Follow Jesus
Salvation
The first step to drawing closer to God and growing spiritually is to put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. Your relationship with God starts here. These are the steps to receiving Christ:
Recognize that you are a sinner and are in need of a savior. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (ESV)
Recognize that Jesus died for you to bear your sins. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. (NLT)
Recognize that only through Jesus can we have access to God the Father. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (ESV)
Put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. John 1:12 says, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” (NLT)
Repent of your sins. Acts 27:30 says, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.” (NLT)
And invite Jesus into your heart. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (ESV) Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. Will you let him in?
If you are ready to put your trust in Jesus as your Lord and savior say this prayer:
Father God, I am a sinner, and I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. I believe that he died in my place so that I might be forgiven. I ask that you forgive me now of all of my sins. Make me your child. Give me eternal life. And I thank you for saving me.
If you made that prayer in faith, then I can say by the authority of God’s word that God has forgiven you and has saved you and has given you eternal life. Welcome to God’s family!
We would like to rejoice with you, so please let us know that you have given your life to Christ by filling out the form at the bottom of this page and submitting it or by calling us at 562-646-SLCC. God bless you.
Baptism
Why get baptized?
Baptism is an ordinance (or command) that Jesus gave the Church. We see this in Matthew 28:18-20:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)
Since it is an ordinance then every believer should be baptized out of obedience to Jesus. In fact, Jesus set the example by being baptized. We see this in Matthew 3:13-17:
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?”15 But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” (NLT)
How are people baptized?
In the original Greek the word baptize means to dip or immerse. So when we baptize we fully immerse the individual in water. We see this method in Matthew 3:16 that says, “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God. Notice that it says, “immediately he went up from the water.” This tells us that Jesus was fully immersed in water and then came up from it.
What is the purpose of baptism?
It symbolizes dying with Christ, being buried with him and walking in newness of life. This makes baptism a proclamation of our faith in Jesus.
Romans 6:3-4 says, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (ESV)
Are we saved through baptism?
The answer is no. We are saved when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism is simply a public declaration of our faith in Jesus as our Lord and savior. There are two passages that demonstrate this:
Colossians 2:12 says, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” (ESV) Notice that is says “raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God.”
Gal 3:26-27 says, “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (ESV)
Notice that it says we “are all sons of God, through faith.” Verse 27 confirms our sonship by stating “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
We can say it like this: We know that we are sons of God, through faith, because when we were baptized in water we outwardly proclaimed our faith in Jesus Christ.
What happens after I’m baptized?
You should join a local church. Baptism is an initiation into a life of discipleship that takes place within a community of faith. Acts 2:41 says, “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.” (NLT) We need each other in order to grow as followers of Christ. We need the love, support, accountability and encouragement that is found within a local church.
You should join a small group where you will learn how to apply God’s word to your life. Baptism is an initiation into a life of discipleship where we learn to obey all that Jesus has commanded. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Small groups are a great way to achieve this.
What do you need to do to get baptized?
First, you must put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. And second, sign up for our baptism class. The class is about an hour long and we cover more info on baptism and answer questions and explain the process of actually getting baptized.
How often do you baptize?
We baptize whenever one or more people are ready to get baptized.
Communion
What is Holy Communion?
Holy Communion, also referred to as the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Table, Eucharist or simply as Communion, was instituted by our Lord Jesus on the night that he was betrayed. We see this in Matthew 26:26-29:
As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it,28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” (NLT)
Why should we partake of Holy Communion?
Every believer in Christ should partake of Holy Communion because it is an ordinance (or command) that Jesus gave the Church. Jesus said of the bread, “take this and eat it.” And of the wine he said, “Each of you drink from it, for this my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people.” (Matthew 26:26-27). So the main reason for partaking of Holy Communion is obedience to the Lord. But there are other reasons.
We partake of Holy Communion because by doing so we have communion with Jesus. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 says, “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” (NASB)
The word sharing is the Greek word koinonia that is also translated as communion or fellowship. When we gather at the Lord’s table he is present and we have fellowship with him.
