Witnessing Relating to the Lost Pieter van Leeuwen

SPRING TERM PLAN Thurs 7th Jan – Christ at the Centre: Obedience to Christ (Steve) Thurs 28th Jan – Witnessing: Relating to the Lost (Pieter) Thurs 11th Feb – Word of God: Relating to God 1 (Steve) Thurs 25th Feb – Prayer: Relating to God II (Adam) Thurs 10th Mar – Fellowship: Relating to the Body of Christ (Lydia) Thurs 17th Mar – Recapping the series / Easter Party (Steve) WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WHEEL ILLUSTRATION OVERVIEW I Purpose: To clarify the ‘motion’ of the Christian life; each part representing a key component of a vibrant Christian life… How we relate to ourselves: (Christ at the Centre & Obedience) How we relate to God: (The Word & Prayer) How we relate to one another: (Fellowship & Witnessing) WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WHEEL ILLUSTRATION OVERVIEW II The Volitional Dimension: How you relate to yourself The Hub is Christ at the Centre (2 Cor 5:17, Gal 2:20) The Rim is the Obedient Christian life (John 14:21, Rom 12:1) The Vertical Dimension: How you relate to God The Word Spoke (Joshua 1:8, 2 Tim 3:16) The Prayer Spoke (John 15:7, Phil 4:6-7) The Horizontal Dimension: How you relate to others The Witnessing Spoke (Matt 4:19, Rom 1:16) The Fellowship Spoke (Heb 10:24-25, Matt 18:20) WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WITNESSING? WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

Christ FIRST PRINCIPLES '“Come follow Me", Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of people."' Matthew 4:19 WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (1) What image or idea comes to mind when you think of witnessing and evangelism? What do you find the biggest obstacles in witnessing and evangelism? WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WITNESSING Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

PREACHING TO THE MASSES WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

DELIVERY OF A MESSAGE WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

LETS LOOK AT PAUL “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:2-6 (NIV) WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

PREACHER VS INSIDER Preacher Insider Emphasis on proclamation of the message Be the message Brief encounters/ short term Long term relationships Goal is understanding of the message and conversion Goal is making disciples (beyond conversion) Used in new area to find people closer to harvesting To go alongside the people who are where you are and could be far or close to Christ Emphasis on harvesting Emphasis on sowing WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WE ARE THE LETTER You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:33 WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

Message Messenger INSIDER DYNAMICS Time WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (2) Think about the people you have closest contact with. What can you see that God is already doing? Where do you think they might be in their journey? WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

WHY PREACH? Jesus did it. Paul did it. Peter did it. Etc... Preaching and insider can work together dynamically. E.g. Alpha, Christianity Explored, Events Week etc. Sometimes it's easier for someone else to preach WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

THE BODY OF CHRIST AS WITNESS “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."” John 13:35 What if we could get to know each other's friends? Why not pray for your friends together? WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS Start friendship with telling them who you are – pray What is your story? Do you have a hook? – pray Return their questions? How about you? How do you handle hostility? – pray Ask questions. What are the assumptions? Use grace & kindness, but also challenge them DANGER: If they are unconvinced, does this make your faith illegitimate? Boundary issue WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST

APOLOGETICS... REALLY? Simple recipe vs messy journey Obstacles to Jesus exist on multiple levels Intellectual arguments may be a defence mechanism, a desire for control over their lives, but pain, anxiety and anger underneath. Yet intellectual questions are real and important... usually. Sometimes, challenging the intellectual objections may uncover issues underneath - Pedro WITNESSING: RELATING TO THE LOST