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 Maybe you always thought you were a Christian, but today something different happened: today you made a personal decision for Jesus. Or maybe Christianity was new to you until recently. Whatever your situation, you realized you wanted and needed Jesus Christ, so you asked him to be Lord of your life. Congratulations – The angels in heaven are rejoicing, and so are we! This is no ordinary day!
...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
(Luke 15:10)
The Bible tells us that we receive the gift of salvation when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior:
... if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)
 Jesus was who he was and did what he did to give you new, abundant life. Yes, he died on the cross and rose from the dead to bring you eternal life, but he wants you to have so much more right now. You are no longer separated from God: now you can live your life with him. No matter what you’ve done in the past, God receives you with open arms and wants a relationship with you now, just as you are. We encourage you to grow as a believer in Christ and continue developing your new relationship with God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?
1. Start reading the Bible (see below). If you don’t have a Bible, we would love to give you one! Just stop by our Information Desk during one of the weekend services and we'll be happy to give you a free Bible.
2. Pray! Most people think prayer is really complicated and needs to sound a certain way. But it doesn’t matter what it sounds like; just talk to God the way you would anybody else you love and who loves and cares for you.
3. Start hanging out with other people who have asked Christ to be Lord of their lives. Woodland Hills and other churches have all sorts of options you can check out in addition to weekend services. Our bulletin is a great place to start looking if you’re interested in plugging in here.
4. Consider attending Alpha, a free course for new Christians, or get connected with The Refuge or in a Covenant Group.
SERMONS TO CHECK OUT
Our web site has hundreds of free sermons to download and listen to, burn CDs from, and/or share with others. Below are a few sermons to start with. You can find more on our sermons page. Check out the links on your right to find them. For information on how to download audio files, click here.
02/17/2002 – The Gazelle God Gaze, Greg Boyd
Audio (4.98 mb)
07/21/2002 – Great Commission and Discipleship, Erwin McManus
Audio (7.01 mb)
02/23/2003 – The Matrix, Greg Boyd
Audio (5.89 mb), High-Quality Audio (23.54 mb)
10/05/2003 – Deciding to Follow Jesus, Dwayne Polk
Audio (7.51 mb), High-Quality Audio (30.0 mb)
12/12/2004 – What’s in it for Me?, Greg Boyd
Audio (3.97 mb), High-Quality Audio (15.8 mb)
02/20/2005 – Why Did Jesus Die?, Greg Boyd
Audio (5.09 mb), High-Quality Audio (20.3 mb)
02/27/2005 – Hearing God, Part 1, Kevin Johnson
Audio (4.34 mb), High-Quality Audio (17.3 mb)
03/06/2005 – Hearing God, Part 2, Kevin Johnson
Audio (4.84 mb), High-Quality Audio (19.3 mb)
12/18/2005 – A Life Interrupted, Greg Boyd
Audio (6.06 mb), High-Quality Audio (24.2 mb)
BOOKS TO CHECK OUT
There are many great books available to help you in your walk. Below are a few books to start with. You can find most of these books at Christian bookstores or on Amazon.com. In addition, all of these books are available at our Library.
Questions of Life, by Nicky Gumbel
Christianity 101, by Gilbert Bilezilean
Letters from a Skeptic, by Greg Boyd
The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence
BELIEVE WHAT IS TRUE
There are many verses in the Bible that speak the truth about who you are as a child of God. As you build your relationship with God, it is important for you to know the truth of these statements. God desires this for you! Download a list of verses that speaks the truth about you.
HOW TO READ THE BIBLE
1. Choose a quiet place. Before reading, ask God to show you what he wants you to know as you read his word.
2. Try to read the Bible daily, even for just a few minutes. Choose a consistent time that is best for you.
3. Understand that the Bible is made up of two parts: the Old Testament, which is about God’s relationship with mankind from creation to about 400 years before Christ, and the New Testament, which is about the time of Jesus’ birth and the early church after his death and resurrection.
4. Start by reading the Gospels in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). The Gospels teach us about what Jesus did during his life on earth, but it’s not important to read them in order.
5. Read one book of the Bible at a time; don’t skip around. This keeps what you’re reading in context.
6. All Bibles have an index or contents page at the beginning where you can see all of the individual books of the Bible at a glance.
7. Many Bibles have a concordance in the back. Use it to look up verses by topics like love and grace.
FREE ONLINE BIBLE RESOURCES
bible.gospelcom.net/bible-Look up words and phrases found in the Bible, see what different versions of the Bible are like, and read commentaries on various books of the Bible.
http://www.tniv.info/bible/index.php - Look up and compare passages in the TNIV, NIV and KJV Bible versions.
www.christiananswers.net/hope-See an online video of the story of the Bible and get answers to frequently asked questions about the Bible and Christianity.
bible.crosswalk.com-Here you’ll find a Bible concordance, a Bible dictionary, and study tools. Links to other Christian web sites and resources are also provided.
WE WANT TO HELP YOU
For more information about growing as a Christian, or if you have any questions or prayer needs, please contact Amy at 651-287-3009. |