We also partake in order to proclaim that Jesus died for our sins in order to pay the price for our salvation. 1 Corinthians 11:26 says, “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” (NLT)
Another reason for partaking is to proclaim that Jesus is coming again. Look at the last part of 1 Corinthians 11:26: “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” (NLT)
And finally we partake to show the unity and the fellowship that exists among the members of the Church with each other and with Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:17 says, “Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.”
What do the bread and wine represent?
We believe that the two elements—the bread and the wine—are symbolic of Jesus’ body that was broken for us and his blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
What should we be doing during Holy Communion?
We should remember Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Jesus said of the bread, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24, NLT)
And he said of the cup, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” (1Corinthians 11:25, NLT)
Remembering involves thanksgiving and reflection and worship. It also involves self-examination. We should search our hearts to see if there is sin that we need to confess to God. 1Corinthians 11:28 says, “That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.” (NLT)
How often should we participate of Holy Communion?
Jesus didn’t specify the frequency, but he did say, “Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.” (1 Corinthians 11:25, NLT). We partake of Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month during our worship service.
If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, then we invite you to join us for Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month.
Prayer and Reading the Bible
For every relationship to grow there must be communication. The same holds true for our relationship with God. There are two ways that we can communicate with God. We talk to God through prayer and he speaks to us through his word—the Bible.
Jesus said, “I am with you always” (Matt 28:20, NLT). He is with us at every moment of our day and he wants us to talk to him. There are two ways that we can do this. The first is to set time aside to pray to him.
Jesus gave us the example of making time for prayer. Mark 1:35 tells us that “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” (NLT) This was a way of life for him. And Luke 5:16 states that “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” (NLT) We need to decide whether praying in the morning, the afternoon or the evening works best. The idea is to make time to be with Jesus.
The second way that we can talk to Jesus is by sending him short prayers throughout the day. It may be a prayer of only a few words, like, “Guide me Jesus” or “Thank you Jesus.” You may say it out loud, below your breath or in your mind. But praying these short prayers throughout the day help us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, ESV).
Nehemiah offers an example of this short type of prayer. He went in to ask a favor of the king, and, “The king asked, ‘Well, how can I help you?’ With a prayer to the God of heaven,5 I replied . . .” (Nehemiah 2:4-5, NLT). Nehemiah didn’t stop and offer a long prayer to God while the king was waiting for his reply. He simply offered a short prayer, possibly under his breath, asking God to help him. We can do the same each day.
Some things to pray for:
- Give God praise for how amazing he is
- Give God thanks for all that he does for us
- Pray for our family
- Pray for others
- Pray for ourselves (our needs)
- Pray for forgiveness
- Pray for guidance
- Cast our cares on him
- Pray that he helps us to do his will
- Share our day with God
Now let’s look at how God talks to us through his word. God has been speaking to humanity since the beginning. Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” (NLT) What was spoken by the prophets and by God’s Son—Jesus—has been captured in the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (NLT) Although God can speak to us in different ways, he uses his word to communicate with us.
We also feed ourselves spiritually every time we read the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (ESV) Therefore, since God’s word feeds our spirit, we should read it daily. In fact, in Matthew 6:11, Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (ESV)
And every time we read the Bible it works inside of us. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (ESV)
So, to talk with Jesus each day, pray to him. Then open the Bible and ask him to speak to you. Then read a chapter of the Bible. Then re-read it several times paying close attention to what’s being said. Then think about what you have read and let Jesus guide you. He will speak to you. Jesus will send his Spirit to teach you, as he said in John 14:26: “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” (NLT)
You may be thinking, “Where do I start reading in the Bible?” You can start by reading the four books that speak of all that Jesus said and done: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Or you can follow a Bible reading plan. You can download a free Bible app called YouVersion for either Apple or Android that has free Bible reading plans.
Start praying and reading the Bible today. It will draw you closer to Jesus. And remember that we are here to help. Let us know if you have any questions on prayer and reading the Bible.
We have a small group called First Steps 2.0 that explores different forms of prayer and Bible reading that will help you grow. If you are interested in learning more about this small group or would like to join it, please fill in the form below and let us know.
