A Simple Guide to Sharing Your Faith

by Aaron Coe , Dustin Willis on Wednesday, October 15, 2014

When God restores our relationship with Him, we begin to discover meaning and purpose in a broken world.

Watch this video from Life on Mission. It presents a simple diagram to help you share their faith in a natural way with the lost people they encounter every day. Jimmy Scroggins, lead pastor or First Baptist Church West Palm Beach, explains three key truths: God’s design, brokenness, and the gospel.
http://bcove.me/v1k08wpp

We live in a broken world, surrounded by broken lives, broken relationships, and broken systems. This brokenness is seen in the suffering, violence, poverty, pain, and death around us. Brokenness leads us to search for a way to make life work.
In contrast to this brokenness, we also see beauty, purpose, and evidence of God's perfect design around us. The Bible tells us that God originally planned a world that worked perfectly-where everything and everyone fit together in harmony. God made each of us with a purpose-to worship Him and walk with Him. (See Gen. 1:31; Ps. 19:1.)
Life doesn't work when we ignore God and His original design for our lives. We selfishly insist on doing things our own way. The Bible calls this sin. We all sin and distort the original design. The consequence of our sin is separation from God-in this life and for all eternity. (See Rom. 3:23; 6:23.)
Sin leads to brokenness. We see this all around us and in our own lives as well. When we realize life isn't working, we begin to look for a way out. We tend to go in many directions and do many different things to figure it out on our own. Brokenness leads to a realization of our need for something greater. (See Prov. 14:12; Rom. 1:25.)
At this point we need a remedy-some good news. Because of His love, God didn't leave us in our brokenness. Jesus, God in human flesh, came to us and lived perfectly according to God's design. Jesus came to rescue us-to do for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. He took our sin and shame to the cross, paying the penalty of our sin by His death. Jesus was then raised from the dead to provide the only way for us to be rescued and restored to a relationship with God. (See John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Col. 2:14.)
Simply hearing this good news isn't enough. We must admit our sinful brokenness and stop trusting in ourselves. We don't have the power to escape this brokenness on our own. We need to be rescued. We must ask God to forgive us, turning from sin to trust in Jesus. This is what it means to repent and believe. Believing, we receive new life through Jesus, and God turns our lives in a new direction. (See Mark 1:15; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 2:8-9.)
When God restores our relationship with Him, we begin to discover meaning and purpose in a broken world. Now we can pursue God's design in all areas of our lives. Even when we fail, we understand God's pathway to be restored-this same good news of Jesus. God's Spirit empowers us to recover His design and assures us of His presence in this life and for all eternity. (See Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:13.)
This article is excerpted from Life on Mission.

Related Articles and Resources

Knowing, Sharing and Defending Your Faith
Why Do You Believe That? (Bible study)
Christ Made a Way for Peace
Honest to God (Bible study)

Aaron Coe serves as the vice president of mobilization and marketing of the North American Mission Board, providing leadership in mobilizing churches and missionaries to plant churches. He and his wife, Carmen, have four children, Ezra James, Danielle, Joshua and Harper.

Dustin Willis serves as the coordinator of the Send Network and the Send North America Conference. Dustin lives in metro Atlanta, with his wife, Renie, and their two children, Jack and Piper. Before moving to Atlanta, Dustin planted and pastored Midtown Fellowship in Columbia, South Carolina.

