New Christian's Guide

New Christian’s Guide Free to reproduce and use including in print Love God New Christian’s Guide Those who love me will keep my word ~ John 14:23 Geoff Waugh 1 New Christian’s Guide © Geoff Waugh, 2019 Most Bible quotations are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Some quotations are from the New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Some Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Cover photo: The Great Commission sculpture by Max Greiner. Images in this book are gathered from social media and known sources will be acknowledged. Blog on Renewal Journal Renewal Journal Publications http://renewaljournal.com Brisbane, Qld, Australia Logo: lamp & scroll, basin & towel, in the light of the cross 2 Love God Contents Introduction: Welcome to God’s Family 1 Love God Faith in God – God our Father Saving Faith Gift of Faith Follow Me – Jesus our Lord Follow Jesus in Obedience Follow Jesus in His Word Follow Jesus in Prayer & Worship Follow Jesus in Fellowship Follow Jesus in Service Follow Jesus In Mission Filled with the Spirit – God’s Spirit our Guide Born of the Spirit Living in the Spirit Led by the Spirit Fruit & Gifts of the Spirit 2 Love Others Love one another Serve one another Encourage one another Conclusion Personal or Discussion Questions Appendix: Resources About the Author 3 New Christian’s Guide * 4 Love God Introduction Welcome to God’s eternal family. I’m writing this book as a personal letter to you, a new Christian who believes in Jesus. You have given your life to him and you want to follow him and live for him. If you are already a growing Christian you may find some help in this Guide also. And if you have not yet chosen to be a Christian and follow Jesus, this may help you to decide. Billions of people believe in Jesus, the Son of God, our Saviour, so you have joined a huge worldwide family of God. Probably somebody told you about Jesus, perhaps a preacher or a friend, or maybe you just want to read more about him. So welcome to the family of God. We believe in God our Father, we believe in Jesus Christ his Son our Saviour and Lord, and we believe in God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and gives us new life, our Christian life. ‘Christian’ means Christ in you! Our Christian life begins with faith. We trust in God. We believe in Jesus, God’s Son, as our Saviour and Lord or King. We have faith that God loves us and lives in us by his Spirit and that we live in God now and forever. That’s good news. Really good news. The most famous verse in the Bible puts it this way: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Now that you believe in Jesus and trust him with your life you have eternal life. That eternal life does not start when you die. It starts now and never ends. Jesus said: 5 New Christian’s Guide This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3). You have done that. You have given your life to God and he has given you new life, his life in you. Because you believe in Jesus and trust him, God lives in you by his Spirit, and you live in God. You have given your life to him and he has given his life to you. So you know him, your God, and you know Jesus your Saviour, because God’s Spirit now lives in you and makes everything new: So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17) What’s new? You are forgiven. When you believe in Jesus your Saviour you ask him to forgive you for all your sin, and he promises to do that: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). You are clean. That promise reminds us that God goes on cleansing us, not just once, but always, as we trust him and continue to acknowledge or confess our sin and failures. You can do that quickly, and at any time, such as thinking or saying, “Sorry.” Make it a habit. Keep short accounts with God! You have new life, eternal life. That’s God’s promise. He gives his life to you and lives in you by his Spirit who is also the Spirit of Jesus. So Jesus lives in you by his Spirit and you now have new life: I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). So the old life has gone and a new life, eternal life, has begun in you. You are born again with new life, God’s life ion you. 6 Love God You are in God’s family. You have a worldwide family of God’s people, your brothers and sisters. You will get to know some of them well in your local church or group. You will also find many brothers and sisters in other places worldwide. We all share God’s life together and we grow in the unity of his Spirit. What about problems? Does this new life mean we are now free from all our problems and difficulties? No, but we do have a new life as we encounter problems and difficulties. We have God’s help and guidance in new ways. God promises to guide and help us, and Jesus promised that his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, would help us. You now have this amazing new life with God your Father and Jesus your Saviour and Lord living in you by his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who helps us. Jesus said: If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:15-18). You have God’s help, always. That never ends. So we face our problems and difficulties trusting in God to help and guide us. How do we go about living this new life with God’s help? We keep on trusting him. We keep on living for him, with his help and strength. He is our intimate Friend and Guide. So the title of this little book is not mainly about principles but about a Person. The New Christian’s Guide is God in us, Jesus living his life in us by his Spirit, and guiding us. That’s a life-long adventure! We can all learn to let God be our Guide more fully, and trust in Jesus to lead and help us by his 7 New Christian’s Guide Spirit now within us, teaching us, leading us, helping us, empowering us, and transforming us. So, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). Easy to say – hard to do! Yes, in some ways it is easier said than done. Living the Christian life is not always a piece of cake. It can be tough at times as we keep listening to Jesus and obeying him. But, as an old hymn says: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. Living this new Christian life means that we trust and obey our Guide. He leads us by his Spirit within us. Jesus said that we are to seek God’s kingdom first, then God will provide our needs (Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:31). It’s practical. For example, our tithes and offerings go first to God and his work in the world, and he promises to care for us. I’m glad my parents taught me that when I was a boy. For me that’s mostly been tithing to my church and offerings for people in mission, evangelism, and helping people in need. It’s been amazing to see how God keeps his promises and honours his word. Now, as you read this, you could pause and thank him that he is with you, he is within you, and he promises to guide you. If you find some resistance inside you, just confess it. We all resist God’s great love and holiness at times, so we need to just confess that, know that he forgives and cleanses us, and that he promises to help and strengthen us as we live for him. The rest of this New Christian’s Guide is my attempt to help you follow your eternal Guide, your Father God, your Saviour Jesus, and your Guide and Helper the Holy Spirit. 