A Bible Course - Lesson Thre

The Church

In the first two lessons we have thought about the good news about Jesus.  We have concentrated on the good news about Jesus in your personal life.  It is right to do this.  You can only follow Jesus if you yourself have received him into your life.  Some people have attended a church for many years. However, if they do not have a personal faith, they are not Christians.  We said this in lesson one.  If you go to church, that does not make you a Christian.  So it has been helpful for us to talk about this.  Each one of us must believe in Jesus for himself or herself. 

In this lesson, we need to say something different, but it is just as important.  Some people think that it is enough for them to believe in Jesus.  They believe that they do not need to go to church as well.  Can you be a Christian even if you do not go to church?  The Bible says ‘No’.  When you become a follower of Jesus, you become part of his family.  All those who follow him are his family.  They are your sisters and brothers because they believe as you believe.  The Bible says:

‘Each person has a body, but that body has many parts.  All those different parts make up the one body.  And the body of Christ is like that too.’  (1 Corinthians 12.12, EE draft version)

This Bible passage talks about a body.  It uses this idea about a body to speak about the church. That is, those who belong to Christ.  You may be like a ‘hand’ and another person is like a ‘foot’.  Yet another person is like an ‘eye’, but you are all parts of one body.  If the body does not have feet, it cannot walk.  If a body does not have eyes, it cannot see. 

·         The church is not complete if you refuse to join it.  You are an important part of the church ‘body’.

·         You are not complete as a Christian if you do not join the church.  Most people are able to go to church, and they should do so.  A few people may not be able to go to church.  Such people include those who cannot leave their homes because of illness.  You may have become a follower of Jesus in a place where there are no other Christians.  God understands this, and you should not feel guilty.

·         You yourself must believe in Jesus to be a real Christian.  Then you should join together with other Christians who follow him.  When you join the church, you do so in public.  It is another way to say publicly that you are a follower of Jesus.  (We looked at this in lesson one.)

What do we do in church?  How can these things help us to live as Christians?

Baptism: welcome into the church

Baptism by itself does not save you (see lesson one).  However, baptism is the public declaration of your faith in Jesus.  It is also your welcome into the church.  The Bible says,

‘*Repent and receive baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.  Then God will forgive your sins.  And God will give you his Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 2.38, EE draft)

The local pastor baptises the new Christians.  The members of the church welcome them.  The new Christian can invite family and friends to this ceremony.  Baptism can be a good opportunity to tell the good news about Jesus to other people. So invite those who do not know Jesus to the ceremony.

If you would like to receive baptism, speak to the pastor after the lesson.

The Lord’s Supper:  when we remember the death of Jesus

Before his death, Jesus and his followers ate a special meal.  He gave his friends a piece of bread and a drink from a cup of wine.  The Bible says:

‘Jesus took a loaf of bread and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave pieces of the bread to all his *apostles. He said to them, ‘This is my body. I give it in your place. From now on, do this to remember me and what I did for you’. After the meal, Jesus gave them a cup of wine to share. He said, ‘This cup is God’s new agreement in my blood, which I shall pour out for you.  I will let people kill me so that this agreement can happen.’  (Luke 22.19-20, WA-EE draft amended by Norman Hillyer)

Every time that we share this special meal, we remember that Jesus died for us.   As the Bible says:

‘Although we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread.  This shows that we are all one family, because we all eat from the same loaf of bread.’          (1 Corinthians 10.17, EE draft) 

Bible teaching:  when we learn from God’s words

If you can read and you have a Bible, then you should read your Bible at home.  It is good to read something from the Bible every day.  Pray a short prayer.  Ask God to help you to understand the Bible.  Look in the passage to see if:

·         God gives you a promise to remember

·         God warns you about something you should not do

·         God teaches you something true that is new for you

·         God shows you something to help you.  It helps you to live as he wants you to live at this moment.

