Each week those who attend worship have the opportunity to check that they’re interested in following Jesus. So you checked a box. Great! But what’s next. Is that all there is? Check a box and you’re done? No way! Here’s a “brief” guide on what to do next. Ok, it’s not so brief. But turning your whole life toward following Jesus is no small thing. So find a comfortable place to sit and read and ponder and be open to God’s leading. Your life is about to be transformed!
If you’re still not sure what you’re signing up for by following Jesus, I recommend watching this brief video about what it means to follow Jesus. It’s from James Chong’s book, True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In.
If you want to explore that further, check out my sermon on the question: What Is a Christian?
So now that you’ve got a better idea of what you’ve signed up for, what do you do next? The next step is to begin practicing following Jesus. Practicing following Jesus is just like practicing anything else, except that you’ve got God’s presence, the Holy Spirit, as your coach helping you along the way! Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to practice following Jesus.
1. Have you been baptized? If not, then drop me an email and let’s talk further. At SCC, we have a four part class, SCC 101, 201, 301, and 401 that prepares you to be baptized at our annual Baptism at the Beach in late June. If you want to explore further what baptism is all about, check out this sermon: Baptism Q&A.
2. Build your community of faith, your spiritual friends. There are two things you can’t do alone in life: get married and be a Christian. First, attend worship regularly. Every week. If you can’t make it on Sunday, come on Monday. If you’re out of town, find a church where you’re at. Worship is what cultivates the soil of your heart so that the seeds of God’s grace can take root and grow. Second, get into a small group. We have three semesters each year: February – April, June – August, and October to December. You can sign up for small groups in January, May, and September. For more information on Small groups, email Mark Aupperlee. For more info on spiritual friendships, check out the series Friending. Here are three sermons from that series:
The Foundation of Friendship,
One Friend Away,
One Community Away.
3. Start praying. What is prayer? It’s simple. Prayer is talking and listening to God. Of course, there are just about as many ways to pray as there are ways to talk and listen. If you want to explore prayer further, I did a series on the book of Psalms called Prayers that Stick. You can find them here:
Just Sayin (Prayers of Praise),
OMG (Prayers of Awe and Wonder),
CRAP (Prayers of Cursing and Lament),
DUH (Prayers of Confession).
4. Start reading your Bible. Pick up a free Bible at the info table on Sunday morning, or drop me an email, and I’ll make sure you get one. But the Bible is a big huge book. Where do you start? What kind of Bible do you read? The answers to those questions are simple: starting anywhere is better than not starting, and reading any Bible is better than reading no Bible. But if you want to explore this issue further check out these blog posts:
What Bible Should I Buy?
Bible Reading Plans
Can Books Be Added to the Bible?
How to Interpret the Bible
Old Testament Help
5. Start tithing. Tithing? Is that some kind of ribbon you tie around a present? No. Tithing literally means 10% and it’s a reference to God’s command that we give him back 10% of the “first-fruits” of what we make. God owns it all and asks only for 10% back. We get to keep 90% ! That’s a pretty good deal. But maybe your money situation is pretty messed up. Maybe you’re loaded down with debt. Then give something regularly while you work really hard to get out of your financial mess. To help you get your finances in order, we did a great series on money called Strapped. Check it out here:
The Buck Starts Here
Act Your Wage
Put God First (Guest Speaker: Mark Aupperlee)
Financial Q&A (Guest Speaker: Craig Groeschel)
6. Build some positive spiritual H.A.B.I.T.S. Not all habits are bad, some are good. How are your spiritual habits? You can find the sermon series we did on H.A.B.I.T.S. here:
H.A.B.I.T.S. Introduction
Hang Time with God
Accountability
Bible (Sarah Arthur)
Involvement with the Church (Mark Aupperlee)
Tithing
Serving
7. Find a place to serve in the church, community, and world. What talents do you have? What is your passion? What needs do you see around you? You’ll have the greatest impact when your talents and passions converge with the needs around you. To help you do that, consider taking this online inventory. It will take about twenty minutes but it will help you learn more about who you are and how God is calling you to serve. Weekly we post in our bulletin what community service opportunities you can participate in. Join one of those service teams. Twice a year we send a medical mission team down to Nicaragua. You don’t have to have medical knowledge to go and be helpful. Check out this video I made about my own trip on a Nicaragua medical mission. To explore serving further, check out this sermon.
These steps are the basics, but it will take you a lifetime of practicing to do them with beauty and grace. Want to go deeper still? Check out my favorite blog posts here. Or browse through my sermon catalogue here. A favorite author of mine that I would recommend is C.S. Lewis. He is best known for his children’s books, The Chronciles of Narnia. I’m a Christian today because of those books. I’d also recommend The Screwtape Letters, a fictional account of a senior demon mentoring a younger demon on how to trip up his “client”, and Mere Christianity, a defense and explanation of those beliefs that all Christians hold in common.
If you’re philosophically/intellectually minded, this blog is named after a book by Lesslie Newbigin called Proper Confidence. Newbigin seeks to build the case for how we can have confidence in Jesus even though we will likely still experience uncertainty. It’s not for everyone, but if you like intellectual and philosophical ideas, you’ll probably like this Proper Confidence. You can find out more here.
Would you drop me an email and let me know how it’s going and if I can be of further help. If we haven’t met, please introduce yourself before or after worship some day. I’d love to meet you. In the mean time, may God’s Holy Spirit guide you and coach you as you begin to practice following Jesus!
Peace,
Pastor Tom
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