8 Love God Jesus said that the most important commandments of all are just two, so let’s explore that with our New Christian’s Guide: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40). Our obedience springs from love and flows strong in God’s love. We love Him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). Love is why we obey Jesus says that we will obey his commandments because of our love for him. We obey from love, not just from duty. Our duty becomes our delight. We love him and love to live for him and please him. We understand about obeying in love with people we really love such as our parents or husband or wife. We love to please them because we love them. It’s our delight, not just a duty. We love to please or obey them, and we are so happy when our love pleases them. Jesus’ obedience was a natural part of his loving relationship with his Father, and he calls us into loving obedience also. If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love (John 15:10). Jesus lived in full fellowship and intimate loving relationship with his Father. Consequently his obedience flowed naturally and supernaturally from that. 9 New Christian’s Guide So this book explores how we can obey Jesus in love by loving God and loving others. Loving God and loving others are interrelated. John, the Apostle of love, reminds us: Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also (1 John 4:20-21). Believing in God and in his Son Jesus changes us and enables us to love God and to love one another. 10 Love God 1 Love God Jesus reminds us that the greatest of all the commandments is to love God. God’s love for us brings us into a loving relationship with him and with others. You could thank him for his love right now! C S Lewis wrote, “On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.' He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not” (Mere Christianity, Book 3, Chapter 9, emphasis added). Jesus pointed out that our God who loves us is One Being. Jesus and the Father are one in eternal union with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, I and the Father are one. … Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. … But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. (John 10:30; 14:23, 26). We have one God revealed in three divine persons who love us: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That is a divine mystery, but God reveals himself to us as we believe in him and trust him daily. Here is a simple way to understand how God is always with us and within us. 11 New Christian’s Guide We breathe all the time, usually without thinking about it. Now that you are thinking about it you may even breathe more deeply, or take in more breath! The Bible has one word for breath, wind and spirit. So translators choose the most appropriate English word to translate it from Hebrew (ruah) or Greek (pnuema). Our natural breathing is rather like breathing in the breath of God or the Spirit of God, by faith. Just as our physical breathing helps to cleanse our lungs and bodies so our spiritual breathing also cleanses us. 12 Love God We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide continually without even thinking about it. Similarly, in our relationship with God we continually inhale God’s breath, his Spirit, and exhale impurities, by faith, by trusting God. Another physical picture or parallel is how our heart continually pumps blood throughout our bodies without us thinking about it, cleansing our bodies. Similarly, the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, goes on cleansing us from our sin, for if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). That verse gives us another picture or parallel. The sun always shines, even on cloudy days. So in daylight we live in the light without thinking about it. It’s natural. We can see. Similarly, as we live by faith in God we live in his light. God is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). As a Christian, you are born again into a new life with God, who is light, so you live in his light. Living that way means that you are continually cleansed because of Jesus’ blood given for us all in his death on the cross. So now you have new life, the life of God’s Spirit living in you constantly. All of that helps us to love and thank God for all he has done for us in creating us, redeeming us from sin, and living in us as we live in him by faith. So this section on loving God looks at these three dimensions of loving God: Faith in God our Creator and Father, Following Jesus our Saviour and Lord, Filled with the Holy Spirit our Guide and Helper. 13 New Christian’s Guide A prayer of faith you can pray: Thank you my Father and God for loving me. Thank you Jesus my Saviour and Lord for dying for me. Thank you Holy Spirit of God for living in me and giving me new life, the life of Jesus in me. Forgive me for my sin and I choose you now. Thank you Lord my God for forgiving me and saving me. I give my life to you and I choose to live for you. Help me to live for you always. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 14 Love God Faith in God Loving God includes having faith in God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). The Message translates that verse this way: It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. That verse mentions two aspects of faith in God: 1. We believe that God exists (Some people don’t believe that). 2. We know he responds to us (Some people don’t seek him). Jesus expected people to have faith, especially his followers. He said, Have faith in God. ... Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:22, 24). Many people don’t believe that. Some people think that Jesus was exaggerating. But, when we believe and ask according to God’s will we do receive from him. The disciples’ small faith often amazed Jesus. For example, after stilling the storm he said to them, Where is your faith? or You of little faith, why are you so afraid? (Luke 8:24; Matthew 8:26) Loving God involves having faith in God. Believing him. Trusting him. We will explore that faith this way: 1 Saving faith 2 The gift of faith 15 New Christian’s Guide You could pray this famous prayer by Ignatius Loyola Teach us good Lord To serve you as you deserve; To give, and not to count the cost; To fight, and not to heed the wounds; To toil, and not to seek for rest; To labour, and not to ask for any reward; Save that of knowing that we do your will. 16 Love God Saving Faith Jesus often reminded people that their faith in him saved them and brought God’s blessing. He expected people to have faith in him and often said things like these: ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace’ (Luke 7:50). ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’ (Luke 8:48). Faith can be tricky. Some people seem to have faith in their beliefs or doctrines. Others seem to have faith in their own ‘faith’! For example, some people believe that you can quote any verse from the Bible and it will happen automatically! Jesus calls us to have faith in him which also means having faith in God for they are One. That is different from having faith in your beliefs or doctrines. It is more personal. It means trusting God himself, not just believing things about him. Paul explained it this way: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. The Message describes it this way: Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving (Ephesians 2:8-9). We trust God. We trust Jesus. We don’t trust in our own abilities or efforts. We don’t even trust in our particular doctrines. Many Christians believe different doctrines. I suspect that when we are in heaven, in God’s glorious presence, 17 New Christian’s Guide we will see that we’ve all been wrong about many things including some doctrines. So we trust in Jesus himself, not just our doctrines about him. We have faith in God himself, not in our theories about him. That’s