How you view Scripture will shape the rest of your faith, whether you're a Christian or not. So many of the things we believe come back to what we believe about the Bible itself. Is it a collection of mythical stories, one message from God among many, or the sole infallible rule of faith?
We like to think of our relationship with Jesus as a one on one thing. And it is in some respects. But that is not at the expense of our relationship Jesus calls us to have with the Church. Too often we forget the Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. We all need encouragement and accountability, and that has been ordained and provided in the context of a local church.
Our faith is not meant to be blind. We are commanded to know why we believe what we believe. While our own experience is important, it is not a sufficient grounding to say that what we believe is true. Thankfully, Christianity is backed by evidence, both historically and philosphically.
We are called to evangelize to both non-Christians and Chrsitians alike. Even if you are saved, you still need the gospel for daily life. Sometimes we make the distinction of witnessing for non believers vs discipling for believers. But the goal is the same: to bring others to a deeper relationship with God through His Son.
I am always learning. This topic is for my own benefit, to take notes of sermons and save articles I find helpful. Articles may be found in other topics as well but these are for a broader range.
Sometimes I teach and those notes can be found here. Meeting with a small group is often just as important as being part of corporate worship. Here we can pray for one another and have more dialogue about what God's Word means for us today.