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Asa-Ministries
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Bringing The Good News Of Jesus Christ
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Friend Day Lesson
John 1:37 - 51
Introduction
The vast majority of people
who come to Christ do so because a friend or relative invites them. It was
true with Andrew and Nathaniel and it will be true 2000 years from now,
should our Lord delay his coming. For a church to offer a friend day is a
natural way to take advantage of the most natural way the gospel spreads.
If you do a friend day, here
are a couple of suggestions. Take this opportunity to evaluate your church
from the view point of your friends who will be coming. When we have people
over, we get the house ready. This means doing everything from getting rid
of that little stack of old quarterlies and junky paper in the corner of
your class rooms to evaluating how your greet guests in the worship
service. (Survey says most guests do not like to be singled out.) It might
be a good time to replace the overhead with a LCD projector. Walk through
your building. Walk through your service. Walk through your Sunday School
to see that it is as seeker friendly as it can be.
The Bible teaches, at least by
example, that we should do this. There is a verse tucked away in 1
Corinthians that deals primarily with the subject of speaking in tongues.
There is a supplemental truth thrown along side
the primary teaching about tongues. Paul says if you are speaking in
tongues and someone walks in and there is no interpreter, he will think you
are nuts. By example Paul is teaching that every church ought to think
about how church feels to outsiders. In preparation for friend day, you
have a good opportunity to think about this.
The example of your leadership
is the key to making friend day a success. On one level it takes about a
month to prepare for a Friend Day. From another perspective it takes about
a year. We all need to cultivate friendships with outsiders. This is hard
to do in a month. Without the leadership standing before the people saying,
"I have a friend that I have invited," there is not much hope for
success. People do what they see us doing, not what we ask them to do.
Some people just don't get it.
I heard of a pastor once whose Minister of
Education planned a big friend day. They had a record turn
out, which was great. But, the pastor preached a message that went
like this: You crummy people, if you were any kind of friend of Jesus you
would come to church more than once in a blue moon. Why, some of you not
been to church in ages, and you like to hum "What a friend we have in
Jesus." What kind of friend is that? Shame on you! Some people just
don't get it.
If you plan a friend day,
preach a sermon that is roughly the message of the father pacing the floor
and seeing the prodigal come home. Run out to greet any sinner who wanders
home. Throw a party for them.
Speaking of parties, why not
plan some parties for follow up? Have each class plan a party the week
after friend day. Invite all your friends to come back to one of your group
parties. If we love them, they will come, and they will come to love our
Lord. People who are opposed to the gospel are not opposed to ice cream.
John 1:37 - 51
OPEN
- Let's begin. Each of you share
your name and who was the primary influence in you coming to this
church?
DIG
- As we read this
passage, look for examples of people inviting people to Christ.
- Peter is one of the prominent
players in the history of the early church. How did Peter come to
Christ?
- When did Andrew contact
Peter?
- "The first thing Andrew did.
. ." Is it natural and normal to tell our friends about Christ,
of is it something that we must be trained to do?
- Apparently, Andrew did not
articulate a lot of details about Christ. He simply invited Peter to
come and see for himself. Is it easier to tell people all about
Christ, or just invite them where evangelists and teachers can tell
them all about Christ?
- Is this a cop-out? Is it a cop-out
of our witnessing responsibility to just invite people to church
rather than telling them about Christ ourselves?
- What was the significance of Jesus
renaming Peter?
- Who did Phillip tell about Christ?
- Was this a normal, natural,
spontaneous thing for Phillip to do, or did he do it as a matter of
discipline and obedience?
- If we don't feel normal, natural
and spontaneous about sharing Christ, what should we do? Should we share
simply because it is the right thing to do, even if we don't feel like
it?
- What keeps us from inviting
others, like Andrew did so naturally? What holds us back?
- How did Nathaniel respond to the
news of Christ?
- How did Phillip persuade him?
- How did Nathaniel become convinced
that Jesus was something special?
- How did you become convinced that
Jesus was something special?
- Something like 80% of people who
come to Christ do so because a friend invites
them. Similarly, most of the people who come to church come because a
friend invites them. Why is word of mouth testimony so powerful?
- Do you see this dynamic at work in
other arenas? How does business use word of mouth testimony to their
advantage?
- The most powerful tool God has is
a thoroughly convinced, thoroughly happy Christian. Do you believe
this about yourself? Do you perceive yourself to be the most powerful
tool God has for bringing people Christ?
- Let's make a list of people on the
board that we could invite. First names only. Let me hear from you.
- What are some ways we might invite
them? Walk through the actual conversation. How would you contact
them? Would you call or what? What would you say?
- How does it feel to talk about
inviting friends to church? Are you nervous, excited, or what?
- What are the benefits for us in
inviting people to church and to Christ?
- What are the benefits to the
people we invite?
- What could it cost us and our
friends if we don't bother to invite?
- What experience have you had about
inviting people in the past? Who can tell us your story?
- One thing that keeps us from
inviting people to church is that we feel that we enjoy church fine,
but we are not sure outsiders will understand or relate to the things
that we do. Is there anything about the way we do church that would
make you "cringe" when you imagine inviting an outsider?
- What would you like to do about
this week's lesson? How would you learn from Andrew about inviting
people to come to Christ?
1. Alternatively, you might
ask who was the primary influence in them coming to
Christ.
2. You might "preach a
little" on the idea that we may very well invite the next Billy Graham
to church.
3. My answer is that God has
gifted different people in different ways. Do what you can and enjoy the
ride.
4. The most important thing to
do is to get happy in God. Become thoroughly obedient to Philippians 4:4.
5. Again, he just said,
"come and see." For many who are not particularly articulate,
this is the best way.
6. Fill the board with first
names of friends that we might invite to church.
7. You might pass these ideas
along to your pastor or staff in a friendly and supportive way.
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