Just getting started
New Christian? Getting back into it? We got you.
Whether you’re just learning what Jesus is all about or haven’t been to church in a while, this page is designed to help your relationship with God. Found here: FAQs and tips and tricks on reading the Bible.
What is the bible? How do we know it’s accurate?
We believe that God speaks to us in the Bible, which is completely without error. It is our privilege to seek to understand God’s message and apply it responsibly to our lives. The Bible is our standard and authority in all we say and do. We believe that God inspired the authors of the Bible and are therefore completely trustworthy. The Bible is the final authority on all matters to which it speaks. We believe that God’s unchangeable Biblical message ought to be presented in relevant and contemporary ways, free of religious jargon and understandable to the people of our community. (Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2; Peter 1:16-21; 2 Peter 3:14-18; Joshua 1:7-8; Acts 17:11; Psalms 19:7-11; 119:9-16,105).
Check out the video from The Bible Project to learn the basics about the Bible and Jessie Davis’ message from YA to learn all about its accuracy!
How Do I read the bible?
We think Red Rocks Church’s Senior Pastor, Shawn Johnson, says it best in this sermon! He also wrote an awesome book, Transit. Read an excerpt below:
Read It
Before you start your day, simply ask God to speak to you through His Word and then be confident, knowing He will! ‘It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God!’ (Matt. 4:4).
Write It
Simplify and identify exactly what God is saying to you today. Get a notebook, a journal, sue a Word document, whatever works for you; but don’t stop reading until you can write one thing God is saying to you through His word. ‘The Lord answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it’ (Hab. 2:2).
Do It
“Put God’s instructions into action. Each day finish your reading time by asking God to help you do whatever He’s asking you to do. This is where life-change happens! ‘In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself’ (James 2:17).
Operating this vehicle ins’t nearly as difficult as it seems. Keep reading, or start reading a chapter of Matthew and a chapter of Proverbs, and allow God to speak to you. As you come across something that seems to apply to you, or you get that little voice in your head that says, ‘Pay attention to that,’ or ‘That’s for you,’ assume this is what God is saying to you today. Then write it down and ask God to help you live it out.
That’s it: Read it. Write it. Do it! As any pilot will tell you, after you know what you’re doing, all of those toggle switches and gauges aren’t that difficult.
-You know what the Bible is.
-You know what it can do for you.
-You know how to start operating it.
Get excited! Know that your communication with God is about to go to new heights. This vehicle will take you closer to God than you’ve ever been before. The only thing left to do now is do it. It’s time for you to ‘take off.’ Enjoy the flight! (Johnson, 82-83).
Interested in reading the whole book? Purchase it here.
How Do I pray?
Prayer is just an honest conversation with God! Some people choose to write out their prayers, while others say it in their head- you can’t talk to God wrong! Check out these scriptures for a little insight:
“‘And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
‘And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses’” (Matthew 6:5-15, ESV).
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26, ESV).
Who is God?
God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, having all power and majesty. God exists as the Trinity, in three distinct persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God passionately desires a relationship with us and towards this end continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning, and service. (Genesis 1:1; John 14:6-9; 15-17; 16:7-15; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 4:9-10)
Who is Jesus?
God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God. He is the perfect reflection of God’s character and glory. Born of the Virgin Mary, he lived a sinless life and offered himself as the only perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. All who believe in him are declared righteous on the basis of his death. He rose physically from the dead, ascended to heaven and will return again to earth to reign forever with those who are his. (Colossians 1:13-23; 2:8-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Matthew 22:36-40; 1:18-25; John 1:1; 8:40,58; 11:33; 14:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-8; Acts 1:9-11; 10:42-43; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Romans 5:8-10).
Who/What is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit, sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ, teaches, comforts, and empowers us, giving each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity, interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character, and love among Christians. The believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. The empowering of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, is available for every Christian. (Acts 1:8; 2:4; Romans 5:5; 8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 3:16; 4:3-4; 5:18; John 14:26; 16:7-14).
HOw do I become a christian?
All people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to live in a vital relationship with God. However, through our sin (failing to live by God’s moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God, fall short and we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship, spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. However, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationships with God and others, through Christ’s death on the cross, a perfect act of redemption for each of us. Salvation comes to people on the basis of God’s grace through their faith in Jesus alone. They receive the free gift of forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting of their sin and believing in Jesus Christ. Good works and a holy life, although totally unable to save anyone, is the natural product of repentant, believing people. (I Peter 2:24; 3:18; Romans 3:9-28; 6:23; 10:9-10; John 3:16; 5:24; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8; James 2:14-26)