You must begin to share your faith with others. This is an act of love. Everyone who does not believe the gospel and accept Christ as Savior is doomed to hell. If you love people, you will set out to bring them to Christ. Love is the hightest expression of your Christian life. When you truly love, you are fulfilling God's perfect will. You can show no greater love to your family and friends then to share God's gift of eternal life with them. That's love. Faith and love go together. It is by faith that you receive God's love. It is by trusting in Him that you are set free to give yourself to others in love. As you trust God and grow in love, you will develop a burning desire to share His love with others. Love grows our of faith. Read these Scriptures and notice how faith and love are so very closely associated. Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 1:15, 6:23; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 5:8; 2 thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 1:5; Philemon 1:5. Let love grow in your heart by faith.
Read Matthew 10:32. Why is it important that you confess or acknowledge Christ before others? Read 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. What ministry and what message have been committed to you? What does Paul say to you in verse 20? Read Matthew 22:37-39. What is the second greatest commandment? Read Romans 10:1. Because Paul loved his fellow Israelites, what did he desire for them above all else? Read 1 Thessalonians 3:12. In what does Paul want you to increase and toward whom? Read 1 John 4:11. What should you do because of God's love? Read 1 John 4:18. How can you overcome fear?

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40). The New Testament tells us that it is very important for Christians to love others. Jesus said, "All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another" (John 13:35). If we fail to grow in love for one another, people have the right to say that we are not even Christians. The Bible tells us to love one another in a very practical way. One a religious teacher asked Jesus what it meant to love his neighbor. Jesus replied by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This parable teaches us that to lvoe our neighbor means we must meet the needs of the people we encounter in life. We must give them a helping hand in whatever way we can, even if it costs us something. Another important part of loving others is that we must be willing to forgive those who hurt us. Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:12-13). We must be willing to forgive because God has forgiven us so freely and fully. Forgiving others is so important, in fact, that Jesus said if we refuse to forgive others, the Father will refuse to forgive us (Matt 6:14-15). Because God loves us, He forgives us and accepts us as we are. If we are to love others, we must do the same.
Read Colossians 3:12. What qualities are we to put on or clothe ourselves with? Read 1 John 2:9-11. What must we do in order to live in the light and avoid stumbling or failing the Lord? Read 1 John 3:14, 4:7. What does it mean if we love our fellow Christians? What does this say about us? Read 1 John 3:14-15, 4:8. What does it mean if we fail to love our fellow Christians? Read 1 John 3:16-18. What will we do if we really love our fellow believers? Read 1 John 4:11. Why should we love each other? Read 1 John 4:12. What happens when we love each other?

There are many ways to express your love including obedience, service, fellowship and sacrifice. There are also important ways to verbally express your love to God. These are praise and worship. Worship refers to the direct acknowledgment of God. It also refers to an intense love or admiration for God. Praise is the verbal expression of this love or admiration. To praise God means to verbally magnify His glory and greatness. You need to verbalize your love God. The Scripture commands you praise God (see Ps. 150 for example). God wants to hear your praise and worship. You need to praise Him.
Read Matthew 4:9-10. What did Christ tell Satan about worship? Read John 4:23-24. Who does the Father seek to worship Him? Read Hebrews 13:15. Is it enough to simply prasie God in your heart? Why or why not? When should you praise God? Read 1 Peter 2:9-10. Give serveral reasons why you should praise the Lord. Read Ps 103:1-13. How many reasons to praise the Lord can you find in Ps 103?

Love is one of the most misunderstood words in the world. Most of us think of the love we receive rather than the love we give. Love is giving. "For God so loved the world that he gave is on and only son..." (John 3:16). Love is giving the greatest good to the greatest number. When God gave, He gave His very best--His own Son, Jesus Christ. He also gave Him to the greatest number--the whole world. That's love at it's very best. Learning to love means learning to give. Begin by giving yourself to God. He deserves to be your first priority (He'll accept nothing less, in fact). He deserves your highest love. What's more, He desires it. As you give yourself to God, you will experience His love more fully each day. The second step is learning to love others. As you experience God's love, you will be able to love others more and more deeply in word and deed. Start sharing God's love with others. Give your very best. Give your all--first to God, then to others.