why you can find people from all doctrines and denominations who really love God personally and follow Jesus in faith. People with different doctrines from you may even love God more than you do! Jesus reminded religious people that many sinners, prostitutes and hated traitors who collected taxes for Rome, would be saved but many religious people who trusted in their own doctrines or goodness or good works, would not. Saving faith is just trusting Jesus himself, not trusting in your doctrines about him. You can trust him right now as you read this. You can trust Jesus himself. You can have faith in God himself. You could pause now and thank him for his love and grace and forgiveness and mercy for you. If you are not a Christian yet, or you are choosing now to be a Christian and to believe in Jesus, you could pray this prayer: Thank you God for giving me life and loving me. Thank you Jesus for dying for me to save me. Thank you Holy Spirit for giving me new life. I confess my sin and ask for your forgiveness. I give my life to you and choose to follow you. Help me to love and serve you all the days of my life. Fill me with your Spirit and guide me, I pray, In Jesus’ name, Amen. 18 Love God Gift of Faith A funny thing happens for some Christians. They seem to know that salvation is God’s gift to us which we receive by faith, like a child. But then they seem to think we must earn God’s favour or earn Jesus’ love by obedience. But even our service is by grace, in faith, and not by our works. Our service does not earn God’s grace. Service is one way of saying, “Thanks”. Our service is our act of gratitude and love – for God and for others. Faith is a gift. We can’t earn it, not even by being good and obedient. God gives us faith. When we pray, “God, forgive me” or “God save me” we are using faith – the faith that God gives to us. Some people ignore that gift and turn away from God. We are not only saved by God’s grace through faith, but we also serve by God’s grace through faith. Since I was a small boy I heard that we are saved to serve. Then, as we express our love in obedience we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Our obedience does not earn God’s love for us. We already have that, forever. Our obedience just expresses our love for him. We show our love for him by doing what he says to do and doing what pleases him. There is also a gift of faith that is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Some people call this gift of faith ‘mountain moving faith’. That refers to Jesus’ word: Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. (Mark 11:22-23). We have no story of Jesus moving mountains around, although he did turn water into wine, still a storm on Galilee, walk on water, and made a fig tree wither in a day (all done only once). So mountain-moving faith is not there for us to go around changing the landscape! But it is there for us to do the will of our Father, just as Jesus did. 19 New Christian’s Guide I know people who have given all the food they have to hungry people and God multiplied it. I have seen God do that. Sometimes healing is like that. We pray in faith, in simple trust, and God heals – in many different ways. We can all believe in God and have faith in his mighty power. As we obey what he puts into our heart we can move in faith, serve in faith, speak in faith, and obey in faith. The gift of faith then flows in and through us. God does his mighty work in and though us. All glory goes to him, not to us, because he does it in and through us as we obey. That is why some very young Christians can pray for the sick and see them healed in many different ways, because they believe and obey. Others may see God do miraculous things because they also believe and obey. We all can believe and obey. Here’s a simple act of faith you could do now. Read a chapter or passage in the Bible, especially about Jesus as in the Gospels, and ask God to reveal a ‘word’ for you. It may be a promise, an encouragement, a challenge or even a correction. You could write that down. I like to do that every day in my diary. Here’s another simple act of faith for you. Ask God to show you or remind you of someone you could encourage today, then do it. Maybe that will be by an email, a text or a phone call. They will be encouraged and blessed, and so will you. Maybe you could pray for them or pray with them. Another beautiful act of faith is to ask someone to pray for you and then you pray for them. When you pray for them be aware of God’s Spirit present with you and trust him to guide you and help you. He may give you thoughts, or a Scripture verse, or a picture in your mind, and you can pray that. An example could be: “Lord bless John/Mary. Help them to live for you. Guide them, like a light shining on their path. Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.” 20 Love God Follow Me Jesus said, “Follow me”. Even after he rose from the dead and was not often physically present he still said “Follow me” (John 21:19, 22). Follow Jesus in Obedience Have you ever fallen in love? I mean head-over-heels in love! You wanted to be with the one you loved. You wanted to please him or her. You thought of ways to make him or her happy. Their wish was your command! If they liked chocolate you found many ways to surprise them with chocolate. If they asked you to do something you jumped to it as quickly as you could. You loved them. You wanted to please them. You wanted to bless them. That’s a small but powerful example of how we can love Jesus and respond to his great love for us. We follow Jesus, like the disciples did, because we love him. We do what he wants because we love him and want to live for him. If we love Jesus we will obey him more and more. He said: Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me (John 14:23). Then he added: You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. (John 15:14) Sometimes we think that obedience is tough, and certainly Jesus did say: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). That can be tough. But it can also be wonderfully freeing for us. Jesus frees us from our selfishness and self-centredness. He fills us with love for God and for others. 21 New Christian’s Guide Jesus told his followers to come to him and he would give them rest. Obeying his commands is not a heavy burden but a delight. Jesus also said, My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Yes, our love can be weak, fickle, and muddied by our sin or selfishness. But the more we know Jesus in all his grace, beauty, love and goodness, the more we really love him in gratitude and gladness. And the more we love him the more we enjoy obeying him. No one, except Jesus, loves and obeys God fully and perfectly. We all fail at times, maybe often. But we all can grow in our love and obedience. Just trying to obey him is a sign of our love for Jesus and our response to God’s love for us. So how do we follow Jesus in obedience? Simple really! We listen to what he says, and we try to obey. One of his very last instructions for all of us is what we call the Great Commission. That’s for everyone, not just missionaries or ministers. Jesus reminds us that he really does have all authority in heaven and on earth and that he is with us to the end of the age. Our job is to help one another be his disciples, living for him, loving him and serving him. That’s how we too can obey everything he has commanded us. