You’ve decided to believe in and follow Jesus!
WHAT’S YOUR NEXT STEP?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Letter From Pastor Jon...................................................................... 5 What Just Happened?............................................................................. 7 Understanding Your Decision............................................................. 8
Believe.......................................................................................................... 10
Stop................................................................................................................. 11
Follow............................................................................................................ 12
What’s Next?................................................................................................... 15 Discovering Next Steps......................................................................... 15
Baptism....................................................................................................... 16
Community.............................................................................................. 18
Start to read the Bible................................................................. 20
Table of Contents | 3
A LETTER FROM PASTOR JON
You’ve just made the most important decision you’ll ever make. Your decision to believe in and follow Jesus will transform your thoughts, habits, family, relationships, and eternity. You’ve begun a lifelong journey that will not only change you, but will change the world. I’m so proud of you for having the courage to tell us about your decision, and I’m so thankful you trust Brentwood Church enough to let us show you what it looks like to believe in and follow Jesus. This packet and the other resources you received are designed to help you take your first steps in your new life as a follower of Jesus. I can’t wait to see what God does in you and through you as you follow Him, and I hope I’ll have a chance to hear your story in the near future. Onward,
Pastor Jon A Letter From Pastor Jon | 5
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
What Just Happened? | 7
Understanding Your Decision to Believe In and Follow Jesus You’re reading this book because you’ve decided to believe in and follow Jesus, but what does that even mean? There are lots of different ways to describe what just happened. You may have heard church people talk about “getting saved,” “becoming a Christian,” or “being born again.” All of those phrases describe the same idea — deciding to believe in and follow Jesus. This decision has three parts:
BELIEVE The story of Jesus is true.
STOP Believing other stories.
FOLLOW The instructions Jesus gave us.
BELIEVE STOP FOLLOW
Understanding Your Decision | 9
BELIEVE
Let’s look at each part. Part one is BELIEVE. Believe what? When you believe in Jesus, you believe the story of Jesus as told in the Bible is true. God created the world to reflect His goodness and beauty, and created humanity to take care of His creation and live as His people. However, humanity rejected God’s authority and fell into death and darkness. Yet, God wasn’t willing to leave us in the mess we created for ourselves. God promised He would rescue the world through His Son, Jesus, who in His death defeated the powers of sin, death, and evil, and in His resurrection established a kingdom of people rescued from death and darkness. When you believe that the story of Jesus as told in the Bible is true, you become part of His kingdom, are set free from the power of sin, death, and evil, and are given a new life and new eternity.
STOP
As part of believing the story of Jesus is true, you have to STOP believing other stories. That’s part two of deciding to believe and follow Jesus. What do we mean by other stories? Other stories are stories that say you can rescue yourself from the power of sin, death, and evil, stories that say you can find meaning and fulfillment in what you can earn, create, and achieve, or stories that say there are other kings beside Jesus.
Understanding Your Decision | 11
FOLLOW
Once you’ve decided to believe the story of Jesus and stopped believing other stories, the final step is to FOLLOW the instructions Jesus gave us. Jesus gave us instructions on what it looks like to live as His followers and how to have the eternal and abundant life He promised us. When we decide to believe in and follow Jesus, we decide to follow His instructions about how we live, think, and act.
If you’ve decided for the first time to believe in Jesus, stop believing in other stories, and follow Jesus’ instructions to live as one of His followers, then you are now a part of His family, church, and kingdom! There are no magic words you have to say, and there’s nothing you have to do or fix about yourself. All you have to do is decide to believe, stop, and follow. We understand this is a lot to communicate in a few paragraphs, and you probably still have more questions. If you’re still unsure about what it looks like to believe in and follow Jesus, that’s okay! We would love to answer your questions! You can email your questions to questions@brentwoodchurch.org, speak to one of our Care and Response Team members on Sunday mornings in the care room, or find our Next Steps Team at the Next Steps Nook located in the lobby! Our World Changers would love to help you take your next step to believe in and follow Jesus.
Understanding Your Decision | 13
What’s Next | 14
WHAT’S NEXT? Discovering the Next Steps in Your Journey of Faith Your decision to believe in and follow Jesus is the start of a journey that lasts a lifetime. Here are three simple ways you can start to grow and learn as a follower of Jesus.
BAPTISM
Baptism is your next step after you believe in and follow Jesus and is how you take your faith public. Baptism is how you show the world Jesus has rescued and transformed you. If you have questions about what baptism means or why you should get baptized, come to the Next Steps Nook on Sunday morning and talk with one of our World Changers! To learn more about baptism, go to www.brentwoodchurch.org/baptism or email baptism@brentwoodchurch.org.
