NEW LIFE SERIES
Lesson 4
BEGINNING YOUR NEW LIFE OF GROWTH IN CHRIST

Receiving Jesus as personal lord and Saviour is the most important decision of life. The act of receiving Jesus Christ by faith starts a whole new life. Just as physical life requires air, food, rest and exercise, so spiritual life has its requirements for growth and development.

The moment you received Christ, you were born into God’s family and you received everything you need to live the abundant Christian life. Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. “The righteous will live by faith” (Gal. 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life.

The nourishment of spiritual well-being is provided in the following Principles of Growth:

  1. Prayer
  2. Bible Studies
  3. Obedience

PRAYER

Prayer is talking and listening to God. Failure in the Christian life can most often be traced to prayerlessness.

  1. How does man speak to God? _________________________________________________________
  2. Read Philippians 4:6, 7.
  3. What are we told to do? _________________________________________________________
  4. What should we pray about? _________________________________________________________
  5. As we pray about everything, what does God promise we will experience? _________________________________________________________

We talk to God through prayer as illustrated in the diagram; He talks to us through the Bible.

 

BIBLE STUDY

Physical food is necessary for physical life. Without food, one becomes weak and eventually ill. This is true spiritually as well. The Bible is our spiritual food.

  1. How does God speak to man? __________________________________________________________
  2. How does reading the Bible help us? (II Tim. 3:16, 17) __________________________________________________________
  3. How does faith grow? (Rom. 10:17) __________________________________________________________
  4. When should we read the Bible? (Acts 17:11) __________________________________________________________

It is necessary to read God’s Word daily for daily strength.

As we read God’s Word, the Bible, God talks to us as illustrated in the diagram. As we pray, we talk to God. We need to constantly practice both.

 

OBEDIENCE

The key to continual growth in the Christian life is obedience to the will of God. To know the importance of prayer and Bible Study is of little value unless they are applied in our lives.

  1. Read James 1:22
  2. According to this verse, is it enough to read the Bible? ___________________________________________________
  3. After we have read the Bible, what are we supposed to do? ___________________________________________________
  4. How can we prove that we love Jesus? (Jn. 14:21) ___________________________________________________

CONCLUSION

  1. In light of our study and discussion, what three things do you think God wants you to do daily?
  2. ________________________________________________
  3. ________________________________________________
  4. ________________________________________________
  5. Realizing that prayer and Bible Study are essential for my spiritual growth, I am going to set aside time (from ________ to _________) each day to pray and study the Bible.
  6. What will be the result of keeping Christ’s commandments? (Jn. 15:10) _________________________________________________________
  7. Where do we get the power to obey the will of God? (Phil. 2:13) _________________________________________________________

SUGGESTED READING

  1. The Gospel of John
  2. Transferrable Concept No. 4 – “How To Walk in the Spirit.”