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20) Being baptized is an important step of obedience and witness. You could talk about that to your pastor or group leader or a friend. Our Lord blesses us even more fully as we obey him. 22 Love God Follow Jesus in His Word How do we know what God wants or what Jesus says? There’s a simple answer to that important question. God has given us his Word in his book the Bible. Also Jesus was the Word made flesh, made human. We have the record of his life and teaching in the Bible. His teaching is not just mere words, because his words are spirit and life (John 6:63). We have the Bible, the most famous book in the world, translated into over 680 languages with the New Testament available in more than an additional 1500 languages. Millions of people are reading the Bible now, today. You can. God’s Word is inspired by God’s Spirit, and God’s Spirit is with you and within you as you read. He applies his Word to your heart and life as you listen to him by faith. Paul, writing to his young friend and disciple, Timothy, said it this way: All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (NRSV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV) Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. (The Message) We are blessed with many helpful translations in English. Read a few different ones, and you will probably find some that you love to read the most because they speak your language – the language of your heart. God’s Spirit can breathe into your spirit through his inspired Word. 23 New Christian’s Guide I have read many different translations, especially of the New Testament. Some surprised me. I still remember how quickly I read the first editions of the New Testament in the Good News Bible. It was so easy to read and so interesting, illustrated with line drawings. I have given a copy of that version to all my children and grandchildren. That version has helpful introductory explanations at the beginning of each of the 66 books of the Bible. It has section headings with cross-references under them, making it easy to find the same or similar passages in other parts of the Bible. Then I discovered that the New Revised Standard Bible (NRSV) also has section headings with cross-references. That’s very handy. The NRSV uses inclusive language which is actually more like the inclusive language of the original texts. I often use the New King James Version (NKJV) because it is similar to the Authorised Version of my youth when we all used that in church and memorized it. The NKJV is still the easiest for me to memorize. I’ve often read and appreciated the New International Version as well. Lively paraphrases or equivalent translations such as The Message, The Living Bible, and The Passion Translation add helpful and surprising insights. A quick way to find Bible passages is with Google. Just type a phrase from the Bible and the reference will appear. Also the Bible Gateway – www.biblegateway.com – is very helpful. Type in one verse reference, and it gives you that verse and a link to over 50 different translations of that verse. Enjoy the Bible, especially the New Testament. If it’s new to you, then you could begin with the good news of Jesus in the four Gospels and the amazing story of the early church in the Book of Acts. Then you could explore the letters of instructions for Christians in the epistles. There’s always more to discover as you read the Bible. 24 Love God There are 260 chapters in the New Testament, so it is easy to read the whole New Testament in less than a year, reading one chapter a day. Of course, you may often read more than one chapter. Let God’s Spirit guide you. Sometimes he will lead you to a passage that is especially for you at that time. All the four Gospels have less than 30 chapters so it is easy to read each Gospel in a month, reading one chapter a day. I like to do that, and make brief daily notes in my diary. Find a translation that you like and understand. It often helps if you highlight key passages, such as with a yellow marker, or mark in pencil. That helps you find those passages again later. Study Bibles or Bible Study books can also help you understand more. Pray and be led by the Spirit as you explore these. Remember that God’s Spirit is with you to guide and help you to understand and apply God’s Word in your own life. 25 New Christian’s Guide Follow Jesus in Prayer and Worship Another way to obey and follow Jesus is to talk to him, either silently or aloud, in prayer and in worship. You can do that right now. You could ask him to show you what he wants to reveal to you or what he wants you to do as you read this book. Jesus prayed a lot. He told his followers to pray continually, and the Bible is full of examples and encouragement to do that. One of the shortest verses in the Bible is “Pray always” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). At first glance that seems impossible. Then we begin to understand that we really can live in constant fellowship with our Lord and God – continually relating to him in everything. Only Jesus did that fully, but we can all grow in that. One trap is that we can think by saying lots of words we’ll get God’s attention. Not so! Jesus warned against that in his story of the religious leader and the sinner both praying. The sinner’s prayer was short and from the heart, “God have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). It’s not the words, but the heart that matters. I sometimes find myself praying (often silently) single word prayers such as: thanks, wow, sorry, help, yes, and no (to wrong stuff). Sometimes two or three word prayers say it best for me, such as: You’re great, that’s amazing, I’m grateful, please God. Following Jesus in prayer is a matter of your heart, not your speeches. He knows your heart, and that makes praying really easy because you don’t have to try and explain anything to him. He already knows before we ask or pray, and in fact he often answers even before we pray (Isaiah 65:24). There are many ways to pray and worship, alone or with others. You can pray Bible prayers such as in the Psalms. 26 Love God Psalm 51 is a good example of praying for forgiveness and for God’s help. There are many Psalms that are songs of worship and thanksgiving such as the shortest Psalm of all, Psalm 117. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses and it gives you many prayers about understanding, heeding, and living by God’s Word and instructions. The greatest prayer of all would be what we call the Lord’s Prayer – the prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray. That is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. It’s easy to rattle off the words from memory, but it’s much better to say them slowly and think about their meaning. Some people like to follow a pattern of prayer, such as this one using the letters of ACTS: Adoration and worship, eg. Psalm 100. Confession and consecration, eg. Psalm 51. Thanksgiving and praise, eg, Psalm 150. Supplication and Intercession, eg. Psalm 90. One simple way to fill your time in prayer and worship is to play worship music on your smart phone, your CD, with YouTube, or in your car. I’ve enjoyed worship music (usually instrumental) playing in my car for many years. Prayer and worship come so easily and naturally that way. Try it as background music at home. Worship music on YouTube played softly on my computer as I typed this book. I list my favourite worship music on my blog about Worship and Prayer on my Renewal Journal website https://renewaljournal.com/2019/09/01/wonders-of-worship Jesus prayed often. That was natural for him. You can too: sometimes alone with God, in your room, in nature, or sometimes with others. God promises to hear and answer our prayers. He does that in his time and in his way, often surprising us. 27 New Christian’s Guide