Upwards Church

How much do you really know about the Bible? Maybe you have read bits and pieces of the Bible, but you never understood it as a cohesive unit.

 As followers of Jesus, we believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God.

 Think about these facts:

• The Bible is comprised of sixty-six books that were written over a period of 1500 years by over forty different authors, from different places, and with different life experiences.
• These authors did not collaborate with one another. In many instances, they didn’t even speak the same language. Yet their work, passed down through many generations and translated many times, has resulted in the consistent manuscript you are about to integrate into your life.
• The manuscript tells God’s story of the creation of the universe, the beginning and fall of man, and God’s plan and purpose for us to know Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

 God communicates with us through His Word.

 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. — Hebrews 4:12

 There are several methods for making that communication a daily part of your experience with God. You lose your grip on something easily if you only hold on with two or three fingers. God wants you to get a good grasp on what is written in the Bible and how you can apply it to your life.

 Think of holding on to the Bible with all five of your fingers:

 1.    Hear: Make sure you listen to good Bible teaching, both through your church and through other resources you can find. Take notes on what you hear.

2.     Read: You will get to know God better by spending time reading His Word. Set a goal to read the Bible for at least fifteen minutes every day. 

3.     Study: Make sure you are studying the truths you read. As you dig into the Bible, ask yourself these questions: What promise is there to claim? What example is there to follow? What command is there to obey? What sin is there to confess?

4.     Memorize: God wants us to hold scripture close to our heart and to be able to call on it when it is needed. This ability comes as we memorize verses that speak to us. Try to memorize a verse a week.  

5.    Meditate: This ties in with memorizing. After you memorize a verse, spend some time meditating on it. Analyze and dwell on its truth as you drive, work, or play.

 Choosing a Translation

Although there are many worthwhile translations of the Bible, here are three that are easy to read and accurate:

• New Living Translation (NLT)
• New International Version (NIV)
• New King James Version (NKJV)

For a daily reading plan check out the blog entries called “24 Days with Jesus” it’s a daily reading plan with commentary and thoughts through the book of Luke.  Click here for more information:  http://theridgeblog.com/2011/01/09/24-days-with-jesus-intro/  

Darrell

 For more about The Ridge go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible

The best way to build a relationship with someone is to spend time talking to the other person. You wouldn’t have many friends if you never talked to them, would you?

How would your relationship with your family suffer if you never made time for them, or never let them speak to you?

 The same thing is true in your relationship with God. Just as reading your Bible helps you know God more intimately, so does spending time with Him in prayer.

 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.  — Mark 1:35

 Prayer is your way of communicating with God. Here are three tips for developing a strong prayer life:

1.  Set aside time every day for prayer. Don’t be tempted to save your conversations with God only for emergencies or into the leftover pieces of your busy day.
2.  Make prayer a priority. Combining your prayer time and your Bible reading time into a morning or bedtime devotional is a great idea.
3. Don’t role-play for God. Just be yourself and talk to Him. You don’t have to use fancy words, and you don’t have to try to impress Him. Just come to God as simply and honestly as you can. Speak from your heart. He is your Father.

 Now that you know you need to spend time in honest, open conversation with God every day, you may be wondering what that looks like. Consider this scripture:

 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. — Philippians 4:6

 So, how should you pray? You can pray in a number of ways, but over the years, these are some ways that I have found to be helpful in praying.

•  Spend some time praising and thanking God for the good things in your life.
• Confess any sin that you may be struggling with.
• Tell Him what is worrying you and what you need help with.
• Pray that God will guide and direct your life in the way it is supposed to go.

 Remember, prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. As you develop your prayer life, you will get more comfortable both speaking to and hearing from God. So, go ahead and talk to God. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He is your guide on this journey. Make sure the lines of communication are open.

 I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly. — Jeremiah 24: 7

 Darrell

For more about The Ridge go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible

As a new follower of Jesus, it is critically important that you get plugged in with a thriving, healthy church. The best place to learn about God and grow in your faith is around other people who want to do the same.

 At The Ridge, our mission is “to KNOW Christ and GROW to be like Him.” That happens through both large weekend services and in smaller, more intimate group settings.

 Making the commitment to get involved in church gives you many great opportunities to grow in your faith. You get the opportunity to:

•  Worship through song
• Learn from your pastor
• Meet new friends
• Use your talents to serve other people

 Actually, getting involved in church is not optional. God commands us to gather together as a spiritual family. He wants us to understand the importance of meeting together regularly with other people who are passionate about following after Him. If we don’t, we will naturally begin to get discouraged and pulled down by the everyday concerns of life. We have to have set apart time to come together with other believers for worship and teaching.

 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another…  — Hebrews 10:25

But not only that, God wants us to do life with others who are on a journey similar to our own. We were built for relationships with one another, and those relationships are best developed in small group environments.

 One of the best Next Steps you can take as a new Christ follower is to join a Growth Group. At The Ridge, our small groups are called Growth Groups.

Growth Groups are 5–15 people who get together to learn about God, develop friendships with each other, and have a great time. When you join a Growth Group, it usually lasts 12–16 weeks.

 Then when that semester is over, you may sign up again or sign up for a new group. At The Ridge, there are always different types of Growth Groups available to meet your schedule and your interests.

There is no such thing as a healthy, growing, lone-ranger believer. As you plug into the church and join a Growth Group, you will learn more about God, develop relationships with other believers, and have the chance to serve other people. All of these things, combined with your faithful prayer and Bible study, will work together to help you GROW like Christ.

Darrell

For more about Growth Group at the Ridge and to sign up for a Growth Group go to www.ridgefellowship.com  

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible

You were made to worship God! Worship is not just something that happens in a church service. Your daily life is an act of worship, as you live in a way that brings pleasure to God.

 You bring pleasure to God when you:

• Love Him primarily
• Trust Him completely
• Serve Him wholeheartedly
• Praise Him continually

 Every aspect of your life can be an expression of worship when you live in the realization and recognition of who God is and what He has done. Pastor Rick Warren writes in The Purpose-Driven Life:

“Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory and pleasure of God.… How then is it possible to do everything for the glory of God? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with Him while you do it.”

 Worship can happen anytime and anywhere. In fact, God calls us to a life of worship.

 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.

— Romans 12:1 (The Message)

Worship at The Ridge

• Attend a weekend service
• Volunteer to serve others
• Join a Growth Group
• Give financially

 To listen to messages, join a Growth Group, volunteer, give online or to find other resources, check out www.ridgefellowship.com

You are a new creation on a new journey. I hope that you will take these Next Steps we’ve discussed to heart. As you become a Christ follower by faith, you should do all you can to seek and learn about the life that is now yours through Christ.

 I hope that this information has been and will continue to be helpful to you as you start walking your new path. It isn’t meant to answer every single one of your questions. No one could ever do that. The truth is that we can’t tell you every twist and turn that your journey with God is going to take, because we don’t know. That’s the beauty of a relationship. You jump in and see where it leads. Faith is meant to be lived with others, so we hope you will join us as together at The Ridge as we continue to “KNOW Christ and GROW to be like Him.”

 No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. — 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

 Darrell

Sources:  Nelson Searcy Coaching,   http://www.churchleaderinsights.com

 The New Living Translation of the Bible