Each session we will cover our 3 key areas:
Inspire + Engage
Support + Coach
Review + Update
Start your time with:
A warm welcome & prayer.
Inspire & Engage
How have we done in sharing our faith this month?
Ask Individuals to share where they have stepped out to share their faith.
How did it go?
What were the challenges?
What were the outcomes?
Share JESUS
This month we are looking at the final part of sharing… Share Jesus. Let’s watch Johns video:
We have already taken a big step towards sharing Jesus by sharing our faith. The next move is to share Jesus – this isn’t necessarily going to be a gospel presentation. It is an invitation to someone to take the next step on their journey towards Jesus. This could be an invitation to a church or event or could be an invitation to something more personal like prayer or finding out more with you.
Here are some encouraging bible verses around sharing Jesus and how He shared Himself:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Here are some ideas of how you might share Jesus with people:
- Inviting to an Alpha Course
- Inviting to a church
- Praying together
- Exploring their questions together via events or online content
It may be that your friend wants to invite Jesus into their life and become a Christian – which would be amazing! If you don’t feel equipped to lead them in this journey, get help from your church family about how you might do this. Please remember – you don’t have to be an expert to do this!! Journeying together towards Jesus is the main aim. You don’t have to have all of the answers or be polished in your response.
Group discussion – do people feel prepared to do this? What is stopping us or making us nervous? How can we overcome the nerves and potential challenges.
Use the difficult questions doc here for reference to some potentially difficult questions and encouragement from John.
There are a few things that will help us to share Jesus with our friends:
- We are anointed by God to share Jesus! Read Isaiah 61:1 together
- Being open to the Holy Spirit, pray often, and pray for each other!
- Being bold, there has been a path up to this point but to provide an invitation in whatever form takes courage (Hebrews 10:35-36)
- Being accountable, this is why we are setting goals and sharing the experience together, so we can encourage each other and help each other to take steps we may not otherwise have taken.
- Being open to any outcome, our part is to provide the invitation, the outcome is down to God and them. (1 Corinthians 3:6-9)
Review & Update
So now we will look at our goals from last group, how did we do? How far along the ‘Share Faith’ journey are we? Group to update and tick off goals from last month.
Before we set our share Jesus goal, take some time to pray and contemplate as a group. Ask Him Who on your journey of sharing is ready for you to share Jesus? What invitation would He have you share?
Before setting goal encourage each person to share from the prayer time who and how they feel prompted to share Jesus.
> Set the goal!
Prayer and Close
Pray for each other to be filled with the presence and boldness of the Holy Spirit.
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
We are here to support you on your journey with Isaiah 61 Movement.
If we can help in any way please email us at support@i61m.org.
If we can help in any way please email us at support@i61m.org.
