Mission Shaped Living Week 6 - Conversion

( need paper / pens)

• There are many ways that people come to a clear faith in Jesus Christ and, of course, this is through the work of the Holy Spirit.

The common factor in all of this is a Christian friend walking with each person.

The key thing we want to look at in this session is this: if your friend was ready to come to faith, would you know how to explain the gospel simply and help them surrender their lives to Christ?

In

• Breakout room questions -

• How are you?

• How did it go with the invitation to meet up with your friends and the response to the text?

• Any other testimonies of living missionally?

• One person to tell our stories to each there ( remember 2 mins max)

• Discussion on what the process of coming to faith was like for all

• How long from when you first heard what Jesus did it take to come to a place where you knew you were following him?

• Was there a clear moment or was there a process?

• What were the key features in you coming to faith?

• Conclude there are many ways that people come to faith and this is the work of the Holy Spirit, but here are the most common things that help people come to that point and often it is a combination of them.

• 1-1 conversation and prayer with a Christian friend

• Attending an Alpha / Christianity Course

• Attending and evangelistic event with a clear call to faith

• Through becoming a regular attendee at Sunday services or being involved in a missional community or small group, which gradually leads to a point where they decide to follow Christ.

Up

• We are to listen to Psalm 40 v 1-10 and some worship music and I want you to listen out for a verse that connects with you. Maybe thinking about a verse that reminds you that God has saved you or a line that helps you to share in God's love for the lost.

• The key to people coming to faith is for them to begin consistently engaging with faith and God.  You can help your friend come to faith by meeting up and reading gospel stories about Jesus together. The 3 kinds of questions we have been following during the v=bible studies have been.

• What does this tell me about Jesus ( and therefore God)?

• What does this tell me about people and human life?

• How do we need to respond to this?

These questions are just starting points but can lead to discussion further.

In Mission Shaped Living, John McGinley recommends 7 passages in the bible- called 7 stories of hope - for people who are developing an interest in faith. Maybe it's worth reminding yourself of them and knowing them in order to be able to share them? These are;-

1. The woman who wept at Jesus’ feet Luke 7: v 36-50

2. Accepted by God Luke 18: v 9-17

3. A hole in the roof Luke 5: v 17-26

4. Two lost sons Luke 15: v 11-32

5. Death and forgiveness Mark 15: v 16-39

6. New life, new purpose Matthew 28: v 1-20

7. Which soil are you? Mark 4: v 1-20

When reading these passages think about the questions above and how this could shape a conversation you have with your person of peace?

• How would  you feel asking a friend to read and discuss a passage like this with you?

• How do you think basing a discussion around the Word of God can be more beneficial than having a general issues based discussion about faith?

• What feels hard about it and what feels easier than having a general conversation about faith?

• Discussion on

• By reading the bible together, God will speak through his word and it gives you something clear to talk about rather than all the tricky questions about the Christian faith which can sometimes be negative.

• The bible helps people get to know what Jesus is like and it allows them to share their thoughts and reveal where they are at.

• Importantly, it allows you to share in an equal conversation with your friend rather than preaching at them as you discuss the passage together.

Out

•  A key part of the process of coming to faith is understanding what Jesus has done for us and how his death relates to our need for God. We have to be able to explain the gospel in an understandable way, so we're going to look at a tool called “The 3 circles”. It is simple to learn and very helpful as it starts with things people understand ( the good in the world and also our shared experience of pain and brokenness) as well as addressing the issue of sin. There are a number of videos online to show how to tell the gospel (Glen Scrivener - Rico Tice - Crown Jesus Ministries - Pete Collison). The one example we are using today is called “3 Circle Gospel Presentation”.

• Demonstration of the 3 circles

• Practise drawing out the diagram. We need to practise it to become confident in explaining the gospel. The 3 circles is not the only tool but simply a way of making the explanation of the gospel clear. We can add to it parts of our story too.

• At the end of explaining the gospel it is vital that we ask our friends the questions as it helps us to know what is going on with them and whether they are ready to put their trust in Jesus

• Where do you think you are in this picture?