Life on Mission: Selfies with Sinners

By Tim Harlow

Matthew was a tax collector. The Jews hated tax collectors because they were usually swindlers and “sell outs” who worked for the Romans. You couldn’t get any lower than a tax collector. They even had their own category. There were “sinners” and there were “tax collectors.” Like there are normal sinners, and then there are tax collectors.
So Jesus and the disciples came upon Mathew one day and Jesus says, “Why don’t you quit your job and follow me?” (Matthew 9) Matthew says “yes,” and the next thing you know Jesus is at a party at Matthew’s house. There are no details about what happened next, we just know that Matthew throws a party and Jesus is there.
So who would Matthew invite? MORE SINNERS!
Can you imagine the scene? Put it in modern day context. I can only imagine Matthew running back and forth from the kitchen, making sure everyone was being looked after as he listened to the conversations that took place around the table and out in the hot tub. He’s restocking the beer cooler. There is NON–Christian music on the stereo. You know Naughty Matt had a sick stereo with a kickin’ subwoofer. But he hadn’t heard of “Mercy Me” yet. He didn’t even know there were Christian radio stations. I want you to get a true picture of where Jesus was.
“MANY tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.” That’s the Bible’s way of saying JESUS WAS AT A NAUGHTY PEOPLE PARTY!
“And when the Pharisees saw this, they asked the disciples, ‘why is your teacher at the naughty people party?’” (Matthew 9:11 – my paraphrase)
It’s a valid question.
Why is it that Jesus would publically associate with sinners before they made any changes in their lives? It doesn’t feel right. This obviously isn’t the first time either. His reputation was, “Behold, a gluttonous man, and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!” (Luke 7:30) Doesn’t that make you uncomfortable?
I became friends with my “Matthew” at the health club. He was a former Hells Angel and his life was way more of “hell” than of “angel.” It was not easy working out with him for several reasons. For one, we didn’t exactly use the same amount of weight on the bar. But there was more. He used loud, bad, language, and gawked at, and commented on every woman in the place. Then there was the day he decided to work out with me in a horrendously inappropriate t-shirt from a strip club. I’m not sure there is an appropriate t-shirt from a strip club, but this one was particularly bad. It was offensive to me, and that takes a lot.
I tried to get him to turn it inside-out, but to no avail.
Most of the people at Body-Tech know who I am, half of them go to my church, and here I am working out with “Matt,” wearing this offensive t-shirt.
Do you know how I felt? Like Jesus.
Okay, not at first. I have to admit I felt a little embarrassed, and a little concerned for my reputation – and that’s when it dawned on me that Jesus felt like this all the time.
Jesus responded to the religious leaders who were not comfortable around sinners by saying, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Then He insults them, saying “But go and learn what this means.” (My paraphrase: “You are ignorant, go figure this out.”) Then He quotes a prophecy they know very well. ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” and He delivers the clincher, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)
The ramifications of this for church leaders is extreme. I don’t know about you, but until I started working out with Naughty Matt, I didn’t have a lot of “sick” people in my life. I work for a church. I’m with Christians most of the time. That’s my job. I’m more comfortable being surrounded by people who know how to dress appropriately at the health club. Sure, the church is supposed to be light in darkness, but not that dark. Whenever I teach from the Great Commission, it’s always about you people going into all the world to make disciples. I can’t go. I have to stay here and train you to do it.
“Matt” started coming to our church. Would he be welcome at yours?
What I wouldn’t give to have seen the reaction from the other disciples when Jesus asked Matthew to follow him. Don’t you know that there was a moment when they realized that if Matthew followed Jesus, it also meant joining them! These guys were mostly fishermen, so they were far from being at the top of the social ladder, but even fishermen look down on tax collectors. How excited they must have been the day Jesus asked Dr. Luke to join them
Nobody wants a selfie with a tax collector. Except Jesus.
If I’m supposed to be a disciple of Jesus, I should look like Him, right? Sure, it’s uncomfortable. I bet I have more expletive-laden text messages on my phone than the average sailor. People are going to talk when they see me with the gear head in the nasty shirt.
That’s probably a good sign that I’m looking more like Jesus.

5 Ways to Build Relationships on Halloween

by Sarah Riddle on Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Be intentional about getting to know your neighbors and develop bonds that will last long after the candy is gone.

