Grow Your Faith!

    I remember that about a year after I came to know Christ as Savior and Lord (Sept. 1974), my pastor asked me to share my testimony at Bible study one night. I had no warning and no time for preparation. I was on the spot. After I shared how I came to know Christ, a lot of people were surprised—especially me. Some were surprised to know that I had made that decision since I hadn’t answered an altar call or shared publicly. I was surprised at how easily I had been able to share. I was also surprised at this new sense of joy and confidence that came with sharing my faith. 

     About a month after that I went out with our church’s visitation team and the leader spontaneously said, “Al, why don’t you share with our new friends how you came to know Christ.”  I did so but this time I related my testimony to issues they were struggling with—careers, success, fulfillment, etc. — and how surrendering my life to Christ had     resolved those issues.   After I finished, I was so happy but noticed that my team leader was silent. When I looked at him he said, “Al, isn’t there a question you have for us?” Then I remembered! I smiled and asked, “Is there any reason you shouldn’t receive Christ as your Lord and Savior right now?” The couple looked at each other and the husband responded, “I think we’d like to do that.” I had the joy of leading them to Christ. That night I had taken another step in my spiritual growth.  Little did I know there would be many more steps to come over the years. Some were joyful; some were difficult and painful.

     This is the way spiritual growth happens. We grow by responding to God– by stepping out in faith. There are five primary ways we grow in our faith. We grow as we study the Word of God and especially as we apply it to our lives.  Then  God puts wise, spiritually mature people in our lives to challenge us and shape us. Proverbs 13:20 says: He who walks with the wise grows wise. Another way we grow is by developing spiritual disciplines like quiet time, prayer, fasting, tithing, etc.  Personal ministry—sharing our faith with others, reaching others for Christ—takes us to the next level of growth. Then there are those circumstances that God allows to happen so that we can be tested on what we’ve learned so far and learn from our mistakes.

     All during the month of July and August we’re going to be focusing on intentional spiritual growth. Each Sunday in worship we’re going to take one of these five ways we grow and study it more closely and find new ways to apply it to our lives. As part of that sermon series, people in our congregation will be sharing about how they have experienced spiritual growth  in that particular way.

     So here’s the question: Are you ready to take your faith to the next level? Would you like to gain new confidence, respond differently to difficulties and temptations,  and find yourself doing things for God you’ve only dreamed of? Well, start right here by taking the next step of faith and be part of the Grow Your Faith Series. Come each Sunday and apply new insights from God’s Word. Come to the testimony workshop and learn how you can develop and share a five to ten minute testimony about how God is growing your faith.  A deeper, stronger faith is only a decision away!

FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY

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First United Methodist Church

Sept 1 to Dec 15, 2010

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How would you like to eliminate $5,300 in debt while saving $2,700 in just one year? In Financial Peace University that’s the experience of the average family attending the thirteen week course.