• Where would you like to be?

• Is there anything that would stop you from turning and believing in Jesus now?

Takeaway in the week 

• Keep practising drawing out and explaining the diagram.

• Is there anyone you could share this with this week? If not a non Christian friend find a Christian in the week ahead to share in the week ahead to share this with as practice.

• Daily prayer plan

• Sharing / accountability with another

• Finish with prayer, thanking Jesus for his gift of salvation and pray for a time when you could share the good news with your friends.

• What next?

Explain if they want to do more on bible sharing to be in touch and I can go through more of this and use of the Word 121 materials.

If they want to know more about the bible they can use the bible course.

If they want to know more about the inviting friends to an evangelistic course then we are running Alpha / Christianity Explored again after Easter.

Catechumenate in the Autumn.

Joining in with a homegroup - get in touch.

Any other questions / queries - get in touch.

Mission Shaped Living Week 5 - Continuing

• Jesus’ instruction to the 72 was that when their blessing of peace was received they were to stay in the home where they were welcomed. They were to eat the food offered, declare that God’s kingdom was coming to the household, and heal the sick. Jesus was explaining his strategy. We are to keep searching for and blessing people until we find the one who is ready to receive him. Then we stay with them and help them in their journey of coming to faith in him. This requires spiritual discernment and lots of practical steps, persistent prayer, and patience. Jesus is the good shepherd who knows how to lead people back to the Father. We need to learn what our part in that journey is.

In

• Breakout room questions -

• How are you?

• Is anyone grateful for something from the past week?

• How did you get on sharing your story with someone?

• Do you have any other stories to share?

• Feedback - feel free to unmute and comment

• Breakout room - Practice telling our stories to each there ( remember 2 mins max each)

Your story

• Begin with the phrase “ There was a time in my life when....” (Explain a time when you didn't follow Jeus or if you were brought up a christian when your faith was not as personal or alive as it is now.

•  “Then ......” (Explain how you came to faith in Jesus or how your faith came alive)

• “And now....” (Explain the difference Jesus has made to your life).

• Volunteers to unmute and tell their testimony in under two minutes

• Jesus says “ come follow me… and I will send you out to fish for people (Mark 1 v17).

If we look at a coin on one side it has the Queens head - that represents authority. On the other side is the value of the coin which is its purpose - to be exchanged for goods or services to the value stated. In this verse Jesus says “follow me”, which is about his authority and him being Lord of our lives, and then he says “I will send you out to fish for people” which is the purpose for which he called us. Authority and purpose are core aspects of our discipleship. We have often accepted Jesus’ authority and been willing to follow him but rejected his call to reach others for him - our missional purpose. Just as we would never try to cut one side of the coin off from the other as it would destroy its value, so we mustn’t separate mission from discipleship. The good news is that Jesus promises to train and prepare us as he sends us to reach other people for him.

• Recap on what we have looked at so far

• Confidence - praying that each day we would be sent as Christ’s ambassador to share his love.

• Courage and compassion - seeking to bless, share, serve and love others in need, and praying for 5 people we know that they would come to faith in Jesus

• Connection - telling our story, asking questions, making an invitation, offering to pray.

• The next step in mission is “continuing”. In Luke 10, Jesus tells the 72 that when they have found their person of peace to stay with them and share food with them. The work of evangelism is a long term process that involves sharing our lives with people and helping them to take steps towards faith in Jesus. We can think of it like stepping stones across a stream. We are offering ourselves to God to help encourage our “person of peace” to take another step forward.

When someone responds positively to our steps to bless them, and we discover their openness to God, we know they are a person of peace.  We now have to “stay” with them and help them take the next step.

Up

• Bible reading  Luke 19: v 1-10 

• Jesus was renowned for attending meals and parties with people who weren’t law-abiding Jews. Jesus shared a meal with Zachaeus.

Discussion -

• Why did Jesus have a meal with Zachaeus?