The church also has a responsibility to teach its members from the Bible.  This is even more important if some members cannot read.  They can only learn from what they hear in church.  When you go to church:

·         Listen carefully when someone reads the Bible

·         Listen carefully to the person who speaks about it

·         Do not just listen to the Bible; you must obey what it teaches.  As it says in the Bible:

‘But do not just listen to the word of God. Do what it says too. If you do not, you will be making a mistake. You will be like a man who sees his face in a mirror. As soon as he goes away, he forgets what he is like.’             (James 1.22-24, WA-EE)

The Bible is not like any other book.  Human beings wrote it, but God directed them.  He showed them what they should write.  Therefore, we should expect God to speak to us by means of the words of the Bible.  This is why it is called God’s Word.  The gospels contain stories about the life of Jesus, and the things that he taught.  If you have not read the Bible before, begin to read one of the gospels.

Prayer:  conversation with God

You can pray in church and you can pray on your own.  You should try to pray every day.  How should you pray?

Use your own words

You do not need to use special language to speak to God.  You can just tell him how you feel.  You can tell him what you need. 

In Jesus’ name

When we pray, we come to God.  He is the maker of all that we see.  It is a great honour for us to be able to talk to him.  We can only do this because Jesus has opened a way to his Father for us.  So, we come to God in Jesus’ name.  For this reason, at the end of their prayers many Christians say: ‘in Jesus’ name. Amen.’

Different types of prayer

·         When you say that you are sorry.  You may do something that you know is wrong.  Then you should say sorry to God for it.  We have already seen that God will forgive us if we say sorry to him  (lesson one:  1 John 1.9).

·         Thank God.  Always remember to thank God for what he has done for you.

·         Ask God.  Most people want to ask God to help them.  That is quite right.  You can ask for big things or for small things.  Ask God because you trust him to answer. 

·         Listen to God.  When you pray, try to be quiet for some of the time.  God wants to speak to us.  Sometimes a word may come into your mind, or you might even hear a voice.  It may be difficult to pray like this at first.  However, you will learn to recognise when God speaks to you if you continue to pray in this way.

The *Lord’s Prayer

The followers of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray.  He gave them this prayer pattern (Luke11.2-4):

‘Father, we pray to you.
Your name is very important.
We love it very much. 
Let the day come when you rule your *Kingdom on earth.
Please give us the food that we need for each day.
Forgive us for all the bad things that we have done.
We forgive everyone who has done bad things to us.
Do not let *Satan come to us.’ 

Christians have considered it an honour to use similar words for 2000 years.  You can also use them as a pattern for prayer.

When we pray together with other Christians, we should pray for the world around us.  As God’s people, we pray for nations, for the leaders of nations, for all Christians around the world, and for people’s needs.

Giving:  our thanks to a generous God

God has given us so much.  He could have decided that we are not worth anything.  Instead he sent his Son to die for us.   He wanted to rescue us.  Then he sent his Holy Spirit to help us live.  He wants us to live the Christian life.  God always gives and he is always generous.  He gives much more to us than we deserve.  And his gifts to us are free.  The Bible calls this ‘grace’.  

God wants us to be generous too.  He wants us to be people of ‘grace’.  How can we do that?

We give our money

Some of you may not have much money.  Some of you may have a lot of money.  The Bible is our guide.  It proposes that we should give one tenth part of our income.  Decide that you will give some money to God’s work.  This Bible verse will help you to have the right attitude:

‘Each person should decide how much money to give.  Do not feel sad about it.  Do not make others think that they ought to give more.  It pleases God to see someone who is happy to give.’                          (2 Corinthians 9.7, EE draft) 

We give our time

In the second lesson we heard about the gifts from the Holy Spirit.  God gives these gifts for the good of the whole church.  Every Christian can do something for the church.  We serve the church when we do such work.  Too often only a few people want to serve God like this.  Decide to give some time to your local church.  This Bible verse may help you to learn from the example of Jesus:

