EVANGELISM: What is their story? 11-19-23

EVANGELISM: What is their story? 11-19-23

 

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

 

“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

 

“According to data collected by Promise Keepers and Baptist Press, . . . If a father does go regularly, regardless of what the mother does, between two-thirds and three-quarters of their children will attend church as adults.”

               Nick Cady, nickcady.org, “The impact on kid’s of father’s faith and church attendance”, June 20,                2016.

 

Their story

 

I.  STORIES

 

The Guest

Author Unknown

 

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

 

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the Word of God. Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening.

 

He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies, and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn’t seem to mind but sometimes Mom would quietly get up—while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places—and go to her room and read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. My Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them.

 

Profanity was not allowed in our house—not from us, our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four-letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge, the stranger was never confronted. Dad didn’t permit alcohol in his home. But the stranger enlightened us to other ways of life. He often offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.

He talked freely about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man/woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

 

I believe it was only by the grace of God the stranger did not influence us even more. Time after time he opposed my parents’ values. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive.

But if I were to walk into my parents’ home today, I would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We always called him TV.

               James Chandler shared at sermoncentral.com

 

     A.  Storytelling

 

“Storytelling is among the oldest forms of communication.  Storytelling is the commonality of all human beings, in all places, in all times.”

               Rives Collins

 

“Stories are memory aids, instruction manuals, and moral compasses.”

               Alex’s Krotoski

 

“The stories we tell literally make the world.  If you want to change the world, you need to change your story.  This truth applies both to individuals and institutions.”

               Michael Margolis

 

“Sometimes reality is too complex.  Stories give it form.”

               Jean Luc Godard

 

“Those who tell the stories rule the world.”

               Hopi American Indian proverb

 

               B.  The power of story

 

When the great American storyteller Mark Twain was asked, “Who do you think is the best storyteller every lived?” Mark Twain answered, “Jesus Christ.” “Then which story is the greatest story every told?” He replied, “The Story of the Prodigal Son.”

 

               C.  The importance of story

 

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

            Colossians 4:2-6 NIV

 

II.  LISTENING TO THEIR STORIES

 

Admittedly we all have trouble listening.

 

Maybe we are watching our favourite TV program, and our husband or wife is talking to us about something that is important to them.

 

As they talk, we may mumble, “Hmm”, “Yeah”, and “Uh Huh”.

 

Until they finally give up, saying with annoyance in their voice, “You are not listening to a word I’m saying.”

               Alistair Wairring

 

               A.  Active listening

 

Instead, we should practice what counsellors call active listening. That’s listening with empathy. You do it by maintaining eye contact with the other; leaning toward the person; asking questions; and repeating answers back for clarity. Try to maintain a state of prayer and a learning posture to unwrap the gifts in others.

               Mike Frost, Mikefrost.net, “Evangelism as Storytelling: Learning All Three Stories”, July 25, 2023.

 

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”

               James 1:19 NIV

 

Writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day," he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. "Before long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was become unbearable.

 

"I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, ’Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast.’ "Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered,’ Honey, you can tell me -- and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." "I’ll never forget her answer: ’Then listen slowly.’"

               Bits & Pieces, June 24, 1993, pp. 13-14.

 

              B.  Telling their story

                           1.  Hearing

               2.  Understanding

                              3.  Re-telling

                           4.  Valuing 

 

III.  CONNECTING THEIR STORY TO YOUR STORY AND TO GOD’S STORY

 

               A.  The stories

              

                              1.  God’s story    

                                            a.  Jesus came into the world.

                                            b.  Jesus died.

                                            c.  Jesus came back from the dead.

                                            D.  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.

                                            E.  Jesus is coming back.

 

                              2.  Your story

 

“Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

               1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NIV

 

                              3.  Their story

 

      B.  Connecting the dots

 

                            1.  Various reasons to accept Jesus.

                                        a.  Needing love

                                          b.  Dealing with shame

                                         c.  Desiring heaven

                                     d.  Struggling with sin

                                     e.  Abundant life

                                           f.  Eternal life

                              2.  Their story may connect differently than yours.

                            3.  Finding what they need.

                          4.  Bringing together the 3 stories.

 

             C.  Relying on the Spirit

 

“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.”

               1 Thessalonians 1:4-5a NIV

 

            D.  Helping them find Jesus in their story

 

“Three Story Evangelism” by Bill Muir

               Stories, not steps

               Honesty, not perfection

            Questions, not answers

        Contributing, not controlling 

               Hope, not judgment

               Them, not us

               Holy Spirit, not program

               Non-linear, not linear

               Process, not product

               Life, not words

 

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.