Print this and follow the instructions.
This is a step by step guide to becoming a Christian or being discipled
after
you have become one.
Jesus Christ's last words to the Church were to "Make
Disciples of
all nations."
Being a disciple
of Jesus Christ is the greatest of Human experience and accomplishment.
It is important to have a guide throughout this process. If
you do not
know another Christian
send email to harbor@harborbaptist.org and someone from our staff will
become
your discipleship partner.
This material is copyrighted for the sole purpose of keeping it readily
available.
You may use it to your hearts content for its intended purpose of
making
disciples of Jesus Christ.
First Step
A Seven Day Good Start
Records
Date you surrendered to Christ:_________
Date You were Baptized:__________
Date you Started This Study___________
Date you Completed This Study__________
My Discipleship Partner is: _______________
Phone# ______________ Email Address__________
Day ONE
How do I know I am a Christian?
Being a Christian means you have conected with God through His Son Jesus and you will go to heaven.
Fact or feeling? Feelings can be deceiving! Base your faith on the facts of the Gospel!
The Apostle John said "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." I John 5:13 You can be sure!
The Facts of the Gospel (The "Gospel" is the story of Jesus)
Look at the Four Spiritual laws Online (Right Click and open in a new tab)
Read
this through and become
familiar with it.
You may want to print it so it will be handy.
Write
the "facts" of the Gospel as found in these four Laws
Law 1
Law 2
Law 3
Law 4
Look
up Romans 10:9-10, 13 in your Bible (If you do not have a Bible you can
read,
call your pastor, any Bible believing Church or discipleship partner
now!)
Finding
Bible verses is easy in your Bible.
“Romans” is the book and you will find it listed in the
table of
contents at the front of your Bible.
The number in front of the colon is the chapter, each book
is broken up
into several chapters. They
are
numbered. The
numbers after the
colon are the verse numbers, each chapter is broken up into numbered
verses. So, Romans
10:9 is the book of Romans,
chapter 10 verse 9.
Below
is an online version
Did you confess? Is Jesus your Lord? (A lord is someone who gets to tell you what to do. Is Jesus your boss?) Do you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead? Did you call on the name of the Lord? (This means, did you pray to receive Christ)
If these things are true in your life you are saved! (saved means you are a Christian)
Most importantly, is there change in your life?
If the creator of the universe came and lived in your heart do you think He would make some Changes? Of, course, He would!
Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, Luke 3:8
Fruits are the evidences that God is changing your life.
Repentance is the changes He is making. It does not mean to be sorry for something but means to turn around. It is the ancient military term for "about face." Christians turn from their sin and turn to God.
This does not mean you will not make mistakes but it does mean that God will be working on you to make what He wants you to be.
These Changes will not happen all at once, and if you are a new Believer you may be wondering if you have changed at all!
"Big" sins tend to go away quickly while other, more subtle things tend to take more time. The key is, can you or those around you notice a difference?
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “If any man is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has passed away, the new has come.”
Did
old stuff pass away, did
new things come? This
is evidence
that Jesus is in your heart and that you are saved.
How long am I saved? Forever!
Read Romans 8:38-39
What can separate you? (Here’s a Hint, Nothing, Nada, Zilch)
If
you now realize you have never
really received Jesus then read through The Four
Spiritual Laws tract
and pray the prayer .
Confess
Hm, Receive Him, ask Him to
forgive you and Save you, He will!
If you prayed this prayer for the first time, call your discipleship partner or Pastor and let them know.
Also at your first opportunity, make your decision public in Church by going forward during any invitation. (At the close of most services there is a time when the Pastor stands up front, this is the Invitation. Just walk down to him and he will talk with you about your decision.)
If you are still unsure about your
salvation, call your Pastor or Discipleship Partner ASAP
Day TWO
Should I be Baptized or why was I Baptized?
Baptism is the immersion or dunking under water
Baptism is the next step in obedience (keeping Jesus Lord) in our walk with God.
