Week 4 Sermon Questions For Groups

Life On Mission: Share

Introduction:

God has called you on mission. He has a purpose for you. He is depending on you. It is a mission of life and death, literally. It is about making a difference now and for eternity. If you are not in heaven yet, God still has a purpose for you. Embrace it and engage it and make a real difference. The action step this week in life on mission is to share.

Something To Talk About:

What does it mean to live on mission? To live on mission is simply to live your life with a conscious intention of sharing the gospel with those around you. And sharing the gospel simply means talking with people about the new life and forgiveness Jesus offers.

Connecting to the unconnected:

God asked us to be His witnesses. We can’t really do that unless we open our mouths. Life on mission is about a relationship. Remember that, we talked about it over and over again. Your witness is going to be much more effective with the people that we know. The people that know us.
In Acts 8:26-40, there is the story of Philip And The Ethiopian Eunuch: An angel of God told Philip to go to a certain desert road that led to Gaza. Philip followed the angel’s instructions and found a very important man riding in a chariot. This man was from the country of Ethiopia and he was a chief official of the Queen. He was reading from an Old Testament scroll but was not able to understand it. Philip got into the chariot with the man and began explaining what it meant and all about Jesus. When the chariot passed some water, the official asked Philip to baptize him.
1. The key points from the story are: Fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to make disciples requires us to listen to the Holy Spirit and be open to his leading and guidance.
2. We can trust in God’s foreknowledge to align people, situations, and events that present us with opportunities to share the gospel with those whose hearts are ready to receive.
3. The Holy Spirit will lead us to cross borders and boundaries, and venture into new areas, in an effort to expand the Kingdom of God, grow the church, and multiply the mission.
4. No matter who you are, where you’re from, the color of your skin, or your socio-economic background, Jesus welcomes you into a radical new life through the good news of the gospel.
Peter Drucker asks us to ask these two questions, every day, to ask ourselves, what business are we in? And how’s business? We are in the witness business. Paul is very specific in Acts 20:24: “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” That’s my mission.
Jesus said “I’ll make you fishers of men. If you want to catch fish you have to go in the right season, and you have to go at the right time of the day in the season.” Timing is important. If you want to fish for people, you’re going to have to develop a sense of timing. Listen again to Paul: “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (Ephesians 5:16-21)
When you’re sharing with people, you just ask them questions and answer the best you can with what you do know. Sometimes you’ve got to say I don’t know. But there is something that you do know. You do know what Jesus did for you.

Discussion Questions:

What are your initial thoughts about this message?
What obstacles keep believers from sharing the gospel with others? What keeps you from sharing your faith more boldly than you already do?
Should my position be that “I try not to offend people?” Why or why not?
What role does timing play? Don’t launch into “the talk” if you’ve only got a limited amount of time. It’s best if you can make an investment in any questions or discussions that ensue. Don’t push the discussion if they seem resistant to it. This talk is best when they’re receptive to hearing it. It isn’t a failure if you choose to wait for a better time. Agree or disagree and why?
Is there a difference between merely presenting the gospel and aiming to persuade people to repent and believe?
” …Live an exemplary life in your neighborhood so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.” 1 Peter 2:12 (MSG) Would people wait in long lines to sign up for your life? What could you change about your lifestyle to better display your life in Christ?
What do you need to learn? “…And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:15)
If you were more active in sharing your faith, how would your immediate circles look different?
First and foremost, “success” doesn’t depend on you. The Holy Spirit takes care of changing people’s hearts; all we have to “do” is share in faith. Agree or disagree and why?
What will you change this week as a result of this message?

Take one thing home with you

It’s not difficult to be enthusiastic about sharing your faith—until you realize that those conversations don’t start themselves. At some point, sharing the gospel means that you’re going to have to start a specific sort of discussion, and that can feel incredibly awkward and intimidating.

But there’s no way around it. Hearing the gospel is an important first step in accepting it. Paul communicates this clearly in his letter to the Romans: “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” (Romans 10:17)