LET’S TALK (spiritual conversations)
LEADER GUIDE: WEEK 2 (April 30, 2017)
CONCEPT
Learn to be aware of those who are seeking purpose, hope, answers, and especially God!
PREPARE
· Pray for each person in your group, for your meeting, and for your preparation
· Read Transforming Neighborhoods (T.N.) chapter 8 (the seeker)
· Study Acts 8:26-39 (this is the story from the T.N. chapter and the sermon)
· Choose which questions and exercises you plan to do with the group. Note: if you choose the journal exercise, it would be great to have an inexpensive notebook for each person at the meeting (something simple, maybe from a dollar store)
· Prepare the Closing (or do one of your own)
ACTS STORY
Read Acts 8:26-39 (bonus: tell it as a story with Bibles closed, then read it aloud).
Inspired by the points in T.N. C8 regarding this story, briefly discuss these ideas:
· We need to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit (vs. 26-27)
· Christians must intentionally position themselves (vs. 29)
· People usually know at least something about the Bible, and may be looking for more information (vs. 32-34)
· We should intentionally slide the conversation toward Jesus (vs. 35)
· People must hear the good news about Jesus (vs. 35)
· People must personally respond to the good news about Jesus (vs. 36)
· We should celebrate the opportunity to see people move closer to Jesus (vs. 37)
Ask these 3 questions (optional):
· What do we learn from this text?
· What challenges you from this text?
· What are you going to do about it?
QUESTIONS
NOTE: choose 3-5 that make the most sense for your group; do NOT try to use them all.
1. What do Matthew 14:14 and Mark 6:34 have in common?
2. When did someone notice you – not your clothes, your hair, your tech, etc. – but really noticed you and make a positive impact? When have you done that for someone else?
3. It’s been said, “Outsiders define us by what we do, not by what we say or by what we believe.” Do you think that’s true? If it is true, how does it affect how we live as followers of Jesus?
4. Do you think fishing is more productive as a team or as an individual? What’s the difference in fishing with nets and using a fishing pole? How can that apply to fishing for people (which followers of Jesus are supposed to do)?
5. Briefly share a time you followed the Holy Spirit’s leading and it had a positive impact on someone’s life – physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally.
6. In T.N. C8 Tim Wallingford relates Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the holistic ministry focus of Jesus. In what order would you place an average person’s needs? (Here are just a few, in alphabetical order: belonging, breath, education, food, health, job, property, relationship with God, respect, self-worth, sex, shelter, water.) Does your “hierarchy” change if the person is you (not the “average” person)? How much time does the average person in the U.S. pursue the most important things? How about you?
EXERCISES
NOTE: choose what makes the most sense for your group; do NOT try to use them all.
· NOTE: if someone in your group has done this, tell them NOT to say anything! Go to YouTube.com and type “Test Your Awareness Do The Test.” It starts off with a man saying, “This is an awareness test. How many passes does the team in white make?” (The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahg6qcgoay4 ). After you do the exercise, talk about how this applies to us being [un]aware of those around us.
· Read the long paragraph in T.N. chapter 8 page 1 that begins with, “Let me tell you about Josh” and ends with “a person without God cannot be ultimately satisfied with his or her life
(Ecclesiastes 1:13-14).” With that background, do a role play with one person playing “Josh” and another playing “Tim” (“Julie” and “Tina” if females). Josh should be resistant to Tim’s reasons that Josh should follow Jesus. Afterwards, talk about their conversation. What did you learn? Were there any additional ideas or answers that might help in a similar situation? Etc.
· “Noticing Needs Through Jesus’ Eyes” – sheet below (note: no need to make copies)
· With some spiritually mature Christian friends, take an hour and go where non-Christians tend to hang out: a bar, pool lounge, night-life spot, etc. Keep your spiritual eyes and ears open. Then go get a coffee or soda together, and talk about what you observed, and how Christians might respond to some needs you saw.
· If you’ve never kept a journal, start this week. For 30 days, simply write down things that God brings to your attention. Also write down any verses you study or prayer requests and praises you have.
CLOSING
· How have you done with at least one thing you decided to do at our last meeting?
· Read James 4:14 and ask each person to write down a one or two word summary of the verse (no more than two words!). Then ask them to share their word (or two!).
· Ask people to pray this as the group closes, and each morning this week, “God, as I interact with people today, may I see them as you do, and respond as you would.”
RESOURCES
Websites: ServantEvangelism.com, externallyfocusednetwork.org , KindnesstoGo.com, outwardfocusedlife.com
Books: The Externally Focused Quest (Swanson & Rusaw), Helping Without Hurting (Corbett & Fikkert)
Note: the material above is organized and edited by Steve Murphy from a variety of sources, including the books noted in the Introduction of the Leader’s Guide. Contact Steve with any questions.
Noticing Needs as Jesus Did
Based on Activating God Space by Doug Pollack
Use one or both examples to see how Jesus focused on noticing needs.
EXAMPLE 1 — Matthew 9:35–10:1
Read the example (bonus: memorize it and tell it, the read it out loud together)
Questions
1. In Matthew 9:36, what two action verbs do you notice that describe Jesus’ response to human need? Why do you think these two actions are linked together in this verse?
2. In Matthew 9:37–10:1, Jesus tells his disciples to pray for workers to reach people, and then sends them out as the answer to their own prayers. How could this approach be applied to our topic of “noticing”?