‘For the *Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. Instead he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.’  (Mark 10.45, WA-EE) 

We give the good news to other people

Every Christian can tell other people about Jesus.  Even if it is difficult for you to speak clearly about the good news, even then you can share the story of how you became a Christian.  We must tell others because this is the most important news that a person can hear.  As the Bible says:

‘Then they said to each other, ‘We are not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves’.’ (2 Kings 7.9, NIV)

We have talked about many good things that God has given to help us.  These things help us to become better Christians - the church, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the Bible, prayer, and when we give things.  Sometimes you will learn more and will see a change in yourself very quickly.  At other times, you will only see a change after many months or years.  ‘Disciple’ is the name for a follower of Jesus.  ‘Disciple’ means that we want to learn more and more about Jesus.  It means that we want to become more like him.  We will do this for the rest of our life.

A Verse to Remember

The main point of this lesson is to look at how we can become better Christians.  We must do this in the church – the ‘body of Christ’.

We will finish this lesson with a Bible verse for you to learn and to remember.  Before we learn this week’s verse, we need to check last week’s Bible verse. Can you remember it?

[Note to the pastor:  ask them to say last week’s verse from memory.]

Last week’s verse was:

‘God has given us life that never ends. He has given it through his Son. So if anyone belongs to the Son of God, he has this *eternal life. But anyone who does not belong to the Son of God does not have *eternal life.’ (1 John 5.11-12, WA-EE, amended by Norman Hillyer) 

The new verse for this week is:

‘I am running straight for the prize. That prize is God’s call to enter heaven, because of what Jesus has done for us.’  (Philippians 3.14, WA-EE, amended by Norman Hillyer) 

Repeat this verse each day.  Ask God to give you the real desire to become a better Christian every day of your life. 

Word List

apostle	The twelve men that Jesus chose to be his helpers.
eternal life	The new quality of life for those who believe in Jesus.  This new life with Jesus will go on for ever.  It will never end.
kingdom	A kingdom is the place where a king rules.  The kingdom of God is over which God rules.  In the *Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God may rule more and more on this earth.
Lord	The name for God in the Bible.  It means that he has all power and authority.  It is a name that we also use for Jesus.
repent	To turn from sin [see ‘sin’] to God’s ways.
Satan	Another name for the evil one or the devil.
Son of Man	Special name that Jesus used for himself.

© 1997-2003, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

A Admissão de Estrangeiros no Brasil

A Declaração Universal dos Direitos do Homem estabeleceu o direito de imigrar. Entretanto, esse direito da pessoa não constitui, de imediato, uma vinculação, ou uma obrigação imposta a todas as nações de receber estrangeiros em seu território, trata-se uma mera expectativa.

Por seu turno, a Carta das Nações Unidas reconhece a soberania dos Estados para assegurar, dentro dos seus limites territoriais, o bem comum do seu povo. Maior flexibilidade ou mais rigor nas normas que regulamentam a entrada e permanência de estrangeiros estão entre as medidas que interferem no bem comum do povo de cada nacionalidade.

Atenta aos dois pressupostos: ser um direito da pessoa humana e uma faculdade do Estado, a legislação brasileira adotou critérios objetivos e subjetivos nesse aspecto, reconhecendo que não é um dever da nação receber os estrangeiros, mas um direito desta, que ao ser implementado, deve considerar, primordial e primeiramente os interesses nacionais.

Foi com o pensamento focado no bem estar do povo e no interesse nacional que o legislador trouxe ao mundo jurídico a Lei 6.815, de 19/08/1980, regulamentada pelo Decreto nº 86.715, de 10/12/1981.

Os princípios que regem a legislação relacionada aos estrangeiros estão muito claros logo nos primeiros artigos da lei supra:

“Art.1º. Em tempo de paz, qualquer estrangeiro poderá, satisfeitas as condições desta Lei, entrar e permanecer no Brasil e dele sair, resguardados os interesses nacionais.
Art. 2º. Na aplicação desta Lei atender-se-á precipuamente à segurança nacional, à organização institucional, aos interesses políticos, sócio-econômicos e culturais do Brasil, bem assim à defesa do trabalhador nacional.

