Christian Life Program

Those who want to join SFC go through a seminar which is called a Christian Life Program (CLP). The CLP starts with an orientation session, then goes through 12 weekly meetings, thus involving a total time period of 3 months. The weekly meetings are usually held in the evenings and last about 2-1/2 hours per session.

CLP is an integrated course leading into a renewed understanding of God's call to Christian couples. It is divided into 3 modules of 4 sessions each. Most sessions consist of a talk, group discussion, and some time for fellowship.

The first module (first 4 talks) presents the absolute basics of Christian life, with emphasis on our hearing it through a single adult perspective. The second module (next 4 talks) presents the kind of life that God calls us to. It spells out the personal response involved in receiving Jesus as Lord and Saviour and helps singles to make a reorientation of their lives around Jesus. The third module (last 4 talks) helps singles commit their lives in a serious way to Jesus. It helps them appropriate for their lives the power of the Holy Spirit. It provides the basis for continuing spiritual growth.

MODULE ONE
BASIC TRUTHS ABOUT CHRISTIANITY

SESSION 1 : God's Love
SESSION 2 : Who Is Jesus Christ?
SESSION 3 : What It Means To Be A Christian
SESSION 4 : Repentance And Faith

MODULE TWO
THE AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN IDEAL

SESSION 5 : The Christian Ideal : Loving God
SESSION 6 : Loving Your Neighbor
SESSION 7 : Christian Family
SESSION 8 : Life In The Holy Spirit

MODULE THREE
LIVING A SPIRIT-FILLED CHRISTIAN LIFE

SESSION 9 : Receiving The Power Of The Holy Spirit
SESSION 10 : Growing In The Spirit
SESSION 11 : Singles For Christ Family
SESSION 12 : Dedication

GOD's LOVE
# Today, the modern world is in serious disorder. There is war, poverty, social injustice, murder, abortion, etc. On a personal level: loneliness, fear, mistrust, insecurity, etc. Something major is needed to correct the situation. Man makes various efforts to improve the world but not succeeding because they are not based on God’s wisdom.

# What is the way of God? Does God have a plan for bringing us out of our confusion and disorder? Yes! The starting point for understanding God’s plan is found in the story of creation. What God creates is good (Gen. 1:31). The confusion, disorder, ugliness, and sin in the lives of people today are not in accordance with God’s will. Original sin entered the picture. And from then, man continued to turn against God and His ways. But still, even if God punished man, God did not abandon him. In fact, God wants to bring us all back to Himself, to restore our fellowship and intimacy with Him. (Eph 1:9-10). This is God’s plan! It is an expression of His love.

# How can God’s plan happen? We need to turn to God’s wisdom. We need God’s point of view. Our human efforts apart from Him will prove useless (John 15:5). Jesus Christ is the answer! He is the vine from which we draw life, strength and power. In fact, Christ is the fullness of God’s love (John 3:18). Thus, in Jesus we experience the love of God. And in Jesus, God’s plan for restoration can begin to happen.

# What do we need to do? God has done His part. It is now our move. The choice is ours; to live under the dominion of darkness, a life of slavery under sin, or to live in the kingdom of God, a life of freedom, dignity, peace and happiness. Let us accept Jesus and the salvation that He brings. Let us begin to truly experience God’s love.

God does not want us to live lives of pain, poverty, injustice. God wants the world to be a place of peace, justice and happiness. A place in which He would reign! We need to simply accept Jesus as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9). What this means will become clearer as we move on in this CLP. But for now, what is important to know is simply this: God loves us. God sent Jesus His own Son. In Jesus we are saved and restored to our relationship with God, with the fullness of life He intended. Some even question the divinity of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus really God? For the answer, come back next week. The choice is given to each of us. Are we going to continue to investigate how God’s plan can work in our lives? Will we continue to explore how God’s love can make a difference in our lives? Or will we just walk away like the disciples who left Jesus?

