Questions from a new Christian

ckisland

ckisland

Well-Known Member
First off, thank you all for the warm welcome :)

Like I said in my random thoughts post, I'm basically completely new to opening myself to the Lord and accepting Christ. It's really an ironic turn for me because out of all religions, I only had animosity towards Christianity. But when God answered me, I refused to deny Him!!
Now I have a few questions :)

1. How did you come to Christianity or your particular denomination?
Lutheran and SDA attract me the most for some reason.

2. What advice would you give for finding a church or going to a service for the first time?

3. What's the baptism process like?

4. What reading or verses would you suggest to a Christian newbie??

I would love to here people's experiences being born again, coming back to your faith, or anything!!!!!
 
Welcome! I was raised in a Protestant household and went to Catholic school. The influence from the secular world was very limited in my home so I was never too far out there LOL. I converted to Catholicism when I researched early Christianity and the history of the church. I wanted to worship as close to the early Christians as possible. To become Catholic takes several months of formation so one truly understands and chooses freely. I was baptized, confirmed and received my first communion all at the Easter vigil service. There are many denominations out there (which lead me to research and ask where it all started?) and hopefully others will also chime in. God bless you!

christianity-sects.png
 
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:wave: Hi ckisland...

I so happy to see your post. May I return a little later to share my testimony with you? I'll be back later tonight, but first I wanted to let you know that I saw your post. :yep:

'See you' a little later. :kiss:
 
Belle Du Jour, I feel like I am probably the most comfortable with Catholicism since most of my closest friends are Catholic or former Catholic LOL!! I had a hard time growing up with Protestants, but I've been given the grace to let all of my past prejudices completely go :)
 
@ckisland. I like you. Your hair posts are so funny. Its like you want to shake your hair and make it act right. Well, welcome to the Body of Christ! Its a pleasure. I got baptized in the holy ghost on 9/4/79 in a church of god in christ aassembly. That means that I speak in other tongues as the spirit gives the utterance as a prayer language. Acts 2:4. I was baptized in water shortly after. I read that you had been given the grace to put your prejudices behind you. That is a blessing. God has one church, world wide that is blood bought. Visit churches and go where god leads you. Sda and lutheran churches are quiet to me. I have not been a member of these two. So many people I know were educated in SDA schools I have nothing against them .one of my friends is sda and I went to her graduation today. The best church is one that is word heavy. A text is taken and followed up with supporting scriptures. A good message (sermon) is one you remember well after the service is over. Read the new testament psalms and proverbs. Lovely speakers are joseph prince and marilyn hickey. I consider them word heavy. Joseph and Marilyn both cross denominational lines and minister well to anyone in all walks of lives, faiths and countries! Welcome to the fold ( the sheeps fold)! ( you big chopped again?) I guess you had to. Love Ya!!:yep:
 
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ckisland said:
First off, thank you all for the warm welcome :)

Like I said in my random thoughts post, I'm basically completely new to opening myself to the Lord and accepting Christ. It's really an ironic turn for me because out of all religions, I only had animosity towards Christianity. But when God answered me, I refused to deny Him!!
Now I have a few questions :)

1. How did you come to Christianity or your particular denomination?
Lutheran and SDA attract me the most for some reason.

2. What advice would you give for finding a church or going to a service for the first time?

3. What's the baptism process like?

4. What reading or verses would you suggest to a Christian newbie??

I would love to here people's experiences being born again, coming back to your faith, or anything!!!!!
Click to expand...

Welcome ckisland!! :wave:
I am yet still a "babe" in Christ, in that I am learning more and more about His plan for my life daily.

I came into my denomination through my parents, HOWEVER, as I got older, I got to know it for myself. For me, baptism is an outward expression of an inward change. Its like the washing machine. Clothes go in dirty but come out clean. With Christians, we come out "clean" through Jesus' precious blood. I got baptized at a tender young age. I have always had a zeal to know and be closer to Christ.

As a babe in Christ, I would suggest reading a Psalm or two. Each one reveals different emotions the Psalmist was going through. When I read Psalms, it is relatable because when I get upset, I cry out to God. When I am thankful, I praise God. So I find this (one of the many) a relatable book of the bible.

As far as finding a church, I will agree with the previous poster to find a church that truly teaches the Word. Just like young children need a stable foundation to be successful and prepared in life, babes in Christ need to be spiritual fed to grow into stronger and wiser Christians.

HTH, just my .02 cents! :grin:
 
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@ckisland

Thank you for being so gracious to me. I apologize for the delay in my post.