• What do you think Zachaeus and Jesus talked about that could have made such a dramatic impact on him?

• What can we learn from Jesus’ example?

• The key to “staying” with your person of peace is regular time with them in which you share life and enjoy deep friendship. This may be doing fun things together, but also talking about life (its joys and struggles) and talking spiritually, inviting them to actively pursue faith on an Alpha / Christianity Explored course or by reading the bible alone or with you.

Discussion -

• Have you ever invited a friend to a church event / evangelistic course? How did that go?

• What helps people to be ready to accept such invitations?

• What do you understand by the phrase “Don't say people’s “Nos” for them?”

• Why can we be tempted to do this?

Out

• The key in this session is getting people to pray and plan what their next step is in helping their friends to come closer to knowing Jesus.

Take some time to pray over 1 / 2 names on your list and ask God to show you what he is leading you to do next. It may not be a great revelation; it may simply be common sense, such as “I haven't met up with them recently so i'll give them a call and arrange it”. Or it might be an idea to lend them a book or send them a link to an appropriate talk on YouTube. It could be baking them a cake or offering to bring them some shopping. Or it could be time to invite them to a church event or Alpha / Christianity Explored course. 

• Individual reflective prayer asking “what next?” and “is there anything you want to show me Lord”? Prayer whilst we listen to some worship music.

• Any feedback on this that people want to raise? Unmute and comment

• What we are learning is that Jesus' command to “stay” with people (eating, praying, healing and sharing) involves us being proactive and intentional. This is an attitude of the mind and it takes courage and obedience to take the initiative in mission.

When we love people, we act intentionally to show our care for them. The way we show our desire to help someone come to faith in Jesus is to reflect on where they are on this journey and to pray “ What can I do next Lord?” You're asking God to guide you in what you can do proactively to encourage them on their journey of faith. People’s journey to faith in Jesus is always personal and unique and so your job is not to force them through a process but to intuitively sense what the next thing is that you could do to help them. Sometimes it is simply to wait and love them; sometimes it is right to bring a clear challenge to them to take the next step of faith. How do we know? We ask God.

• To give us a shared experience of being proactive and intentional, today we are going to contact one of our 5 people whilst we are together. It can be the same person as you contacted a couple of weeks ago or a different one. 

Either

• Text with the invitation to meet up or the offer of help you sensed God prompt you to make when we prayed earlier

• Ask them if they would like to meet up and suggest how to do this eg would you like to meet in the park next week

• Say that you were thinking of them and wondering how they are and if there is anything you could pray for them specifically

• This may feel risky and awkward, but we want to learn and grow in this together. When we step across social boundaries and introduce spirituality into our friendship, it can be difficult but it can open people up to God so it's worth the risk!

• Reflective prayer and stillness whilst people that wish to, send their texts.

Follow up work in week 

• Spiritual assessment exercise. Write down the names of your 5 people, write an arrow beside the each name to indicate any sense of movement that God is at work in them (Up arrow means they are showing signs of opening up to God / Down arrow means they have reacted negatively to something spiritual that you did o that they’ve stepped back / horizontal arrow means no change). If someone has responded positively then you need to ask God “what next?”. A bit like traffic lights. Pray for each of them each day.

• Keep practising your story ( keep saying it to yourself)

• Continue to share how you are getting on with the lent course /  be accountable with another

Mission Shaped Living Week 4 - Connecting

• Being a witness for Jesus for Jesus involves speaking for him and having conversations about faith with people, asking questions and telling stories. When Jesus was preparing the 72 disciples to go out, he talked to them through the different reactions that people will have. The really good news from Luke 10: v 1-20 is that Jesus says that we only have to stay and share with people who are open to this. Because the passage describes the disciples bringing a blessing of peace to this house and people receiving this peace ( v5-6) we can call these receptive people a person of peace or more simply a God prepared person. The problem is  that we don't know how people will respond before we start to share with them and whether they are a person of peace. So this session is designed to help us think about how we connect with people spiritually in a simple way that is our equivalent of saying peace be upon you. When we have done this we can see whether they are open to taking the conversation further and beginning a journey of faith with them. Isn't it liberating to remember we don't have to keep sharing the gospel with people who don’t welcome it.

