Hello and welcome to our New to Faith Short Course!

This is designed to outline some practical Christian Rhythms to help you get started in your faith. Each Rhythm includes a short video from our team, some scriptures and questions you can work through and links to trusted sources on the topic to study further.

If you are taking a friend through it and would like some additional information to help guide conversations download the leader guide here.

We pray this short course helps you as you start the journey!

INTRODUCTION

JESUS CENTRED

READ John chapter 1

Hopefully as you read you came to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is ‘the word’ the bible is talking about. If this is the case then there are some characteristics of Jesus that we can see here:

READ COLOSSIANS 1:15-20

The bible teaches that Jesus is not simply a carpenter from Nazareth, He is not just a good man or even a profound teacher, the Bible reveals Him to be the key person of history through whom God is reconciling the world to Himself.

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY

Father God, Help me to KNOW Jesus. I believe that He died for me and rose again and is Lord. I confess that I have gone my own way and receive your forgiveness and grace. Come and be the centre of my life and make me new. Help me to live my life following your ways, trusting your words as truth and living life in relationship with you. In Jesus name, Amen

TAKE A MOMENT TO RESPOND

Get a pen and notepad and take time to think about the person of Jesus. Write down all of the traits of Jesus that you like. Pick one of those traits and write how you can apply it to act more like Him this week.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIVING JESUS CENTRED

SPIRIT LED

READ ROMANS 8

You can see in this reading that the Spirit (note the capital S here denoting He is a person) plays a vital role in the life of the christian. We use the term Holy Spirit to describe the person of God who indwells us as christians.

Read John 14:15-17

You will see that the Holy Spirit is with us and in us as christians. As our helper, consider the following ways the Holy Spirit leads us:

  1. The Holy Spirit shows us truth | See John 16:13

  2. The Holy Spirit helps us know the things of God | See1 Corinthians 2:12

  3. The Holy Spirit directs us to do things for God | Acts 13:2-4

  4. The Holy Spirit warns us to stay on God’s path | Acts 16:6

  5. The Holy Spirit can also direct us to take risks for God | Acts 20:22-23

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY

Father God, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help me know I am your child. I ask that you help me to know your voice and follow your leading in my life. I ask that you speak to me now about any areas of my life that need your direction. Help me hear what you are saying and give me strength to obey you. In Jesus name, Amen.

TAKE A MOMENT TO RESPOND

Get a pen and notepad and write down the directions you are feeling might be the voice of the Holy Spirit.

NOTE: As you learn to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit it’s vital that you have a christian you trust to talk through those directions to help you process how to respond.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIVING SPIRIT LED

BIBLE BASED

AN OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE

The bible has two sections:

The Old Testament is about a Nation
The New Testament is a about a Man

The Nation was founded and Nurtured of God to bring the Man into the world.

Once you understand the basic framework or the overview, you are much better equipped to read the Bible. 

WHERE TO START READING

Go to the table of contents page in your bible. Start with these books to get an overview:

The New Testament Kickstart Books:

  • The Gospel of Luke: is about the life of Jesus.

  • Acts: is about the early church.

  • Ephesians: is an introduction to the teaching of Paul.

The Old Testament Kickstart books:

  • Genesis: is about the history of creation and how God made covenants (agreements) with man.

  • Psalms and Proverbs: is about Hebrew poetry and wisdom

 By reading these books, you will get a basic feel for and understanding of the scope of the Bible without getting bogged down in the more difficult sections.

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY

Father God, thank you for the bible. Help me to learn, change and grow as I read it. Show me your love for me and may the bible come alive for me as I read it. Give me the desire and strength to build a habit of reading it each day and applying to it in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

TAKE A MOMENT TO RESPOND

Get a pen and notepad and write down the following words:

SCRIPTURE, OBSERVATION, APPLICATION, PRAYER. It is the acronym SOAP.

As you read the SCRIPTURE today look for one verse that stands out to you. When you find that verse write it out in your notepad. Take a moment to write the OBSERVATION that stood out to you. Once done then consider how it can APPLY to your life and write that out in a few words. Close by writing out a simple PRAYER in response.

This is a simple bible journalling method used by many christians. It is great way to study and apply scripture each day.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BEING BIBLE BASED

AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

The Christian understanding of God as the trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) means that God is a community. If you read Genesis 1:26-28 you will see that God created us in His image. This means we were created to live in relationship.

God doesn’t want us to live as isolated individuals. When He brings us nearer to Him, He also brings us nearer to one another.

Community begins with God. God is a community of three persons and invites us into His divine community to enjoy friendship and fellowship with him through His Son Jesus Christ.

At Anthem we believe you were created for community. This means that gathering in connect groups, services and events are essential for you to live as you were designed.

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY

Father God, thank you for making me like you. Help me to find and experience healthy relationships in my life. Give me wisdom to change the relationships that are having a negative impact on me and connect to those who will help me live more like you. In Jesus name, Amen.