I grew up in a Christian home. My Dad and his parents were Catholic and my Mom and her family were Baptists. My Mom and Dad were married in a Catholic ceremony, yet they 'shared' their faiths. I have several family members and friends who are SDA and Catholic and the love they show for Jesus and for me, is profound. I cannot and will not judge them.

Currently, I am non-Denominational, however I do not seek to disparage the Faiths of my Catholic sisters and brothers, nor those of Seventh Day Adventists (SDA), and several others. Jesus is our focus and I am truly tired of all of the fighting/discord because of the differences.

As a child, I don't ever remember not hearing the name of Jesus spoken in prayer or in family conversations. Growing up, I attended Catholic, Baptist and SDA services. Friday night at sundown was the beginning of Sabbath for SDA. Our neighbors were SDA and we would have devotions and prayer and we even attended Sabbath school on Saturday and on Sunday we were at the Baptist Church or the Catholic Service.

I have to be honest... I loved it. :yep: And there are many times when I miss those days growing up. They were good. :yep:

My maternal Grandmom always sang hymns, especially when she was cooking or when she was brushing my hair. She took me to school (sometimes) when my mom worked and as she dressed me for school and brushed my hair, she'd always hum, very soft and gentle songs of Jesus. :love3:

My mom always read the Bible to me at night and I can remember being as young as 3 years old as she sat by my bed and read to me from the Book of Psalms; my favorite as a child was Psalm 24. I can remember asking my Mom... "Mommie, please read 'Oh ye gates' :lol: And each night, she'd read Psalm 24 to me and the verse 'Lift up your heads O' ye Gates and the King of Glory shall come in"

How little did I know that it was prophesy being spoken over me and into my spirit, for one day as a young adult, I remember looking up (lifting my head) opening the gate of my heart, and allowing Jesus, the King of Glory to come in. It was all in Psalm 24...my future with the Lord. :yep:

@ckisland, the Holy Spirit 'wooed' me. The presence of God gently laid upon my heart and continued to woo me into His presence. As a child, I 'knew' about Jesus, but I did not have a personal relationship with Him, until that moment when I finally 'looked' up and allowed Him to come in.

I don't know any other life than that of being a Christian. Yes, there was indeed a time when I was 'away' from God. But God was never 'away' from me.

Precious Ckisland, there is no other love greater than the love of God. None. Be prepared to have your faith challenged. As Christians, 'hell' fears us, the demons tremble at the Name of Jesus and they are threatened by the Faith that we uphold to honor God and all that He is.

However, stand fast. Hold on to your Faith, Hold on to the Love that God has for you. Know in your heart, that He is faithful that promised. God will never leave you nor forsake you. Remember this always. Don't ever give up on believing in Him and His Word. God will never fail you for being one of His own. Never.

God bless you, Loved One. God bless you abundantly, for always.

Love,
Shimmie
 
Shimmie Oh my goodness Shimmie! Your post brought tears to my eyes. I can feel how much you care, how sincere you are, and how much you love Him and His Kingdom. I'm almost overwhelmed with the warmth I feel from you.

I prayed to God to let Him feel how sincerely thankful I am for you response, Shimmie, and for how thankful I am to all of you wonderful ladies :) . May Christ bless you all!

I feel so vulnerable turning to this feeling, to the One I had been talking to all of my life, finally seeing who He is, and letting Him embrace me. If not for the ladies on this forum, I wouldn't have had anyone to go to, to share this feeling with because I am still learning to walk on these new legs.
 
felic1 Hahaha!!! Thank you! I did want to strangle my hair more than a few times, and now I can't wait to grow it back!! Part of the reason I didn't hesitate to BC again was to let go all of the not so good vibes I had piled on during those 6 years of being natural. I didn't know that it was one of a several things I was being compelled to do that was preparing me to discover Jesus Christ and begin my walk on His path :) . It's so funny how things work out and show their purpose!

delitefulmane
I will definitely begin reading Psalm and Proverbs with my New Testament reading!! And the advice about churches completely makes sense.

My campus has a student Christian organization, and I think I start with them. I know that going straight to a service would probably be a spiritual shock. I am so sensitive to spiritual situations. An angel came to me when I attempted to open myself to Christianity as a child, and I had no foundation to deal with the terrifying awe I experienced. My metaphysical experiences have been really intense even though I've self identified with agnosticism my whole life, and I never missed the irony of that lol.
 
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@ckisland just like to give you a warm welcome to the Body of Christ!!!

My only advice would be not to get caught up in "denomination." In this day in age, denominations will disappoint you. When your faith is in God and not in the denomination, no matter what happens your faith will be steadfast and unmovable.

Get you a good study bible and be like the Bereans - who studied the scriptures with minds that were open to God's truths; and to ensure what was spoken to them could be referenced in the bible.

