Growth Tracks – First Baptist Church

Welcome to Growth Tracks which is FBC’s program for e-learning designed to set the disciple on the firm foundation spiritual maturity. All the major areas of the Christian walk will be covered. The gospel which is the key to maturity will be re-explored as well.

In 2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV) Paul writes” For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”.

The key to growth in our spiritual lives is encountering the glory of God through the person of His Son who is His perfect image. The more our hearts are filled with the knowledge of Him the more our characters are molded, the more our hearts are filled with His love and more our lives will be directed towards the purpose for which we were created….to glorify Him. These series of power point presentations are designed to provide a progressive track to show the face of Christ through selected but key passages in the Bible laying down the bed rock foundations of faith that will form the basis for a life -long learning and growing in to the likeness of Christ. Prayerfully follow these presentations and His Spirit will propel you into a trajectory of robust growth and spiritual transformation. Learn how to read the bible by tackling whole passages of Scripture rather than piece meal verses. Listen to the audio of the power points and the parts of verses that will be highlighted to learn to pick up key points and understand the logic of how the arguments are laid out. See how principles from the passages will be translated to everyday life. Take each lesson a couple slides at a time or listen to the whole presentation at one go. You can fast forward to the section of your interest or go back to understand the more difficult slides. Learn at your own pace and after this have a discussion with your spiritual mentor for personal reflection and accountability. For those disciples going into the Gamma program these presentations will help bridge the gap between the Alpha Beta programs and the more in- depth Gamma discipleship program.

We start at the very beginning of time and the proper perspective is to start with God. He created the universe, He created us. What was His purpose, what was His plan and how is His plan unfolding in the history of our world which is actually properly seen as His Story not ours. Much of what is wrong with the world or our understanding of it stems from look at our world from the wrong perspective. Our brief look at Genesis 1 starts us of.

Module-1-It-All-Begins-With-God Download

This study of Genesis 2 introduces us to the nature and original purpose of man. Why is man different from all the animals, what is the purpose of work and the concept behind the Sabbath rest which God original provided. How is man related to woman and why relationships and community are at the heart of human existence.

Module-2-The-Meaning-and-Purpose-of-Man Download

The travails of our world ultimately stem from sin initiated in this fateful historical event in human history This study of Genesis 3 shows us why and how sin entered the world and explains the devastating consequences it had that has affected every human person that ever lived. The very motives and characteristics of sin remain the same through every generation hence it is vital to examine this event in our walk towards holiness.

Module-3-The-Fall-of-Man-Sin Download

Sin brings spiritual death which is separation from God inducing a blindness and an insensitivity to all things divine. Spiritual death leads to eternal death and separation from God . In this segment Jesus discusses the need to be born again with Nicodemus a religious leader in the Gospel of John chapter 3. Find out what it means to be born again, why we need to be born again and what must we do to be born again.

Module-4-How-to-be-Born-Again Download

How does believing in Jesus bring us out of spiritual death into eternal life. What does the cross mean and how does the crucifixion of Jesus reverse our slavery to sin and bring us to spiritual life again. The apostle Paul details the mechanics of salvation and Christs sacrifice in his letter to the Romans chapter 3. Follow how he does this in a series of metaphors which this presentation seeks to unravel so we can begin to understand salvation through Jesus.

Module-5-Salvation-In-The-Gospel Download

The bible is the bed rock of our faith because Christianity is based on divine revelation. How did we get the bible? How was it transmitted over the centuries? Is it accurate and why is it authoritative. Why are there so many different versions of the bible on the shelves. What is the difference between the different versions and why do they differ? This presentation introduces the believer in to the process of how the bible was first derived and transmitted.

Module-6-Introduction-To-The-Bible Download

The bible was written over 1400 years ago by 40 different authors many of whom never knew each other and yet there is a cogent message that spans the years because it is God behind the pages. Discover how God communicates to us in the bible. How to read it in its historical , social and cultural context. The role of grammar and use of words. Learn how we have to read the different genres of the bible and discern His truths.

Module-7-How-to-Read-the-Bible Download

Prayer is the believers life line into the presence of God. The Lord’s prayer as recorded on Matthew 6 is how Jesus Himself had taught the disciples about the principles of prayer. This segment will attempt to break down the various elements of this prayer in such a way that it will be practical for every believer to practice. In particular we will deal with the proper approach to God, worship and struggling to seeking His will and kingdom in our prayer.