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WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
# Having been born and raised as Christians, we take for granted our conviction that Jesus is the Son of God. But aside from this inborn conviction, is Jesus really worth paying attention to? Is there any reason not to put Jesus on the same level as Buddha, Confucius, Lao-Tze, Socrates or other wise man? Was Jesus more than just a great religious man or moral teacher? How is Jesus different from all the others who claimed that they came from God, or that they were Gods, or that they bore messages from God?

We are confronted with the startling fact that no other human being has had anything like the impact of Jesus Christ on the course of human history. Every other person who came into this world came into it to live. Jesus came into the world to die. His death was the goal and fulfillment of his life.

Who is He? Some popular misconceptions --- Jesus Christ Superstar, social-political revolutionary, great religious leader, great moral leader. What did He say about Himself?

Jesus makes a most extraordinary claim. Jesus says simply that He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He told people that He would die for the salvation for all sinners. He gives life like God does. He is to judge the earth (Mt. 25:31, Mk. 14:61-62). He claims to be God (John 8:51-58)

Jesus’ life and words demand a response from us. We must decide whether to take Him as a madman, a demon or the Lord. Jesus forces the issue upon us: "You will surely die in your sins unless you believe that I am He" (John 8:24). God confirmed Jesus’ claims (in the raising of Lazarus, in Jesus’ resurrection, in Peter’s testimony). Jesus offers us a personal relationship. Accept Him and see your life change. Have you experienced what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus? Will you refute or defend Jesus’ claim to be God?

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WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN
# What are misconceptions or incomplete notions about Christianity? Christianity is reduced to a mere religious system. Christianity is a mere moral system. Christianity is a social or humanitarian system. Christianity is an escape from the realities of life.

# What is Christianity? The essence of Christianity is union with God, made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:16). What makes us Christian is our loving, personal relationship with God. Our whole life becomes an expression of this relationship.

# What are the practical implications of being a Christian? We can trust in God our Father (Mt. 7:9-11). We can stop worrying (Luke 12:16-21) We are to be brothers and sisters to one another. Look to things that will enrich us for our eternal life rather than for this earthly life (Luke 12:16-21). We have peace and joy inspite of circumstances.

A Christian is a person who has given his life to God and lives for God and God’s plan according to the will of Jesus. Being a Christian means putting our lives in the service of one another. Put your lives now completely on God’s hands and experience the tremendous peace flow into your lives and your family. Are you willing to be a true Christian?

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REPENTANCE AND FAITH
# God extends an invitation and we need to respond freely. Our response requires a double action: REPENT (reform our lives) and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL (have faith in Him and the message He brings).

# Repentance is turning away from evil, sin, wrongdoing and running your own life. Repentance depends on an objective decision to accept only God’s righteousness into one’s life and reject anything not compatible with this.

# Faith is belief in the gospel, which is the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Faith is both belief in the messenger, Jesus, and in the message that he brings.

# As a consequence, repentance and faith brings us salvation from sin and a promise of eternal life with God through the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Take Jesus up on His challenge which He gave 2,000 years ago. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Turn from sin and all obstacles to God, and accept Jesus as Lord. Then take God up on His promise for a new life. God is faithful to His promises. Can you also be faithful to Him?

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THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL : LOVING GOD
# God wants us to make LOVING HIM our highest ideal that He made it into a commandment of the highest priority. (Mark 12:28-30)

# We are to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our strength.

# Jesus is our model in loving God

Loving God is not as vague and impractical as you may think. It involves specific, practical actions and decisions and commitments. Can you make the love of God your first and highest ideal? Are you ready to make Christ the model of your life?

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LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR
# Loving our neighbor, together with loving God, form the core of our Christian life.

# Love is not only having positive feelings, not always saying ‘yes’, not defensive, not self-seeking, not manipulative.

# Christian love is connected with keeping God’s commandments. It is a self-sacrifice love and is committed service to others.