Follow Jesus in Fellowship We can, and need to, follow Jesus in fellowship with his people, the church, the body of Christ. A simple example of that is praying with other Christians. I love doing that. It’s like glimpsing the hearts of others as they talk to their Lord and God, and sharing that with them. Someone once said to me, “You talk to God like he’s really there.” I guess that’s because I believe he is really there! You can do that, anytime, anywhere, alone and with others. Jesus is always with us, but he has promised to be with us in a special and unique way when we meet together with him, as in a group or in a church service. Hebrews 10:19-25 warns us not to neglect meeting together to encourage one another. Jesus also said: Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19-20). Following Jesus in fellowship with his people helps us in so many ways. Here are a few: We can help one another. We can encourage one another. We can do things together that we can’t do alone or that are more effective together such as in worship and service. We can correct and help one another when we’re heading in a wrong or unfruitful direction. We can use and grow in our gifting, anointing, and effectiveness as we respond to God together. We can discover new friendship and new relationships in the fellowship of God’s people as we love and serve him together. 28 Love God Follow Jesus in Service Jesus lived a life of service. He said: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Only Jesus could give his life a ransom for us all, for he alone was perfect, the sinless Son of God. However he does call us to follow him in serving one another and others. Many Christians laid down their lives for God and others, and in our cruel world many still do, even today. The cost of sharing the Good News in some countries is very high and may mean martyrdom. These are our brothers and sisters who are called to lay down their lives for their Lord and not deny him. For most of us, our service is more ordinary and typical, helping and serving God and others wherever we are and in the ways that our Lord leads us and opens for us. That is usually in the local church and community, but it can also be in the places where we work and witness. We’ve given accommodation to students, unemployed people and refugees in our home. Your local church is a great place to serve. Get involved there. It may be in a prayer group, a home group, a study group, children’s or youth ministries, or community service. “There is something different about you,” is a common response to Christians loving and serving others. Unbelievers often sense the new life, the life of God in us. Just begin where you are. Bloom where you’re planted. Let your family, your relatives, your workmates and your friends see the new life in you as you serve and help them in any way you can. Doing that will bring glory to your Lord and God as you live for him in the normal tasks of life and service. 29 New Christian’s Guide Follow Jesus in Mission When I was young the word mission usually meant supporting missions and missionaries overseas. Now we realise it involves us all, all the time. We are all involved in mission, always. Jesus gave us our mission – to make disciples of all nations. That starts with your family and your friends and includes others around you and others God brings to your attention or puts on your heart to serve and help. You will probably start your mission by praying for others, especially for family or friends who may not yet believe in Jesus. You can pray for them daily. God hears and answers prayer. You may be surprised how God gives you opportunities to just love and help them in many ways. Christian groups at school, college, university, or at your work can give you many opportunities to love and serve others and tell them about God’s love for them. Many people become Christians by being with Christian friends who pray for them. Your church can give you many ways to be involved in mission, inviting others to join you in various activities such as meals, concerts, sports, outings, and social events. Overseas visitors, students, refugees and immigrants really appreciate your friendship and are often interested in your faith and life. Pray for them and befriend them. Many Christians now travel on short-term mission, or longer mission, to help and serve in developing countries. We have a myriad opportunities to serve and encourage others. I write a lot about that in the Renewal Journal website such as in my book God’s Surprises and in many of my mission books https://renewaljournal.com 30 Love God Filled with the Spirit God’s Spirit lives in all believers and the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5). Born of the Spirit Every new Christian has new life in Christ, born of the Spirit of God. Jesus described it this way: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:6-8). God is Spirit, not just a spirit. There are many spirits but God himself is Spirit. He is the Creator Spirit who made us in his own image, like him. Jesus pointed out that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). We are made in God’s likeness to love God with our whole being and worship him in spirit and truth. Our worship is not just an intellectual activity although we can love God with all our mind. We worship him in spirit with our whole being for we are like him because we are spirit beings living our new life in our bodies. God has given us his Spirit, who is also the Spirit of Jesus. Paul explains our relationship with God our Father and Jesus his Son through his Spirit in a beautiful description of the Trinity: God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God (Galatians 4:4-7). You are born of God’s Spirit, a child of God, eternally loved by God your Father and Jesus your Saviour and Lord. 31 New Christian’s Guide Living in the Spirit As a Christian you have the Spirit of God living in you. You can thank him right now! He lives in you and helps you. Jesus taught his disciples about the Holy Spirit on the night before he was crucified. He said that those who followed him would receive the Helper, a Counsellor, who would live in them and guide them into all truth. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26). Whoever believes in Jesus, whoever trusts him, has the Holy Spirit living in them. This is one of the most amazing aspects of our Christian faith and probably one of the least understood. One of the miracles of receiving and being filled with the Holy Spirit is that we are filled with God’s love by the Spirit of God himself. God is love, so his Spirit imparts his love to us. We not only receive God’s love for us by his Spirit within us, but we also receive God’s love for others as well. That’s miraculous. Spirit-filled people can reflect the Spirit of Jesus. We can grieve the Holy Spirit by not seeking his guidance and by not listening to him. Paul told his readers not to do that: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). We can quickly repent if we resist or quench God’s Spirit in us. Your New Christian’s Guide is in fact the Spirit of God himself now living in you who is also the Spirit of Jesus. Trust him. Expect him to guide and help you as you live the Christian life for him and for his glory. You can ask him to fill you right now, and then trust him to do that his way. 32 Love God Led by the Spirit The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is our Guide. Jesus himself was filled with and led by the Holy Spirit. He said that his followers would also be empowered by the Holy Spirit. This is why he said that we would do even greater works than he did because he was going to the Father (John 14:12). We need to be filled with the Spirit and empowered by the Spirit. Jesus promised this. It was his last promise before he left the earth. He promised that his disciples will have power and authority from the Holy Spirit to undertake the work of his kingdom. