BAPTISM IS IMPORTANT
Now your next step after you have been saved is to get baptized. Baptism is the first real outward confession to others that you have decided to follow the Lord. It has nothing to do with salvation. It means that as a Christian you want to consecrate your life to Jesus and be obedient to Him by obeying His commands. By being baptized, you are saying, "I am identified with Christ and will follow Him in His death, burial and resurrection" (Rom. 6: 1 -10). If we refuse to be baptized, we are disobedient Christians and the Lord cannot bless us. At Abundant Life Bible Chapel one must be baptized before he can become a bonifide member of the church.
You must also realize that baptism is not being 'sprinkled' when you were a baby. The Bible definition of baptism is by immersion in water. No where in the Bible do we read of anyone being sprinkled. (Read Acts 8:3540; Rom. 6).

YOUR QUIET TIME WITH GOD
Now that you are a Christian you should have a devotional time with God. You should put aside about fifteen minutes, at least, a day to read your Bible, to pray and tell the Lord how great He is, how thankful you are of His grace and care, and how much you love Him.
Get yourself a devotional book, a promise box to supplement your Bible reading. Also get the names of people you would like to pray for: church activities, problems and other things. Then each time you pray mention them in prayer. This quiet time with God will deepen your Christian life and make you a strong and happy Christian.


YOUR CHURCH ATTENDANCE
As a Christian you should be in the house of God every time the doors are open. The Bible encourages us to do this continually, especially in the light of Christ's soon return (Heb. 10:25). 1 took my calculator the other day and tried to find how much time God has given us in order to attend church or serve Him. I discovered that there are 168 hours in a seven day week. If we put aside seven hours for sleep and rest, that is, from 12-7, we would have 49 hours for rest each week. Take those 49 hours from 168 hours and we will have 119 hours to do our work and have leisure time. God only requests of us about 4 hours out of those 119 hours for church attendance. This would leave us with 115 hours to do what we want. Now that isn't asking too much at all. And yet, some Christians can't seem to give their Lord just 4 hours of their time in His sanctuary out of 119hours per week. Truly, this leaves a lot of consecrated questions to be asked, and many sanctified conclusions to arrive at.
Every where in Christendom today, the weakest spot 'in the church is church attendance. Church attendance was a habitual exercise of the early Christians (Acts 2:4245; Heb. 10:25; 1 Cor. 15:58). From the Sunday school class where you can be blessed including an adult Bible class, you can be an informed, vibrant and educated Christian. The same is true of the other services. The services at Abundant Life are exciting, different, entertaining and spirit-filled. And the Christian fellowship is sweet and real. You should attend regularly and become a part of it. The ladies have their fellowship and the men become involved in the activities of the Men's fellowship which meets at the same time as the ladies' in another section of the church.
Remember, we cannot progress without the help, fellowship and encouragement of each other. A scant church is an 'eye-sore.' The strength and progress of the church is seen in the Sunday night and week night attendance of its members. At Abundant Life Church every one is a vital statistic, an important person.

TITHING IS IMPORTANT
The Bible says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse .... Will a man rob God?" (Malachi 3:8-10). Also, we are to give as God has prospered us: "Upon the first day of the week, let everyone of you lay in store as God has prospered him (I Cor. 16:2).
From these scriptures and others, we can see that tithing and giving are commanded by the Lord. You give of your money as the Lord prospers you. At Abundant Life, we believe that Christians should give so generously that we will not have to go out and solicit help from others by raffles, and other devices people use to raise money. God's work should be financially supported by His own people. Therefore, your offering is greatly needed, and we hope you will give heartily and generously.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP IS IMPORTANT
Every young and old Christian should seek a Bible-oriented, Holy Spirit preaching church and settle in it to serve the Lord.
Now that you are a Christian, we invite you to take out membership in Abundant Life Church. We believe we have one of the best environments here, and a church fellowship of whom you will be proud. At Abundant Life Church you will find people who love and care for one another. You will get all the attention and encouragement one should have as a Christian. We believe in a people to people type of ministry. The pastor is dedicated to the church's program in this way and will always want to chat with you and meet with you at home or at the church's office.
You can serve God meaningfully and confidently here at Abundant Life. Worship is enhanced by a freeness of God's Spirit to do and work in you as He wills.

