The FAMILY

The Christian family is made up of all the true Christ-followers around the world.  The healthy children of God live their lives with an understanding of 5 eternal truths.  1). Only the Gospel saves sinners.  2). God expects His children to grow.  3). Our hearts need exercise if we expect them to grow.  4). The Church is both a family & a witness of God’s grace, gospel, & glory.  5). The family of God shares a love that is vertical & horizontal… extending internally within the Church & externally to a dark & dying world.

We’re glad you’re here!
Scroll down through and let us introduce you to Christianity and the family of God…

Get ready for God’s truth in love!

Get ready! Here comes a simple & visual explanation of God’s loving hope, help, & healing…

Now that we have gone through “The Flow,” let’s zoom in and take a closer look at the Head, the Heart, and the Hands… We will start with “The Head” – those core truths that help to define Christianity.

Let’s take a closer look at 7 of Christianity’s detailed Fundamentals…

We have described the 7 “details” as 7 “Fundamentals” that all begin with the letter “F” – this should help you to learn & remember them!

The FOUNDATIONS: God’s Word, God’s Will, & God’s Way come together to form the foundation of all that Christianity believes and hopes to become.

The FRAMEWORK: Creator God has a plan! His plan involves ALL people, regardless of their beliefs… This “Framework” will illustrate & explain the meaning, purpose & pathway of every human life.

The FACTS: Everything you need to know about creation & all created things can be understood under the umbrella of these 5 facts: Creator, Corruption, Christ, Church, Coming-again

The FIGHT: Life can be hard some times… For both the Christian and the non-Christian, spiritual warfare is real. Scripture is clear, the world, the flesh, & the Devil are going to fight against us, both before AND after the cross.

The FAITH: This is the “Stickman Gospel,” a visual explanation of the exclusive & eternally unique “good news” of Jesus Christ. When you understand the miracle, Messiah, & mission, you understand Christianity!

The FAMILY: God’s family is to live in beautiful and convicting contrast to culture…. We LOVE UP, IN, & OUT, all while exemplifying lives of Christ-like, selfless service.

FOREVER: The stakes could not be higher… Christianity is the only true pathway to eternal life. From “here,” everyone will go to either heaven or hell – there are no other options.

Having walked through the core truths & essential Fundamentals that firm and begin to fill “The Head” of a Christian, let’s shift our focus to “The Heart” of Christianity…

As noted earlier, here are some heart exercises for you… These 12 discipleship “disciplines” can help Christians to strengthen their faith and grow as missional & maturing Christ followers.

We will use the acronym:

J.E.S.U.S.’S.
P. (prayer)
S.W.O.R.D.

Journaling: We want to encourage everyone to write down and keep track of what God is doing in and through your life… Going back through your journal can be an incredibly powerful experience.

Eat-nothing (fasting): There are seasons when our prayer life and times with the Lord will be enhanced and sweetened thru fasting… This is a discipline that many would be blessed to dive into.

SCRIPTURE: Nothing feeds the soul like the Word of God. Everything that defines, describes, and defends Christianity is found in God’s Holy, inspired, and perfect Scriptures.

UNDERSTUDY: While Scripture “in-take” is essential, the deeper, ongoing understudy of the Scriptures leads to long-term, sustainable health & growth.

STEWARDSHIP: How we use our Time, Talent, & Treasure reveals a great deal of what is dominant in our hearts & lives… Christianity calls for Christ-like stewardship of ALL that God has graciously given us.

SOLITUDE: Getting alone with God and His Word is the best way to get to know Him… Even more, quiet times with God is a way to submit to & worship Him in the height of intimacy.

PRAYER: Reverently talking to God… AND, even more reverently listening to Him… is the life-line of Christianity. God’s people need to hear from Him regularly thru both His Word & our prayers.

SERVICE: Talk is cheap. Christ-likeness is epitomized by a few things (truth, love, humility, selflessness, etc.). Amongst the most Christ-like of disciplines is service. May we BE sent & serving servants.

WORSHIP: Christianity is never better on display than when God’s children are worshipping Him in truth and love… individually and together. Worship is joyful, overflowing, faithful obedience.

OUTREACH: Going to make disciples is not only an act of faithful obedience to Jesus’ final command & commission, it epitomizes Christ-likeness! Jesus left heaven to come to seek & save the lost.

RELATIONSHIPS: Jesus said that the lost world would see & know His true followers by their witness to Him AND their “love for one another.” By definition, Christianity is all about a vertical AND horizontal relationship.

DEVELOPMENT: As Christians commit to life-long knowing, growing, & going, both the individual Christian AND a world of spreading Christianity will continue to develop… This honors God.

It’s time to put all that we have covered together… When the Christian’s Head, Heart, and now Hands are united in purpose & power, the family of God (a.k.a. Christianity) lives and loves out loud!

This section is somewhat self-explanatory… We will introduce each slide with these words:

“We are…”

Each of these Christian family distinctives engages, explains, and exemplifies God’s Word, God’s will, & God’s way! This is a comprehensive portrait of the family of God!

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