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4-5). But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). The more we are filled with the Spirit the more we can love God and love others in the anointing and power of God’s Spirit. This is an amazing relationship with God. Countless millions of Christians now tell how God’s Spirit came upon them and transformed them with a new discovery of God’s love and power and also a new, deep love for God. The Holy Spirit, who inspired God’s Word, speaks powerfully through that Word to the followers of Jesus who truly seek him. As we read the Word of God, seeking the Lord for His guidance, 33 New Christian’s Guide the Holy Spirit brings the Word to life and shows us what God’s word means for us and how to apply it in our daily life. Jesus lived that way, constantly obedient to the Spirit of God in him. We can learn to do that more and more. Sometimes we may feel too sinful or too weak to love and obey our Lord, but the Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). We serve God in his mighty power, not in our own power. Remember that! You have a Helper, an Advocate – the Holy Spirit who loves you, guides you, and empowers you. Jesus is, of course, our best example of being filled with and led by the Spirit. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age (Luke 1:21-23). Jesus was constantly led by the Spirit and ministered in the power of the Spirit. He sent his 12 disciples and then 70 followers to do the same in the authority and power of the Spirit (Luke 8:1-3; 9:1-2; 10:1). He sends up to do the same (Acts 1:8). We too can be led and empowered by God’s Spirit. You can ask for that, expect that, and by led more and more fully by God’s Spirit in you. You could pray for that right now, and ask your Lord to fill you with his Spirit, and trust and expect that he will. Often it helps to pray for that with others also, joining our faith together. The early Christians did that constantly. See Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 4:31; 8:14-17; 9:17-19; 10:44-48; 19:6-7. 34 Love God Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit Paul’s letters to many churches teach a lot about the fruit and the gifts of God’s Spirit in his body, the church. The fruit or result of God’s Spirit in us is that we can live our new life in the Spirit, showing more and more of the Spirit of Jesus in our own lives and service. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25). To walk in the Spirit means just that! As we walk around we can walk and live out the Holy Spirit’s life in us, showing the fruit or result of that in what we say and do. Our Christian living and service can also show more of God’s Spirit’s presence in us by the gifts of the Spirit he gives us. These gifts are not like packages, but are more like his breath in and through us. We say and do what the Spirit gives us to say and do. Then God’s Spirit does more in and through us. Here are three lists of the gifts of God’s Spirit available and given to us in the body of Christ, the church, the people of God: 1. Some people call these seven gifts motivational gifts from God because they motivate us to live in the power of his Spirit: For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness (Romans 12:4-8). 35 New Christian’s Guide 2. Some people call these five gifts ministry gifts given by Jesus to his body, the church, because they enable us to minister in the power of his Spirit. These leaders equip us all to serve God: But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. … And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:7, 11-12). 3. Some people call these nine gifts manifestations of the Spirit because they manifest or show the Spirit’s life and work in and through us: But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Many of these gifts are already given to you or available to you. You may like to look back over those lists and note which ones you are beginning to see in your own life. It’s also a big help to have another Christian tell us what gifts they see developing in our lives. Often other people can see that in us more easily than we can see it in ourselves. You can read more about all this in many books including my books Fruit and Gifts of the Spirit, and Living in the Spirit, on the Renewal Journal website - https://renewaljournal.com. 36 2 Love Others An anthropologist proposed a game to African tribal children. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats. When he asked them why they had run like that because one of the children could have had all the fruits, they said: UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad? UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means: "I am because we are". God’s kingdom is like that, only more so. We belong to God and to one another. We are caught up for ever in God’s great love for everyone. God’s love for us all is unique, total, and eternal. He demonstrated that love in his Son Jesus. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). So God’s love is then poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). That is not only God’s love for us personally, it is also God’s love for everyone. We have a new kind of love within us – God’s love. That love, God’s love, is poured into us by God’s Spirit. We have many practical ways in which we grow in that love for others and express it. It usually means saying and doing things that help and encourage other people. All through history God’s people have been leaders in helping others, feeding the poor and hungry, providing water for the thirsty (even wells), being hospitable (such as for refugees), clothing and caring for those in need, visiting and helping the sick and those in prison. Jesus told a powerful and challenging New Christian’s Guide story about that in Matthew 25:11-46. He said that when we do these things for even the least important people, we do it for him. Really. There is no end to the possibilities we have in doing things like to and for Jesus. Christians have always led the way in helping and caring for others and have been pioneers in nursing and medical care, prison reform, social welfare agencies, and in education and mission – sharing the good news globally. You can be led by God’s Spirit as you take your place in the world, loving others. What does that mean in practice? Well, it certainly means that we love one another, serve one another and encourage one another. 38 Love Others Love one another Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment. What was new? Jesus shared his heart with his disciples on his last evening with them before his crucifixion. He emphasized that we must love one another as he loves us: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35). What’s new about that commandment? We are to love others as Jesus loved us. That’s new. Jesus emphasized it: This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12) Jesus’ love is also God’s radical love. He prayed forgiveness on the cross for those who were killing him. He taught that kind of pure love which often seems strange to us: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:34-44). Our natural, human love is not like that. But God’s love in us by his Spirit is just like that. We are new creations in Christ Jesus with a new kind of love, his love. Paul gives us an inspired description of that kind of godly love in his famous love chapter: Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. … And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13). 