Lesson 4: You believe in Jesus - What difference does that make to your life in your family and at work?

Some things that people say

‘I believe in Jesus.  That is enough.  I can live my life as I want to.’

·            In lesson 1, we said that it is important to believe in Jesus.  You must decide to do this for yourself.  But that is only the first step. 

·            The Bible says that you must also join God’s people – the church.  When God’s people meet together, they listen to the leaders.  So they hear what the Bible says.  They want to learn more about Jesus.

·            When we listen to the Bible, we learn many good things.  We learn that we cannot do only what we want to do.  Some things that we do are wrong.  If we want to follow Jesus, we must do what the Bible says.  To do that will involve some changes in your life and in my life.

Lesson 3: Growing in the Christian Faith

The Church

In the first two lessons we have thought about the good news about Jesus.  We have concentrated on the good news about Jesus in your personal life.  It is right to do this.  You can only follow Jesus if you yourself have received him into your life.  Some people have attended a church for many years. However, if they do not have a personal faith, they are not Christians.  We said this in lesson one.  If you go to church, that does not make you a Christian.  So it has been helpful for us to talk about this.  Each one of us must believe in Jesus for himself or herself. 

Lesson 2: How can I be sure of my faith?

 

Reasons why a person may not want to be a Christian any more.

‘I do not really understand the good news about Jesus.’

·            We learned about this in last week’s lesson.  If you still think that the good news about Jesus is hard to understand, speak to the pastor after the lesson.  He will help you.

‘I am not sure that God can really accept someone like me.’

·            Many people feel that God is not interested in them.  They may carry some shame in their life.  Maybe their village tells them that they do not have much worth. 

Lesson 1: What is a Christian?

Introduction

These lessons are for new Christians.  The pastor will teach some parts of the lesson.  He will ask you to talk about some other parts of the lesson.  You can ask the pastor questions too.

Notes for the pastor:

It would be good to begin each lesson with some worship and prayer.

1.      The pastor should ask people to go into groups of about six people.  The people will then try to answer the question: ‘What is a Christian?’  Tell them that they have about 10 minutes to do this.

2.      The pastor should ask the groups to tell him their answers.

3.      The pastor should then teach them from these notes.

What it does not mean to be a Christian

The Bible is quite clear about what it means to be a Christian.  Many people have wrong ideas about this.  Here are some wrong answers:

Following Jesus - A course for New Christians

This is a short course designed for new Christians. It can be used by pastors and Bible Study leaders in the developing world or by or people who speak English as a second language. We invite you to download, print, and use this course free of charge, as long as you include the Copyright Statement at the end of each document.

Lesson 1: What is a Christian?
Lesson 2: How can I be sure of my faith?
Lesson 3: Growing in the Christian Faith
Lesson 4: What difference does following Jesus make?