New Believer's Guide to the Christian Life , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Alex Early

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70 pages

English

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What Life as a Christian Really Looks Like New believers need to know what to expect. While many books cover the nuts and bolts of new faith--how to read the Bible, how to pray, how to find a church--in this book, Alex Early focuses on issues of the heart. What are Christians supposed to feel? What happens when they sin? What does God want from them? Designed to challenge and reassure, this book gives a realistic depiction of the Christian life, and includes such topics as how to rest in God's love, what forgiveness looks like when you blow it, what it means to find your identity in Christ, and how to pray with honesty and transparency.God isn't surprised when we struggle, and although being in a relationship with God is amazing, he never promised that this life would be easy. He can handle "real" people, and he pours out his reckless love regardless of what we do or think on any given day. We all need to be reminded of this, but especially those new to the faith.This book is ideal for new believers, but seasoned Christians should also have copies on hand to give away. Includes end-of-chapter questions and a "Christianese to English" glossary.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	18 octobre 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441230645
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0259€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2016 by Alex Early
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938464
ISBN 978-1-4412-3064-5
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com .
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
Scripture quotations marked NJB are from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotation marked WE is taken from the Worldwide English New Testament.
All emphasis in Scripture, shown by italics, is the author’s.
Cover design by Connie Gabbert
Author is represented by Wolgemuth and Associates.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my mother, Bevy.
You have been and always will be my hero. Your constant encouragement, steadfast love, and Christlikeness are contagious.
I suppose the highest compliment comes from Jana, as she has said for years, “If there’s anyone I learn from and want to be like in the whole world, it’s your mom.” We love you so much! You’re the best!
Epigraph
Turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is better than we ever dared hope, and that to believe in that good news, to live out of it and toward it, to be in love with that good news, is of all glad things in this world the gladdest thing of all. Amen, and come, Lord Jesus.
—Frederick Buechner, The Clown in the Belfry: Writings on Faith and Fiction
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Dedication 5
Epigraph 7
Foreword 11
Introduction: I’m a Christian. Now What? 15
1. We Work From Not For Our Identity 27
2. You Are a Beloved Child of God 43
3. Quit Praying for God to Use You: Real Relationship 59
4. Don’t Fake It With God: Real Prayer 73
5. Real Obedience 91
6. Baptism: Cleansed 111
7. Church Membership 121
8. Life in the Church Community 135
9. What About My Money? 147
Conclusion: What Maturity Looks Like 161
Notes 165
Christianese Glossary 169
About the Author 173
Books by Alex Early 175
Back Ad 176
Back Cover 177
Foreword
In June of 1997 I became a Christian. It was one of those dramatic events that become legend—though they are certainly not the norm—but this isn’t my book, so I won’t get on that soapbox!
I was nearly sixteen. I’d grown up, to that point, identifying as a part-time Catholic. Though we had spent seasons (there’s a great definition for this Christianese word in the appendix) in other church traditions, Catholicism was my foundation.
The period leading up to my salvation I now see with absolute clarity as organized and ordained by my heavenly Father, from start to finish. My dad’s friend Johnny invited him to church, and my dad acquiesced because he was his friend and this new church seemed like a good idea for his two teenage boys. I’d describe my emotions around my first experience with this particular church as a mixture of fear, curiosity, and entertainment. The church was wildly, wildly , charismatic—white dress–wearing praise dancers, dramatic choir, and emotion-filled gospel presentations. They were weird to me then, but I’m certain Jesus was there.
We went with regularity, but I was only present, not engaged. My mother had become a Christian nearly eight years before this time in my life, after she’d attempted suicide and come to the end of herself in trying to solve some deep childhood trauma. Though I respected her decision, my thought was that she needed this church stuff to get better, and I’d be cool with it, but it wasn’t for me. I was agnostic, though I had no term for it then.
Then something happened that I could not have anticipated: Jesus rescued my father from three generations of works-based, saved-by-being-a-good-man faith! He changed so dramatically that it almost seemed pretense to me. As I watched him, I noted the obvious genuineness of this new dad, and something softened in me. I can look back now and know that the Holy Spirit was preparing me for the moment I’d truly meet Jesus.
A few weeks after my father became a Christian, I was out playing basketball at a local park. A young man approached me whom I did not recognize, but apparently he recognized me. He came straight up to me and invited me to his youth group, which was not so coincidentally the youth group for the church we’d been attending. I said no. In fact, I’d say no four or five times. He just kept coming back, embarrassing me in front of my friends merely by his presence, and he kept inviting! I finally relented, only to get him to leave me alone. Little did I know that the day I relented would be the last day of my life that I didn’t know the love of Jesus.
I look back on that time now and I have few regrets, but one stands out—after I became a Christian I wasn’t completely sure what to do next. I am in no way saying that my local church wasn’t trying to disciple me. I am, however, saying that often, even though many local churches have the very best intentions, new Christians can get lost in the shuffle. If not lost in the shuffle, shoved into leadership too quickly (i.e., I was leading a small group just weeks after becoming a Christian. I couldn’t even find Deuteronomy in the Bible!)
I believe that’s why Alex Early’s work is so vital. As I began to read, my first thought was Why hasn’t anyone written this book before now? As God would have it, my dear friend was the one for whom God was waiting.
Alex has taken great care to lovingly craft not just a “guide,” but an insightful piece that answers many questions we don’t even yet know we have when we’re new to following Jesus. He covers many difficult topics with precision and love.
What do we do when we sin, once we’ve been forgiven of sin? How do we avoid spiraling into hopeless self-pity when we just can’t seem to get it right? Does God expect us to always be “on”?
These few questions only scratch the surface of the depth and care that went into this book.
My early life in Christ was not “all roses,” as Alex says. In fact, there was a real formula at work: Legalism + Sin = Condemnation. And it would repeat, for years. Only in my twenties did I really begin to understand grace and the gospel. I only share this because I truly believe that this book potentially would have altered the course of my early walk with Jesus.
I only say potentially because I am inherently rebellious, not because of any lack in this work. Yet, I have to believe that with a resource like this one, my first years would have been filled with exponentially less pain and more freedom. I pray that it will have the same promise for anyone starting out on the wondrous, complex, lifelong journey of following Jesus our King. Grace, and ever more grace to you!
Pastor Léonce B. Crump Jr. founder, Renovation Church author, Renovate: Changing Who You Are by Loving Where You Are
Introduction
I’m a Christian. Now What?
You’re a Christian! An amazing reality is now yours—you, my brother or sister, are a child of God! Welcome to the family! So why is a New Believer’ s Guide necessary? Because if you’re a new believer in Jesus, you may feel like you’re all alone in this process; but trust me, you’re not. Here’s what I mean: According to the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, there are, on average, 80,000 new Christians per day. 1 That’s right. Not 8, not 80, not 800, but 80,000. That comes out to 56 every minute. Or 3,333 every hour, and 560,000 every week. That’s approximately 2.43 million every month, 29.1 million every year. Right now, there are about 2 billion people on earth that are part of your new family—children of God. On top of this, since our faith is thousands of years old, countless others have understood and articulated this experience, though not everyone’s experience is exactly the same, even those recorded in the Bible.
Like any book, this one cannot possibly exhaust all that goes into the Christian faith. The well is just that deep! However, the aim is to provide answers to common questions, give insights into regular routines and rhythms of the Christian life, and encourage you to grow in your discipleship with Jesus and in your relationships, both with those who also follow him and those who have yet to do so. We will cover things like identity, prayer, baptism, church membership, and giving—showing how these things profoundly impact your real life right here and right now as a disciple of Jesus.
The word gospel literally means “good news.” The goo