39 New Christian’s Guide How do we love like that? We love Jesus (not just like him or learn about him) and he fills us with his love because the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We find a new kind of love within us – a deeper love for God and his deeper love for others flowing through us because his Spirit in us fills us with his love for all people. Then we find ways to show that love as we serve and encourage one another. Certainly we all fall short of that kind of love at times. But by God’s grace and by his Spirit in us, we can grow in our love for God and others. Many Christians say that they are surprised at the change in their attitudes as God’s Spirit changes them by giving them a new kind of love and compassion for others. Bronze sculpture by Max Greiner 40 Love Others Serve one another Jesus lived a life of service. His disciples, argued about greatness on the night before Jesus was crucified: A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, … ‘I am among you as one who serves’ (Luke 22:24, 27). After washing his disciples’ feet that night Jesus said: I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them (John 13:15-17). Peter objected! It was not appropriate for Jesus, his Lord and Master, to do such a thing! The Lord and Master acting and dressed as the lowly servant! Peter still had much to learn about the kingdom of God. So do we! Later on Peter wrote about the ‘joy unspeakable’ or the inexpressible joy we have through believing, loving and serving Jesus: Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9). Obeying Jesus’ commands means that we will love and serve one another as Jesus did. The more we love him the more we will love and serve like him. That is what God’s Spirit does in your life now as you live for him, living a life of service as he did. 41 New Christian’s Guide You could pray the beautiful prayer of Francis of Assisi: Lord make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred let me sow love Where there is injury, pardon Where there is doubt, faith Where there is despair, hope Where there is darkness, light And where there is sadness, joy. O divine master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console to be understood as to understand to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive it is in pardoning that we are pardoned And it's in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen 42 Love Others Encourage one another We are called into service, fellowship and community as the Body of Christ. We need one another and we need to encourage one another. Our physical bodies have many different members, and so does the Body of Christ as Paul explained: If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased (1 Corinthians 12:15-18). Your gifts and abilities are different from mine, although they do overlap. We all worship, sing praise, and serve others. But the way we do it and the abilities we have vary a lot. We need to enjoy and celebrate our differences. As we love and serve the Lord together we can encourage one another. The word encourage means to put courage in someone (en-courage). That’s a great way to show love for one another. We all need it, and we all can give it. Serving God together is a great way to support and encourage one another. Jesus sent his apostles and followers out together in pairs, not alone. As we do things together we bring our different gifts and abilities to the task. For example, if you are praying for someone you can do it alone, and we often do. We can also do it together, and then we bring added faith and gifts to the prayer. Someone may get a Scripture, or a picture parable, or a ‘word of knowledge’ or use a gift of faith for that person. Many healings and miracles happen that way as we pray and obey. 43 New Christian’s Guide I have been blessed hundreds of times when people have prayed for me or thanked me or encouraged me. We have prayed for and encouraged hundreds of people in our ministry and mission. You can too. We can encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13). Then we all grow stronger in our faith and Christian living. We can do this in many ways – face to face, facing challenges, and even on Facebook! We can stir one another up to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24), to love God and to love others. You could do that now! You could encourage someone with an email, a text, a phone call, a Facebook message, or other social media encouragement. Here’s a challenge for you, and me, to put this into practice and obey this instruction to encourage one another daily. You could decide to encourage at least one person every day. An easy way to do that is to thank them for something they did. Some people live through many days without anyone thanking them for anything or appreciating them. That’s discouraging. You can encourage people each day just by thanking them. I was alarmed to hear that the pastors in a church I attended received hundreds of emails complaining about something, especially on Mondays after the Sunday activities. They got very few emails just thanking them. Have you sent you pastor or leader an email lately just thanking them? That’s easy to do. Have you sent someone a Facebook or Instagram or Twitter message thanking them or appreciating them? That’s also easy to do, but we often forget to do such simple things. You could phone someone just to thank or appreciate them. Make sure your family or the people around you often hear you say “Thanks”. 44 Conclusion This small book gives guidelines and suggestions to help us all to love God and to love others. Best of all we can know, love and live for Jesus our Lord and Saviour. I love the way John, possibly the youngest disciple and the one Jesus loved in a unique way, concludes his good news about Jesus. His conclusion applies to this book also: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. Have faith in God. Believe in Jesus. Trust the Holy Spirit. We live out that wonderful relationship with our Lord as we love, serve, and encourage one another. That way we can obey everything Jesus has commanded us with grateful hearts and glad love. Jesus himself told us to make disciples, teaching them to obey everything he commanded his disciples – right through to the end of the age. May God bless you in your Christian life as you grow in your love for God and for others. New Christian’s Guide Personal or Discussion Questions Introduction 1. What’s new for you? 2. What led you to this commitment? 3. What does obeying God mean for you? 4. What puzzles you most about this new life? 5. What satisfies you most about this new life? Love God 1. What does God’s love mean for you? 2. What does God’s holiness mean for you? 3. What does the Trinity mean to you? 4. How do you relate to God personally? 5. Now can others help you respond to God? Faith in God 1. What does being saved by faith mean for you? 2. What does living by faith mean to you? 3. How do faith and works work for you? 4. What is a simple step of faith for you? 5. What is a challenging step of faith for you? God’s Word 1. What Bible translation to you like best? 2. What bits of the Bible have you memorized? eg Lord’s Prayer 3. What parts of the Bible do you find most helpful? 4. What do you find most difficult in the Bible? 5. What Bible guides or helps do you find useful? Prayer & Worship 1. What kinds of prayer do you like most? 2. What kinds of prayer do you find most difficult? 