Every Christian should be baptized "So then, those who had received his word were baptized;" Acts 2:41
What is Baptism? First, it does not wash away any sin, only the Blood of Jesus can do that!
Baptism is a symbol of what has happened to you in Jesus. Read II Corinthians 5:17
When you go under the water it represents your death to your old way of life.
When you come up out of the water it represents you being transformed to a new way of life.
Baptism is a Public Confession, an admission, of your trust in Christ
It
is performed before the
entire church family
It should also be witnessed by as many of your friends and family as possible; invite everyone you know.
How do I become a candidate for Baptism?
A candidate for Baptism is someone who is waiting to be Baptized
It is easy! At any service in which there is an invitation, walk to the front of the Church and meet with the Pastor who is waiting for you. He will talk to you and pray with you about your decision. If there is no invitation then talk with your minister about Baptism.
If you have not been baptized contact your pastor to set up a time.
And what are those little cups of juice and tiny crackers for?
The Lord’s Supper
Periodically the church family and guests, who are Christians, engage in a special Symbol of the Lord’s death and resurrection called The Lord’s Supper. Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19
We eat the bread (the little cracker or sometimes tear off a piece of flatbread) as a symbol of the broken body of Jesus Christ.
The bread is broken and bitter.
Just like the broken and bitter experience of Jesus being hung on the cross.
We Drink the Juice as a symbol of the shed blood of Jesus.
The juice is Sweet.
Just like the sweetness of having our sin washed away.
It reminds us of the terrible price God paid to save us and of the incredible love He has proven. No one can wonder if God loves them, just look at the cross!
When you get a chance to take The Lord’s Supper do it in Remembrance of Him and in Thanksgiving for the forgiveness He gave you.
Day THREE
Should I Read my Bible?
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. The Bible is the Story of Jesus, if He is "the way, truth and life" then we must be students of God’s word!
The Way - The only complete guide for your journey here and in eternity.
The Truth - You can trust God’s word! It is without error.
The Life - Jesus described the life He gave as "abundant" or "full" in John 10:10. His life is all you need.
"Ways" have to be followed, "Truth" has to be learned, and "Life" has to be lived!
Give God all the time He needs to bring you to Christian maturity. This will most likely be some time everyday.
Set aside some time to read God’s word.
Pray and ask God to open your eyes to His word.
Begin right now by reading the first Chapter of the book of Luke. Luke is one of the "Gospels" in the New Testament. There are three others, Matthew, Mark, and John. They tell the same story of Jesus’ life but by different men from different perspectives. Just concern yourself with Luke’s account for now. Continue reading in Luke everyday until you have finished the whole book.
As you read the book of Luke be sure and study it.
Use the blank pages in this guide to record what you learn
Be sure and get the facts, know the stories.
More than the facts learn what they mean.
Watch for places where Jesus or others in the story explains what is happening Look at the first four verses of Luke. Luke tells you why he wrote the book! He is writing to a guy named Theophilus to tell him the facts of Jesus’ life and in verse four "that you may know the exact truth about the things that you have been taught."
Work hard to apply this truth.
Ask questions like:
"What is this passage trying to say to me personally?" "What does this passage tell me about God, and my relationship to Him?" "How can this make me a better person, spouse, parent, child, teenager, worker, or whatever." "How can I live my life differently in order to make this truth real to me?" "How can I be more or less like the characters in this story?"
You
will need help
from other believers to understand more fully!
Most Churches give you several opportunities to study God’s word with others:
Sunday Morning Bible Study
Sunday Morning Worship Preaching
Sunday Evening Preaching
Wednesday Evening
Midweek services
And many others
Check the Current Church Schedule for times and special events.
There are great books in the Church and other Libraries.
You can also listen to God’s Word on the radio, Television, and the Internet. Just be careful, as there is weird stuff out there.
Continue the rest of the First Step Study as you read the book of Luke.
Day FOUR
How do I Worship?