Continue to pray and ask God to lead you to a church where the word of God is taught and applied to daily living.

Many blessings to you....:Rose:
 
PinkPebbles , thank you for the welcome!!! I'm not going to worry about finding the "right" denomination. I'm being pulled towards a certain path, and I have faith in where I'm going :yep:.

felic1, I pm'd you :yep:
 
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1. How did you come to Christianity or your particular denomination?
I was raised in it. My parents and family members are either Protestant or Roman Catholic.

2. What advice would you give for finding a church or going to a service for the first time?
I do not know... I'd probably do my research first. I'm am very cautious about wolves in sheep's clothing so I wouldn't worship just anywhere. Because of my religion, it's easy, I just go to the church in the Parish of wherever I am.

3. What's the baptism process like?
We baptize as babies then you have holy communion and confirmation. The process usually ends when you're about 14-16. There is adult baptism/confirmation classes. However, with adult baptism/confirmation I tell people it's not as cut and dry as one would like to believe. The schedule may be for 2 years, however, it can take much longer. It depends on how ready the teacher (which may be a lay minister, priest etc.) think you are.

4. What reading or verses would you suggest to a Christian newbie??

One of the first verses I learned as a child as John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him has eternal life. One of the first Psalms I learnt was the 23rd Psalm.

I would advise someone to get a good Bible Study Bible and go through the reading tracks from the simplest to the who bible. Also going to a Bible Study group would be great as well.

Welcome :hug2:
 
1. How did you come to Christianity or your particular denomination?
I was raised both Baptist and Catholic with Methodist thrown in (by the time I was 9 years old). Methodist at that time follow more of the Catholic traditions. I read the bible as a child, the children s bible childrens-bible.jpgThis begin my journey of searching for God. I joined a non-denominational Church and stayed there for a while, left came back and when the truth came out I left, but I had my doubts the entire time. Eventually, I would stop going to service all together for years. But I never gave up my desire to know what it all meant. I had nightmares, dreams. It was hard, I started back to service but it was empty for me. I saw a TV program that answered the one question no one could answer and they answered with the scriptures and every single question I ever had was answered. I started researching, it was like fire in my bones, it was all I wanted to do. I stopped being afraid and stopped having nightmares, I then converted to Seventh Day Adventist and found the right church for me and I have never looked back nor will I ever.

2. What advice would you give for finding a church or going to a service for the first time?

My advice is to make sure your church is lining up with the scriptures, that they teach from the word and not some sermon they sat and typed up and one or two scriptures it should be 85 % scripture, 5% humor 5% your experience 5% your testimony or someone else testimony. That fit with the message.

3. What's the baptism process like?

Well, in my church its nothing like I expected, when you are ready to get baptisted you get baptisted. You read the fundamentals and you make that decision, I am sure it different for others but for me that was how it was. I had already completed the bible studies twice, before I stepped foot in the Church and while there. Which I chose to do. Then I was baptisted there are new member classes and various other things for new members. But mostly, I learned on my own. I feel that we should count the cost first, but when you read the bible counts of baptism, its when the person wanted to get baptised anywhere any time.

4. What reading or verses would you suggest to a Christian newbie??

My suggestion is learning about the bible and why its important and understanding that to completely understand the text you need prayer, you need to have a open mind and be willing to understand that the bible explains itself. There are some text that will upset you, make you angry, make you ashamed, show you who you are. Its a living Bible and its awesome in power, it has life changing effects. However, the heart and mind is condition to do its own will, its has to be a strong desire in you to change and accept things that others will not accept. Others will encourage you to do things against the word and will find scripture to encourage you to fall backwards instead of forward and that's easy to do if you do not let the bible interpret itself.

There are a few websites I can direct you to for study and researching. These are scripture based. http://timeline.biblehistory.com/home
 
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Welcome, ckisland!

I didn't grow up in any religion but became interested in Catholicism while in high school due to my best friend being Catholic and inviting me to church with her. I started asking all kinds of questions and finally went to the library and began reading the Catechism and other Catholic literature. I also joined Bible Club at school. Just a few months before entering college, I was baptized, confirmed and received my first Communion.

I am blessed to have amazing Christian friends and relatives from various denominations, and I am so glad to be at home in the Church.

Some of my favorite Scriptures:

Gospel of John
Acts
Psalms
the Epistles (letters) of Paul the Apostle

Christian devotionals and/or books:

Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo
anything by G.K. Chesterton
The Abolition of Man, and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Hope this helps!
 
blazingthru
Thank you for sharing so much!! Now I understand that finding a suitable house of worship is a process, and to not try to make a place work when it doesn't feel right! That's invaluable advice. I'm glad you were led to where you belong :)
 
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