. There are as many ways to share your faith as there are people on the planet. Embrace yourself and simply ‘be yourself!’
Seek to find a place to serve
Becoming a Christ follower is simply the beginning! We believe that God has given you abilities to do things well and that when you use those abilities (gifts) people’s lives are enriched. We would welcome an opportunity for you to find a place to contribute, where you can use those abilities to do things well in a way that brings fulfillment and purpose to your life.
We are committed to helping people discover, develop and deploy their ‘abilities to do things well’ (gifts) and to become active helping others. Look for one of our “Network” classes that are designed to help you responsibly uncover and grow you ‘ability to do things well.’
