The things that you believe are what will shape your life more than anything else. If you believe that you should punch people in the back of the head, you won’t have many friends… the things we believe affect us!! God (father) This gets a little tricky…There is one God with three different persons; the Father God, creator of the earth and the sustainer of all life, Jesus Christ the son who died to take away our sins and give us life here on earth and after, The Holy Spirit who lives in Christians to help us live the life that God intended for us. Jesus (saver) Jesus is God… not a god, but The God, the one the only true God. He Loves you just like the kids song. He loves you enough to get nailed to a wooden cross so that you could live a life you don’t deserve… and so that you don’t have to go to Hell when you die. He wants to be your friend and your Father if you will let Him. Some verses about Jesus Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. The Holy Spirit (helper) He is God… He is not a mysterious force like in STAR WARS…He has feelings and wants a relationship with us. He helps us live the life God intended for us…He shows us when we are sinning and helps us make things right. Some Verses about the Holy Spirit Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; The Bible The Bible is the most direct way that God talks to us! The Bible has honest answers about life, death, sex, happiness and the whole human experience. The Bible is a story thousands of years long that shows us over and over again how God has reached out to humans and continually gone out of His way to be in relationship with us. We as Christians believe that the Bible is the measuring stick for our lives… and that we live in submission to its teachings. Basically we do what it says… The Bible is split into two sections… the OT and the NT. The OT is the story of the creation of the World, the Fall of man, and God’s plan to save humanity through one chosen line of people. Throughout the OT we see God’s chosen people begin to disobey God and turn away from Him, and we see God’s justice and graciousness towards them. The NT is the story of Jesus and how He makes everything new, changes everything, dies on the cross and raises back to life after three days. It shows us how we the new people of God are to live in the reality the Jesus died for us to fix our sin problem so that we could have a relationship with God The whole Bible is the story of Jesus… what I mean is that even before Jesus came to earth, we learn things about who He is by reading about God in the Old Testament. The Bible teaches us about God and about how we should live now that we know Him. The Bible is hard to read and harder to understand… it requires that we learn as much as we can about it so that we can learn as much as we can about God. Some verses about the Bible 2 Samuel 22:31 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Luke 11:28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Sin A definition of sin is doing what we feel is right instead of what God’s word tells us is right… basically we try to be God. sin is the awful things that people do that has made our world so messed up. Sin isn’t just the things that we do on the outside, sin is the thoughts we think, the attitudes we have, and the way we look at people when noone sees. Sin is something that we cannot avoid. Sin isn’t something we do…(although we do sin) it is the way we are. The whole world is this way. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” that means that everyone. The thing about sin is that it distances us from God… sin distances us from each other and even the world that we live in. the problem is that we were meant to live in relationship with God, each other, and the world around us, and sins stops that. Because of sin we are destined to a life of hurting ourselves, hurting others, and hurting God. Ultimately we are destined to go to Hell. Sin sucks! Some verses about sin Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Psalm 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 1John1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives Grace Grace in the Christian understanding means getting something from God that we don’t deserve. Basically that is everything. The reason that God loves us is because God is a kind gracious God. the reason that God gives us food, shelter, oxygen, sunlight is because He is a kind Gracious God. God decided that He didn’t want us to live with the eternal consequences of our sin… (Death, Hell). He also wanted us to be able to live a life that we never would have been able to live on our own. God gives us grace by forgiving our sins and entering into a promise relationship with Him… kinda like marriage… He gives us grace by allowing us to believe in Him. He gives us what we don’t deserve… He loves us. I like grace!! Some verses about grace 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. Ephesians 2:4-6 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Church Someone said that when you have God as your father, you get the church as your mother. Church is the family of God. The church is made up of everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ… there is also the local church which is made up of Christians from a certain community. Church is a must for all Christians. The local church is called to be amongst its neighbours giving hope and love in a practical way. The church is meant to be a city on a hill for everyone to see!! A cool verse about the local church Matthew 5:13-16 13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Also Check out – Romans 12:3-8