Table of Contents | 16
Discovering Next Steps | 17
Discovering Next Steps | 18
COMMUNITY From the very beginning, the church has gathered in community to celebrate what God is doing and encourage each other as we follow Jesus. Community is what transforms the church from a room full of people into a family. One of our core values at Brentwood is “We move people to intentional community because we believe it’s impossible to follow Jesus alone.” We have community groups for all post-high school seasons of life. If you have questions about why community matters or what it looks like at Brentwood Church, our Next Steps World Changers would love to help you on Sunday morning! To find a group, go to www.brentwoodchurch.org/community
START TO READ THE BIBLE
The Bible shares the story of how God rescued and restored the world He created from the power of sin, death, and evil. In the Bible, we learn who God is, what He values, and how to live as His followers. To help you start reading the Bible, we’ve included a reading plan that will walk you through the story of the Bible in 31 days. For on the go, download the “Bible” app on your smartphone to access the Bible for free in various translations and languages! If you have any questions about what you read, feel free to email questions@brentwoodchurch.org!
Discovering Next Steps | 20
To help you start reading the Bible and introduce you to its story, here is a thirty-one-day reading plan to follow. Each day, read one of the chapters, and as you read it, ask yourself these four questions: 1. What does this passage tell me about God, the world, or myself? 2. Why is this passage important? 3. How does this passage change the way I live? Day 1: God’s creation of the Earth: ............................................................... Genesis 1 Day 2: The fall of creation into sin: .......................................................Genesis 3:1-19 Day 3: God chooses Abram:..................................................................Genesis 12:1-9 Day 4: God’s promise to Abram: ................................................................. Genesis 15 Day 5: Israel’s slavery in Egypt: .............................................................Exodus 1:1-14 Day 6: God’s promise to rescue His people: .................................................. Exodus 3 Day 7: God’s rescue of Israel from slavery: .................................................. Exodus 12 Day 8: God’s covenant with Israel: ........................................................Exodus 19:1-9 Day 9: God’s promise to Israel: ................................................ Deuteronomy 11:8-28 Day 10: Israel’s responsibility in their homeland: ....................................... Joshua 23 Day 11: Israel disobeys God’s commands: ............................................Judges 2:6-19 Day 12: The sin of Israel: .....................................................................Ezekiel 20:1-44 Day 13: The punishment for Israel’s sin: ......................................... Jeremiah 25:1-12 Day 14: Israel is sent into exile: ......................................................... 2 Kings 25:1-21 Day 15: An eternal king is promised: ........................................................Isaiah 9:1-7 Day 16: Israel returns from exile......................................................................... Ezra 1 Day 17: The promised king is born: ..........................................................Luke 2:1-20 Day 18: Jesus begins to preach: .............................................................. Mark 1:1-15
Day 19: Jesus calls His disciples: ..................................................... Matthew 4:12-25 Day 20: Jesus’ teachings: .......................................................................Luke 6:20-49 Day 21: Jesus is the Messiah: ........................................................Matthew 16:13-28 Day 22: Jesus teaches about His mission: ......................................................John 10 Day 23: Jesus is betrayed: ............................................................................. Mark 14 Day 24: Jesus is crucified: ............................................................................... Luke 23 Day 25: Jesus comes back to life: ...................................................................John 20 Day 26: Jesus sends out His disciples: .......................................................Acts 1:1-10 Day 27: The Holy Spirit comes: .......................................................................... Acts 2 Day 28: The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith:.1 Corinthians 15:1-28 Day 29: The resurrection changes all creation:............................................ Romans 8 Day 30: Living by the Holy Spirit:.................................................... Galatians 5:13-26 Day 31: Our future hope: .......................................................................Revelation 22
As you grow as a follower of Jesus, you will continue go to new and deeper levels with Him for the rest of your life. As Brentwood Church, we want to help you take whatever step God is leading you towards. Our Next Steps and Care and Response teams exist to help you learn and understand where God is asking you to go next. If you have any questions about what you’ve read in this packet or heard on a Sunday morning, please talk to one of our Next Steps World Changers on a Sunday morning or email questions@brentwoodchurch.org.
You’ve just taken your first step into a brand new life and eternity.
GO CHANGE THE WORLD
Questions? Contact us today if you have more questions or are ready to take your Next Step as a follower of Jesus. 434-821-3044 or questions@brentwoodchurch.org