• Breakout room questions -

• How are you?

• Has anyone had a reply to their text messages that they would like to share?

• How did you get on taking the opportunity to bless, serve or pray for someone?

• Celebrate any stories of people taking steps forward in witnessing.

 If people haven't made any steps consider why this was? 

• Lack of opportunity

• Lack of time

• Lack of motivation ( if so, have we let God give us his heart for these people who are lost?)

• What is your favourite rescue story from a book or a film? Why do we find it inspiring? Has anyone had a time when you intentionally made a sacrifice or worked hard to help or even rescue someone you love from a difficult situation?

• Bible reading Luke 15: v 1-7. Teaching on how sometimes people think that sharing God's love should only happen naturally and spontaneously. In this passage Jesus says that God is like a shepherd who pursues his lost sheep and is active in rescuing it. His love is shown in the joy of finding his sheep and in heaven when people are saved. It is his love that makes him determined to reach them. This is what God is continuing to do today through you and me. We are Christ's hands and feet on earth and so we should reflect his love for his lost sheep and intentionally seek them out.

• Read Luke 10: v 1-11. There are different responses to us sharing God's love with people. Some receive it and some reject it, but the good news is that Jesus says we only have to stay and share with people who are open. 

Because the passage describes the peace of God staying on people who are ready to serve Jesus, we can call these people a person of peace or more simply a God prepared person. 

• What does this passage tell us about what Jesus says we can do in his name?

• What might the equivalent today be of saying peace be with you or the kingdom of God is here?

Thoughts on this (please unmute and comment).

• The strategy of Jesus is really helpful. It can be summarised as

• Speak a blessing of peace on someone

• If they reject it, walk away

• If they accept it, stay with them

It's that simple! While some people will reject the blessing, there will be lots of others who are open to God and are ready to receive his peace. Our job is to find the person of peace or God prepared person by saying the words of the kingdom or doing the works of the kingdom and seeing what happens. So if we continue to pray for the 5 people we chose and then witness about Jesus to them, we can see who is a God prepared person. This is what we mean by pray for 5 find the one.

• Here is a list of what saying peace be on this house can look like today. (We call this “asking questions and telling stories”).

• Ask them questions about where they are spiritually. Eg Can I pray for you? Do you feel close or far away from God? What has been your spiritual experience in the past?

• Invite them to a christian event such as Alpha / Christianity Explored.

• Tell stories of what God has done in your life.

• Tell the gospel story.

• Breakout room questions -

• Do you know if any of the 5 people you are praying for are God prepared people?

• How do you know?

Feedback (please unmute and comment)

• It’s key to understanding that not all of the people we are praying for may be ready or seeking to know God. If they do respond well, we will continue to journey with them, which we will look at next week. The key is doing something very simple but clearly spiritual with different people that shows where they are spiritually. Remember in Matthew 13 v 1-23, the sower in the parable of the sower kept on sowing, not worrying if the seed fell on rocky ground but trusting that when the seed fell on good soil it would start to grow. Let's encourage one another to simply keep sharing with people until we find good soil.

• Jesus continually asked questions and told stories. We will look at different aspects of this in the coming weeks, but today we will look at “telling your story”.

• Reading - Luke 8 v 38-39.  Sharing your story can help family, friends and people you meet understand the difference Jesus has made to your life and that he can do the same for them. It can be your “big” story of coming to faith but also a testimony of what God has done in your life recently.

• The best way to be ready to do this is to practise telling your story in 3 simple sections

• What was your life like before you encountered Jesus?

• How did you encounter Jesus?

• How has your life changed since?

• Guidance on your story

• Keep it simple, don't include lots of unnecessary detail

• Keep it focused on Jesus and not just on you

• Avoid religious jargon that people won't understand

• Be honest - real stories connect with people, so tell the truth about yourself

• Keep  it short - ideally less than 2 minutes

Your story

• Begin with the phrase “ There was a time in my life when....” (Explain a time when you didn't follow Jeus or if you were brought up a christian when your faith was not as personal or alive as it is now.