Art. 3º. A concessão de visto, a sua prorrogação ou transformação ficarão sempre condicionadas aos interesses nacionais.”

Percebe-se que o art.3º apenas arremata o que já está Patente nos dois outros que o antecedem: que a defesa dos interesses nacionais devem guiar a autoridade concedente.

Ao estabelecer critérios subjetivos (discricionários), aliados aos critérios objetivos, a lei concedeu à administração o poder para deferir ou indeferir pedidos de visto em razão da conveniência e oportunidade.

Destarte, ainda que satisfaça as condições objetivas, o pedido de visto poderá ser negado pela autoridade sem que precise esclarecer ao solicitante as razões do indeferimento, não configurando, essa negativa, lesão ao seu direito individual, ilegalidade ou abuso de poder, posto que ingressar, ou permanecer, no território nacional não configura um direito líquido e certo do solicitante, ou seja, um dever da Nação, mas, como dito antes, um direito desta.

A discricionariedade salta do texto legal que, ao tratar de cada tipo de visto, diz: “O visto ....... poderá ser concedido ...” (grifei).

A admissão de estrangeiro no território nacional acontece mediante a concessão de visto, realizada no exterior pelas Missões Diplomáticas, Repartições Consulares de carreira, Vice-Consulados e pelos Consulados Honorários, estes últimos somente quando autorizados pela Secretaria de Estado das Relações Exteriores.

Os tipos de vistos admitidos na legislação brasileira são os seguintes:
a) de trânsito, b) de turista, c) temporário, d) permanente, e) de cortesia, g) oficial e h) diplomático.

Não existindo relações diplomáticas ou consulares do Brasil com o país de origem do interessado, ou sendo estas suspensas, o visto poderá ser concedido por Missão Diplomática ou Repartição Consular do país encarregado dos interesses brasileiros naquele local.

A legislação determina que o visto não será concedido ao estrangeiro que se enquadre em uma das seguintes condições:
a) menor de 18 anos, se desacompanhado do responsável legal ou sem a autorização expressa desse;
b) for considerado nocivo à ordem pública ou aos interesses nacionais;
c) tiver sido anteriormente expulso do Brasil, exceto se a expulsão tiver sido revogada;
d) tiver sido condenado ou esteja sendo processado em outro país por crime doloso, passível de extradição segundo a lei brasileira;
e) não satisfaça as condições de saúde estabelecidas pelo Ministério da Saúde.

A concessão do visto poderá estender-se aos dependentes legais do interessado desde que comprovada a dependência e que o dependente não se enquadre em nenhuma das situações impeditivas mencionadas acima.

Todos os documentos que forem apresentados para instruir o pedido de visto devem estar, preferencialmente, escritos em língua portuguesa, admitindo-se, também, os escritos em inglês, francês e espanhol.

É dispensado o visto de entrada a municípios fronteiriços ao respectivo país, ao estrangeiro natural de país limítrofe ao Brasil, domiciliado em cidade contígua ao território nacional, que apresente documento de identidade válido, emitido por autoridade competente do seu país.

Cumpre destacar que a mera posse ou propriedade de Bens no Brasil não é suficiente para conceder ao estrangeiro o direito de obter visto de qualquer natureza, ou mesmo autorização para permanência no território nacional.

Resta ainda falar, e a lei a isto não se omitiu, sobre a possibilidade de concessão de visto ao apátrida, assim entendida a pessoa que não possui uma nacionalidade. 

Este, além de apresentar os documentos que o regulamento exige e não se enquadrar nas condições impeditivas informadas acima, deve apresentar prova oficial de que poderá regressar ao país de residência ou de procedência, ou ingressar em outro país, salvo justo impedimento avaliado pelo Ministério das Relações Exteriores.

