(#1555) Day 1. We Need To Come Into The New Life Of Christ Personally (7/9/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we begin our series: Fresh Vision From Jesus' Prayer.

To watch this devotional, go to:

Please read John 17:1-5

I wonder if you can remember when you first became a Christian. I certainly can. For me, it happened in the front room of a family from my church. They had invited me to a ‘Just Looking Course’, and on the evening of 9 October 1991, everything changed. God opened my eyes to see who Jesus is. I realised, having argued for weeks,  that I believed the gospel and wanted to give my life to Christ - so I did! By God's grace, I was born again. My experience, as in your case, is to be understood as the gift of God by the work of the Spirit. In His prayer, Jesus puts it this way:

As with all of us, my becoming a Christian wasn't the end of the story; it was the beginning. I had entered God's Kingdom, but there was still so much growth ahead of me. Many attitudes needed reshaping, sinful habits needed putting to death, and I had much to learn about following Jesus. More than thirty years later, that journey continues. I’m, as we all are, still learning to know Him, trust Him, and become more like Him.

Every Christian's story is different, but one thing is always the same: faith is personal. No one else can repent for you. No one else can believe for you. No one else can follow Jesus on your behalf.

As the saying goes, God has no grandchildren. Every person must come to Christ personally, experience the miracle of the new birth, and begin a personal relationship with Him. And that relationship is not a one-time decision but a lifelong walk of knowing Him, loving Him, and delighting in His presence day by day.

Moment To Reflect

• How did God lead you to put your trust in Jesus?

• How would you describe your relationship with your heavenly Father today? Is it marked by joy, intimacy, and confidence?

Download the booklet

Below is the link to download the devotional booklet: Fresh Vision From Jesus Prayer. This is a series of 27 devotionals based upon Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17.

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Icebreaker

Following the summer period, you may want to use this time to catch up and reconnect. 

3. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

4. Study and pray together

Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.

On Sunday, we began our new series, Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer, reflecting on God’s vision for our lives and the church through Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17.

(Note: To accompany this series, we have produced a devotional series. To download the full booklet, visit our devotional page or go directly to communitychurchputney.com/post/fresh-vision-from-jesus-prayer. Daily devotions will also be posted every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on the Community Church Putney channel.)

Read John 17:1–5 together and discuss:

• What spoke to or inspired you from Sunday’s message?

• Has anything from this week's devotions encouraged or helped you that you could share with the group?

• On Sunday, we reflected on the truth that true life is found in knowing and seeking God, requiring us to constantly refocus our vision on Him.

• What does Jesus mean in verse 3 when He says, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent”?

• How are you currently pursuing - or how could you pursue - a deeper personal knowledge of God?

Let’s pray together: 

• For our new series: Pray that God uses Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer to inspire, refresh, and re-envision us as a church.

• For Serendipity: Pray for Graeme, the team, and the relaunch in its new format. Ask God to raise up more volunteers from within the church family.

• For students: Pray for the young people in our church and community who are heading off to university.

• Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.

SIV:

• Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing testimonies of God at work through us.

• Pray for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives, asking God to open their hearts and give us the Love and boldness to share His love as He opens opportunities.