Let's begin the journey..... A New Beginning
Introduction to the Book
Jesus teaches us to pray, "Give us this day, our daily bread." But what does that really mean? Obviously, Jesus was not only telling his disciples to pray for a morsel of literal bread every day, right? Isn't that obvious? Bread in the Bible was a powerful symbol of God's provision-the act of supplying with food, drink, or equipment for a journey. So when you pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," you are actually saying, "God I need you to supply me with everything I need to make it through this journey of life, and I need you to do it EVERY DAY."
A message from the Pastor
Congratulations! I understand that you have taken a very big step and have decided to become a follower of Christ by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If so, this is the greatest, wisest, and best decision you have ever made! You are now what we consider a “CHRISTIAN”.
Now what happens? This is just the beginning.
The next few weeks are the most important weeks of your life. It’s as if you are a brand new baby as you are “born again." When a baby is born, the 1st few days he is under the close watch of the physician. Why? Because the 1st few days are when the baby is the most vulnerable toward disease and anything that may come to destroy, harm, or injure him. You are like a newborn baby and this workbook and the facilitator is likened to the physician who is going to keep a close watch on you and guide you through to spiritual adolescence.
Newborns are also birthed into a family. Very few newborns are born as orphans. The role of the family to a newborn is to feed, embrace, and most of all love that baby. It is essential for a newborn to remain close to his family for survival. In fact the newborn CANNOT survive alone. Well guess what… Neither can you, nor are you meant to! You have been birthed into our spiritual family. And you cannot make it all by yourself. Now it will take some time for you and your new brothers and sisters to get acquainted with each other, but hang in there! We need you and you need us.
You are starting a new life, and this will call for a number of changes. You will need some help establishing new patterns. We, your family are here to help you along the way and to offer grace, patience, and direction as you actively work to change habitual traits into a new healthy/ier lifestyle. The questions throughout this book answer questions involving all areas related to successful Christian living. The suggested Bible readings each day will take very little time, but they are helpful, necessary ,and essential as baby food is to a newborn. The total time each day is about ½ hour. Not much time to ensure having a happy Christian life!
Do your best and God will help you!
There are many wonderful experiences that await you on the Christian journey. However, to be a true Christian, there is a lot you will need to learn. It will take time, patience, and constant effort to develop into the strong, mature Christian that you want to be. These little booklets of lessons were designed to help you get started on a long and joyful journey.
In these lessons you will learn about:
1. A New Beginning
2. The Road Ahead
3. Talking with God
4. Using the Bible
5. Dealing with temptation
6. Christian Vocabulary
7. Spiritual Growth
8. Worshipping God
9. Taking a Stand
10. Memorizing God’s Word
Hopefully there will be someone to meet with you regularly to go over each lesson and answer your questions. The most important thing is not how fast you progress, but how faithful, consistent, and steady you are. Stay with it! DO NOT QUIT! Work on it every week. You will be glad you did. Be patient with yourself. It takes time to learn all you need to know. You will take home one chapter at a time. Upon completion of this chapter, turn it in, and obtain the next chapter. Upon completion of all ten chapters there will be a great celebration from the church and special recognition from the Pastor and his wife. A beautiful Certificate of completion awaits you and will be rewarded to you during one of our services. When you are finished with this entire lesson series, there will be more lessons available in other booklets.