TAKE A MOMENT TO RESPOND

Consider taking the next step by joining one of our Connect Groups and attending our Weekend Services.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIVING IN AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY

FERVENT PRAYER

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRACTICE PRAYER

There is no formula to prayer, however, sometimes it’s great to have a format. Like all healthy relationships the key is to ensuring you are sharing what is on your mind and heart and then listening to the other person so you can let them speak to you.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray the following way because it covers all the areas that are important to talk to God about:

Step One: Start by giving thanks and honouring God.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

Here, Jesus first directs us to acknowledge God as our Father in heaven.

God is the creator of the universe, the alpha and omega, the King of Kings, the Almighty. But, He is also our good, good Father who loves us and wants an intimate relationship with us.

The word “hallowed” here means “honored as holy.” The first step to any prayer is to give the Father glory and honour and praise. This positions our hearts to be aware of God’s presence as we pray.

Step Two: Pray God’s Will Be Done

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus tells us to pray God’s will over our own because the ultimate goal of prayer is not to convince God of our heart but to align it with His. Praying God’s will to be done in our situation puts His agenda before our own.

Jesus tells us to pray God’s will over our own because the ultimate goal of prayer is not to convince God of our heart but to align it with His. Praying God’s will to be done in our situation puts His agenda before our own

Step Three: Pray For Your Needs

“Give us this day our daily bread,”

Here, Jesus transitions into instructing us to pray for the provision of our needs, no matter how seemingly insignificant or mundane.

We need daily bread in the sense that we need God to daily dwell with us and guide us, but also that we need literal daily bread to stay alive.

Pray for both His physical and spiritual provision in your life and the lives of those you love.

 Step Four: Confess Sin & Ask For Forgiveness

“..and forgive us our debts,”

 Many times when we pray, we forget these next two steps but they are vitally important to our walk with God.

We need to regularly ask God to search our hearts and reveal our sin to us. We need to regularly be confessing those sins to God and asking Him to forgive us.

Prayer is about cultivating a relationship with Jesus and in any relationship, part of intimacy is humility and openness. Humble, open, teachable hearts apologize when they are wrong.

Step Five: Ask For Help Forgiving Others

“..as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

You may not think that you regularly need to forgive others, but this doesn’t just refer to obvious conflicts. This can mean forgiving someone for disappointing you or letting you down as well as forgiving someone who has wronged you.

Step Six: Pray For Safety, Protection & Deliverance

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Though God allows us to be tempted and tested, He is never the tempter (James 1:13-14). We lead ourselves into situations where we are tempted. Here Jesus is showing us how to pray against this and keep us from being our own worst enemy.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT FERVENT PRAYER

GENEROUS IN NATURE

Generosity is about so much more than giving money! Generosity isn’t something christians do, it’s foundational to who we are. God so loved the world that he gave. He didn’t give the world money, He gave the world the most precious gift, His Son.

Did you know that christian generosity has shaped the entire world we live in? As people trust in God they begin to live like him and give their time, resource and energy to help the world around them.

We all have something we can give to make a difference in the world. Take a moment to pray and then consider how you might begin the journey of living a generous life towards others.

TAKE A MOMENT TO PRAY

Father God, thank you for being so generous to me and making me like you. Help me to take a step to be generous to people in my life. Speak to me about what I can do to serve others, help others and be an example of your love to the world. In Jesus name, Amen.

TAKE A MOMENT TO RESPOND

Consider the people in your life and the things God has given you.

Are there any things you can do to develop the practice of generosity? The book ‘The Five Love languages’ gives us 5 ways we can express love, which is all about generosity:

Who can you better communicate God’s love to through: words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch?

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BEING GENEROUS IN NATURE

ALWAYS ON MISSION

One of the responsibilities of the christian faith is to share the good news with others! A simple way you can be prepared to do this is by sharing your own story. The bible uses the word testimony to describe your experience. Although people can argue with you about the bible and who Jesus is, no one can argue with your experience. Take a moment to pray and then we will give you a simple format to help you write out your testimony.

Take a moment to pray

Father God, I thank you for saving me! Give me boldness to share my faith with others. I want them to experience the same peace and joy I have found in you. Speak to me about people I know that I can talk to about my faith and open opportunities for this to happen this week. In Jesus name, Amen.

Take a moment to RESPOND

Write out your testimony. This will help you clarify your experience so you can share it with others. We’ve created the form below to help you.

Consider getting Water Baptised. Water baptism is a public declaration of your faith in Jesus. We do this regularly in our weekend services and it’s a great opportunity to invite others to hear about your faith decision. Let us know below if that’s a step you’d like to take.

NEXT STEPS

Congratulations on completing our New to Faith Short Course!

We are here to help you on the journey in any way we can. See you in one of our groups or services over the next few weeks. Be sure to stop in and say hi to our team at the Connect Hub should you have any questions.

 
 
 

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