No tocante ao transporte, a lei atribui à empresa transportadora a responsabilidade de verificar se a documentação das pessoas que desejam embarcar para o Brasil está completa e em dia, posto que, havendo alguma irregularidade que impeça a entrada do estrangeiro no território nacional, caberá a ela arcar com os custos de sua retirada além de estar sujeita ao pagamento de pesadas multas.

Inversão do ônus da prova para aposentadoria pelo INSS

Texto publicado no Diário do Nordeste, edição de 06/07/2008

A OPINIÃO DO ESPECIALISTA
Inversão não é total

José Ernane Santos
ernane@grupofortes.com.br
Advogado do Grupo Fortes de Serviços
O mecanismo da inversão do ônus da prova consiste em relevante instrumento para a proteção dos hipossuficientes, posto que retira destes a obrigatoriedade de comprovar seu direito, transferindo para a outra parte, com mais conhecimento, mais recursos, mais poder, a obrigação de provar o contrário, ou seja, que o interessado não possui o direito que pleiteia.

No campo previdenciário, o Decreto nº. 4.079, de 09 de janeiro de 2002, estabelece que, a partir de 01 de julho de 1994, os dados constantes do Cadastro Nacional de Informações Sociais -CNIS valem para todos os efeitos como prova de filiação à Previdência Social, relação de emprego, tempo de serviço ou de contribuição e salários-de-contribuição. A publicação do prefalado decreto foi anunciada como a inversão do ônus da prova em beneficio do trabalhador.

O problema é que, em caso de dúvida por parte da Previdência, pode ser exigida do obreiro a apresentação de outros documentos. A real inversão do ônus probatório somente virá quando as anotações na Carteira de Trabalho e Previdência Social forem consideradas verdadeiras até que se prove o contrário, vedando-se a exigência ao trabalhador de qualquer outra prova de seu tempo de trabalho, contribuição, etc.

Neste tema cumpre destacar o Enunciado nº. 12 do Colendo Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (TST): ´As anotações apostas pelo empregador na carteira profissional do empregado não geram presunção ´juris et de jure´, mas apenas ´juris tantum´.Inobstante a partícula ´não´ que atribui aspecto negativo ao texto, ele nos informa que, na esfera trabalhista, presumem-se verdadeiras as anotações constantes da CTPS até que haja prova em contrário. A inversão precisa ser completa. Não adianta fazer a propaganda de que ela existe, mas no momento em que determinado registro não constar do cadastro do INSS, determinado recolhimento não tiver sido feito, ou no caso do empregador ter deixado de prestar as informações, é o trabalhador que tem que ir atrás das empresas onde trabalhou, que podem até não existir mais.

A inversão do ônus da prova, e aqui falo da aceitação das anotações da CTPS como verdadeiras até que haja prova contrária, atenderia ao princípio da dignidade da pessoa humana, tão desrespeitada na seara da Previdência Social.

Exigir que o trabalhador apresente outra prova, além da própria anotação na carteira de trabalho, nos parece um desrespeito, uma injustiça que, em não raras situações, inviabiliza a obtenção do benefício previdenciário. Destarte, só nos resta esperar que medidas sejam tomadas urgentemente no sentido de estabelecer a completa inversão do ônus da prova, reduzindo a desumana rigidez da Previdência Social e retirando do cidadão humilde e desprovido de recursos o peso de compreender de produzir provas, às vezes inviáveis.

Privilégios Processuais do Fisco

Na relação Fisco-Contribuinte, quando ela sai da seara administrativa e adentra o âmbito do Poder Judiciário, permanece a injusta desigualdade em desfavor do mais fraco, o contribuinte.

Sabe-se que as desigualdades legalmente estabelecidas têm a finalidade de tornar iguais os desiguais. No caso da relação Poder Tributante-Contribuinte, contrariamente  ao consagrado principio, as desigualdades visam tornar os já desiguais em mais desiguais.