Church membership is for fellowship, unity, togetherness, witnessing, learning, praying and caring for one another. All of these are seen in the life of the early church as it is recorded in Acts 2:41-45. If you are interested in membership, see the pastor or a leader *in the church and an application form will be given to you to fill out.

JUST LET GOD USE YOU
You are saved to serve, Live, then serve. A busy Christian is a Christian the devil will have difficulty defeating. Keep on the 'go' for Jesus. Get involved in all the church's programs; the Choir, the Boys' Brigade and many more activities. Don't be just merely a spectator. Be a participant! At Abundant Life the sky is the limit. We reach out to touch God right from earth to heaven. That's how eager we are to serve Him and merit His best for us.

KNOW - GROW - SHOW
That is what I have been trying to get over to you. If you follow these instructions, you will
1) Know your salvation (Rom. 6:3)
2) Grow 'in your salvation (I Pet. 3:18)
3) Show your salvation (2 Pet. 2:9).
Don't be an impotent, 'sometime' type of Christian. Have some spiritual ambition and try to really be something for God- God needs you; your church needs you, and other Christians need you. Be a mature Christian, a real man of God. God pays off big, so get active for Him!

A FINAL WORD
In closing, there are three 'Ds' I would like to leave with you. Every Christian, new and old has had to meet up with them sometime in their life. So watch out for them. They can either make you or break you in your desire to live for Jesus.
The first one is Discouragement: Satan's greatest tool is discouragement. Now that you are a Christian things will happen to you that never happened before. You will be tempted to turn back. Some people will citizen you, gossip about you and hurt your feelings. This will upset you and your faith will be tried. Don't give in. This is God's way of making you strong and effective (James 1: 12). The fact that this may be happening to you is that God is preparing you for a great ministry and wants you to be strong.

The next one is Disappointment: Some of the most trusted Christians will let you down. If you keep your eyes on them you will turn back. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Remember, even the pastor is a human being and is subject to failure; but God never fails nor disappoints. We should keep polishing our faith on the many promises of God.
Sometimes you may be misunderstood by those you thought understood you. Now they have hurt your feelings; even their attitude is different. Don't let such situations affect you.. God will keep you. You belong to Him and He will give you strength to overcome the bitter disappointments.

The final one is Disgust: Situations and people can cause you to become disgusted and call it quits. It is amazing the effect people and circumstances can have on a Christian, especially a young Christian. If I had given in to disgust, I don't think I would have continued in the Christian life as I am doing today. Some of my best friends who I thought were so committed and true have let me down. If I had not kept my eyes on the Lord, I would have given up long ago. But I thank God He taught me long ago many lessons which prepared me for these ordeals. The closest and best of men fail and disgust you; but the Lord remains so very real and close and precious.

Today, I am richer in experience, and far better off than I was before, God is no man's debtor, and we do not suffer disgust in vain. He gives grace and exalts you above your fellows (I Peter 4:14-17).

Believe me, friend, when I tell you the Christian life is the greatest thing this side of the grave. It is good for living and better when you are dead. You have made a great choice when you accepted Christ as your Savior. Enjoy your abundant life in Him. It is Just great. And remember, we at Abundant Life are here to help you anytime you call on us. We are your servants in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SOME QUESTIONS WITH BIBLE ANSWERS
How can I be sure I am saved?

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of*
the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life. (I John 5:13).

What should I do if I am tempted to the old life?
There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not suffer you

to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear It. (I Car. 70:13).
What to do if I sin?

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us -from all unrighteousness. (I John 7:9).

I don't think that I can keep up
Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. (Heb. 7:25).

'Tis done the great transaction's done
I am my Lord's and He is mine;
He drew me and I followed on,
Charmed to confess the voice divine.
Happy day, happy day,

When Jesus washed my sins away.
Believe me, friend, when I tell you the Christian life is the greatest thing this side of the grave. It is good for living and better when you are dead. You have made a great choice when you accepted Christ as your Savior. Enjoy your abundant life in Him. It is just great. And remember we at Abundant Life are here to help you anytime you call on us. We are your servants in Christ Jesus our Lord.

YOUR CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT
Now that I am a Christian and have been born into God's family, I feel that I should be practical about my new life in Christ. I want to go on further in the Christian life and would like to do the following:
1) Be baptized and obey the Lord.
2) Take out church membership
3) Become useful for God in whatever way I can.
4) I would like to join Abundant Life Bible Church.

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