30 Oct Sharing Your Faith With Others
Hopefully after checking out last week’s blog you’ll have been looking at your Bible more. You may know that the first four books of the New Testament, Matthew Mark Luke and John are called the Gospels. These four books are written by the four disciples, yes you’ve guessed it, Matthew Mark Luke and John. These four men give us details of Jesus’s life when he lived on earth because they know what happened. They lived with Jesus during the final three years of his life. So what do you think the last thing was that Jesus said before going to heaven? You’d think that would be important wouldn’t you. Well the Gospels tell us.
Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples-in other words SHARE OUR FAITH so others have the opportunity to know more about Him, and are better informed about making the greatest choice of all-whether or not to follow him. A disciple you see, is a follower of Jesus.
This week’s blog therefore is to equip you more and encourage you to do just that. Sharing your faith doesn’t have to be complicated. God will help you-it’s essentially sharing your story and we all have a story to tell.
The Bible refers to our story as our TESTIMONIES. They are accounts of how Jesus has changed us, not just when we first came to know him but every day that we experience God moving in our lives. Our testimonies are incredibly powerful and it’s our responsibility to share them with those who want to listen-you will be amazed by the number of people who could be impacted by your story. You share and let God do the rest!
Below are some thoughts to help you.
T-TESTIMONY
When you share your testimony, you are sharing your faith. It’s so powerful because people can argue with you about whether or not Jesus is real, but they can’t argue against the reality of your testimony because it’s YOUR STORY.
E-EXPERIENCE
Your testimony is linked to your EXPERIENCE. When we share how Jesus has impacted our lives, we are sharing our personal experiences with others. It’s important therefore to invest in your relationship with Jesus and to depend on Him in every area of your life. Because the more you depend on Him the more He can do in your life: and that leads to a greater experience of Him and a greater testimony. How wonderful to tell people about what Jesus has done at the cross for you but also how he is moving in EVERY area of your life, not just yesterday, but today and tomorrow.
S-SHARE
Share your faith-pray for God to give you both opportunities and boldness. Your story doesn’t have to be perfect either as this teenager’s testimony on relationships shows us.
T-TIMING
Don’t be disappointed if people don’t always respond in the way you expect or hope. God has a timing. You might share that you go to a church youth group and invite a friend and they say no. But even letting them know you go to church is a testimony in itself. You never know, one day they might ask you about it more and even ask if you can pray for them. That’s happened to me loads of time.
I-INTENTIONAL
Be intentional –this is the hip hop artist’s Lacrae’s testimony.
He uses both his testimony and music to tell the world about Jesus and make disciples.
He is intentional.
M-ME
What Jesus did for me? Pray that God can give you opportunities to answer that question.
O-OBEDIENCE
No matter how we feel about it, if Jesus said it, we need to be obedient. BUT He will help us and we can start small.
N-NONSENSE
Some people’s ideas of Christianity and Jesus are a little crazy-a total nonsense. It’s up to us to bring the truth.
Y-YOUTH
As young people you are perhaps better equipped than anyone to share with your peers. Youth can make disciples of Youth!
SONG OF THE BLOG is WORLD OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW-This is a great song by Hillsong Young and Free which we played at last week’s Zoom meeting. It has very challenging but encouraging lyrics about sharing our faith.
Just to make you smile, here are some clips on how NOT TO SHARE YOUR FAITH and the DOS and DON’TS of EVANGELISM!
This week’s Team Talk on SHARING YOUR FAITH is presented by……-Lucy!
FRIDAY NIGHT YOUTH ONLINE-Our next Zoom meeting (Years 7 to Year 13) will be November 6TH at 7:30 pm. If you need more details regarding the Zoom invite contact the church office-hope to see you there! There will be more quizzes and games but now we are playing for prizes! Well chocolate…… I will do my best to deliver whilst in Lockdown. It may take some time but I promise that the chocolate won’t melt.
We’ve started a new game in Zoom Youth, the Can We Make You Laugh Challenge. Grace is up first and to get a better idea of the game, here’s a clip from Hillsong Youth on which the challenge is based. We will not be using milk though!
RELENTLESS -(Sixth form and Young Adults) The next meeting will be on November 12th. Naomi will contact the group directly.
So have another good fortnight everyone, hope school or university is going well. Remember God is with you and has plans to prosper you.
Claire and the VCC Youth Team
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