Remembering the First DaySession 1:

We all claim to be Christians, sons of God, saved saints. Coming to this event, we fellowship people who know that after this life, we have the assurance of heaven.

People who know that we got saved, not by good works, but because of God’s wonderful Grace.

People who have a “first day” to remember, those who have 2 birthdays. To most, they still remember the words, the place, the people, the verses, the scenario. They even remember the date when they accepted Christ as Savior.

These are the days that will remain as the most wonderful, amazing and important, in lives of Christians.

Before we get into sessions regarding maturity, it would be better for us to go back where it all started. This session will start with a some remarkable stories of Christians regarding God’s amazing Grace. Then, we end up discussing yours.

And as we go back to these stories, let me drop to you this question: Is Christ still your first love?

Let’s visit some of the most notable stories of salvation.

The Story of StanleyRemembering their first day:

My name is Stanley Liu. I am Deaf and 25 years old. I live in Fremont, California. I would like to share with you my testimony about my life before I met Jesus.

My parents got a divorce when I was young. My father moved back to Hong Kong without saying goodbye, leaving me with my mother and her boyfriend, whom I didn't like. I decided I wanted to run away. Because of this rebellion, I aimed to find new friends and even joined some gangs, pretending that all is allright.

One day, my Deaf friend and I were selling illegal fireworks at my place. Unfortunately, we got caught by police. I was thinking about killing myself because I didn't want to live anymore. I hated having so many problems.

At the San Francisco station, I met a policeman named Bob Herbold. I felt he wanted to help me. Later on, he asked my Deaf friend if we can go camping with him and his friends. I was surprised he asked us, since I was newly filed with crime charges.

Eventually, I agreed. I went camping with him and that led me to realize that he wished for me to have a changed life and to experience a miracle. Something led me to look for that change.

I later attended a Deaf school, and met a friend named Lee Brock. He later talked to me about Jesus and on how much Jesus loves me and that He wanted to change my life. He also told me the difference between hell and heaven.

Lee's father is a Deaf pastor. In 1995, I went to his house and they prayed for me. Later I accepted Jesus as my personal savior. My life soon changed so much, I finally felt there was a purpose in my life.

One year later, I decided to call Officer Bob. I wanted to meet him, and to tell him that I have changed. When I saw him I asked him if he was a Christian.

And yes, he is a Christian, and he was praying for me to get saved.

After becoming a Christian, I decided to share my faith with all of my friends. They were shocked when they saw how much Jesus changed my life. Eventually, some of them accepted Christ too, even though most did not.

I also witnessed to my mother and she accepted Him as her Savior. But that did not complete my burden, because I wanted my father to be saved too..

I prayed for a long time to see my father who haven't been with me for the past 10 years. Yet I continued to pray and asked for a miracle, since I want to make sure that my whole family goes to heaven.

After some long time of prayer, I finally got an answer.

I finally found him in Los Angeles. I wanted to see him so badly that I took a train to Pennsylvania. When I found him, I shared Jesus as my Savior, and by all miracles, he too accepted Jesus Christ! I was so happy that both of my parents were saved!

Now I am an active Deaf youth leader in our church, doing various ministries. I’ll be forever thanking the Lord for changing my life, and I’ll do so until He comes back.

Source: http://www.heinvites.org/fullStory.php3/0461.html

The Story of TraceRemembering their first day:

My name is Trace. I was brought up in an emotionally abusive home. They moved to Florida when I was very young and I started to experience total rejection from peers. In fact, I was beaten every day by boys at school.

It was so bad. I was called terrible names and even urinated on. Later, I began to live alone in my room, listening to KISS and other rock records. I managed to get through school and came to terms with being gay. I soon embraced the gay world. Even though I eventually grew in a so-called “Christian Home.”

Later on, i started a Christian rock band. Things were great for over a year. But then I fell in love with a male band member and our preacher at that time made a sexual approach on me.

Lance’s actual picture during concerts

That's when my life got really bad. I became addicted to sex. I also found cocaine and used every week. I also desired to be on stage and performed a lot of satanic acts. Later on, I contracted AIDS and was in the worst part of my life.