Read John 15:12 and Romans 5:6-8. How did Christ show His love for you? Read Matthew 22:37-38. What is the first and greatest commandment? Read Deuteronomy 10:12. Name four things God expects of His people (that's you). REad John 14:23. What commitment does God make to those who love Him? Read Ephesians 5:1-2. How are you to live for God? REad 1 John 4:7. According to this verse, what do you have to be in order to really love? Read 1 John 4:20-21. How should your love for others affect your relationship with others?

The word love occurs 42 times in 1 John in one form or another. Read this letter and underline every reference to love in it. The tell us what you learned about love from 1 John.

One of the dominant characteristics of Jesus Christ was unselfishness. He said, "I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but to do the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:3 . You should be unselfish too, starting with the area of giving to God. The tithe is the first fruit of your income. It should be given to God before any other debt is paid. Tithing is one of God's fundamental principles. The tithe is a tenth of all your income and it belongs to God. It is alsogood to give offerings over and above your tithe. All your giving should be motivated by an unselfish love for God and for the world, which has great physical and spiritual needs. If you learn to give and give generously, you will learn the secret of a great blessing. The Bible says, "Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously" (2 Cointhians 9:6). As you give to God, you provide Him with the opportunity to richly bless you--not only financially, but in every area of your life.

Read Leviticus 27:30. To whom does the tithe or tenth belong? Read Malachi 3:8-10. Of what has God been robbed? Where should the tithe be taken? What is promised to those who tithe? Read 2 Corinthians 9:7. What should your attitude be when you give? Read 2 Corinthians 9:8-11. Give two reasons why God blesses you with His abundance. Read 1 Corinthians 9:14 and Galatians 6:6. How should Christian preachers and teachers be supported?

The Lord's Supper, or Communion, is part of our worship and fellowship together. Christ gave it to us as a reminder of His suffering and death for our sins. Unfortunately, many take Communion without much throught as to its significance. This should not be so in your case. Now that you are a believer, the Lord's Supper will take on new meaning. It will become for you a beautiful time of communion with Christ. When you accepted Christ as your personal Savior, His blood cleansed you from all sin. You are now pure and holy in God's sight. All this was possible because of the Cross. It was our sins that nailed Jesus there. The Lord's Supper is a time to remember Christ's sacrifice and to thank Him for His infinite love. As you sit in His presence with faith in your heart, He is able to minister to your every need.

Read Matthew 26:26-28. What do the bread and the cup represents? For what reason did Christ shed His blood? Read 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. What are we sharing together when we participate in Communion? Why did the early Christians all eat from the same loaf? Read 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. What happens when someone takes the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner? Why does the Lord discipline those who fall short in this way? How can you avoid this discipline?

Brotherly kindness can bestbe developed by associating and worshipping with other believers in a local church body. But which church should you attend? You can go to church with the person who was instrumental in bringing you to Christ. If there is a church near your home where you know you will be fed spiritually and helped to grow, you could attend there. If you are already an active member of a local congregation, ask yourself these two questions: Will your own spiritual life be nourished by continuing to attend this church? Should you remain there to be a witness to family and friends even if you're not being fed? No one can make this decision for you. It's up to you. Whichever you choose, you should at some point make a public confession of your faith. Some churches make opportunity for this at their altar service or during a testimony sharing time. You should take these opportunities for public confession. Attend church! Gather with other believers to pray, to study the Word, to worship, and to witness. Ask God to guide you in your choice. Once you've chosen a church, commit and get fully involved.

Study the following references which describe the church at Thessalonica and list all the good things--attitudes, beliefs, activities, ect.--you should look for in a prospective church.

