SHARING FAITH NATURALLY IN CONVERSATION
MEANING OF THE TITLE:
SHARING FAITH – evangelism: Jesus paying for sins on cross
CONVERSATION – one-on-one
NATURALLY – building on something that is said
Or “Ways to get from secular conversation to Salvation message,”
I SEE EVANGELISM AS ONE OF THREE PHASES OF DISCIPLING:
Relationship building – Sharing Gospel – nurture.
(see /befriending; see (see /nurture)
Sharing Gospel incudes: Transition – message – dealing with the response
(See /handling-responses)
THE MESSAGE. Romans 1:16 – power in gospel
The “message” is illustrated in the Book of Acts which includes 5 quotations of apostles saying the Message, each time using different words but always including 4 foundational concepts, and so avoiding “being mechanical” or “lacking direction”
EXAMPLES OF SHARING THE MESSAGE, FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS.
Peter’s message in Acts 10: (to Cornelius)
Acts 10:44 says that the Holy Spirit fell upon a group of people that Peter was speaking to. It is helpful to know what Peter was telling them: “36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 39 They killed him by nailing him to the cross, but God raised him on the third day,. 43. All the prophets testify that through faith in his name, everyone who believes in him has forgiveness of sins.”
4 Parts of Salvation message: (see /message content)
PROBLEM – ANSWER – RESPONSE – BENEFITS
PROBLEM – separation from God due to sin, shown by
actions and symptoms
ANSWER – Jesus: who He is, what He did
RESPONSE – repent, believe, be baptized
BENEFITS – forgiveness, peace, eternal life …
Compare Peter’s message in Acts 2:
23 You killed him by letting sinful men nail him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from death 36 This Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah. 37 (the people asked what they should do) 38 Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
EXAMPLES FROM PAUL:
Paul in Acts
Acts 5:30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to the cross. God raised Him to His right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven.
Paul in Ephesians
Romans 3:22-25 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.
(Two full pages of these verses are at /gospel-booklet
USAGE OF THE FOUR PARTS
1.A place to organize concepts
2. A place to put illustrations and stories
3. Compare Religions (see /world-rel-communication)
4. To identify open doors
Examples of open doors:
PROBLEM: Anxiety, guilt, lack of meaning in life
ANSWER: Jesus as teacher or model
REPONSE: talking about faith
BENEFITS: peace, forgiveness, life after death
Other ways to transition: /how-to-begin
OVERVIEW OF ENTIRE APPROACH
Overall concept: /how-to-guide
Youtubes: /video-guides
Full day workshop: /how-to-lead
Book reviews showing contributions of each book.
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