Want to Learn More about Jesus?

Who Jesus Is

You may have heard before that Jesus is our Savior. But what exactly does that mean? Well, when God created humans, His plan wasn’t (and still isn’t) to control their thoughts and actions. Instead, He gave us the gift of free will, which allows us to decide if we want to pursue a relationship with Him.

Have you heard the story of Adam and Eve? They were the first humans to be created by God and to experience His goodness. Unfortunately, the devil (our enemy) tempted Adam and Eve to sin by disobeying God. Sin historically separates us from God, creating a debt that must be paid. And no matter how good we are, we will never be able to live up to God’s standard of a sin-free life. God loves us, however, and wants us to be free of sin and in relationship with Him. That’s why He sent His Son Jesus to Earth two thousand years ago—Jesus lived the perfect, sin-free life we couldn’t live, and then He died in our place as our sacrifice on the cross. Because of this act, every person is offered forgiveness of sin and peace with God through Jesus Christ here on earth, and eternal life with God in Heaven. All that anyone has to do is believe in Jesus Christ and accept His forgiveness in his or her life.

Along with being our Savior, Jesus now is our Advocate before God the Father, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us in how to live for God’s purposes and grow us into mature Christ-followers who follow the Lord Jesus with our lives.

Beginning a Relationship with Jesus Christ

If you’re interested in starting a relationship with the Savior, here’s a snack-sized version of the main information that’s important to know. As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help.

God loves us and wants a relationship with us. Through this relationship with Christ, we will experience forgiveness and peace with God, and as a result have eternal life. John 3:16 demonstrates God’s love: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life."

Standing between us and our relationship with God is sin. What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God and selfishness toward others. So what can we do about this problem? The answer is: turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness.

The answer to our sin problem is Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for our forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. That brings peace with God and a relationship through God’s gift of salvation.

We receive this gift simply by believing in Jesus Christ. Jesus will do His part by providing eternal life if you do your part by believing in Him. God wants this for you more than you can know.

Talk to God through prayer. Prayer is a conversation with God—prayer isn’t a special language and there are no special words. God sees you and knows what you are thinking in your heart. Wondering where to start? Here is a simple guide:

• Confess you are a sinner. God forgives us our sins as we acknowledge that we are sinners. Confessing can be as simple as saying, "Lord, I am a sinner, and I believe that You died for my sins."

• Ask for forgiveness from sin. Again, no special words are needed, but you can say something like, "Lord, please forgive me of my sin."

• Ask Jesus to be your Savior. It's like opening a door—the door to your life—and asking Jesus to come in and be what He wants to be: your savior and God. You might say, "Jesus, I want You to come into my life and be my God. I trust You and place my faith in You."  

Complete Sample Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I need you in my life. I believe Jesus died for me, and for my sin. Jesus, please come into my life. I turn away from my sins, please wash them away, and please be my God and savior. Thank You for saving me and making me part of Your family. I pray all of this in Jesus's Name, Amen.

If you've followed these steps, we at Journey want to simply say "Welcome to the family of God!" You are now a child of God, a believer, and He has washed away your sin, given you peace with Him, and given you eternal life!

What Happens Next?

So you’ve decided to follow Jesus? How wonderful; welcome to the family! You may be wondering what your next steps should be. Here are some recommendations from our ministry team, which wants to celebrate with you and help you learn more about God and His Son Jesus.