# Our neighbor is anyone who is in need of our help.

# Characteristics of Christian love in 1 Cor. 13:4-7. Substitute ‘I’ for love.

Jesus showed us the way to true Christian love by the parable of the good Samaritan, by His washing of His disciples’ feet, and most of all by His dying for us on the cross. Are you prepared to love others in the way Jesus loved you?

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THE CHRISTIAN FAMILY
# God’s plan for families: The family is to be the basic unit of the society. (Gen. 1:27-28, Gen. 2:18-24) A place for teaching and training children. A place to transmit wisdom and values of life. A place for training leaders for the church. A domestic church.

# Parents, especially the fathers are to be the priests of their family by presenting God to their family and presenting their family to God.

# God’s plan for families is not happening because God lost His central place in the family.

# What can we do? Make a decision that in your family you want God’s plan to happen. Pray together as a family. Seek other Christian families that share your concern about family life. Be in regular fellowship with them.

Take time and give attention to the task of building a strong Christian family. Fathers should take steps to assume full responsibility for the spiritual and material needs of their families. Learn more about God’s vision for your family. What can you do to help your parents, brothers and sisters build a Christian family? How can you prepare yourself now so that you could build a strong Christian family?

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LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
# God wants all men to have new life. This new life in the Holy Spirit is available to all who receive Jesus as Lord and savior.

# Receiving the Holy Spirit

# What to do during the prayer session

# Preparation for the prayer session

God is calling us to live a life of holiness. We can do this by allowing ourselves to be under the power of the Holy Spirit. Will you now put your lives completely on God’s hands and experience the tremendous peace flow into your lives and your family?

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RECEIVING THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
# God has promised the Holy Spirit to His people. With the Holy Spirit, we gain a new nature, spiritual power, and the power to serve.

# Jesus is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. We turn to Him and receive the new life in the Holy Spirit from Him.

# God offer us various gifts. One of these is the gift of tongues.

# We must nurture the new life and God’s gifts.

You have claimed Christ’s promise of the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. You have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and have received a new life from the Lord. You are “a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, a new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). You have begun a new life in faith. Will you commit yourself fully to Jesus Christ and grow into the life in the Holy Spirit?

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GROWING IN THE SPIRIT
# The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is only a beginning. Now we need to grow in the life of the Spirit.

# The steps to growth and maturity are prayer, study, service, and fellowship.

"My entire intention is on the finish line as I run toward the prize to which God calls me --- life on high in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). Throughout these past twelve weeks, you have heard the call of the Lord. Will you heed this call?

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THE SINGLES FOR CHRIST FAMILY
# A history. In June 1981, 16 couples, who had attended a new program initiating people into authentic practical Christian living, made their commitment of Christian support to one another, and the Lord. This was the beginning of Couples For Christ and its ministries including the Singles For Christ.

# We are called to bring families and individuals back to the plan of God. CFC/SFC beliefs and ideals flow from its Christian attitudes, values and behavior.

# We support one another in committed relationships, cell group meetings called households and other support activities.

God is trying to restore the Christian family back to His original plan. We are called to respond to His divine efforts and to be part of His work. Are you ready to be part of God’s work?

After the CLP, those who finish are invited to join SFC. When they do, they are made part of a small cell group called a household. The household is composed of from 5 to 7 singles who meet weekly for mutual support and encouragement in the Christian life, under the direction of a household leader.

The purpose of the household group is to build an environment for the support of the Christian life of singles, and to provide a means for encouraging and hastening spiritual growth. It provides friendship and brotherhood. It helps people overcome obstacles to growth in the Christian life.

The household meeting is held in the homes of the group members, on rotation basis. A typical meeting would involve some time for prayers, a time for sharing or discussion, and finally some time for fellowship. It would normally last about 2-1/2 hours.

Finishing the CLP is just the beginning of a long process of growth and transformation in Christ. As such, CFC provides a continuing program of formation, which includes teachings, recollections, retreats, etc.

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