Book Navigation
Introduction
1 Christianity
2 Eternal Salvation
3 Assurance of Salvation
4 Water Baptism
5 God’s Love
6 God’s Happiness
7 Your Happiness
8 God’s Glory
9 Your Faith
10 Your Rewards
11 Your Identity
12 Your Idolatry
13 God’s Fatherhood
14 God’s Forgiveness
15 God’s Compassion
16 Your Shame
17 Your Beauty
18 Your Personality
19 Your New Creation
20 Your Protection
21 God is With You & For You
22 Your Eternal Hope
23 The Spirit’s Power
24 The Truth’s Power
25 The Spirit’s Love
26 The Spirit’s Joy
27 The Spirit’s Peace
28 The Spirit’s Control
29 God’s Purposes for Your Good Emotions
30 God’s Will for your Bad Emotions I: Recognize & Rebel
31 God’s Will for your Bad Emotions II: Reveal & Resolve
32 God Times
33 Sunday Worship
34 Friendship
35 Prayer
36 Praise
37 Giving
38 Evangelism I: God’s Part
39 Evangelism II: Your Part
40 Miraculous Gifts I: Prophesying & Miracles
41 Miraculous Gifts II: Speaking in Tongues
42 Serving Gifts
43 Marriage
44 Parenting
45 Reconciliation
46 God’s Wills
47 Mysticism
48 God’s Guidance I: Scripture, Spirit, Authority, & Conscience
49 God’s Guidance II: Reason, Desires, & Decisions
50 Your Time
Author’s Introduction
The content of the Essentials
Welcome to the Essentials for the Christian Life! The purpose of this study is to provide a 1-year plan to discuss 50 vital topics for spiritual growth. Of course, the topics included here are not the only important ones. But they have been chosen based on many years of experience in effectively helping God’s people to grow in faith, hope, and love (1 Cor 13:13).
The Essentials include both deep theological truths and practical instruction. Why is this? Because your beliefs control your life. Your love for God depends on how much you trust in God’s love for you. It is essential that you understand the promises of God, and experience the power of God, before you can effectively obey the commands of God.
This vital relationship between trusting God’s truth and obeying God’s commands are illustrated in how parts of the Bible are written. Throughout Church history, Paul’s letters to the Ephesian and Roman churches have been considered a model of Christian teaching. He intended them to be summaries of the essential truths of the Christian faith. And there is something very instructive about how he wrote these epistles.
For example, why do you think there are no commands for you to do or obey something in the entire first 3 chapters of Ephesians? In other words, the entire first half of Ephesians only tells you things God wants you to believe. There are no commands to obey.
If that surprises you, then you will be even more amazed about the structure of Paul’s epistle to the Romans. There are 315 verses in the first 11 chapters of Romans. Of those 315 verses, why are there only 3 that actually tell you to do something (Rom 6:11-13)? Why are 312 verses telling you something to believe?
Because your life is controlled by what you believe. The Apostle knew it is essential that you understand the promises of God, and experience the power of God, before you can effectively obey the commands of God. The Essentials for the Christian Life are based on the same belief.
How to use the Essentials
Before reading or using the Essentials for the Christian Life, we would ask you to get permission from your Pastor. He is ultimately responsible for your spiritual health and should have the opportunity to approve the use of the Essentials in his church.
This study is designed to be used in the following way. Each week for a year you are encouraged to read a chapter of the Christian Essentials. Then during the same week, meet with a small group of Christian friends to discuss the topic. In addition, you are asked to share a praise to God and a prayer request each week. Finally, there will be suggestions for how to apply the topic to your life.
Have your Bible handy as you read the Essentials. We will reference several Bible verses that we want you to read as you are reading the Essentials.
As mentioned above, there will be discussion questions at the end of each chapter. It may be helpful to review those questions before reading, and mark your answers to them as you go through the chapter. This will help you better grasp what you are reading and prepare you for the discussion.
Final thoughts
Biblical accuracy is important in this study. Its contents are in accordance with the Statements of Faith of the National Association of Evangelicals (USA) and the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). The most respected reference tools for defining the original Hebrew of the Old Testament (OT) and the Greek of the New Testament (NT) have been used. References to “NT scholars” are based on the best Evangelical commentaries available today.
The chapters of the Essentials for the Christian Life are excerpts from a larger collection of Christian Essential studies that are regularly being added to. These are available in English at the author’s website: www.trainingtimothys.com.
We hope this study is a great blessing to your Christian life. We will be praying that it helps you grow in faith, hope, and love. May the power, love, joy, and peace of God’s Spirit be with you.
Kurt Jurgensmeier