Protege-se exageradamente o Fisco sob a argumentação de que deve prevalecer o interesse público em desfavor do interesse particular.

Entretanto, tenho que essas regalias concedidas ao Fisco menosprezam a capacidade dos procuradores.

É que as Procuradorias atualmente são muito bem equipadas, até mais do que certas bancas de advogados. Têm equipamentos modernos, procuradores em bom número, funcionários capacitados e estagiários em excesso. Os privilégios processuais já não se justificam.

Os prazos em dobro para a Fazenda Pública já não deviam mais existir, pois a capacidade produtiva das Procuradorias não perde para os escritórios de advocacia. 

Como os prazos para a Fazenda Pública somente passam a contar após a retirada dos autos da respectiva vara, os procuradores não precisam se preocupar com publicações, contagem de prazo na secretaria cartório, etc.

A possibilidade de perder prazo, dessa maneira, também é nula.

Quando se abre vista de autos às partes por 10 dias, os advogados dos contribuintes não podem retirá-los da secretaria. Entretanto, passados 5 dias, a Fazenda Pública pode retirá-los, justamente porque o prazo para ela é contado em dobro.

Como os prazos para os procuradores contam em dobro, eles retiram os autos e não devolvem nos cinco dias restantes.

Se os advogados dos contribuintes atrasarem a devolução de autos retirados em carga, não demora para que haja publicação para devolver em 24 horas sob pena de busca e apreensão e representação na OAB. Os procuradores da Fazenda Pública retiram os processos, permanecendo com eles o tempo que desejarem e nada acontece.

Os contribuintes, se quiseram processar a Fazenda Pública, já iniciam pagando elevadas custas processuais. O Fisco ajuíza execuções, mesmo indevidas e nada desembolsa.

A Bible Course - Lesson Two

Reasons why a person may not want to be a Christian any more

‘I do not really understand the good news about Jesus.’

·         We learned about this in last week’s lesson.  If you still think that the good news about Jesus is hard to understand, speak to the pastor after the lesson.  He will help you.

‘I am not sure that God can really accept someone like me.’

·         Many people feel that God is not interested in them.  They may carry some shame in their life.  Maybe their village tells them that they do not have much worth. 

·         God says that every person has great value to him.  He allowed people to kill his only son.  He did this so that you could know God as your friend.

‘I am not a proper Christian. I know that because of what I have done today.’

·         Sometimes it is difficult for new Christians to overcome sins and bad habits.  The devil will use this to accuse us.  He wants to make us feel that we have failed as Christians.

·         When we do wrong, we should not pretend that we have not done it.  We should ask God to forgive us.  We should also ask God to help us not to do that wrong thing again.  God forgives us again and again.  He will help us to overcome sins, as we live our Christian lives.

‘It was much easier to live my old life.  I think I will go back to that.’

·         It is easier to live a life that suits our own needs.  We can be as selfish as we like. 

·         You know that this was a life without God and without hope.  It was a life with no answer to sin, no answer to the power of evil, no answer to the fact of death.  It may be an easier way to live, but it is an empty life.

‘People see that I am a Christian.  Some of them do not like this.  They do not want me to be a Christian any longer.’

·         Sometimes we may be in danger because we are Christians. People may hurt you with their words, or with their actions.  Some people may even want to kill you.

·         The first followers of Jesus had the same problem.  People forced some of them to leave their homes.  People killed some of them.  They did not stop believing in Jesus.  They knew that believing in Jesus is more important than anything else.

How can you be sure about what you believe? 

We will look at 4 things from the Bible.  The first one is the most important.  It supports the second one, which supports the third one in its turn.  Then the third one supports the fourth one.  It is important to remember this order.

