When you follow Jesus and put your faith in him, it’s more than believing God exists. It means you’ve put your full trust in Jesus as your savior, believing that he died on the cross to forgive you of the ways you’ve lived that go against God’s ways (sin) and that he rose from the dead just as he said he would. This forgiveness isn’t anything we can earn for ourselves—“it’s only by grace you’ve been saved” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Putting your faith in Jesus means that you’ve accepted the forgiveness he makes possible for you, and you’re now living with him as the lord and leader of your life. Often, a person will make this decision by praying (talking to God) to express this belief and desire and then celebrating with others by being baptized. 
 
When you become a Christian, God gives you new ways to live and helps you live in them. He gives you the Bible to help you grow in this relationship with him and know how to live. He gives followers of Jesus (fellow travelers) to support and challenge you along the way. And he gives you the Holy Spirit as his power, living within you and walking with you every step of the way. The result is that God transforms your life inside and out so that you are more and more like Jesus. 

The Bible is God’s gift to us so we can better understand who he is and how we can live. But there are a lot of parts to it and many of them aren’t easy to understand. If you’re just getting started, here are a few steps we recommend.

1. 1. Get a translation that’s easy to understand, such as the New Living Translation or New International Version. We’d also recommend the You Version App (LINK) where you can access and compare multiple translations at once.

2. 2. Pick out a reading plan. Just like when you start to exercise, routine is important. If you’re just starting out, we recommend starting with one of the gospels, which are the first four books of the New Testament that focus on the life of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). Also, apps like You Version have great daily plans to choose from, or you can access Heartland’s own reading plan, The Journey, which provides weekly verses, reflection and questions to help you.
3. 3. Reflect. As you read a passage, what words or phrases jump out at you? What questions do the verses raise? What are you feeling or wondering about? This often can be God’s way of speaking to us about something he wants us to wrestle with from the scriptures.

4. 4. Read with others. Reading the Bible with others helps us reflect more deeply on what it is God might be wanting to teach us. It also helps us identify ways we can apply what we read into our own lives.

5. 5. Pray. Praying is simply talking to God. Take a moment to share with God what stood out to you and how you plan to live out what you learned. Ask for his help to do this.

Prayer is simply talking to God, which can happen anywhere and at anytime. He is always listening. We think of it as the daily conversation of our friendship with God. But we also realize that prayer can feel hard or complicated and it’s hard to know if you’re doing it “right.” There’s no right way to pray, but Jesus gives us some helpful guidance in Matthew 6:5-14. Here’s a framework we’ve found to be helpful especially for those who are beginning to pray.

P – Pause: Prayer is easier when you’re able to relax and remove distractions. Try finding a quiet place that will help you slow down and be still before God.

R – Rejoice & Repent: To rejoice is to celebrate how good and great God is. Thank him for some of the ways you’ve experienced his goodness to you. To repent is to ask forgiveness for things you’ve done wrong (sins) and to turn away from those things.

A – Ask: God loves to hear from us what we need. You might also pray for the needs of others. Remind yourself that God is a giver of good gifts, yet he always knows best what we truly need and when to provide it.

Y – Yield: The result of prayer is a closer relationship with God as well as a deeper trust of what he wants for you. Ask God for the courage to submit your desires to him and to trust his plan for you, knowing how much he loves you.

The night before Jesus died, he gathered with his closest friends and gave them a picture to understand what was about to happen. After their supper, Jesus took the bread to symbolize his body and the wine to symbolize his very life that was going to be sacrificed on upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins. He then instructed his disciples to continue to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:14-20).

Communion is an opportunity for us to remember the loving sacrifice that Jesus made so that we could experience the forgiveness we need and be restored into relationship with God. Like baptism, communion is symbolic. It isn’t necessary for forgiveness or salvation–those things are only made possible through Jesus and our willingness to receive them from him. However, communion is something Jesus commanded us to do on a regular basis so we could be reminded of what he did for us on the cross.

Communion is celebrated at Heartland approximately monthly using bread and grape juice to remember together what Jesus has done for us. This is a time to reflect on our continual need for Jesus, to be grateful for his grace, and to look forward to his return (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). It’s also a time to celebrate our unity as followers of Jesus no matter our diverse stories and backgrounds. Anyone is welcome to participate in this special part of our service because Jesus died for everyone and makes his grace available to all who realize their need for it.

Baptism is a ceremony that marks one of the most meaningful and important steps someone can take as a follower of Jesus. Jesus modeled baptism for his followers in Matthew 3:1-17 and he taught it as a step of obedience for those who committed to follow him as their Lord and Savior (Matthew 28:18-20). It’s important to know that baptism is symbolic–it’s a picture of what Jesus does in the lives of those who believe in him and follow him. Just as water cleanses a person from dirt, Jesus’ forgiveness cleanses a person of their sins. So when a person is baptized, they are immersed in a pool of water to symbolize that they have died to themselves and are being born into a new life with Jesus as their Lord. Baptism does not make someone a Christian or to receive anything from God; it is done as a picture to the world of what God has already given them in Jesus.

To learn more about baptism and how we practice it at Heartland, click here.

You may have heard God described as the “Trinity,” which is a way Christians describe that there is one god made up of three persons–God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is a difficult concept for us to wrap our minds around, but it’s one we see depicted throughout scripture and that’s been taught throughout the centuries. In fact, Jesus taught a lot about the Holy Spirit during his time on earth (John 14-16) so his followers would know that even after Jesus left, the Holy Spirit would be with them to comfort them with his presence, convict them of sin, and empower them in fulfilling Jesus’ mission for them. This promise is still true today.

When you place your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your heart forever. This means you are and will never be alone on your journey–the very presence and power of God is with you in the Holy Spirit–he’s never anything you need to ask for because he is already in you. In fact, the Bible describes those who believe in Jesus as “temples” because of the Holy Spirit living within us. His presence is guiding you and helping you become more like Jesus. His power is at work in you to help you overcome the strongholds of sin in your life, accomplish his purpose for you, and use the unique gifts he’s given you to share the love and message of Jesus to those around you.