It was at a point when I got tired of my life. Later on, I found a Christian church and attended a few times. Some people reached out to me, but I couldn't let go of the world.

Then came one night, I woke up at 3 a.m. and felt God saying, "Now. I want all of you, now. This is it."

I wrestled with the Lord all night and finally gave in. My transformation back to him had begun. It was as if I had truly been awakened from a coma. I stopped performing and started attending church. It could have been the time when I truly understood accepting Christ as Savior.

The gay community which once loved me, now hated me. I lost all of my friends and even received death threats. Yet the Lord started to reveal himself to me. God did several miracles in my life as He became more and more real.

Miracles indeed came, and my health improved. The cancer stopped growing and the AIDS is now undetectable in my blood. I have a beautiful apartment and a Christian family. Our God is so awesome!

Lance’s actual picture on his recovery stage.

I can't say it's been easy afterwards. There are still temptations and I face spiritual wars every day.

I have decided to pick up my cross and follow him. I have not looked back once to the life I once had. I really don't miss it at all. The desire for drugs was completely removed from me.

Every believer has a story, but I want people to know this: No matter what you've done or how wicked you've been, Christ is there for you.

I had to get to the point where Jesus was all I wanted. I had to make the choice to lay it all down at the foot of the cross.

That’s when I realized, Jesus really saves!

An untold story in historyRemembering their first day:

John Harper was born to Christian parents on May 29, 1872. It was on the last Sunday of March 1886, when he was thirteen years old that he received Jesus as the Lord of his life.

He began to preach about four years later at a young age of 17 by going down to the streets of his village in sharing the Gospel.

As John Harper's life continued, one thing was sure...he was passionate in sharing the word of God. He later became a Baptist Pastor.

Soon, John Harper started his own church in 1896, now known as the Harper Memorial Church. During this time he had gotten married, but was shortly widowed. However brief the marriage, God did bless John Harper with a beautiful little girl named Nana.

Ironically, John Harper almost drowned several times. He was two when he almost drowned when he fell into a well. At the age of 26, he was swept out to sea by a reverse current and barely survived, and at 32 he faced death on a leaking ship in the Mediterranean. Perhaps, God used these experiences to prepare this servant for what he faced next...

A few years later, on the eve of April 14, 1912. The RMS Titanic sailed swiftly on the bitterly cold ocean waters heading unknowingly into the pages of history. On board this luxurious ocean liner were many rich and famous people.

At the time of the ship's launch, it was the world's largest man-made moveable object. The press dubbed it, as the “Unsinkable.”

But at 11:40 p.m. on that fateful night, an iceberg scraped the ship's starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open six watertight compartments. The sea poured in. The unsinkable, may just sink.

On board the ship that same night was John Harper and his much-beloved six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it was sure that the ship was going to sink, John quickly took his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety.

However, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner.

In Nana’s eyes, she hoped to see his father once again.

If not, she would end up an orphan, just like other children in the boat.

As the rear of the huge ship began to move upwards, it was reported that Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling, "Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep within.

Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the huge ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below.

John Harper was one of these people.

That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal.

Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.

Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket, his only chance of survival, and threw it to the man and said, "Here then, you need this more than I do..." He then swam away to other people.

A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation.

As minutes gone by, the sea full of screams quickly became silent, as each soul on the water that night died one by one.

Of the 1,528 people that went into the water that night, only six were rescued by the lifeboats.

And John Harper, was not one of them.

But one of the survivors, was this young man on the debris.

The one who had John Harper’s life jacket.

Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how that after John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim.

This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could get saved.

And the survivor will never forget the last words of John Harper before going under in the frigid waters. As John Harper’s voice slowly died, he never stopped saying the words…

"Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.”

That was the survivor’s first day.

Author Unknown. Sources for this article: "The Titanic's Last Hero" by Moody Press 1997," John Climie, George Harper, & Bill Guthrie from "Jesus Our Jubilee Ministries" in Dallas, Oregon

Discussing your salvation stories

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