Worship is praying to and praising God. (Prayer is simply talking and listening to God and Praise is thanking God for who He is and what He has done)
Just like reading God’s word it is important that we Worship everyday, especially to pray every day.
Look up I Thessalonians 5:16-17 how often does it say to pray to and praise God?
Always means all the time! And without ceasing means all the time! We are to develop lives of prayer and praise. In our hectic American schedules it is important to build this lifestyle of prayer and praise but in the mean time set aside some time everyday to focus on God in prayer.
Personal Prayer
Prayer is as easy as talking! You are given the privilege of talking with God!
Here are some things you can pray for in simple outline: (This is only an example)
Praise God - For who He is and what He has done
Pray for:
Your family, Your friends, Church, Pastor, Sunday School Teacher, Society, schools, and anything else that comes to mind.
Pray for their success, needs, problems, Maturity, but always pray for God’s will to be done. (Remember He is smarter than all of us!)
Yourself - Forgiveness of sin, understanding God’s word, usefulness to Him, and all the things you would pray for others.
End by Praising Him Again.
Public Prayer
Praying out loud scares some people, probably everyone.
Just remember when you are ready the only one listening that really matters is God. If you are speaking to anyone else it is wrong!
Eloquence is for TV and radio, just pray from your heart, privately or publicly.
The Church offers opportunities every week for Worship: Sunday Morning and Evening Worship and Midweek Prayer Meeting Wednesday Night. (Check your current Church Schedule for times)
What would happen to you if you only ate three meals a week? You would starve, very slowly and painfully. Many Christians do worse than this to their spiritual bodies; they worship once a week or less.
We need to gather together as a body for Worship.
Look up Hebrews
10:24-25 and write it here:
Church is the assembling together for encouragement
But, as you read in I Thessalonians 5:16-17 it says we must also do it on our own and with our families at home! (If you are praying and praising all the time you are to worship everywhere, all the time!)
This is how we will keep our spiritual bodies well fed, healthy, and grow to maturity.
Giving is Worship
This is a touchy subject for most people but it was never a touchy subject to Jesus.
You may have heard someone say that Jesus never said that we should tithe.
(Tithing is the giving of the first 10% of all that we earn to the Lord.)
Jesus did say something about it: Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Here Jesus says that how we act is more important than what we give but what we give should never be neglected!
Much of what Jesus taught dealt with the proper use, or stewardship, of money.
(Stewardship is a word used around churches when we talk about giving)
Stewards are managers; they are people entrusted with someone else’s goods or property.
Everything you have, all of your possessions, your life, family, joys and pains belong to God, all of them.
It is not that we give God something that belongs to us, we are managing everything that has always belonged to Him!
The key to New Testament Giving is to do it as worship and to do it Cheerfully!
Look
up 2 Corinthians 9:5-7 write verse 7 below:
Not grudgingly, that means because you have to.
Not under compulsion, this means because someone else is making you.
Cheerfully! Because you want to!
Every Christian should want to give to the one who saved them from Hell, gives them abundant life on earth, and eternal life in heaven.
If you are still unsure whether God wants you to give to the Church look up Malachi 3:7-12 it is very clear what God wants. (The Church is the New Testament Storehouse)
It is a matter of Trust, God has promised to care for us; He is the Good Shepherd. John 10:10-11
If you love Jesus, and you can trust Him, you can do everything that He asks.
Right now and as often as you can Thank God for saving you and share with Him all of your problems and needs using the prayer outline above. And when given the opportunity take seriously and prayerfully the Singing, Praying and Giving in Church Worship.
Day FIVE
Why am I or Should I be a Member of a local Church?
Jesus invented the Church! Jesus said, "I will build My church" Matt 16:18
In the New Testament the Church is referred to as the "body of Christ" Look up Romans 12:5
Through out the New Testament it is clear that believers gathered together as local bodies.
Nine New Testament books are letters to local churches.
The book of Acts mentions at least five more local congregations
Revelation 2-3 mentions 6 additional local churches.
