I have Jesus in my heart, so what are my next steps?
Becoming a new Christian is an exciting and joyous occasion, but the one crucial question that will inevitably come up is: I have Jesus in my heart, so what are my next steps? Below are some helpful resources to aid you in your new walk with God.
Foundational Beliefs (What is a Christian?)
I Am a Christian by Thom S. Rainer
What does it really mean to be a Christian? In a world where everything from sports to politics, social media to podcasts, and movies to television vies for our attention, we need to get back to what is essential. We need to know who we truly are and who we serve.
When people finally grasp who they are in Christ and what their participation means to their local church, everything changes. Life begins to make sense. Their purpose becomes clear. Their mission through their local church is confirmed. Their hearts start longing to cooperate with God in the company of fellow believers.
When Christians become committed church members, the church becomes healthy. When the church becomes healthy, communities become healthy. When communities become healthy, the world can be transformed.The urgent need of our day is for Christians to understand who they are, what they believe, and how that affects what they do. And the best place to answer those crucial life questions is in the context of the local church. It’s nothing short of amazing and miraculous what God will do through a group of devoted Christians who become committed and selfless church members. I Am a Christian is your first step on that incredible journey.
Christianity and Culture (How can I be a Christian today?)
Live Your Truth and Other Lies by Alisa Childers
Are you tired of feeling like you have to check social media to find out what you’re supposed to think? Are you weary of the latest self-help books that promise to set you free but only imprison you with laundry lists of studies to consider, positive affirmations to recite, and Facebook groups to join?
We’ve all seen the memes that populate the internet: live your truth, follow your heart, you only have one life to live. They sound nice and positive. But what if these slogans are actually lies that unhinge us from reality and leave us anxious and exhausted? Another Gospel? author Alisa Childers invites you to examine modern lies that are disguised as truths in today’s culture.
Everyday messages of peace, fulfillment, and empowerment swirl around social media. On the surface, they seem like sentiments of freedom and hope, but in reality they are deeply deceptive.
- – uncover the common lies repeated within progressive circles.
- – hold on to the soul-restoring truths that God’s Word offers.
- – be empowered to live the way your Creator designed you.
Being the captain of your own destiny and striving to make your dreams a reality is a huge burden that you were never meant to bear. Discover true freedom instead.
Proof of Christianity (How do we know the Bible is true?)
How to Know God Exists by Josh McDowell and Thomas Williams
Three questions are etched into everyone’s subconscious: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Josh McDowell and Thomas Williams team up to show why nothing short of God answers these questions. But the problem is that in today’s secularized culture, God has largely been banished.
How to Know God Exists explores in depth solid reasons for believing in God and restoring him to his rightful place in our lives. Josh McDowell is widely known for his powerful defenses of God based on historical and biblical evidences.
In this book he and Thomas take a new direction and present often-unexplored but formidable evidences based on sheer reason, observable reality, and solid science. They show that belief in God is not the blind, unthinking, and intellectually indefensible fancy today’s secularism makes it out to be.
How to Know God Exists will:
- – Offer rational defenses for the existence of God, truth, morality, meaning, and reason.
- – Open vistas of beauty and joy denied to readers by the sterility of secularism.
- – Use reason, logic, experience, and common sense to show that God offers the truth required to make sense of reality and bring meaning and joy to life.
By reason and common sense, How to Know God Exists shows that meaning itself is rooted in the existence of God.
Prayer Life (How do I talk to God?)
How to Pray by Pete Greig
2021 ECPA Award Finalist in the Christian Living Category
“An instant spiritual classic.” —Christianity Today
Is prayer the most challenging area of your Christian journey? It doesn’t have to be. Pete Greig, one of the founders of 24-7 Prayer International, is passionate about introducing people to simple, honest, relevant conversations with God.
How to Pray is a raw, real, and relevant look at prayer for everyone—from the committed follower of Jesus to the skeptic and the scared. Full of biblically sound wisdom, How to Pray will offer honest encouragement and real-life methods to refresh your spirit and help you practice life-giving and life changing prayer.
Revolutionize your prayer life by learning:
- – How to start praying
- – How to keep prayer simple
- – How to ask God for things
- – How to cope with unanswered prayer
- – How to pray without words
- – How to hear God
You will also be inspired by the power of prayer through the stories of Corrie Ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, Saint Patrick, and many more.
How to Pray is designed to be used with The Prayer Course (a free video curriculum), making it useful for personal, small group, or church-wide reading.
“Pete Greig is a respected authority on exactly this kind of praying: simple, honest, straightforward, from the heart. How to Pray will get you started on a lifelong, and life-giving, practice.” —Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author of Circle Maker
“I’m so grateful for this book. Pete’s passion and fervor for intercession is contagious. Get this book. Read this book. Live this book.” —Brady Boyd, author and senior pastor at New Life Church
“For everyone who’s wondered how to move the experience of prayer from distant to personal and powerful, How to Pray provides a starting point for new and seasoned believers alike.” —Nicole Unice, author of Help! My Bible is Alive!
Sharing the Gospel (How do I talk to someone about Jesus?)
Sharing the Gospel with Ease by Thom S. Rainer
Discover a Natural Way to Share the Love of Christ.
Think about an incredibly joyful event in your life. Perhaps you got a job you desperately wanted or you were really proud of something you made. Do you remember how you couldn’t wait to talk about it? You were willing and eager to have a conversation about it with anyone who would listen! Why doesn’t our excitement for Jesus overflow from our lives in a similar and natural way?
In this book, Thom Rainer explores what makes so many Christians hesitant to talk about the greatest news the world has ever heard.
- – Discover why it is so difficult to share the greatest news in the world.
- – Identify common objections that are difficult to answer and learn how to respond to them gracefully.
- – Learn about the three biggest barriers to talking to your friends and neighbors about the gospel and how to bypass those obstacles.
- – See how God loves to work through our lives to draw others to Himself.
Featured image photo credit: Fa Barboza
