New Life New Start – Introduction
WELCOME
Welcome to the Christian family!
Let me begin by congratulating you on your decision to give your life to Jesus Christ. Millions of other Christians (now your brothers and sisters) will agree with me, I know, when I say that you have made the greatest and most wonderful decision of your life.
It is important now however, for you to understand how to move on in the Christian life. This is why this “New Christians” Course is so important.
Becoming a Christian is the start of a brand new life and there is a lot to learn. This course aims to lead you and help you understand the things that Christians must do in order to grow and become true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are many exciting and wonderful discoveries ahead of you in the Christian life, but you will discover nothing greater than this – that a Christian is a person in whom Christ lives.
Just think of it – Christ is living and present in you right now. And His promise is that He will never fail or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
This course will not cover everything involved in being a Christian, something which is impossible to do. In addition to what you are going to learn here, there are many other truths you will learn as you walk the Christian path. We are al still discovering truths, both about ourselves and about God – it’s a life long and life filling journey.
The purpose of this course is to highlight some of the basic steps involved in being a Christian and to lay a foundation that will enable you to grow in your relationship with Christ.
May God bless you greatly as you learn the steps involved in becoming a strong and vigorous disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
HOW TO USE THIS COURSE
One to one
Ideally the this course will be used is on a one to one basis. For this to occur the new Christian will need to find a Christian friend to go through the course with them – at New Life we try to make sure every New Christian has a “Discipler” assigned to them – someone who can walk along side you and be there to help you. It’s best if this person takes you through the course.
In a Group
This course can also be used in a group with someone who is spiritually mature leading the discussions. In a group there can often be some great discussions – although it does effect the one to one honesty you’d get doing this with just your discipler.
On your own
It is possible however to work through this course alone. This certainly is not the best way for the new Christian to use this course as there may be things they will not understand without the explanation and help of a mature Christian. It helps to have someone available to answer questions that arise.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
A BIBLE
You will need a Bible with good, clear and easy to read print. I would suggest you use the English Standard Version. This popular version is the one which this course will mainly use so it will help you follow along.
A PEN AND PAPER
As we/you go through each section there will be parts we/you will fill in. It may also be helpful to have a notepad for you to jot down anything you may want to discuss at a later stage.
WHAT TO DO
PRAY.
Ask God to help you understand the basic steps this course will take you through.
READ.
Read the Bible verses the sections point you to.
WRITE.
Write the answers to the questions in the spaces provided.
THINK.
Think about what you have read and what it means to you.
HOW TO FIND A BIBLE VERSE
Here is an example to help you understand how to find a Bible verse. The Bible verse we will use as an example is – (NT) 1 John 5:11-12.
(NT) means the book is in the New Testament part of the Bible. (OT) would means you should look in the Old Testament. 1 John refers to the book. 5 is the chapter. Each book is divided into parts called “chapters”. This number tells you which chapter to look at. 11-12 is the verses. Each chapter is divided into parts called verses which are also numbered. These numbers tell you which verse/s to read. The dash means you should read all the verses from the first number to the second.