•  “Then ......” (Explain how you came to faith in Jesus or how your faith came alive)

• “And now....” (Explain the difference Jesus has made to your life).

• Breakout rooms (in 2’s) - practise telling your story in no more than 2 minutes. Give each other encouragement and honest feedback.

• Takeaway in the week

• - Keep practising your story ( keep saying it to yourself).

• - Prayer for courage and opportunity to share over the next week. 

• - Make a plan who you can tell your story to in the next week (to a non
  Christian friend - but if unavailable then tell it to a Christian friend). You could say it to one of the 5 or to a long standing friend by telling them your story.

• - Daily prayer plan. 

• - Continue to share / be accountable with another

Mission Shaped Living Week 3 - Compassion

Introduction Today's session is all about compassion.  The compassion of Jesus was described by the gospel writers on a number of occasions. The apostle Paul writes (in 2 Corinthians Ch 1 v 3-4) “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”. This reminds us that our call to be witnesses for Jesus comes within a wider call, which is to share the compassionate love God has for people. We have looked at prayer and now we will look at  how caring for others can demonstrate God's love. Our desire to share Jesus with people comes from our love for them because their greatest need is for salvation.

• Breakout room - Questions 

• How has everyone’s week been?

• How did you get on praying for 5 people each day?( Celebrate this achievement)

• Are you there any signs of God answering your prayers for people?

• Are there any other stories of God using you in mission?

• Bible reading 2 Corinthians 5: v 14-21. The work of mission is a ministry of love and compassion. Paul says that his work comes from Christ’s love motivating him, and he then presents it as a work of reconciliation - us being used to repair the broken relationship between people and God. We can do this because we have come to know God's love for us. We are brand new people and each of us has a story to tell of how Jeus has transformed our lives. He calls us ambassadors of Christ, this is why what we are talking about is so important. What does an ambassador do? What does this communicate about our role on behalf of God's kingdom in this world? 

• No matter what else we might say about ourselves in our different roles, this is what the bible says our title is - an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

• Read Luke 15: v 1-10. What does this teach us about God and how he feels towards people who don’t know him? (His desire, value and compassion for people who are lost). His active response in looking for those who are lost? What does it mean that people are lost? ( Not knowing God, living each day without knowing God’s love, that they are lost spiritually in life and in danger of being lost eternally when they die). When we care about something that we lose, we are active in searching. What does this say about how we should approach our desire for people to come to Jesus?

• Breakout rooms - Questions 

• How do you need to respond? 

• Do you share God’s heart for lost people? 

• Do you care that people are living separated from God’s love?

• In Luke 10, Jesus talks about healing those who are sick. He didn't just speak about the kingdom, he showed God’s love in action. Our sharing of Jesus with others must come from a genuine love for them. What do you know about the 5 people you have started to pray for? Do you know how they take their tea / coffee? What about their families? How much do you know about their lives before you came to know them? What do they care about and love to do?

• Pick one of your people and write down everything you know about them and their lives including what needs they have that you would help meet in order to show God's love to them? 

• If we love someone, we are interested in them and we are interested in what matters to them. A key sign of our love is how we respond to people when they have a need. Here are three missional practices that connect with this theme of compassion.

• Seek to bless. God loved the world so much that he gave his only son. Generosity is a sign of God's presence in us. When you are praying for your 5 people, you could ask God for ideas of how you can bless them - a card, a home baked cake, some words of affirmation and encouragement, going for a walk with them. Ask God for an idea and take a risk and do it and pray that God will use it and open their hearts to him as you do this and with his love for them.

• Respond to need sacrificially. Going the extra mile for someone reflects how God loves us and can deepen our relationship with them. See their need as an opportunity to show your love and care for them.

• Praying for others. When we hear someone share a need that we can't actually do anything about practically, we can offer to pray for them.

