Community News 3/29/18

Day 3 of Week 4: When Necessary

Proverbs 11:25

Your Sphere of Influence

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

I believe the hardest part of evangelism is getting started. But once you get started, and once God starts speaking through you, it can be one of the most joyful things you have ever done. To think that God Almighty would speak through someone like you or me is indeed a great privilege. It is an honor to go and tell others about Jesus.

The gospel was not designed to be hoarded; it was designed to be shared. You were blessed to be a blessing. Therefore as you take in, you need to give out that message again so others can come into a relationship with God. One of the greatest joys you will ever experience, next to knowing the Lord himself, is when you have the privilege of praying with someone to accept Christ. You start seeing the radical, even visible, changes that will take place in your life. We are told in Proverbs 11:25, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” It is refreshing as you give back and help other people.

We have a choice either to evangelize or fossilize, and a lot of people have chosen the latter. While it may be true that we are not all called to be evangelists, we are all called to evangelize. And the place to start is at the beginning. We reach the world with the gospel one person at a time.

You can personalize Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19) by going to your world. Go to your workplace... Go to your family... You have a sphere of influence. You have a group of people who will listen to what you have to say. Go to that world—the world to which God has called you.

Adapted From: Evangelize don’t Fossilize - You Version

Community News 3/21/18

Day 3 of Week 3: When Necessary

Acts 22:15

Your Testimony is Key

The term witness, in a legal setting and when commonly referenced, is defined as one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced. At the core, a witness is someone who can represent and speak to something they have experienced first hand. When a witness is in court, they tell everyone in the room what they know and it stands as a truth to the circumstance. We are called to do the same in our walk with Christ.

Your testimony and own experience with Christ is one of the most powerful tools in sharing the Gospel. It’s personal to you, which will make it more meaningful to others. In fact, it’s in this action you are most authentic to an unbeliever.

Your struggle is relatable and if there is one thing every human on this planet can understand, it’s that, no matter what it is. And because we all understand struggle we all relate to that feeling of hope. What you have overcome through the power of Christ is hope for another and sharing how Jesus did that for you is an opportunity to soften someone’s heart. God does the work but He will use your story to minister to another.

Again, there is nothing like vulnerability and transparency to let a skeptical world know you are authentic. And it’s that authenticity that will peak their interest and allow them to open up to hearing about who Jesus is.

Share what God has done in your life and let that intimate experience be a connection to telling people about Him!

Adapted From: Authentic Witnessing in Today’s World - You Version

Community News 3/14/18

Day 1,2,3 of Wk 2- When Necessary

1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 1 John 4:8-10, Romans 5:8

Finally, we can't talk about the 'what' of the Gospel without talking about the message of Jesus. If our friends are genuinely interested or ask us about Christ, we need to be willing and ready to explain what we believe. These Bible verses would be helpful to memorize or have handy in the back of our heads for conversations like this.

Really, we should explain it as simply as possible. Humans are sinful (no argument there), and because God is perfect, He can't be around sin. That creates a problem: we're separated from God and our sin has earned us eternity apart from Him (the Bible describes this as agony). But the Good News is found in Jesus. He lived the perfect life that we couldn't live and died the death we should have died so that we could hide behind Him.

Now when God looks at us, He doesn't see our mistakes, but instead, He sees the perfection of Jesus. Jesus took our punishment and our sin on the cross so that we didn't have to. We believe that because of this, not only do we get to spend eternity with God, but we also are free to live whole and powerful lives while we're still here on earth. We don't have to be slaves to our sin any longer - Christ has set us free!

Practical Steps // Take time to rehearse and understand how to explain the Gospel to someone who's never been to church before. Try to use clear language and don't be afraid to say what you believe!

Adapted From: Next Steps: Bring - You Version

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DAY 2                                                                                                                  

Acts 17:24-27, Acts 8:26-40, Romans 5:6

We've talked about why we should share our faith and we've talked about what it is exactly that we're sharing. Now we're going to talk about where to share our faith.

The key idea behind this is that we start to believe and see every situation in our life as being put there WITH reason FULL OF opportunity. Instead of assuming everything is random and putting little value on potentially life-changing events, you view every event as having the potential to be a miracle. When you run into an old friend from high school in the supermarket, don't let that opportunity pass you by. For all you know, God set that meeting up, right there in that moment so that you could share Christ with them and invite them to church.

Albert Einstein has said you can live life one of two ways: viewing nothing as a miracle, or viewing everything as a miracle. The WHERE of sharing our faith can be anywhere, if we don't let the opportunity pass us by. This only comes from a constant state of thinking about what God could be setting up next: our minds are aware and set on a move of God.

Practical Steps // Over the next week, really think about the situations you end up in - even the seemingly annoying or frustrating ones. Ask yourself, "What could God be setting up for right now?"

Adapted From: Next Steps: Bring - You Version

dAY 3                                                        

John 5:1-14

As you'll read in a second in this story, Jesus clearly saw every situation as an opportunity, even when making the most of that opportunity would cast Him out of the social graces of those in charge. Jesus was, and still is, far more interested in making the most of opportunities than following rules.

He couldn't care less if things got awkward (and they definitely did) - He saw the chance to change a man's life and He took it! We need to act the same way. Whenever we see a chance to connect a situation or event to an invitation to church or a conversation about Christ's love, we should take it! Again, we're learning that the WHERE of sharing our faith & inviting friends to church is as broad as we make it.

Getting a haircut could turn into an invitation which could turn into a man's life being changed, which could change his family's life and generations to come. All of that could hinge on us taking a chance on an opportunity in a moment - let's not miss these!

Practical Steps // Pray that God would set up scenarios which would give you the chance to invite someone to church and share your story with them. Don't be reactive, be proactive and ASK God specifically for these moments.

Adapted From: Next Steps: Bring - You Version