God has historically banded together His believing children, Why?
To worship, fellowship, learn, serve, and tell others about the salvation of Jesus.
There are just some things you can not do alone.
And some things that are easier and more effective when accomplished as a group.
You need a family to share your joys and your sorrows. The Church is a wonderful gift from God!
Take a few minutes to read the following scriptures: 1 Corinthians 1:10-11; 5:1-2
But Churches have problems, sometimes fuss and fight, struggle financially, sometimes don’t do the things that are needed, shouldn’t I look for a perfect Church?
When you find a perfect Church first, don’t tell anybody about it and certainly, don’t join it! You will ruin it! There are no perfect Churches.
Churches are just imperfect people saved by grace gathered together to do better.
Paul’s letter to Corinth showed that this church had flaws, it is not the only church in the New Testament with flaws!
You can fix most of the Problems Churches face, if you will get in there and do your part.
How do I join a Church?
The process begins when you know that it is God’s will for you to join a particular body of believers.
When you are sure you have found the place go forward during an invitation and talk to the Pastor. He will pray for you and direct you further.
Are you a member of a Local Church Congregation?
If you are, thank God for your Church family. If you are not, ask God what He wants you to do about it and seek out a local Church home.
Day SIX
How do I let Jesus be Lord of my life?
What is a Lord anyway? Lords in old English usage were people in charge. The Greek word is kurios and means anyone in a higher authority than you. Basically a Boss that you obey.
List some people in your life who have been like Lords to you.
Life is like that, sometimes we have to be obedient to other people and those people sometimes make mistakes and make life hard on us.
Jesus does not make mistakes, Jesus knows the future, and Jesus always wants what is best for His kingdom and us.
In the New American Standard Version of the Bible the words "Lord Jesus" are associated with 166 Verses, the word savior only 12!
As you can see the Bible places much more emphasis on Jesus being your Lord than Savior.
Remember Romans 10:9 "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" Jesus is your savior when you make Him Lord!
Jesus is Lord of our life when His "Ways" are our ways, His "Truth" is our truth, and His "Life" is our life.
When we allow him to make the truths of the Bible the walk of our life.
It is not always comfortable, politically correct or culturally right to do things the Bible way.
The Bible way is the only way Jesus can be your Lord.
Once we know the truth of God it is up to us to choose to obey it.
God has a better perspective than we do about what is right and wrong.
Obedience is not just good; it is good for us!
Ask Jesus to cause you to learn His ways and follow them no matter what.
Day SEVEN
How do I tell my friends about Jesus?
First it is very important that you tell your friends and family what has happened to you in Christ!
There are many ways to do this and any way that communicates the story of Jesus is Great!
Two simple ways are with a testimony and using a Gospel Tract
A testimony is simply telling someone what has happened to you, personally, in Christ. Write your testimony here or with this outline on a separate sheet of paper.
I. What was your
life like before Jesus?
II. How did you come
to know Jesus?
III. How has Jesus
made your life different?
A Gospel Tract
Tracts give you a guide and an outline when you tell the Gospel story. They have several advantages:
You do not have to have any scripture memorized. (You should memorize some as soon as possible!)
You can leave the person with something they can read later.
Anyone can do it, even you!
The online
version can be used to
share with your friends.
Campus Crusade for Christ has given permission to print it for the
purposes of
sharing Christ with others.
You can purchase them with the link at the bottom its page.
Other tracts are available from Churches and Christian bookstores, they can even be purchased online. They are wonderful tools to help you share your faith.
What if they ask me a question and I do not know the answer? Just do what I do, tell them you do not know but you will find out and get back to them!
Most importantly pray for God to be with you and the person that you are witnessing to, only God can save some one!
Pray right now that God would lay someone on your heart and prepare you both for an encounter with the Gospel
List the names
of your lost friends and
family here and pray for them!
When you finish this guide please email us and let us know.
harbor@harborbaptist.org