Module 8 Meeting 1 - Countryside Church

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.

Discussion Questions

In this meeting, have an open discussion about the fears, doubts, and questions that we sometimes have when it comes to sharing our faith. Here are some activities and questions that may help guide your discussion:

1. Does framing “evangelism” in terms of “hospitality” help make it seem less intimidating? How so?

2. Spend time reading together through the four steps in the “Sharing Jesus” document that you read for this meeting. Be certain you understand the point of each step.

3. Have you ever had anyone evangelize you? How did it make you feel? What can you learn from it?

4. Have you ever led anyone to Jesus? If so, share the story.

5. What do you need to do in order to be more comfortable sharing your faith?

Assignment

Read the essay, “Finding a Person of Peace” below.

Finding a Person of Peace

By Phil Wiseman

In Luke 10, Jesus sends seventy of his followers out to proclaim the kingdom of God. He warns them that some people will not receive their message, while others will receive it. Jesus refers to those who accept the message as “sons of peace.” If they find such a “person of peace,” Jesus instructs them to stay and do ministry among them. However, if someone doesn’t receive them, Jesus is clear that they should move on. After all, receiving the gospel is a work of the Holy Spirit, and it’s not our job to force people to believe.

Finding your “person of peace,” therefore, is crucial. A person of peace is simply someone who is open to what you have to say about God. Mike Breen writes that “A Person of Peace is one who is prepared to hear the message of the kingdom and the King.” They are happy to talk to you about things that may lean toward the spiritual. They are someone who may not know God, yet doesn’t have a wall up either. It seems that Jesus teaches his followers to simply go with those people instead of spinning our wheels trying to reach those who don’t want to hear it.

This understanding of evangelism can be quite helpful. It makes it clear that our job is not to convert people—that’s God’s job. Rather, our job is to be aware of those who are already sensitive to God’s stirring. In evangelism, God does the work for us! We just have to have eyes and ears that are open to what God is doing.

So how do we find a “person of peace?” We have a great example of this in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:25–40:

After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News. As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

(continued on next page)

Finding a Person of Peace

By Phil Wiseman

This story serves as a great model for evangelism. Notice the four steps that Philip takes in identifying and relating to this “person of peace:”

1. Philip is sensitive to God’s leading (vv. 26 & 29). Sure, in Philip’s case, either an angel or God’s Spirit appear to speak directly to him—which would certainly simplify things, wouldn’t it? But even if you don’t hear an audible voice, that doesn’t mean you still can’t discern the voice of God. The more you pray about the people around you, the more attuned you’ll become to the small promptings that can mean something big. Who is that person who repeatedly talks to you about God? Who is that person who comes to you when they are hurting? Who is that person who you are uniquely positioned to help, or whom God has laid on your heart? These are all indications that God may be prompting us to speak to them about Jesus.

2. Philip responds to an invitation (v. 31). Once again, Philip seems to have it easy—after all, the eunuch literally asked him to explain the Bible to him! However, invitations can be more subtle than that too. Perhaps a coworker opens up to you about a difficulty, and you can offer to pray. Or perhaps a neighbor asks for your help with something, and it’s a chance to speak into their life more. These invitations may be an indication of a person of peace—someone who wants to learn from you.

3. Philip is ready with biblical answers (v. 35). Now, this doesn’t mean that we all have to be Bible scholars. However, it’s a good idea for every Christian to know some helpful verses that can be given to someone with questions about the faith. The four verses introduced in the last meeting as part of the evangelism tool are a great place to start (Romans 8:38, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:4–5, 2 Corinthians 5:15)!

4. Philip pointed him to Jesus (v. 35). People today sometimes have (justifiable) problems with the church or with Christians. Our track record is far from spotless. However, numerous studies have shown that while people may have lost hope in the church, they’ve not lost interest in Jesus. Don’t feel like you have to explain or defend everything about Christianity. In fact, a majority of evangelizing is simply listening to their story, fears, and frustrations! But it is out of our listening and getting to know them we’ll prompted to share Jesus when it’s most appropriate, and then let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

So start asking God to open your eyes to the people of peace in your life. These people are those who seem open to you and willing to hear what you have to say about God. Chances are, God is already at work in them. Our job is to simply be obedient.

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