2.Jesus is our personal Savior who died for each of us. We can experience a changed life, a new beginning, by accepting His sacrifice for our sins and His work on our behalf. Even today He is active working and ministering for us, helping us to grow closer to Him, helping us to become more like Him in our activities, actions, thoughts, and words.

  3.This is good news (the Gospel): that there is hope for each of us... and it's been provided as a gift by God Himself. That should bring joy to our hearts. Isaiah 53:1-6; John 1:1-3, 14, 2:3-6, 3:16-17, 8:46, 10:10, 17-18; Matthew 1:18-19; Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 4:14-16, 8:1-5; 1 Peter 2:21-25.

  4.Baptism (immersion in water) symbolizes that new beginning as it symbolically represents our own death, burial and resurrection from an old way of life to a new one. Mark 1:9-10; Romans 6:3-5.

  5.Communion (The Lord's Supper) is a frequent reminder of what Jesus did, and wants to do, for us. It is the opportunity to remind ourselves of the seriousness of Jesus' death in our place, of the hope and joy that event brought to humanity, and the importance of serving others selflessly. John 13:4-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

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  6.Jesus has promised to return one day and each day brings us one step closer to His coming. His coming will be a big, worldwide event which everyone will see and hear. It will be a literal, visible and personal event because He is coming for those who have decided to follow Him. John 14:1-3, 26; Matthew 24:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

  7.If Jesus had not come, the human situation would have been hopeless, and everyone who died would have perished eternally. But, because of Him, no one needs to be lost. When He comes again, believers will receive the gift of immortality,the gift of eternal life,from the only One who can give it­ God. Until then, those who die "sleep" and wait for the coming of Jesus and their resurrection. Psalm 115:17; Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10; John 5:28-29, 11:11-14; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:51- 54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Timothy 1:17.

  8.Until Jesus returns, God has not left us alone. He is present with us through the Holy Spirit. God, the Holy Spirit, leads us to obedience, helps us understand His will and truth, comforts and encourages us, fills our lives with His presence, guides His church, and makes us effective witnesses of His. John 3:3-8, 4:5-6, 14:1-3,16-18, 26, 16:7-11; Acts 1:8, 11, 2:38, 13:1-4, 9; 1 Corinthians 12:7- 11, 15:10; 2 Corinthians 9:4; Ephesians 4:7-14; 1 Peter 1:2; Titus 3:5-6; Revelation 12:17, 19:10.

  9.God has a plan and purpose for each of us. His plan is summarized in the "Great Commandment" (Matthew 22:36-40) and laid out in the Ten Commandments. God's purpose for each of our lives is summarized in the "Great Commission" (Matthew 28:18-20) and laid out in 2 Peter 3:18; to "grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Exodus 20:2-17; Ecclesiastes 12:13.

  10.God wants us to love Him supremely and trust Him completely... to allow Him to be God in our lives. We do that by keeping His Law, the Ten Commandments; not in order to earn salvation but to show that we have indeed experienced salvation. This includes keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, just as Jesus did. The Sabbath was the day God Himself set apart at Creation, a special day from the very beginning, to be spent in appreciation of what God has done and is doing in our lives.

  11.God wants us to treat others with respect and compassion, with fairness and equity, to treat them like we wish others would treat us. Christians are representatives of God on earth and as such, we have a duty, a responsibility. And that is to share the "good news" of what God has done in our lives with others. Genesis 2:1-3; Matthew 22:36-40, 28:18-20; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 4:16; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 4:1-11.

  12.Salvation is not just about eternal life or living in heaven some day, it’s about what's happening right now in our lives. Being a Christian effects not just our status with God but how we live our lives. It leads us to make Bible-based, principle-guided choices in what we read, see, say, think, and do. Salvation leads us to live healthy lives: physically, relationally, emotionally, and spiritually. Lives that show that God is working in them. Deuteronomy 14:3-20; Proverbs 6:6-13, 14:23, 23:29-32; Isaiah 66:15-17; Matthew 5:29-30, 24:37-44; John 17:15-16; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 10:31; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:15; Philippians 4:8; 1 Timothy 2:9-10; James 1:27; 1 Peter 3:3-5; 1 John 2:15-17.

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