Community News 3/16/18

Day 5 of Wk 2- When Necessary

John 9:1-33

Moving from the WHERE of sharing our faith to the HOW, we'll take a look at a story in John 9. But before you read that passage, understand what's happening. The beauty of this story is that we get to see the three aspects of this man's life that are the same three aspects we talk about when we share our beliefs with others.

Just like this man after the miracle Jesus did for him, we talk about who we were before Jesus met us (this will be different for everyone, but we were ALL broken, lost, & ashamed). Then we talk about when we met Jesus: the moment when we knew everything was going to change. And then we get to show the example of our changed life - the life we live now.

This is so incredibly important because critics can challenge a lot of things, but you can't deny a CHANGED LIFE! 

Practical Steps // Begin rehearsing your story this morning so you can tell it easier: where were you before Christ, what happened when you met Christ, and how are you different now?

                  Adapted From: Next Steps: Bring - You Version

Community News 3/15/18

Day 4 of Wk 2- When Necessary

John 4:1-42

As we wrap up this section about WHERE we should share our faith and invite our friends to church, we find yet another passage where Jesus is somewhere that most people wouldn't expect Him to be. It's the hottest part of the day and He ends up going on a very long trip through a town that He would've been hated in.

Not only that, but He stops to take a break at Jacob's Well at noon which is not a time when anyone would've been at a well due to the extreme heat and the way their day was structured. But Jesus knew that any interaction He would make with someone would be one that would change their eternity.

What if we started to view our time that way? Every interaction we have carries the possibility of someone's eternity being changed! Maybe we wouldn't complain as much about waiting in line at the grocery store and the person in front of us wanting to talk. Maybe we wouldn't be so annoyed when family reunions or holidays come around because we know it gives us a great chance to invite our friends to church to meet Christ!

Practical steps // Every morning, pray that God would open your eyes to see past the seemingly mundane events of life to see what He could do with those interactions!

Adapted From: Next Steps: Bring - 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