1.      Fact

The most important thing of all is the fact that Jesus died for you and me.  He completed the work that God gave him to do to rescue us.  This can never be taken away.  The Bible says:

‘I have shared in Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus now lives in me. Yes, I still live in a human body. But my real life is to trust the Son of God who loved me and died for me.’  (Galatians 2.20, WA-EE)

This Bible verse reminds you of several important facts:

·         God loves you.  He loved you so much that he sent His Son into the world.  He came to die for you.

·         Jesus loves you.  He chose to die on the cross for you.  Jesus gave up his life so that you might have real life with God.

·         If you trust in Jesus, then it affects your whole life.  What he did on the cross affects your whole life.  This Bible verse says it very strongly.  It says that when Jesus died, you shared in his death.  I know that you have not stopped breathing!  Your body is still living.  But Jesus brought all your sin to God when he died.  And God has forgiven all that sin.  Now you can live a new life with Jesus. 

·         The Bible verse says, ‘Jesus now lives in me.’  When God looks at you, he sees someone whom Jesus has forgiven.  He sees Jesus in your life, and that pleases God very much.

Many people are not sure whether God accepts them or not.  The clear message in this verse is that he has already accepted you, as soon as you really trusted in Jesus.  That leads us on to the next point.

2.      To Believe

In the first lesson, we read these words from the Bible:

‘Jesus gave some people the right to become the children of God. He gave this right to those who accepted him. They were the people who really put their trust in him.’ (John 1.12, WA-EE, Hillyer draft)

Sometimes people think that they do not believe in Jesus enough.  They imagine that it must be easier for other people to believe.  This is not the right way to understand what ‘to believe’ means.  In this Bible verse, ‘to believe’ means to make a decision.  It could happen like this:

·         You heard the good news about Jesus

·         God made you understand that the message is true

·         You decided to ask Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord

It does not matter if you made this decision with lots of faith or with a little faith.  The important thing is that you said ‘Yes’ to God.  You have accepted his plan to rescue you.  This is why he sent Jesus.  Some people can remember the time and day when they accepted the message about Jesus.  Other people cannot do this because they did not decide all at once.  The important thing is to be able to say: ‘I have decided to follow Jesus.’  Have you truly made that decision, from your *heart?  If you have, then be sure that God has heard your prayer.  He accepts you.

3.      The Holy Spirit

The Bible says that we should be full of the Holy Spirit.  In the Bible, Jesus said:

‘Even if you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things. He will send the Holy Spirit to those people who ask him’  (Luke 11.13, WA-EE, redrafted by Norman Hillyer)

Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to his followers.  The Holy Spirit came after Jesus went up to heaven.  The first Christians spoke about the Holy Spirit, and they also placed their hands on people.  They did this as they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.  This is a good time to teach you about the Holy Spirit.

a)        The Trinity

Christians believe in ONE God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  It can be hard to understand, because we talk about one God but three different ways in which God shows himself.  With human words it is not easy to speak of our wonderful God.  However, the Trinity has helped Christians to understand God better.

b)        The role of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit helps us to know God, and Jesus.  He helps us to know that God is real.  The Bible says:

‘The Holy Spirit speaks in our *hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children.’  (Romans 8.16, EE, redrafted by Norman Hillyer)

We need the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can live as Christians.  The Spirit in us shows that we are now in God’s family.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live the Christian life; we cannot do it in our own strength.

Note: Perhaps you have been involved with evil spirits.  Then you may need prayer for these spirits to leave your life.  You should speak to the pastor about this.  You want the Holy Spirit to fill your life with good, and to keep evil away. 

c)        The gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Bible tells us that Jesus gave his followers different gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible says:

‘God shows to each one of us that the Spirit is present in us.  He does this so that we can help each other.  The Spirit gives a completely wise message to one person so that they will tell it to all of us.  And to another person, he gives a message that tells us how to know God.  The Spirit makes another person really believe that God is true.  He makes yet another person able to cure illness.   The same Spirit makes another person able to do *miracles.  The Spirit makes yet another person able to speak messages from God.  He makes another person able to recognise what is a gift from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit makes one person able to speak in strange languages.  And he makes another person able to explain the message in the strange language’  (1 Corinthians 12.7-11, Draft EE)

Other parts of the New Testament have different lists of gifts.  The important things are:

·         God gives every follower of Jesus at least one gift. 

