HTDO- Evangelism

ICEBREAKER:

What's your favorite thing to order at your favorite restaurant?  What makes it so good?

OR

People share good news all of the time on social media (gender reveals, pregnancy announcements, new job, fun time on vacation, accomplishments of family members, etc).  A lot of these things are personal to us, but we end up sharing them with the world.  Why is it so natural for us to share good things, good experiences, and good news with others?

TRANSITION:
One definition of evangelism is, "the Public Sharing of Good News through Personal Experience."  It seems that our lives are filled with examples of evangelism in every area except in our spiritual lives.  For some reason, we don't hesitate to share about a good meal or a fun vacation that we experienced, but are very private about how Jesus has changed our lives and altered our eternity.

READ John 1:35-39

John knew who Jesus was and what he had come to do, but he wanted to make sure that his followers met Jesus instead of just relying on his story.  John wanted them to have their own faith that was personal.

1- How do you know that the faith you have is yours?  What does personal faith look like, as opposed to someone piggybacking off of their parents faith or simply being familiar with the facts/history of the Christian faith?

2- John knew that Jesus needed to be EXPERIENCED, not just EXPLAINED.  How can we invite people to "come and see" today knowing that the physical Jesus isn't walking on the face of the earth?

READ vs 40-42

3- As soon as Andrew meets Jesus, he begins to get other people to Jesus.  What are some ways that you can help get people to Jesus?  (Try to think beyond the traditional ways of sharing the Gospel with someone, as there are so many different approaches to impacting people with the Gospel)

4- There would have been so many good reasons that Jesus could have used to justify not stopping to talk to Peter, but Jesus saw something in Peter that even Peter couldn't see about himself.  What are the excuses that we often give for not talking to people about what Jesus has done in our lives?

READ vs 43-46
(this section might sting a little bit)

Think about the stuff you see on social media everyday.  We assume A LOT about other people.
a. we assume people want to see pictures of our pets
b. we assume people want to see pictures of what we cook and eat at meals
c. we assume people want to know our opinion about politics
d. we assume people want to know when our kids reach a milestone or receive an accolade
e. we assume people want to know if a product that we use is good or that it's on sale
f. we assume people want to see what we look like on a daily basis (selfies, anyone??)

5- Yet, when it comes to God's promise to change people's lives through His Son Jesus, we mostly assume that no one would be interested in that.  When it comes to evangelism, why do we assume that most people aren't interested?

6- We only share if we're asked about it, and even then we're very careful not to go too far or come on too strong.  But that thought never crosses our minds around the subjects listed above. Why?

7- What would it look like to assume that everyone you talked to was interested in what Jesus could do for them?  How would that change your interaction with others?

READ vs 47-49

Have you ever shared your faith with someone and they didn't give their life to Jesus?  Have you been doing a steady drip of faithful evangelism for a long time with one of your co-workers/family members only to see no results?  That can be extremely frustrating and discouraging.  It oftentimes makes people give up on sharing their faith.

But remember: God calls us to plant the seeds and water the seeds.  God is then responsible for the results, not you.

8- What do you think it looks like to plant Gospel seeds and water Gospel seeds that others have planted?

READ 50-51

Jesus knew that everyone he ever came into contact with would spend eternity in one of two places: Heaven or hell.  That realization gave Jesus a burden that shaped his entire ministry.

9- What's the biggest burden in your life right now?  How does it shape how you spend your time, your money, and what you think about and focus on?

10- What does it look like to have a burden for non-Christians?  How would that shape your time, your money, and what you think about and focus on?

NEXT STEPS:

11- Because Jesus miraculously saw Nathanael in verse 48, Nathanael confessed his belief in Jesus. Who are you praying for Jesus to do a miracle in their life, so that they might believe in Him? Take time to pray as a group for the people mentioned and for yourself that Jesus would open your eyes to see how you can be bold in sharing with that person. Maybe even write down their names and pray during the week as well. 

12- Commit as a group to read Acts 4:23-31 and pray the prayer that the first believers prayed in verses 24-30 every day this next week. Hopefully, your group can report back next week how they saw the Holy Spirit fill them with boldness.