Evangelism is like cheese on a sloppy burger. It holds the pieces together
Evangelism is verbally telling people about the gospel of Jesus. Although it may not be the first thing people think of for sharing their faith (we may prefer to share our faith through acts of service), without verbally explaining to people what God has done in Jesus, our other efforts lose their value
Last week recap
Last week we learned that salvation is a gift from God. Through it, we are commanded to share this good news. While there are many ways the message of God’s salvation can spread, the main way he has chose to spread this message is by giving us the opportunity to evangelize
1 Peter 3:15 tells us how to approach evangelism (3 “r’s”)
Revere Christ as Lord
-True evangelism comes from the heart. When we revere Christ as lord, we are relying on him to guide us in our conversation, and to be the one who opens the other(s) up to him. It is not dependent on our efforts
Always be Ready to Give an Answer
-This does not mean we need to know the answer to every single theological question, but we do need to know some stuff. Familiarize yourself with the Bibles story(ies). Also become familiar with your neighbors so that you can best reach them. Whether that be a religion, or just a general life interest. We need to meet them where they’re at. Not so that we can stay there with them, but so we can help lead them towards Jesus. If we’re going to be able to meet them where they’re at, we need to know where to meet them at
With Gentleness and Respect
-“With gentleness and respect” are much more connected to “always be ready to give an answer for the faith you have,” than most English Bible translations suggest (punctuation did not exist in Biblical Greek). Sharing our faith without gentleness and respect is like giving someone an expensive gift wrapped in a garbage bag. It might not be the gift they are rejecting, but how it was given to them. How we share the gospel is just as important as what we share
The story of the Bible is God using imperfect people to fulfil his perfect plans. We are going to make mistakes when we tell people about our faith in Jesus, but God routinely brings his plans to fruition despite our shortcomings. While evangelism can be seen as a daunting task, it is an opportunity we are invited into, and God is pleased with our obedience to him, despite if we feel like we’ve done a poor job
Discussion Questions
1. Besides evangelism, what are some ways we can share our faith with others?
2. Read Psalm 5- What do you think it means to “bow down in reverence”? and in 1 Peter 3:15, what do you think it means to “revere Christ as lord?”
3. Read Matthew 4:1-11- How did Jesus use his knowledge of scripture to combat the tempter?
4. (*This could be a fun ice breaker) Have you ever given or been given a present that did not match the way it was wrapped?
5. Why do you think God chooses to work through people, even though we often seem to “mess up”?
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