3. What helps you worship alone? eg, nature, CDs 4. What worship do you enjoy with others? 5. What kind of prayer do you appreciate with others? Fellowship 1. What church activity do you enjoy most? 2. What do you like about church services? 3. What do you not like about church services? 4. What kind of Christian groups do you enjoy? 5. What encourages you? 46 Love Others Service 1. What ways do you enjoy helping others? 2. How have others helped you? 3. What would you like to do more? 4. What does serving others mean for you? 5. How would you like to serve others with other people? Mission 1. What does the word mission mean for you? 2. How did others help you to know God? 3. How have others helped you live for God? 4. What can you do to help others know God? 5. How would you like to witness for God with others? Filled with the Spirit 1. What does being born of the Spirit mean for you? 2. How does living in the Spirit change how you live? 3. How can you be led by the Spirit? 4. What does being filled with the Spirit mean to you? 5. What gifts of the Spirit do you have or desire? Love Others 1. How have others shown love to you? 2. How do you show love to others? 3. What ‘love language’ speaks most to you? (eg, affirmation, gift, actions, giving time, touch) 4. How did Jesus show his love before dying? 5. How did Jesus’ followers show love? Serve Others 1. How have others served or helped you? 2. How do you like to serve others? 3. What acts of service impress you in history? 4. What acts of service impress you in the Bible? 5. What verses about service challenge you? Encourage Others 1. What Bible verses encourage you? 2. What promises in the Bible encourage you? 3. What kind of encouragement do you appreciate? 4. What encouragement has helped you lately? 5. How can you encourage or help others? 47 New Christian’s Guide Back to Contents 48 Appendix: Resources Renewal Journal Publications See https://renewaljournal.com for Blogs on books PDF Books, eBooks, and Paperbacks Available on Amazon and Kindle Most Paperbacks in both Basic Edition and Gift Edition (colour) New Christian’s Guide Appendix: Books Renewal Journal Publications https://renewaljournal.com All books in Paperback, eBook & PDF Most Paperbacks in both Basic Edition and Gift Edition (colour) Revival Books Flashpoints of Revival Revival Fires South Pacific Revivals Pentecost on Pentecost & in the South Pacific Great Revival Stories, comprising: Best Revival Stories and Transforming Revivals Renewal and Revival, comprising: Renewal: I make all things new, and Revival: I will pour out my Spirit Anointed for Revival Church on Fire 50 Appendix Renewal Books Body Ministry, comprising: The Body of Christ, Part 1: Body Ministry, and The Body of Christ, Part 2: Ministry Education, with Learning Together in Ministry Great Commission Mission comprising: Teaching Them to Obey in Love, and Jesus the Model for Short Term Supernatural Mission New Christian’s Guide Living in the Spirit Your Spiritual Gifts Fruit & Gifts of the Spirit Keeping Faith Alive Today EnCOURAGE: Love One Another The Leader's Goldmine Word and Spirit by Alison Sherrington Study Guides Signs and Wonders: Study Guide The Holy Spirit in Ministry Revival History Holy Spirit Movements through History Renewal Theology 1- Revelation, Trinity, Mission Renewal Theology 2 – Jesus, Holy Spirit, Humanity Ministry Practicum 51 New Christian’s Guide Devotional Books Inspiration The Queen’s Faith The Queen’s Christmas & Easter Messages EnCOURAGE 100 Bible Quotes Bible Story Pictures & Models New Christians Guide Jesus on Dying Regrets Holy Week, Christian Passover & Resurrection comprising: Holy Week, and Christian Passover Service, and Risen: 12 Resurrection Appearances Risen: Short Version Crucified and Risen Mysterious Month – expanded version of Risen Kingdom Life series Kingdom Life: The Gospels – comprising: Kingdom Life in Matthew Kingdom Life in Mark Kingdom Life in Luke Kingdom Life in John A Preface to the Acts of the Apostles 52 Appendix The Lion of Judah series The Titles of Jesus The Reign of Jesus The Life of Jesus The Death of Jesus The Resurrection of Jesus The Spirit of Jesus The Lion of Judah – all in one volume Discovering Aslan - comprising: Discovering Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Discovering Aslan in Prince Caspian Discovering Aslan in the Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’ Discovering Aslan in the Silver Chair Discovering Aslan in the Horse and his Boy Discovering Aslan in the Magician’s Nephew Discovering Aslan in the Last Battle 53 New Christian’s Guide General Books Bible Story Pictures & Models Journals and Planners You Can Publish for Free My First Stories by Ethan Waugh An Incredible Journey by Faith by Elisha Chowtapalli Biographical: Looking to Jesus: Journey into Renewal & Revival autobiography Journey into Mission – Geoff’s mission trips Journey into Ministry and Mission – later autobiography God’s Surprises – highlights of Journey into Mission Pentecost on Pentecost & in the South Pacific Light on the Mountains – Geoff in PNG Exploring Israel – Geoff’s family’s trip King of the Granny Flat by Dante Waugh – brief biography Travelling with Geoff by Don Hill By All Means by Elaine Olley - biography of Jim Waugh 54 Appendix The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story A brief overview of Jesus’ life and ministry Preface Introduction 1 Birth and Boyhood 2 Ministry Begins 3 First to Second Passover 4 Second to third Passover 5 Passover to Pentecost Conclusion Appendix 1: Chronology Chart Appendix 2: The Feast Days Appendix 3:The Gospels Appendix 4: Alternate Chronology Appendix 5: The Shroud of Turin Appendix 6: Publications 55 New Christian’s Guide Renewal Journals https://renewaljournal.com 1: Revival 2: Church Growth 3: Community 4: Healing 5: Signs and Wonders 6: Worship 7: Blessing 8: Awakening 9: Mission 10: Evangelism 11: Discipleship 12: Harvest 13: Ministry 14: Anointing 15: Wineskins 16: Vision 17: Unity 18: Servant Leadership 19: Church 20: Life Bound Volumes Vol. 1 (1-5) Revival, Church Growth, Community, Signs & Wonders Vol. 2 (6-10) Worship, Blessing, Awakening, Mission, Evangelism Vol. 3 (11-15) Discipleship, Harvest, Ministry, Anointing, Wineskins Vol. 4 (16-20) Vision, Unity, Servant Leadership, Church, Life 56 Appendix Renewal Journal Logo: basin & towel, lamp & parchment, in the light of the cross https://renewaljournal.com The Renewal Journal website gives links to Renewal Journals, Books, Blogs Free PDF Books available FREE SUBSCRIPTION for new Blogs & free offers Including free PDF books 57 New Christian’s Guide About the Author Geoff Waugh taught on renewal and revival at Alcorn College (Methodist), Trinity Theological College (Uniting, Anglican, and Catholic) and Christian Heritage College (Charismatic) in Brisbane, Australia, as well as in Bible Schools in Papua New Guinea (Baptist) and in the South Pacific Islands (with Churches of Christ and United Churches). He led short term missions and taught church leaders in Africa, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and in the South Pacific in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji. He is the founding editor of the Renewal Journal and is an author of books on renewal and revival including Flashpoints of Revival and Revival Fires. Geoff met his wife Meg on mission and they are blessed with three adult children and eight grandchildren. He is grateful to his family and to God for his strong evangelical heritage and for enriching fellowship with God’s wonderfully diverse people. 58 Appendix 59 New Christian’s Guide Back to Contents 60