1 Thess. 1:6-7. 1:8, 2:13, 4:9-10, 3:10 (was this a perfect church? why or why not?), and 5:12-22 (What do Paul's closing words tell you about the characteristics of a good church?).

  The characteristics of a godly person are found in Galatians 5:22-23. They are called the fruit of the Spirit. These traits are a result of the Holy Spirit working in our life. Basically, to be godly is to radiate the fruit of the Spirit from your life. In doing so, you are radiating the beauty of God's character to the world. An apple tree is easy to recognize when it has apples on it. In Matthew 7:17 Jesus said, "Different kinds of fruit trees can be quickly identified by examining their fruit" (Living Translation). The New International Version says, "Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." The character of God will be seen in your life only through the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There will be times when, instead of the fruit of the Spirit, you will manifest the works of the flesh. When you do, come to God in repentance and confess your sin to Him. He is always ready and willing to forgive and cleanse you.

Ready Galatians 5:17-24. What two influences are contending for control of your life? List the works of the flesh, or sinful nature, which Paul condemns. List the 9 fruit of the Spirit which Paul commends. What have Christians crucified? Read 1 Timothy 6:11. What is the godly person to pursue? Read 2 Corinthians 3:18. How do you take on the Lord's character or image? Read 1 John 1:8-10. Why is confession essential for the Christian? What does God do when you confess your sins?

In Matthew 12:34-35, Jesus said, "Out of the overflow of hte heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." The point is this: your words reveal the condition of your heart. You judge a person largely by their speech. You listen to their words and then evaluate the attitude wich underlies them. The same is true of God. He judges us by our words, hence Christ's warning concerning our speech: "But I tell you that men will have to give account in the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken" (Matthew 12:36). Your conversation will  now display the change of heart you have experienced. You will talk about good things, godly things, happy things, and eternal things. When your tongue slips, you will sense in your spirit that you have sinned. When this happens, ask God's forgiveness. Don't waste time condemning yourself. If your conversation has hurt another, go immediately and ask forgiveness from that person. Your words are important. Choose them wisely. And keep them clean.

Read James 3:2. How does James describe the perfect person? REad James 3:5-6. Why is the tongue so dangerous? Read James 3:9-12. What hypocrisy is James dealing with in these verses? Read Matthew 5:33-37. What does Jesus teach about your speech in this passage? What does verse 37 say to you about reliability of the Christian's word? Read Colossians 3:8. What does Paul say about your speech? Read Ephesians 4:29, 5:18-20. What does Paul tell the Ephesians about their speech? Read Proverbs 12:22. What does this verse say about your speech?

One of the characteristics of godliness is a good and pure thought life. Before you speak or act, you think. If you can control your thought life, you will be able to control your speech and your actions. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32) In Christ, you are free from sin, free from your past, and free now to think good, pure and positive thoughts. With Christ's help, you can control how you think. When a wrong thought comes into your mind, just say, "I reject that thoguht in the name of Jesus," and you will be free. Christ gives us the power to think right thoughts. We too, however, have a responisibility. Your mind feeds on what your eyes see and what your ears hear. If you feed your mind with negative, sensual, or unwholesome books, magazines, TV programs, and so forth, it will be hard for you to think right thougths. Watch what you feed your mind. When you were born-again, you accepted Christ into your heart. Now, He is within you, giving you the desire to see and hear good things. As you cooperate with Christ and are careful to feed your mind good things, your thinking patterns will change. As you cultivate a right thought life, you will demonstrate godly speech and godly actions more and more consistently.

Read Philippians 2:5. What kind of attitude are you to have? Read Colossians 3:1-5. What sort of things should you set your mind upon? What does verse 5 say to you about your thought life? Read Philippians 4:8. Make a list of the things you should think about using this verse. Read Psalm 119:15-16. What should the Christian meditate upon? Read 1 Timothy 1:3-4 and 2 Timothy 2:23. What type of religious thoughts should the Christian avoid? Read Psalm 101:3. Where are you not to look?