Sunday, October 29, 2023
Saturday, October 28, 2023
EVANGELISM: What is your story? 10-29-23
EVANGELISM: What is your story? 10-29-23
INTRODUCTION
More to this
life
Identity
Integrity
Intentionality
Evangelism
to Seniors
Evangelism
as story telling
God’s story
Your story
The other’s
story
God’s story
Your story
John Havlik,
with the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board, declared that two factors were
discovered in launching lay evangelism schools One was that the average
layperson has a greater desire to be used in evangelism than church leaders
realize. The other was that laypersons require a great deal more help and
equipping than most church leaders believe.
“Always be
prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope that you have.”
1 Peter 3:15b NIV
I. MY STORY AND
THE GOOD NEWS
A. Church
1. Family
“I am reminded
of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your
mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
2 Timothy 1:5 NIV
2. Scripture/teachings
“But as for
you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because
you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known
the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 3:14-15 NIV
3. Love
““A new
command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another.””
John 13:34-35 NIV
B. Jesus
1. Flannelgraph
Jesus
2. Squirrel
Jesus
3. Historical
Jesus
4. Lord and
Savior Jesus
“He is
before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of
the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the
dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to
have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all
things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through
his blood, shed on the cross.”
Colossians 1:17-20 NIV
C. Me
“The man
from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him
away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man
went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”
Luke 8:38-39 NIV
II. YOUR STORY
IN YOUR OWN WORDS
“The
minister lives behind a stained glass curtain. The layman has opportunities for
evangelism which a minister will never have.”
James I.
McCord
“I find
these three C’s helpful in shaping what I am sharing - current, concise,
Christ-centered”
Cyndee
Ownbey, Sweet to the Soul Ministries (website), “Sharing your Faith Story”, May
4, 2022.
A. Your current
story
1. Your life in
Christ today
2. Your life as
a Christian today
3. Your hope
today
B. Your concise
story
1. Relevant
2. Succinct
C. Your
Christ-centered story
1. “Don’t bury
the lede.”
Oxford English Dictionary - lede - “the opening sentence or paragraph of a news article, summarizing
the most important aspects of the story.”
2. Center stage
- “limited view seating”
3. Lead actor
III. TELLING YOUR
STORY
James
Haggarty, the Wall Street Journal obituary writer, makes a few suggestions in
his book, Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to
Telling Your Story, on how to get started:
·
Bite the bullet and just
write your memoirs. It might not be Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes or Michelle
Obama’s Becoming, but just do it.
·
Try writing your own
obituary. But make it sound like a story not a resume.
·
Write a rough draft of your
best stories or record them into your phone.
·
Write a letter or an email
to a friend and save a copy.
·
Annotate your favorite
photos with the stories behind them.
·
Use software such as
Storyworth or MemLifewhich provide a template with questions and the option to
create a book.
·
For those who hate to
write, voice recording works. Be sure to make a transcript, though, and add
notes explaining anything that might be unclear to readers decades from now.
A. Write your
story
B. Re-write
your story
C. Share your
story
“You are a
Christian today because someone cared. Now it's your turn.”
Warren W.
Wiersbe
The story is
told of a young salesman who was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as
he talked with his sales manager he lamented, "I guess it just proves you
can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink." The manager
replied, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job
is to make him thirsty." So it is
with telling our story about Jesus. Our hope is
that our story will help people become thirsty for Jesus.
INVITATION
It is our
custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want
to follow Jesus. You may want
to proclaim your faith. You may want
to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you
want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if
you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to
become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have
been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come
forward now. If you would
like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God
is doing in your life.
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Saturday, October 14, 2023
EVANGELISM: What can we do? 10-15-23
EVANGELISM: What can
we do? 10-15-23
INTRODUCTION
More to this life
Identity
Integrity
Intentionality
Evangelism to Seniors
Make disciples
“Our problem in evangelism is not that
we don’t have enough information—it is that we don’t know how to be ourselves.
We forget we are called to be witnesses to what we have seen and know, not to
what we don’t know. The key on our part is authenticity and obedience, not a
doctorate in theology. We haven’t grasped that it really is OK for us to be who
we are when we are with seekers, even if we don’t have all the answers to their
questions or if our knowledge of Scripture is limited.”
Rebecca
Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker & into the World: Evangelism as a Way
of Life
Elaborating on Mike Frost’s writings
I. GOD’S STORY
A.
God
“In the beginning God . . . ”
Genesis 1:1a NIV
B.
God’s love
“And I pray that you, being rooted and
established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know
this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all
the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17b-19 NIV
C.
God’s son
“For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NIV
D.
God’s children
“See what great love the Father has
lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we
are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
1
John 3:1 NIV
II. MY STORY
A.
Before Jesus
1. Growing up with God.
2. Growing up with a godly mom.
B.
Meeting Jesus
1. Real sin
2. Real problem
3. Real solution
C.
After meeting Jesus
1. Understanding my name
2. Using my gifts
“I find these three C’s helpful in
shaping what I am sharing - current, concise, Christ-centered”
Cyndee
Ownbey, Sweet to the Soul Ministries, “Sharing your Faith Story”, May 4, 2022.
III. THE OTHER’S STORY
A.
Listening to others’ stories
“There is a reason you are born with
two ears and one mouth.” Growing up, I would give my mother frequent
inspiration to remind me of this anatomy lesson. When we talk about evangelism,
we often emphasize what we should or shouldn’t say. While this is extremely
important, our words might be ignored if we do not listen well. By showing
others that their words have worth, you can show them they have value as an
Image Bearer of our Creator.”
Ryan
Dunleavy, Fruitful Listening in Evangelism, Evantell.org, January 19, 2022.
1. Active listening
2. Empathetic listening
B.
Connecting their story to yours
1. Sharing your story
2. Making connections
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.”
1
Chronicles 16:8 NIV
“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. For just as we share abundantly
in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
2
Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV
C.
Connecting their story to God’s
1. Finding footprints
2. Showing them the Way
“But in your hearts revere Christ as
Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the
reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
1
Peter 3:15 NIV
“Evangelism is intrinsically
relational, the outcome of love of neighbor, for to love our neighbor is to
share the love of God holistically.”
Elaine
Heath
The Holy Spirit is the “secret sauce.”
““When you are brought before
synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend
yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that
time what you should say.””
Luke 12:11-12 NIV
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an
"invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want
to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want
to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).
Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to
God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood
Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in
your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be
honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your
life.