• Breakout rooms - Discuss how we are to demonstrate to someone they are significant to us is a way we can really bless them.  Ask each member to prepare a text / message to one of the 5 people you are praying for, saying you're thinking of them, offering to help them with something or just asking them how they are and if there's anything that you could pray for them? Pray in your groups as you prepare to send the messages and for God to prepare their hearts to receive it.

• Has anybody prayed for someone outside of a church context? When someone has a need you can say you will pray for them. Praying for someone at that moment can also be important. If the prayer is answered in the way they desired the person connects it to your prayer and they begin to realise God is at work in their life. God often shows up and they become aware of his presence and they begin to ask about what happened. We are demonstrating a relationship with God - a real relationship not just religion ( a club / hobby). We get to see their reaction and that may help us see how open they are to God.

Takeaway in the week 8:40pm-8:45pm ( not homework but tools to help them grow deeper in their relationship with God) 

• Sending your (text) messages / make a plan about how you will seek to bless / serve or pray for someone on your 5 friends list. 

• For us to be accountable with each other, maybe a person from your homegroup or another Christian friend whom you will share with them how you are going to do this and for them to pray this with you.

Mission Shaped Living Week 2 - Courage

(please bring a pen and paper)

• Today's session is all about courage. In Luke Chapter 10, when Jesus sent out the 72 on mission he sent them ahead to specific villages where he was planning to go. These villages are the equivalent of the workplaces, sports teams, colleges, families etc that Jesus is ending us to as his representatives. He knew that his disciples would need courage, which is why he warned them that they were being sent out like “Lambs among wolves”. He didn't want them turning back when it became challenging, so he prepared them for it. Like them, we need to be prepared for the fact that leading others to follow Jesus will not be easy, but we are sent by him and he goes with us by his Holy Spirit who gives us courage.

• Breakout rooms to find out how everyone is and follow up from last week.

• How are you?

• How did you get on praying the prayer you wrote? Did you notice a difference?

• How did you get on meeting up with someone and seeking to listen to God and bless them?

• Feedback from this - please unmute and comment / Has anyone got a story of God answering prayer this week or of being missional in any way?

• Today we are looking at having the courage to be involved in mission. Courage does not mean an absence of fear instead it is an awareness of the challenges that face us in sharing God's love and good news and being willing to hear God's call and to trust him as we step forward. Hebrews 12: v 3 “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart”.

Lets take a moment to reflect on remembering Jesus example of trusting the father and courageously going to the cross -  thanking God for Jesus and for his example of courage would strengthen us to have courage in our witness.

• Breakout rooms - discuss

• What has been everyone's experience of sharing faith with non-Christians in the past?

• What are the things that give you confidence in the gospel and sharing your faith?

• What are the things that reduce your confidence?

• Feedback from this - please unmute and comment. 

• Jesus promised the disciples that he would be with them and fill them with the Holy spirit. When he did this at Pentecost they moved from hiding in a room together to spilling out onto the streets and telling the good news of Jesus to everyone around them.

• Time to reflect on these questions as we hear today's bible passages from Acts 2: v 1-13 and John 16: v 7-15 

• What does this teach us about God's Spirit and what he will do?

• What does this teach me about how to live in relationship with the Holy Spirit?

• Today's session is really about seeing that speaking of our faith to others is a spiritual task and in partnership with the Spirit, which deepens their relationship with God and dependency on him and in which we see the need to pray because it is only the Spirit who can work within people's hearts to reveal Jesus.

• Worship-  Open the eyes of my heart Lord

• We are going to have a time when you pray for one another for the filling of the Holy Spirit. In breakout rooms

• Thank God for the person

• Pray for filling of the Holy Spirit

• Ask for our dependency on God, give thanks for what he is doing in our lives, the Holy spirit and for him to work within people's hearts to reveal Jesus, ask him to show something

• Jesus sent out the 72 in pairs into various villages, and Mission Shaped Living is based on the premise that wherever we are today Jesus has commissioned us to reach those people. Our families / friends / neighbours and colleagues are our villages so we have to ask “Who have I been sent to?”. This is when we are going to need our pens and paper. We are going to draw a picture of our key relationships. 