·         These gifts are not so that we can become proud.  God gives these gifts so that we ‘can help each other’.  We must use the gifts to help other people.  We must serve the church and the people in our town or village.

·         One gift is ‘speaking in strange languages’.  Many people receive this special prayer language from God, as a gift.  But the Bible never says that we must receive this gift to be a Christian.

d)        The Holy Spirit makes you a new person

Some people get very excited about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  If the Holy Spirit is in your life, then your character should also become more like Jesus.  This is what the Bible says:

‘The Holy Spirit, however, leads us to have love, joy, a quiet heart, a quiet mind, a kind way, to be true to other people. To be gentle and to control ourselves.’  (Galatians 5.22-23, WA-EE, redrafted by Prides)

4.         Feelings

How you feel makes a great difference to you.  It affects many parts of your life.  This includes what you believe.  On some days you may feel like a strong Christian.  On other days you may not feel that you can be a Christian at all.  So, it is very dangerous to let your feelings be your guide.  You would not feel very sure of God at all.

·         You can be sure about what you believe because of the FACT that Jesus died for you.  God always keeps his promises.

·         You can be sure about what you believe because of the decision you made TO BELIEVE in Jesus. 

·         You can be sure about what you believe because you are full of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Are feelings important?  We already read this Bible verse:

‘The Holy Spirit speaks in our *hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children.’  (Romans 8.16, EE, redrafted by Norman Hillyer)

God wants you to love him with every part of your life: – love him by the way you think; love him by the way you decide about things; and love him by the way you feel about things.  So feelings are important.  God wants you to know that he is always close to you.  The thing to remember is that feelings must not take first place.  They cannot take the place of the fact that God gave his Son for you.

A Verse to Remember

The main point of this lesson is to show how you can be sure of what you believe about Jesus.  This is very important when you begin the Christian life.  You should be completely sure that God loves you.  Then you will become a real Christian.  If you are not sure that God loves you, then you will not be a close follower of Jesus.

We will finish this lesson with a Bible verse for you to learn and to remember.  Before we learn this lesson’s verse, we need to check the Bible verse from the last lesson.  Do you remember it?

[Note to the pastor:  Ask them to say last week’s verse from memory.]

Last week’s verse was:

‘God loved all the people of the world very much. He gave his Son to save them. So anyone who trusts in Jesus will enjoy life with God.’ (John 3.16, WA-EE)

Here is the new verse for this lesson:

‘God has given us life that never ends.  He has given it through his Son.  So if anyone belongs to the Son of God, he has this *eternal life.  But anyone who does not belong to the Son of God does not have *eternal life.’ (1 John 5.11-12, WA-EE, amended by Norman Hillyer) 

Try to repeat this verse to yourself this week.  God gives eternal life to those who receive his son.  You can be completely sure of this.  A person who does not have Jesus in their life does not have eternal life.  They do not look forward to something good after death. You could pray for people that you know.  Pray for people who do not have Jesus in their life.  Talk to God about them.  He can make them want to listen to the good news.  Pray for an opportunity to share the good news about Jesus with them.

Word List

eternal life	The new quality of life for those who believe in Jesus.  This new life with Jesus will go on for ever.  It will never end.
heart	Where you see the word ‘heart’, this does not just mean the heart that makes the blood to go around your body.  It is our custom to describe the heart as the centre of our life.  When we speak about ‘knowing the truth in your heart’, we mean that you know it for yourself.  It has become real to you.  It may be your custom to speak in the same way of your mind, or your stomach.  You must use the word that fits your customs.  This will help people to understand the true meaning of the teaching in these lessons.
miracles	Wonderful works that God does by his power.

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