The Bible is God's inspired Word written for humankind. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the final and complete revelation of God, which tells us who God is, how we can be saved through His Son, Jesus Christ, and how we ought to live in response to this grace. Every single verse and word in the Bible is fully and equally inspired by the God, and is therefore trustworthy and true.
Because God has given us a perfect revelation of Himself in the Scriptures, we must be diligent to commit ourselves to them so that we can know God. Therefore, we must be faithful to read, study, pray, and memorize the Scriptures.
One of the best ways to get started is to pick out a reading plan that you can stick to. Some reading plans will take you through the Bible in a year or two. Others will take you through certain parts of the Bible. Here are some great Bible reading plans to help get you started:
– Chronological Bible Reading Plan
– M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
– Two Year Bible Reading Plan
– 52 Week Bible Reading Plan
– 5 Day/Week Bible Reading Plan
– F260 Bible Reading Plan
– Bible Reading Chart
Recommended Reading on the Bible and Interpretation:
–Taking God at His Word – Kevin DeYoung
–One Bible, Many Versions – Dave Brunn
–The Scriptures Testify About Me – D.A. Carson
–Why Trust the Bible – Greg Gilbert
–How to Read the Bible For All It Worth – Gordon Fee
–Word-Centered Church – Jonathan Leeman
–Words of Life – Timothy Ward
–God’s Big Picture – Vaughn Roberts
–God’s Word Alone – Matthew Barrett
–40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible – Robert Plummer
Simply put, prayer is communication between humans and God. When we read the Bible, we hear from God, and when we pray, we speak to God. Prayer is intended to be a rich, life-giving part of our spiritual walk with God, however, most of us have a hard time praying.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The best way to grow in your prayer life is to simply start praying.
Often times, the hardest part of prayer is developing the habit of consistent prayer. While prayer is certainly a spiritual discipline, here are a few ideas on how to get started:
Our A.C.T.S. Prayer Guide is a guide that walks you through a step-by-step process of how to pray. You can use it to develop a rhythm and habit of consistent prayer. You can also set reminders and timers on your phone. Perhaps you might set an alarm or reminder at key points throughout the day to remind you to pray. One last way to get started is to commit to start each day and end each day with prayer. Pray when you wake up and pray before you go to sleep.
Recommended Reading on Prayer:
–Praying Our Way Through Duty to Delight – J.I. Packer
–Praying the Bible – Donald Whitney
–Prayer – Tim Keller
–A Praying Life – Paul Miller
–Prayer – John Onwuchekwa
–Praying with Paul – D.A. Carson
–Prayer – Ole Hallesby
–Praying Backwards – Bryan Chapell
–Valley of Vision – Arthur Bennett
–Pray Big – Alistair Begg
Evangelism is simply sharing the gospel with words in a clear and complete way with another person. While the gospel may be visible in the way we act or serve others, true evangelism requires sharing the message of the gospel with words.
The good news of the gospel is that sinners can be rescued and redeemed from the devastating effects of sin through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Every Christian has the responsibility and privilege to share this wonderful message with the world.
For some, evangelism comes quite naturally. Although some are more gifted at sharing the gospel than others, we all have this urgent responsibility.
The first step in evangelism is to pray to God for opportunities to share the gospel. Next, think through your location (where you live), your vocation (where you work), and your recreation (where you play), and see who God has placed around you. Ask that God would give you the opportunity to share the gospel in those areas.
One of the best ways to share the gospel is to simply ask others to read through a book of the Bible with you. It is best to start with one of the four gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Statistics show a majority of people will respond positively to this question. Who can you ask to read through a gospel this week?
Recommended Reading on Evangelism:
–Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God – J.I. Packer
–Tell the Truth – Bruce Metzger
–Confronting Christianity – Rebecca McLaughlin
–Evangelism – J. Mack Stiles
–Life on Mission – Dustin Willis and Aaron Coe
–Reason for God – Tim Keller
–The Soul Winner Charles Spurgeon
–Let the Nations Be Glad – John Piper
–The Gospel and Personal Evangelism – Mark Dever
–Master Plan of Evangelism – Robert Coleman
Christians ought to be the most generous people on earth because we have experienced the greatest generosity imaginable. Christians must understand kingdom economics- that is, that investing in eternity is far more wise than merely investing in 70 or 80 years.
Because of this, we strive to be good stewards of the things God gives us- time, treasures and talents. We can serve the Lord through the local church with our gifts and talents. Our time can be used to have neighbors over for dinner with hopes of sharing the gospel. All the money and material possessions we have come from the Lord, so we seek to be generous with it by giving money to the local church. Generosity ought to be a way of life for the believer.
The best way to get started is to begin thinking intentionally about ways to be generous. Fat too often, generosity is not our first inclination. So we have to develop the discipline of generosity.
A great first action step is to begin sacrificially giving to and through the local church. You can set up recurring donations on our give page online, or give at the gathering on Sunday. Another way to begin living a more generous life is to sign up to serve in the local church and thus show generosity with your time. Lastly, use your talents and gifts to see the local church flourish and the gospel go forward in our world.
Recommended Reading on Stewardship:
The word "theology" comes from two greek words, theos (God) and logos (word). Simply put, theology is the study of God. Our study of God starts and centers in the study of the Bible. All Christian theology is founded on and derived from the Scriptures.
Everyone is a theologian because we all believe something about God. Some believe He does not exist, some believe He exists but isn't involved in the world, and others recognize that God is real and active in our world today. Yet in each example, every person believes something about God, and thus, everyone is a theologian to some extent. This inescapable reality urges each of us to know God truly. If we all believe something about God, shouldn't we make sure we believe the right thing about God? Thus, we must make every effort to know God truly and study God faithfully.
Studying theology begins and is centered in the Scriptures. Since God has revealed Himself in the Bible, we trust the Scriptures to teach us about God. There are many theologians who have written helpful books throughout church history as well.
A great way to start studying theology is to begin asking good questions. Perhaps you have questions about salvation, or how the attributes of God. These questions can lead you to a deeper study of God's Word and of other resources. Ultimately, our study of theology must bring us to live in greater awe and adoration of our Savior, as we patiently await His return.
–Knowing God – J.I. Packer
–Everyone’s A Theologian – R.C. Sproul
–Systematic Theology – Wayne Grudem
–Delighting in the Trinity – Michael Reeves
–What Is Biblical Theology? – James Hamilton
–From Eden to New Jerusalem – T. Desmond Alexander
–Sound Doctrine – Bobby Jamieson
–Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life – Donald Whitney
–Gospel Primer – Milton Vincent
–None Greater – Matthew Barrett