In 5 Minutes

3 Important Things for Christians to Know

If you are ready to go ALL IN on following Jesus, but aren't quite sure what to do--this episode is for you! Whether you are new to Jesus, or have been on this journey for a while now, it can sometimes be hard to know what are the most important things. From how to get connected with a church, to finding God's will for your life, to communion and who should take it, learning how to read and memorize the Bible AND which parts are the most important, to learning how to pray and even understanding more about the story of Jesus--there are so many important things! Where do you even begin? But what if we told you that there are three key things that will help tie it all together? How to Find Community: https://youtu.be/d-zTxWXoezo Finding God's Will for Your Life: https://youtu.be/VN1Kbz8gF4M Communion: https://youtu.be/7lTbFv0MyX4 How to Read the Bible: https://youtu.be/uPf4SD3fWCc Learning to Pray: https://youtu.be/LQ25K6edGto The Story of Jesus: https://youtu.be/7txMXrJKPoc You are a child of God! John 1:12 - But those who embraced him and took hold of his name were given authority to become the children of God! You are a friend of Jesus! John 15:15 - I have never called you 'servants,because a master doesn't confide in his servants, and servants don't always understand what the master is doing. But I call you my most intimate friends, for I reveal to you everything that I've heard from my Father. You are accepted by Christ! Romans 15:7 - You will bring God glory when you accept and welcome one another as partners, just as the Anointed One has fully accepted you and received you as his partner. You are free! Galatians 5:1 - Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past. You have boldness and confident Access to God! Ephesians 3:12 - We have boldness through him, and free access as kings before the Father because of our complete confidence in Christ's faithfulness. You are the best friend of God, and always have more than enough! Psalms 23:1 - The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. You are the best friend of God, and always have more than enough! You are abundantly blessed and have everything you need! 2 Cor 9:8 - Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything — every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.

You Need to be Baptized

What if I told you that becoming a follower of Jesus is much like a couple joining together in marriage? The moment we decide to make Jesus our Lord, we enter a covenant relationship with him. The word covenant means "to cut," and it describes a sacred, permanent, all-in relationship! In this scenario, Jesus is the one who was cut, his blood was poured out, and he sacrificed his life that we might have an intimate, permanent relationship with him! Much like a couple exchanges rings in a marriage ceremony as a sign of their covenant, Jesus instituted the act of water baptism as a sign of his covenant with us. It's the first thing Jesus commanded us to do as believers. Getting water baptized means we are choosing to be publicly identified with Jesus—declaring our love and loyalty to him! It is a public display of the internal choice that we have made. As we go down into the water, it is symbolic of the death to the sin that was in our life. It also represents our choice to die to living for ourselves. As we are raised up, it is symbolic of being a new person ready to live for God. It is a representation of being born again as a completely new creation. Water baptism is an expression of us receiving Jesus' death as the payment for all our sins and failures. Much like when you get up in the morning and take a shower to clean your body, water baptism is a picture of how Jesus' blood cleanses our hearts and consciences. The difference is while I may need to take a bath every day, what Jesus did is a permanent, everlasting act! If you're feeling the pull to be baptized again, as a new declaration of your choice to follow Jesus, Just do it! The worst-case scenario is that you get an extra bath that week! If you're ready to be water baptized, don't hesitate to reach out to your local church! Here at TFC if you would like to learn more about baptism, visit TFC.org/baptsim to sign up today! Matthew 28:18-20 - "Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Romans 8:1 - "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

