Lifestyle Witnessing • Lesson Eight • Speak the Gospel: It’s Our Goal 1. Make it natural 2. Be prepared
Prayer Lord, thank you for filling us with a desire to tell others about the wonders you have performed and the refuge you provide in Christ. Let the joy you have given us overflow to the people who hear your Word from our lips. Amen.
Witnessing Activity Report Spend a few minutes talking about witnessing joys and frustrations, triumphs and failures.
Introduction There are no Christians where there have never been any. That might seem like an obvious statement, but it’s a reminder that faith doesn’t come by spontaneous generation. It comes when people hear the message. For anyone to hear the message, someone has to speak it. That someone is you. We have seen how our whole lives become a demonstration of the Spirit who lives in us. Our lives are meant to attract attention, not to us but to God. Finally, God gives us opportunities to speak his Word. Today we’ll discuss what we might say. First, let’s discuss how we can interject Christ into our conversations and then consider developing our own personal witnessing strategy.
Studying God’s Word Make it natural John 4:10-15,25,26. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” she said, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this living water? 12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his animals.” 11
Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty ever again. Rather, the water I will give him will become in him a spring of water, bubbling up to eternal life.” 13
Lifestyle Witnessing
Lesson Eight—Page 2
“Sir, give me this water,” the woman said to him, “so I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 15
The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 25
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Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
1. The woman had asked Jesus for a drink of water. They talked about drinking water. Then Jesus made the transition from earthly water to living water. What is living water?
2. How did Jesus direct the woman to himself in verses 10, 14, and 26?
3. At first, the woman didn’t understand what Jesus was driving at. What lesson does this teach us about our witnessing?
4. Follow how the woman changed over the course of her conversation with Jesus. Read verses 11 and 12, then verse 15, and finally verse 25. What change do you notice?
His Word in My Life Jesus found the setting at the well perfect for starting to talk to the woman about faith. What are some good situations in which it is easy for you to talk about your faith? Your neighbor makes the following statements. How might you take the conversation in a Christ-centered direction? “My kids are driving me crazy.” “How’s your year going?” “The doctor doesn’t know what it is.” Many people have found it helpful to memorize two questions to help them learn more about a person and to introduce their witness. •
If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure where you would go?
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If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” what would you tell him?
What information are the questions designed to uncover? How might a person’s answer shape your witness to him or her? The more we talk about our Savior, the more natural it will become, both to us and the people we’re speaking with. Almost any subject can lead to a witnessing opportunity.
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Lesson Eight—Page 3
Be prepared Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the undeserved gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
1. Any talk about God’s plan to save people must include the message of God’s justice and God’s love. How do these passages describe God’s justice?
2. How does each describe God’s love?
3. Use the words of Romans 6:23 to complete this outline: A. We have a problem. It’s . . .
B. We try to solve the problem by doing something, but God solves it by giving us . . .
4. Now use the words of 2 Corinthians 5:21 to complete the same outline.
His Word in My Life A parent expresses an interest in sending a child to your Sunday school but has some questions. “First,” she says, “what’s this God thing all about anyway?” In less than one minute, how would you reply? Share with the group any outlines or methods for witnessing you’ve used or heard of. Why might a memorized outline help you speak naturally about your faith in Jesus? The following are some reasons people give as to why they don’t speak about Christ. Are any of them yours? As a class, discuss how you might overcome these fears. •
I might say something wrong.
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Religion is too personal.
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People will think I’m weird.
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I’m too shy.
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Someone might ask a question I can’t answer.
Lifestyle Witnessing
Lesson Eight—Page 4
Our witness doesn’t have to be a canned speech or a memorized presentation. We don’t have to quote the Bible by chapter and verse. We simply prepare ourselves to express the reason for our hope and let God guide us as we turn conversations to what really matters.
Summary To summarize this lesson and this course, share with the class how this study has helped you. Consider the following areas: How I live and reflect my hope in Christ. How I express my hope in words. How I use God-given opportunities to give Christ to others.
Life with God As you read the Scriptures this week, discover important truths for your witnessing. • Day 1: Read Acts 18:1-11. • Day 2: Read Matthew 18:19,20. • Day 3: Read Romans chapter 12. • Day 4: Read Matthew 5:14-16. • Day 5: Read John 15:12-17. • Day 6: Read 1 Corinthians chapter 2.