• Mapping your relational world -  you are in the middle of this and all the people you know who are far from God orbit around it, if there are relational connections also link them together. Aim is then to choose the names of 5 people who you have regular contact with who you want to pray for and to come to faith in Jesus. You may have lots of people or less. Then pray to God asking who it is he is asking you to focus on. We need to spend time praying and bringing them regularly to God - either daily or each one on a different day of the week. This could be a prayer you began to think of last week.

• 1 persons testimony 

Takeaway in the week 

• Finish your map of your relationships and praying for your 5 people 

• For us to be accountable with each other, maybe a person from your homegroup or another Christian friend whom you will share this with and pray it over with.

Mission Shaped Living Week 1 - Confidence

• This lent my aim is for us to live as missional disciples within the places and the relationships where we live our everyday lives. This is not preparing us for a big mission but into a way of life living as God intended us to lead others to know Jesus. Many of us will be at different places in our confidence and abilities to witness to others but over the next few weeks I hope that this will help move us on. 

• Today's session is all about remembering who Jesus is and responding to his call to share his love with others. Gaining our confidence from him and knowing he is with us through his Holy Spirit. Having the gratitude that he has saved us and this gratitude frees us to be generous and keeps alive our desire to share Jesus with others. As we go into prayer let's consider what we are grateful for?

• Breakout room -

Questions -

How are you?

How did you come to believe in Jesus?

What difference has he made to your life?

Do you pray for your lost friends regularly?

Do you notice a difference when you do?

• In Matthew 28 in the great commission and in Acts 1 we hear some challenging but some encouraging words that Jesus spoke to the disciples saying that he is sending us as his representatives. In the same way the Father sent Jesus to reveal his love to the world and complete his missions, so he is sending us. The good news is that he hasn't left us on our own! He has sent his Holy Spirit and given us his authority. He expects his disciples to make new disciples and if we thought it was just those first apostles, he then says that they are to teach these new disciples to do what he has told them, which is to make disciples. Jesus understands that to start with we won't know how to make a new disciple but he will teach us and so we have to learn from him. That is really what is meant by the word disciple that we will be learners, on the job apprentices who will learn how to lead others to follow him.

What are the reasons you can think of why Jesus’ good news is worth sharing?

• Breakout room Questions -

Think about what Jesus has done for you, what are you most grateful for today? ( encourage actual personal reasons that the difference Jesus has made in their lives)

• Read John 4: v 1-26, 39-42 

What do we learn from Jesus’ example of sharing his good news?

What difference does encountering Jesus make to this woman?

What do we learn from the experience of the woman about what it means to be a witness for Jesus?

What is your response to this passage?

• Jesus sat and listened to what the Holy Spirit is revealing about her and then responds to this in how he speaks. We need to listen to the Holy Spirit to lead our thoughts and words when we are witnessing to others.

Do this in pairs - Be still and listen to what God is telling you. What specifically do you (God) love about this person?

What encouragement do you want me to bring them? ( God’s answers could come as a feeling / image in our imagination / bible verse /phrase or a line of thought?)

• Takeaway in the week( not homework but tools to help them grow deeper in their relationship with God) 

- Think about 5 people in your life ( where you spend the majority of your time) that you would love see come to Jesus. Over the next week I want you to think and pray about them and for God to open their hearts to him.

- Sharing life with another. Jesus instructs the 72 disciples to go out on mission, to stay in someone's home and eat with them. Can you encounter someone hospitably this week? Whilst you are together pray silently for God's blessing and ask God if there is anything he wants you to understand about them or share with them. Within every session it is not to make anyone feel bad / condemned or pressured but to help us overcome obstacles that are stopping us moving forward. 

- For us to be accountable with each other,  maybe a person from your homegroup or another Christian friend whom you will share this with and pray it over with.