MODULE 7
Awareness: Meeting 4

DISCUSS the series of essays “Finding God in the Workplace” and “Finding God in Rest,” using the following questions as a guide.

The goal of this meeting is to discern the ways we can become aware of God’s presence in two large areas of our life: our work and our rest.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the difference between a Biblical view of work and a “Babylonian” view of work? Which view best describes how you approach your work? If you need a reminder, take another look at “A Biblical View of Work.”

2. What difference does it make to understand that we were created as royalty instead of slaves?

3. Think about your work. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a “job,” but it could simply be the public space where you spend much of your time. Do you see this as a place where God is moving? Or does it seem “godforsaken,” as Abraham thought of Gerar?

4. If you don’t see God moving at your work, what are some specific prayers you could pray that might help with that?

5. Think about the people you work with. Can you imagine God working in their hearts? Think of one person in particular. How might you be able to join God by showing that person the love of Jesus?

6. Recall your discussion on Sabbath from Module 3. How is your sabbathing going? When was the last time you stopped everything you were doing with the sole purpose of resting in God?

7. “Those other ‘gods’ created palaces to themselves where they could be served by human slaves. Our God? He created the weekend.” God created a holy day which he invites us into, rather than a holy palace where we don’t belong. What does this tell us about him?

8. What does it mean for you to meet God in his “palace of time?” In other words, what does it look like for you to bring God into your sabbath days, so it’s not just a “day off,” but a day of worship?

10. Before you leave this meeting, try to articulate 2 goals:

What are some specific ways you will engage with God’s movement in the place where you work this week?

What are some specific ways you will continue to engage with God from a place of quiet rest?

Assignment

Read the Sharing Jesus essay located below as you begin Module 8: Hospitality. Come ready to discuss it at your next meeting.

Sharing Jesus

By Phil Wiseman

Module 8 is all about hospitality. For a Christian, this means welcoming people into the family of God. At the heart of this is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ—or, “the gospel.”

PART 1: WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

There is a word that Christians often say but rarely define: the word “gospel.” What exactly do we mean by it? In the Bible, the word used for “gospel” simply means “good news.” This Greek word, euangelion, is not unique to the Bible, but is used in many places to proclaim all sorts of news that was considered “good.” For example, we have ancient writings celebrating the “good news” (or “gospel”) of Caesar Augustus after he had just won a great battle. Often, this word was used to announce the fact that a ruler had just won a battle, and their kingdom was therefore advancing. 

This context helps us make sense of what’s happening when we see Jesus preaching the good news, or gospel:

Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mk. 1:14–15 NLT)

In other words, Jesus is proclaiming the fact that God’s kingdom is advancing, so we’d all better get in line with it! The battle is being won, with the decisive victory being the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

With this in mind, perhaps we can attempt a simple definition of the gospel:

The gospel is the good news that God’s kingdom has come through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who now rules over all. Therefore, we can be forgiven for our rebellion and enjoy a life with God in His kingdom.

Now that’s good news!

Go to the next slide for Part 2.

Sharing Jesus

By Phil Wiseman

PART 2: SHARING THE GOSPEL

Now that we have a sense of what the gospel is, we should ask, “how do we share this good news with others?” That’s what we do with good news: we share it. If we don’t, then it would appear we don’t think it’s particularly “good.”

The first thing to understand is that nothing beats your own story. There’s no comparison for having your own transforming relationship with Jesus to share with others. Even in the Bible, we see the power of personal stories to transform lives (see Luke 8:39).

Nevertheless, it helps to have a good framework to use. Consider these four statements that you can use to help people understand God: God loves you, sin causes death, Jesus gives life, and live for Jesus. Let’s explore these more in-depth.

1. God loves you

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

– Romans 8:38

One of the most important things we can understand is that God loves us more than we can imagine. As this verse makes clear, God will stop at nothing to show us this love.

2. Sin causes death

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

The problem is that we are broken. That brokenness is called “sin.” We all try to do God’s job, and in doing that, we rebel against him. This separates us from God forever, and it causes eternal death in our souls. The good news is that…

3. Jesus brings life

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” – Ephesians 2:4-5

Not because of anything we’ve done, and not because we deserve it—but purely because of God’s unfathomable love—he provided a way for our sin problem to be cured. Jesus did it by sacrificing his own life for you, and when God raised him from the dead, that meant that when we decide to make Jesus our master, sin and death will no longer have victory in our lives, not only in this life, but in the next!

4. Live for Jesus

“He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”– 2 Corinthians 5:15 

The key to receiving this new life is that we no longer live for ourselves, but for Jesus! It’s God’s upside-down sort of way. To have an abundant life, we must give it away! Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Jesus offers life to us, and all we have to do is surrender to him.

ASSIGNMENT

Before your next meeting, challenge yourself to memorize the titles of these four steps, along with the scripture reference that goes with it (not necessarily the entire verse, just the reference). Then come to your meeting prepared to discuss with your discipler what it might look like for you to share Jesus with others.

The Discipleship Pathway is a collaborative work between Pastors Phil Wiseman & Megan Koch of Table Church and Pastor Jake Thurston of The Ransom Church.

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