08 Sep Who’s Next? | Part 1 “Rest in Your Testimony”
SGL Announcements
eFam Groups: If you have an apprentice that may be interested in becoming an eFam leader, direct them here: eFam Group Leader Application
Action Groups: If you have an apprentice (or someone you think may make a good action group leader) who would like to lead an Action Group, direct them here: Action Group Leader Application
WOONSOCKET PERMANENT LOCATION: As you know we have a permanent location for Woonsocket Campus – your talent is needed. If you have any experience in carpentry, HVAC, etc., let us know.
TESTIMONIES: Looking for your testimonies! If you have group wins to share from your Small Group, please email them to me! maparsons@waterschurch.org
Classes
Big Things Weekend Reminders:
- Florida Sept 22nd
- Fall River Sept 29th
- Guatemala Oct 6th
Key Verse: John 1
Sept 26/29 is “BYOB” Weekend: Bring Your Own Buddy
THEME: The Church is a GROUP of PEOPLE invited by other PEOPLE to meet the GREATESTPERSON.
The next three weeks we will be talking about the importance of an invitation in this series, Who’s Next. We are here for people far from God. Pastor Tim is encouraging everyone to invite people to church that are not in a Gospel believing, life-giving church. Many of us came to Christ because someone we know invited us to church.
Ice-breaker question:
Q. Were you invited to church by someone, if so who? How were you introduced to Jesus?
Pastor Tim described how he was invited to youth camp and it had fundamentally changed his life to this moment. Had he not been invited and not had gone, he would not be preaching the Gospel at Waters today.
Billy Graham preached to over 215 million people in person, he as been heard by an estimated 2.2 billion people. Millions of people came to Jesus because of Billy Graham because someone (Albert McMackin, his neighbor) had invited him to church.
Pastor Tim’s invitation was through a friend who introduced him to Christian rock music and then invited him to youth camp. Billy Graham’s neighbor made a deal with him and let him drive (without a license) his vegetable truck if he went to the Crusade with him and he did. That one invitation changed the world.
The one way to get someone to come to church is a personal invitation from someone they trust.
Q. What creative way have you used to invite someone to church? Has there been a life that has been impacted by your invitation to church/concert/crusade and how?
The testimony of John the Baptist.
WHAT MADE JOHN the BAPTIST EFFECTIVE?
He was so effective that in Luke 7:28 Jesus said that ‘among those born of women, no one is greater than John.’
John was not impressive to look at, he did not have a great education and he ate locusts and wild honey. But he was effective.
1. HE DIDN’T TRY TO BE SOMEONE HE WAS NOT.
If we are going to be effective, we don’t have to pretend to be someone we are not. We do not have to be like the pastor, like a tv evangelist or like someone in our Life group. ‘You be You’. We are not called to be someone we are not. Our testimony is our testimony.
A great witness is a Nobody trying to tell Everybody about the ultimate Somebody.
Three times John said to them ‘I am not the Christ. They asked if he was a prophet or if he was Elijah as they needed to know who he said he was. He did not pretend to be someone else, he simply told them who he was.
I don’t have to act spiritual do be used in spiritual ways.
We don’t have to fit a certain mold. Molded Christians can be the worst. God can use even the newly saved. The best people to relate to unsaved are newly saved people. Don’t let the devil tell you that you cannot be used. The best evangelists are the most recently rescued.
Q. How has your witness to others changed from when you were newly saved until now? If you are newly saved, how do you relate to those that are unsaved?
Paul does not believe he is morally more righteous but that he is more wicked than he ever thought he was and God’s grace is far greater than he ever imagined. God puts up with us because of His grace. He is patient.
2. HE KEPT THE PATH TO JESUS SIMPLE AND CLEAR.
Don’t complicate it. We don’t need to talk about deep things to impress others. Christ died to save us and rose on the third day. We do not need to get into arguments, especially on Social Media.
Q. Can you give some examples of how you share your faith simply?
This is what John said about who he was.
Lifeway Stats:
31 percent of Americans consider themselves to be non-practicing Christians. They don’t go to church.
1 out of 5 non-churchgoers would freely discuss Christianity with someone who would talk about it.
73 percent of Christians don’t talk about their faith.
35 percent of non-Christians say they would go to church if someone invited them.
If we invited one person a week for the next 3 weeks, according to these stats, one of them will come. Fish don’t just jump in the boat we have to get them.
In the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, it’s all bad, doom and gloom, God is going to judge people because they have turned their back on him. But in chapter 40 through 66, good news. God is saying, though I punish you I am coming back to get you. When John says‘ Make straight[a] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” in John 1:23, he is making it possible for the Lord to get us.
Religion is YOUR ATTEMPT to get to God.
Salvation is GOD’S WORK to get to you.
I can be PART of the ROAD Jesus TAKES to get to PEOPLE.
Pastor Tim challenged us to be one of the links in the chain to make it possible for someone to know Jesus. We can move one person from a ‘negative zero’ to a ‘zero’ and someone else may move them to a ‘one’ etc.
Q. Can you describe how God has used you to move someone from one degree to the next?
3. HE SHARED WHAT GOD DID TO BRING HIM TO JESUS.
There was a time when John did not know who Jesus was and he was his cousin. He told of what God had done for him. We just have to tell people what God has done for us.
People don’t need a RELIGIOUS experience, they need a HOLY SPIRIT experience.
Tell people what God has done for you. No one can argue with your story.
Make time for prayer and fellowship and allow yourselves to end on time.
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