The Truth About Sex

When you think about God and sex, do you immediately think of a bunch of "thou shalt not…" type rules? This is a common belief about God. He designed sex as a gift to bring a man and a woman together in a loving intimate relationship. Through this design, sexual relationships only work God's way...within the boundaries of marriage. By dispelling three common misconceptions that are promoted by today's culture, you will see that God's intentions are for you to have a healthy and thriving sex life. The first misconception is the idea that sex can be casual. God created us to be faithful, and the pattern of sexual desire and fulfillment in marriage hardwires our brains for long-term commitment and lasting love. As a consequence of casual sex, a bond is created when you have sex with someone that doesn't mean anything resulting in preventing you from getting close to your potential mate. The second misconception is the idea to try before we buy. God created marriage to equally fulfill both the man's desire for sex and the women's desire for emotional security preventing the fear of losing the relationship. Both motivations are equally present, important, and strong. Therefore proving that living together before marriage increases the risk for harm to both men and women individually and relationally. The third misconception is the idea that sex can be used as an expression of empowerment. In a healthy marriage, no one is more powerful than the other because God created both husband and wife equal, thus equally contributing to the relationship. Sex outside of a marriage produces the exact opposite. God wanted his creation to enjoy each other within the confines of marriage, so if you are in an unhealthy sexual relationship, there is hope. God wants to heal and break unhealthy patterns. Today, you can choose to do it God's way.

Learn All About Communion

Do you know much about communion? Do you think about a monthly ceremony at church to remember Jesus? Maybe, you think of those little wafer crackers and plastic juice cups. Or maybe, you have no clue what we are talking about! That's okay, you are about to learn so much more! What if I told you that communion is much more than grabbing a quick snack at church, and is actually a way to remember what Jesus did--giving us access to our divine inheritance? Prior to Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, he took the bread, gave thanks, and said "This is my body given for you, do this in remembrance of me." And then he took the cup and said, "this is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Later that night, Jesus suffered in the garden as he took on every grief from each and every individual for all of human history. Every sickness, every wound you've ever felt—all of the rejection, every hurt feeling, every loss, abuse, cancer, racism, genocide…each and every grief, each and every failure. He took those into his body and became unrecognizable from the grief of OUR soul pain and sin. Jesus' heart was breaking for the pain of his beloved. As heartbreaking as this seems….Jesus' death is where things get REALLY good! Because at that moment, when He died…so did ALL of our pain and sickness and sin. Shame, and our separation from God were gone. And as he rose from that grave, we rose as well---into a new life, a new covenant, and a new inheritance! Our reality changed! When we take communion, which literally means to come into union with him, we are remembering our victory! Communion is a way to move into deeper friendship and intimacy with Jesus. And He wants to connect with us every day, because he's awesome! Prayer for Communion: Jesus we thank YOU, that you have enabled us to share in your inheritance by making us sons and daughters! As we eat this bread, we are remembering your goodness! We remember that this is the Bread of Life representing your body! Thank you for suffering and being the perfect sacrifice, so that we can be made whole, healthy, and healed--gaining full access to the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus, as we take this cup, we are remembering that we are a part of your kingdom family! We are your brothers and sisters! Thank you for pouring out your blood that washes and cleanses us from all sin, and gives us direct access to our Father in Heaven. Amen! Hebrews 9:14-17: Where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established…for a will takes effect ONLY at death. Luke 22:19-20 (NIV): And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you 1 Corinthians 11:26: as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Psalm 23:5: He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies.

Holy Spirit Baptism

Did you know that being baptized in the Holy Spirit is to a follower of Jesus like what being pickled is to a cucumber? Did you know that John the Baptist said, in Mark "I baptize you with water, but [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit! There's actually more than one kind of baptism! There's water baptism, where we are immersed in water as symbol of our new identity in Jesus, and then there's the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is being filled with Holy Spirit. A Greek poet explains that in order for a cucumber to become a pickle, it must first be "dipped" or BAPTO into boiling water—this aids in removing the bitterness, but it does not change the fact that the cucumber still tastes like a cucumber. However, once the cucumber has been BAPTIZO, or "saturated" in the vinegar and spices solution, the vegetable is permanently transformed…it can never go back to being or tasting like a cucumber. This is exactly what happens when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit! He literally saturates our very being—permanently transforming who we are. Holy Spirit literally takes up residence inside of us! It was always God's plan for us to live in this level of saturated presence and intimate friendship with his Spirit, this is what we were created for! Once you get pickled in the Holy Spirit, you're never the same! Think about it! When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you have God's very nature living in you. And he is the expert at everything. If you want the fullness of Holy Spirit in your life, just ask!