In New England, there are two times that we are guaranteed to see our neighbors. One, right after a snowstorm when everyone is clearing their sidewalks; and two, the night of trick-or-treat. When our goal as a family is to build meaningful relationships with our neighbors that will lead to making disciples, it makes sense that we should learn how to make the most of this opportunity.
Obviously, we do not want to be part of any celebration that honors behavior and things that are ungodly. But we run into a conundrum when we evaluate our family mission. Matthew 28:19 says: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." This has driven us to live a life in urban community-based ministry, in order to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31). We intentionally position our family in Boston to build relationships that will lead to making disciples. This starts with loving our neighbors and taking time to know who they are by being where they are.
The last 10 years we have been involved in Halloween in various ways: library parties, church events, staying home, and yes, last year I took my kids door-to-door in our neighborhood. We are not the only ones. Many Christian families we know are intentionally participating for kingdom purposes. Hopefully, one of these strategies that has been used in our neighborhood will inspire you to wear a silly hat and get to know some of the people God has placed in your neighborhood, your ministry area.
1. Don't Be Spooked. Get Outside!
One of the best ways to embrace trick-or-treat, if you have a lot of visitors, is to get outside and greet the trick-or-treaters. Rather than trying to clean, watch a movie, or take a nap during the allotted hours of trick-or-treat, and then feeling annoyed every time the doorbell rings, go outside. Sit on your porch and greet people. Use the time to intentionally get to know your neighbors who are coming to your house.
Churches spend a lot of time creating strategies to entice the unsaved into the church building. On trick-or-treat night, you have your community coming to YOU at your door! Get out there, be the Church, and get to know your neighbors.
Ask the kids about their costumes. Introduce yourself to parents. Build the foundation of a relationship. If you feel inspired, dress up a bit. Try something that would tell a little about yourself. Wear a hat you bought on vacation or put on your favorite sports jersey. A relationship requires an exchange of information. Learn something about your costumed guests, and share something about yourself.
2. Build Friendships without Leaving Your Front Yard
Let's face it, if you have ever gone trick-or-treating, you know it's hard work. A partner ministry in our hometown provides a place to sit and drink hot chocolate so that trick-or-treaters and their parents can pause and rest. Set up your picnic table on your front lawn. If you live in a cold place like Boston, hot chocolate is great, but sweet tea and lemonade are also excellent options. Fire up the grill and serve hot dogs. Purchasing hot dogs and buns from your local warehouse store is almost the same investment as getting good candy.
Create a space where neighbors can sit and then sit down with them. Share a bit of life with your neighbors. Find out what sports their kids play. Ask your neighbor where she bought the beautiful flowers you noticed lining her front walk. This environment also lends itself to testimony and prayer. Share your own story of what God is doing in your life, then offer to pray with a neighbor who may share a difficult situation she is experiencing.
3. Celebrate All that Is Good
If your church is hosting a harvest party, get involved. Extra hands are always welcome. But don't just go, bring people with you. Invite your neighbors, soccer teammates, your hairdresser that has little kids, and your own kids. Pack your car with big and little people. Parents want their kids to have fun and be safe. A church party is a safe and fun environment that appeals to parents. Get flyers from your church, or make your own. Give them out in the weeks leading up to the event.
Don't close the book after the event. While you are there, introduce your guests to other church members. Tell them about programs your church has available. Then continue the conversation later. Maybe while bobbing for apples, you learn that your neighbor loves apple pie. If you are a baker, make them an apple pie (or buy one), and take it to them. Continue the relationship, continue the conversation, and continue to listen and learn about your neighbors. If your church doesn't participate, look for events at your local library or community center.
4. Give Something Good to Eat
Contrary to popular belief, trick-or-treaters do not want tracts. The name of the game on this night is treats. The gospel information in tracts is invaluable compared to a snack-size chocolate bar, but to a kid, it feels like a trick to get a piece of paper when they expect a treat. It's all about expectations. Incorporating the gospel or church information into the treat is great. We have creative friends that achieve both objectives. Our pastor lives in the high-traffic trick-or-treat neighborhood. Their family employs the greeting-on-the-porch method, but they also print out hundreds of labels with the name, address, and service time for our church to attach to each candy bar they give out. The candy is good, the personal connection occurs, the information is there, and everybody wins.
It doesn't have to be candy. Other friends of our ministry don't give out candy, but they purchase glow bracelets in bulk. This gives them two advantages: glow bracelets are cool, and they get more than half a second with each trick-or-treater while they crack the bracelets and loop them around the wrists of the children. They have time to talk and interact with each one. Some companies sell pencils, bracelets, and bouncy balls that incorporate biblical themes, at affordable prices if you plan ahead.
5. Pray for Every Costumed Child
Not everyone is comfortable or ready to chat it up with every trick-or-treater, but we can all pray. As you place candy in a little pumpkin and you see the cute painted face that God created in His image, pray over him or her. Pray protection, salvation, blessing, and direction for that child and the family represented.
Trick-or-treat night can be a great opportunity for Christians to build and grow relationships with neighbors if we are intentional about it. It can also provide a solution to the stress-inducing issue of how to involve our children in this day as families do ministry together. When I explain to my kids about getting to know our neighbors, they are all in. They dress up, and when the doorbell rings, they all bolt. Our trick-or-treaters are overwhelmed with candy, love, and conversation. There are some kids that we consistently see on that night. We know them. We have enjoyed the opportunity to watch them grow during the last two years. It's a small connection that allows us to stop and chat in the grocery store that can lead to a birthday party invitation, a mean when someone is sick, and chats about life that lead to the opportunity to share the gospel, and make a disciple.
This article is courtesy of HomeLife magazine.