Module-8-Learning-to-Pray-Part-1 Download

Prayer is the amazing process of encountering the most power person in the universe who has actually invited us into the throne of grace and to lay before Him the burdens of our lives and our world. This part of the Lord’s prayer will focus on how to petition God for our needs, confession of our sins and deliverance from every evil that we will ever face. We will not survive without this vital avenue…

Module-9-Learning-to-Pray-Part-2 Download

The Holy Spirit brings about new birth and regenerates the otherwise spiritually dead person. He indwells the true believers of Christ empowering him to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God bearing fruit in life and witness. How does the Spirit do this? Jesus explains the role of the Spirit in our lives in John 16.

Module-10-The-Work-of-The-Holy-Spirit Download

We know the Spirit in dwells the believer but how do we know what He wants us to do? How do we live in a manner that best expresses the Spirit’s power and beauty in our lives? How does the Spirit actually work in our hearts to obey the law? Jesus discusses these issues in John 16, Romans 8 and Ephesians 3 .How do we recognise and move in the Spirit’s power ?

Module-11-The-Spirit-Filled-Life Download

The world is obsessed in living successful lives which may comprise of financial or corporate achievements. God is focused on a different set of parameters in which to judge the life lived successfully. The bible expresses this as fruitfulness and in John 15 we will explore what Jesus teaches about bearing abundant fruit for Him. What is spiritual fruit , why is it important and how do we produce it.

Module-12-Spiritual-Fruitfulness Download

The cornerstone of the Christian life is worship and we explore the very passage where Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman in John 4 about the matter of true worship. The Father seeks true worshippers and hence this segment is vital to know the vital ingredients of how to worship God both in the personal devotion and corporately in church on Sunday. What are the important aspects of worshiping in spirit and in truth and how do we align ourselves to these.

Module-13-Learning-To-Worship Download

Giving to the work of the Kingdom and alleviating the suffering of the poor is one of the cornerstones of godly living. Paul writes to the Corinthian believers in 2 Cor 8 and we will study his appeal to them to give sacrificially to their brethren in Jerusalem suffering from famine. This presentation will establish the principles of Christian giving. Why we should give and how we should give.

Module-14-Financial-Fruitfulness-Part-1 Download

There is much blessing in giving and Paul continues his teaching on giving in 2 Cor 9 where much on the same topic Paul outlines the many blessings of giving. How God will be faithful and cause us to be blessed with much more and in every way so that we will be even more generous in our giving. This teaching counters the heresy that is in the prosperity gospel which actually seeks to use God rather than serve God.

Module-15-Financial-Fruitfulness-Part-2 Download

We are all commanded by Jesus to make disciples in all the nations in Matt 28 and to baptize them. This baptism module will revise the salvation process and outline why we should be baptized, what the process entails and what symbolism is inbuilt into the ceremony. What does it mean to be immersed into the water. What does it mean to resurface into new life. Who should be baptized?

Module-16-Baptism-Part-1 Download

Baptism is the outward sign of our inward faith and yet Jesus commands us to be baptized when we believe. We are also baptized into the church and we are baptized as a witness to all our friends and family. This segment is vital for every baptism candidate before this very joyous event. The actual ceremony will be outlined in detail in this presentation for all candidates to be prepared.

Module-17-Baptism-Part-2 Download

The church is the single most important result of the death and resurrection of our Lord. It is the body of believers which comprise the new humanity reconciled to God and Jesus calls the church His body. What an astounding privilege and yet so much to live up to. This module will explore what is the church, how was it formed , why is it important and why every single believer must play a part in this body of Christ.

Module-18-The-Church Download

The Lords Supper is the central feature in the life of the church and in it we commemorate the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ who died to save us from our sins. This simple feast was commanded by the Lord not only as a memorial but in doing so it is an expression of our faith in His death and resurrection power. It is a declaration to the world of our hope and it looks forward to our future when we will share in the ultimate feast of with Him in heaven. We will look at the meaning of the Lords Supper through a passage in 1 Cor 11.

Module-19-Lords-Supper Download