“If you asked for wisdom about something and didn’t feel you got God’s wisdom, wouldn’t that cause you to doubt the next time you ask for wisdom?”
At this time, you could introduce some helpful other verses (cross references) to clarify some of the questions.
“Would someone read Mark 9:21-24. And someone else read Mark 1:40,41 Do you all see any difference in these two interactions with Jesus?”
When the 40 minute time limit is almost up, you, the leader, give a brief conclusion.
“Let me share the 2 key points I got from this little study. First, it’s a normal part of life to have problems and trials. We can respond to trials one of three ways: one, be overwhelmed by them and feel defeated when we face these situations; two, practice denial and ignore them as best we can, or three, realize that with God’s strength and wisdom, we can actually grow in faith and spiritual strength because of the trials. This is, of course, what Romans 8:28 tells us, All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. I call this the verse that everyone knows but finds hard to believe.
“And second, that we can ask God to help us understand the reason for the difficulty, or even how it’s going to be resolved, trusting that God certainly can if He is willing to do so.”
You: “Okay. Great discussion on this interesting and challenging passage. Any one have possible applications? What can we actually do to benefit from this?”
Greg: “Well, I’ve realized that even though I ask God for understanding a lot, I usually don’t really think He’s going to answer. So, I’m going to work on asking seriously, and be like the guy that said ‘Help me in my unbelief’.”
Laura: “I’m going to try to stop being mad at God about my nephew. I still don’t think I’m going to understand about the cancer, but I hate being angry at God.”
Others share.
You: Laura, would you close our time with a word of prayer?
Laura prays.
End on time. Do not go long.
Better to have people leave a little unsatisfied and wanting more, than stuffed with too much and wondering—like Jonah in the belly of the fish— “Will I ever get out of here!?”
That’s it. You can be a great leader of small group Bible studies. It is really a joy to be part of an interactive group. God’s Word is “living and active” and will give peace, victory, and power to serve to those who apply it to their lives. Just remember these three essentials:
• Use the Bible as your text
• Ask good questions & let them self-discover. Don’t tell them . . .
• Do not—I say again—do not talk too much!
Question 4
How do I share the gospel relationally?
Telling others about Jesus, many Christians think, is one of the scarier aspects of their faith. It does seem like an intimidating challenge . . . but really it’s quite easy. Like fighting Goliath: scary, but easy because the target is so big. Those without a relationship with God through Christ are all around us. It’s not at all like trying to locate the elusive Loch Ness monster. But we do have to deal with our feelings of nervousness or inadequacy.
So let’s begin with three Biblical facts:
1. People are separated from God, now and eternally, because of their sin.. . . your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. (Isaiah 59:2)
2. God has provided a way for people to be forgiven and enter into a relationship with God—Jesus Christ. But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
3. We Christians need to tell people about Christ so they can be saved. . . . And how shall they believe in Him (of) whom they have not heard? (Romans 10:14)
But there’s a problem that hinders some Christians from sharing their faith: embarrassment! We may feel embarrassed to speak about Jesus Christ to our non-believing friends, family or co-workers because it’s not “cool” or politically correct to be a person who believes in Jesus.
It may have been the same in the first century. Paul says in Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes . . .
Why does Paul say, “I am not ashamed”? He might have mentioned “I am not fearful;” or “I am not unprepared.”
Or the apostles, having been flogged for talking about Jesus . . . went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His Name. (Acts 5:41)
Or the exhortation in Hebrews 13:12,13 . . . Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate (i.e. holy place). Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp (i.e. our comfort zone), bearing His reproach (shame).
Finally, there are the words of the Lord Jesus, concerning people’s embarrassment: For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory . . . (Luke 9:26)
Having determined, therefore, to not be ashamed of Jesus and His gospel, and willing to be viewed as “one of those religious people” in the eyes of the world, we can now consider the best way to tell others about salvation through Christ.
Let’s use an illustration called The Circle of Five.
The circle represents our own sphere of relationships with those who are not Christians, perhaps friends or family members. They’re represented by the names on the left of the circle. Possibly you have a lot more non-Christian friends, but we’ll just consider the five we feel are most open to “religion,”—as they might think of this. What we can pray for is the opportunity to share about Christ, then graciously help them to move toward a decision to receive God’s offer of salvation through Christ.
So let’s assume we’re praying for, and trying to share with, the friends we see to the left of the circle above.
The three sections of this circle represent three stages (for lack of a better word) of you sharing the gospel and helping him or her come to a decision about Christ, either to accept Jesus as Savior or decide not to.
The section on the left, “Getting to share,” and the 1 Corinthians 9 reference, simply represents our prayers and efforts to share the gospel. The little “staircase” (and “HeroJohn”) you see depicts five natural steps to get to present the gospel. More about that a little later on.
The middle section, “Growing interest” describes a person’s desire to know more about God and Jesus. This is not always the case, of course. As Acts 17:32 states, . . . when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this.’ It’s the ever-present truth: some sneer; others want to know more. So after you’ve shared the gospel with your friend, you can water and cultivate the seed that’s been sown by maintaining the relationship, and keeping the conversation going. Just simple, polite questions such as “Have you had any more thoughts on that little illustration?,” or “I thought your idea about God being loving was good. Have you always seen Him that way?” We don’t want to be pushy. We just want to keep the matter on the front burner. It is the Holy Spirit who will convict and draw the person to God.
The section on the right, “Close to a decision,” means that a time will come when we sense the person knows enough, i.e. has a clear idea of God’s offer, and is at the point of making a decision about Christ. Mark 4:26–29 is an agricultural illustration that says a farmer’s