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Showing posts from October, 2012

What Do I Say?

So far, I've shared what the Gospel is , and I've given a couple of biblical mandates as to why we are to share our faith. Today, I will give some ways to share. One of the strongest reasons people - OK, I - don't share my faith is because I don't feel adequately equipped to share. What do I say? What is the "right" way? What if I screw up? This post won't be all encompassing, but I'll give you a couple of tools to use. Before I begin, I want to remind you of the Gospel. One key for sharing one's faith is to be able to share the Gospel in one paragraph. You don't need to be able to share the intricate details of the Gospel, but you need to be able to share the key points succinctly. As a reminder of what the Gospel message is, see my first post here. You Can't Argue a Testimony To be clear, a testimony is a powerfully effective tool for sharing your faith, but it's not the Gospel. The Gospel is the redeeming work of Ch

Why Share My Faith - Part II

Last time I shared how my view of evangelism changed through my understanding of I Corinthians 3:6. I also shared that I view sharing my faith as a form of worship - the overflow of gratitude to my Savior - rather than a mere duty. Before reading this post, I recommend you read that one first, as it will set the tone for this post - biblical mandates to share. Therefore Go Matthew 28:18-20 is, quite possibly, one of the most direct mandates from Christ, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." One of the last instructions Jesus left before He left earth was to go make disciples. His command was to share and baptize. This isn't a sugge

Why Share My Faith - Part I

In my last post , I shared a one paragraph definition of the Gospel. In this post and the next, I'm going to share some reasons to share your faith. Before We Begin Many times, evangelism is shared as a duty. This is certainly true, as we will see in a moment, but it's so much more than that. Like many duties of the faith, evangelism is meant to flow out of our relationship with Christ. Like praise, service, and giving of one's treasure and resources, sharing the Gospel with another should flow from a sense of worship rather than a sense of mere duty. As we contemplate all that Christ did for us, we begin to be compelled to worship out of gratefulness, and, from that attitude, we then share with unbelievers. The Road to Salvation as a Process I will be referring to this concept throughout this series. When I first started to really study evangelism, one short verse changed my entire approach and attitude. Paul, in I Corinthians 3 addresses sectarianism - divis

Preview to Sharing My Faith

If you're like me, sharing Christ with another person can be the most exciting, and most terrifying, aspect of our faith. And, if you're anything like me, all too often it feels like a duty, not a privilege. Believe you me, I relate. All too often, I've treated evangelism as a duty of the faith. This is one of those "have to" tasks. Too often I have not viewed this as the true priveledge and opportunity that it is. I will be sharing a series of posts that I pray will spur us both on to share our faith with others. Topics I will be sharing on will be: What is the Gospel? I will share this one today. Why should we share our faith and w hat is my responsibility in sharing? How can I share? What about particularly cold people and ho w do I handle common objections? I may also share a few other thoughts along the way. What is the Gospel? Before I get into other aspects of evangelism, I feel it worthwhile to pause and make sure we understand the G

Receiving the Message of Hebrews in Head and Heart

In chapter ten of his book The Enemy Within (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1998), Kris Lundgaard suggests several ways our flesh works to douse the fire of our first love for Jesus. One of his points seems particularly appropriate for those of us at Glory of Christ Fellowship as we commence our journey through the letter to the Hebrews.  The author of this great sermonic-letter was immensely learned and he writes in such a way as to cause us to think carefully and ponder deeply the person of Jesus Christ. However, it would be a grave error to think that he thinks thinking is an end in itself. Rather, his design in leading us to know more about Jesus is to lead us into a life-changing encounter with Jesus. He writes to wake us from our slumber and stun us into worship and obedience as we come to understand who Jesus is, what he's accomplished for us, and how he means to apply those accomplishments to our lives and churches.  Therefore, I thought it might be good