Related Articles

Halloween Alternatives for Your Family
Trick-or-Treat: How Should Parents Respond
Sarah Riddle and her husband, Keith, have served with The Boston Project Ministries since 2002. They have three boys who fill their lives with thrilling adventures. Some of their favorite family activities are biking around Boston, camping, and rooting for the Red Sox.

The Cult of Culture – How to Get Out of This World

By Kenny Luck

Watch out for the world. It’s after you. It wants you in its cult following, wooing you with pleasures and power, fame and fortune, the nexus of excess. The cult of our culture provides the perfect distraction from what’s really important, and lures us with empty lusts, beliefs and religions.
It may not seem like an organized cult, but behind the apparent chaos and disorder is an enemy pulling the strings to entangle our mind, body and soul. It’s easy to overlook that we are targeted and marketed with endless desires to capture your time, energy and money. The world wants your worship, so you don’t worship the one who deserves it.
This cult of culture uses tangible ploys to steal our hearts. To get out of this world,God’s men have to acknowledge we are in a battle of unseen forces. It’s a war made of daily, even minute by minute, spiritual battles.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”—Ephesians 6:12

Which side are you on? Are you buying the ticket to the cult of culture, or do you want to get out of this world? We need to be aware of the tug-of-war being played right now. On one end is the world, and on the other is God. Guess who’s in between being tugged?
God is pulling you with grace, truth and love. He wants you to know you are loved by God himself and that there is hope, purpose and an eternal plan for you. He wants to be your heavenly father. He wants to be your friend and refuge. He wants you to be in the world, but not of the world.
In John 15:19, Jesus draws a distinct line in the sand, demonstrating the sides which are at odds.

“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”—John 15:19

You may have come across the phrase “not of this world,”perhaps the Christian apparel company (http://www.notw.com/). But what exactly does it mean that Christians are “not of this world?”
In John 18:36, Jesus says that His kingdom is “not of this world.”As His disciples we are members, or citizens, of His kingdom as it says in Philippians 3:20.
Still, as disciples of Jesus the world bombs us with millions of messages a minute that can creep into our minds to twist our sense of reality. So, how do God’s men get out of this world?
Transform Spiritually, Don’t Conform Culturally

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”—Romans 12:2

Manage Your Soul Diligently

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”Proverbs 4:23

Focus Intentionally

“Forgetting what is behind (the world) and straining toward what is ahead (citizenship in heaven), I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:12-14

Battle Spiritually

“Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.”—Deuteronomy 11:16

Worship Passionately

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”—Romans 12:1

Live Purposefully

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”—Colossians 3:17

Lock on to the Heavenly

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”—Hebrews 12:1-2

Kenny Luck

Try the 30-day Free Trial and sign up for the Every Man Ministries Newsletter. Kenny Luck, founder and president of Every Man Ministries, has a great deal of experience in leading men through their walk with God. His program, Sleeping Giant, empowers men to take the experience of a men's ministry and bring it to their own communities. Watch Kenny's teachings at EveryManMinistries.com and start your men's meetings today! Follow Every Man Ministries now on Facebook, Twitter (@everymm), and YouTube.