EXAMPLE 2 — Luke 10:25-37
Read the example (bonus: memorize it and tell it, the read it out loud together)
Questions
1. What words or phrases do you notice in this story that describe the feelings or emotions of the Samaritan?
2. What words or phrases do you notice that describe the actions of the Samaritan?
3. Based on your past behavior, which do you think is your stronger point: feeling compassion, or acting compassionately? Why?
Noticing Local & Domestic Ministry Partners
Note: this activity may take 20-30 minutes
As a group, go to the Discover Website (www.discovercc.org) and make a list of our local and domestic ministry partners. (Hint: look under “impact.”) Write one on each space:
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Choose 2 partners of interest to your group from the list you just made. Then for each organization, answer the following. If you aren’t sure of an answer, assign someone to get one from Dave Welsh this week ().
Partner 1: ______
1. What is the organization’s mission or goals? How do they align with Discover’s?
2. Who does the organization serve?
3. What needs does the organization have?
4. What is one thing our group (or the church) could do to serve with this partner?
Partner 2: ______
1. What is the organization’s mission or goals? How do they align with Discover’s?
2. Who does the organization serve?
3. What needs does the organization have?
4. What is one thing our group (or the church) could do to serve with this partner?
PRINCIPLE 2
Dr. Tim Wallingford’s method of evangelizing neighbors.
Note: Each week we’ll share 1 key principle for having successful spiritual conversations. These principles were gleaned and summarized by Jim Brechbuhler from Transforming Neighborhoods a Life at a Time: Personal Evangelism Done Jesus Style by Tim Wallingford. The 5 principles that we’ll discuss won’t directly correspond to Dr. Wallingford’s book, because he shared far more than five. We wish there was time to cover them all! For much more detailed, practical information, we highly recommend Transforming Neighborhoods and its companion study guide, 100 Answers to Questions from the Neighborhoods. Available in print in the DCC Oasis Bookstore and Amazon Kindle.
How many times have we sincerely wanted to share our faith with a neighbor, friend, or family member, only to encounter obstacles before we even begin? Maybe we fear we’ll make a mistake. We fear we’ll be asked a question we won’t know the answer to, experience push back, possibly even long term rejection, and the list goes on and on. We feel guilty and dejected because we want others to know the saving grace of Jesus, our Savior, but we simply don’t know where to begin. It’s a common fact that many Christians never lead another person to Christ, outside of possibly their own immediate family members. The good news is this can change! Tim Wallingford lays out the method he has used for years to share Christ in his book, Transforming Neighborhoods. It gives us a great starting point to share the good news of Jesus with others. Below is a brief summary…again please see Tim’s books for much more detail.
Step #1 Develop relationships. Christians must be intentional about developing relationships with their neighbors. How often at the end of a tiresome day or on a busy weekend do we simply want to avoid people? We reason that we’re too tired and/or too busy. But developing relationships is all about eternity! We have an eternally important task on earth we’ve been called too. We simply must make developing relationships a priority. This begins with intentionally saying hello and introducing yourself to someone you may not know, taking over a batch of brownies, stopping to talk while on a walk, or lingering to talk a little longer in the school parking lot after a school event. It also means intentionally looking to cut things out of our busy schedules to make time for others. The key word here is intentionally.
Step #2 Love your neighbors. In Matthew 22:36, Jesus is asked what is the greatest commandment in the law. He answers,“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Obviously loving our neighbors is very important to Jesus! But who are our neighbors? It can be the people that border your property line or share your apartment hallway, the kids on your child’s team or their parents. It can be those you relax with while enjoying a hobby, just to name a few. Building a friendship is a precursor to earning the trust through which we can share Christ. We’re there to listen in time of need, to share laughs around the back patio, tears and prayers in a hospital room, to watch a neighbor’s child play baseball or to eat a meal together.
Step #3 Over time, build a spiritual sketch of what has shaped your friend’s view of God. Dr. Wallingford suggests asking about people’s childhood growing up or what their religious life was like. People generally like to talk about themselves. By asking questions, we show we care. But learning what has shaped their view of God and possibly created barriers to belief is just as important. Your neighbor’s family dynamics growing up, their faith teachings or lack thereof, traumas such as divorce or the untimely deaths of a parent or sibling, and so much more shape their view of God. With a good spiritual sketch, we can better address their questions and barriers regarding God.
Step #4 Study the book of Acts for responses to the most common of spiritual sketches to help them overcome their belief barriers. We see the gospel shared with hurting people in Acts 3, the spiritualist and the seeker in Acts 8, the fanatic in Acts 9, the good person in Acts 10, the abuser in Acts 16, the intellectual skeptic in Acts 17, the misinformed in Acts 19, and the pleasure seeker in Acts 24. These are the very people we meet today, and each person requires a specific approach. Approaching the hurting person who has prematurely lost a loved one requires a different approach than the person who wants to just sin for the sake of a good time.
Dr. Wallingford sums it up best writing, “We must take the time to know our neighbors and friends. We need to become familiar with the barriers to their belief and create an accurate spiritual sketch of them. Once we have an accurate spiritual sketch, we need to refer to the book of Acts and see how the apostles successfully shared Christ with the various types of people they met. Only then can we find and use the best strategy for reaching them with the salvation message.” Great advice! Thanks for reading.
— Jim Brechbuhler
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Let’s Talk Week 2