Personal Religious Practice

Christians are people who believe in the God who has made himself known through his words and actions recorded in the Bible. Most importantly, we believe that Jesus was sent by God to redeem and rule his world. This belief is more than just knowledge and agreement, it is a commitment of trust in what God has done and promised, of loyalty to him.

Christians are people who acknowledge they have done wrong in God’s sight, and are prepared to change their values and actions to align with him.

Christians are people who are committed to following Jesus’ example and instructions, as well as those given by the prophets and the apostles elsewhere in the Bible.

Christians respect the Bible as God’s message to his people, and so they regularly take the time to read or listen to it. The Bible encourages us in our faith and informs us about what we ought to believe and how we should live as God’s people. There is no set amount of pages or time that Christians should spend on this, but regular time is important. It is also valuable to spend time meditating (i.e. thinking + praying) or studying short parts of the Bible.

Christians pray to God, expressing love and esteem for him, confessing wrongdoings, giving thanks, and asking help. Prayer reflects our need of God and fosters humility in us. There is no set amount of time we should pray, but regular time in prayer is important. Some Christians like to use prayers written by others for their own praying, but it is ideal that we find our own words to communicate with God. Christian prayer is made to God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ the Son, and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Christians are people who recognize the tremendous gift of God’s love they have received in Jesus Christ. In response to this, they seek to love others, both inside and outside the people of God, by seeking their good and helping them in their needs.  

Christians sometimes “fast” when they have something especially important to pray for. Fasting involves going without food or drink for set amounts of time. There are no rules on how precisely that might be done. Fasting shows that you value the thing you are praying about more than the comfort of regular food and drink, and reminds you by its discomfort to be praying more regularly and earnestly than you might do so otherwise.

To the Christian, every facet of life should be lived to the glory of God. Our aim is to please God, and that should be our guiding motivation in life throughout everything that we do.