1. Changing Lives Equipping Seminar 1 Thessalonians 2:8

2. Session Five Gospel Conversations How to Care Like Christ

3. The Soul Physician and the Spiritual Friend

4. Helping Hurting People Still Can Feel Like a Maze!

5. Need Some Directions?

7. Some Signs Are Spot On!

8. Some Signs Are More Helpful Than Others

10. We Need a Gospel Conversations GPS

11. Sharing Scripture (Gospel) and Soul “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God (Scripture), but our own lives as well (soul), because you were dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

12. “Instead, speaking the truth (truthing the gospel) in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). Living Gospel Truth in Love

13. 2 Gospel Conversation Portraits  P # 1: Understand Gospel Story/Friends Story…Journey together to Intersect God’s Eternal Story and Our Friend’s Earthly Story  P # 2: Pursuing Personal Change Centered on the Person of Christ through the Personal Ministry of the Word

14.  How would you minister to Pastor Carl in his suffering? How would you minister to Pastor Carl in his struggle against sin?  What “map” or “model” would guide you? Pastor Carl’s Story

15. Our GPS: Suffering and Sinning “Pastoral care is defective unless it can deal thoroughly both with the evils we have suffered and with the sins we have committed.”

16. Gospel Conversations for Suffering & Sanctification  Sustaining: “It’s Normal to Hurt”—Empathize (Romans 12:15)  Healing: “It’s Possible to Hope”—Encourage (Genesis 50:20)

17. Gospel Conversations for Sin & Sanctification  Reconciling: “It’s Horrible to Sin, but Wonderful to Be Forgiven”—Enlighten (Romans 5:20)  Guiding: “It’s Supernatural to Mature”—Empower (Philippians 3:10)

18. Gospel Conversations Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding

19. Gospel-Centered Comfort For Suffering & Sanctification  Comfort: Co-fortitude  Parakaletic: Called along side to help  Suffering and Sanctification: “God is good even when life is bad.”  Finding God even when we can’t find relief.

20. Sustaining  “It’s normal to hurt.”  Permission to grieve.  “Life is bad.”  The earthly story.  Gospel Foundation: The Christ of the Cross Understands Our Suffering  Gospel Focus: Sense Their Earthly Story of Despair/Empathize with and Embrace Them

21. Listen with Gospel Ears to Their Earthly Story “It was in the fall of 1879 that I met Charlotte Brooks. I have spent hours with her listening to her telling of her sad life of bondage in the cane-fields of Louisiana.” Do Not Be Ignorant of One Another’s Suffering: 2 Corinthians 1:3-8

22. Empathize Like Christ with Their Earthly Story “Poor Charlotte Brooks! I can never forget how her eyes were filled with tears when she would speak of all her children: ‘Gone, and no one to care for me!’” Climb in the Casket!

23. “Aunt Charlotte, my heart throbs with sympathy, and my eyes are filled with tears, whenever I hear you tell of the trials of yourself and others.” Compassionate Commiseration Empathize Like Christ with Their Earthly Story

24. Olaudah Equiano: Comfort Them with Christ’s Comfort in Their Earthly Story

25. Comfort Them with Christ’s Comfort in Their Earthly Story “The only comfort we had was in being in one another’s arms all that night, and bathing each other with our tears.” People Need Our Christlike Presence

26. “Are the dearest friends and relations still to be parted from each other, and thus prevented from cheering the gloom of slavery with the small comfort of being together, and mingling their sufferings and sorrows?” Shared Sorrow Is Endurable Sorrow Comfort Them with Christ’s Comfort in Their Earthly Story

27. Enter Their Earthly Story Incarnationally “Happy should I have ever esteemed myself to encounter every misery for you, and to procure your freedom by the sacrifice of my own!” Incarnational Suffering

28. Point Them to Jesus in Their Earthly Story “La, me, child! I never thought any body would care enough for me to tell of my trials and sorrows in this world! None but Jesus knows what I have passed through.” Jesus with Skin On!

29.  Trialogues Engage in Sustaining Gospel Trialogues

30.  “I’m so sorry for all that you’re going through…”  “I can only begin to imagine what you might be feeling and experiencing...”  “If it were me, I think I might be feeling _______. How does that relate to how you’re feeling?”  “Let’s look at what the Bible teaches about feeling and expressing anger and even doubt in a situation like yours…”  “Let’s explore how Paul turned to Christ and the Body of Christ for comfort in 2 Corinthians 1…”

31. Engage in Sustaining Gospel Trialogues  “Jesus wept. He cares. He collects your tears in His bottle. What would it be like for you to cry out to Christ for His comfort?”  “In the garden, Christ fully expressed His heart to His Father. What would it be like for you to do that?”  “In 2 Corinthians 1, the Apostle Paul admitted that he despaired. How do his feelings compare to yours?”  “If you penned a Psalm 13; Psalm 88; or 2 Corinthians 1, what would it sound like?”

32. Maturing As a Gospel-Centered Comforter 1.Who has sustained you by helping you sense that “it’s normal to hurt”? Who has “climbed in the casket” with you? How? How did it minister to you? 2. How could you use these 6 compass points of sustaining to empathize with and provide gospel comfort for God’s people?

34. Healing  Healing—“ It’s possible to hope.”  Encouragement to grow.  “God is good.”  The eternal/heavenly story.  Gospel Foundation: The Resurrected Christ Provides Eternal Hope in Suffering  Gospel Focus: Stretch Them to God’s Eternal Story of Hope/Encourage Them to Embrace God

35. Stretch Them to the Larger Redemptive Story  When Life Stinks, Our Perspective Shrinks.  Crop Christ Back into the Picture!  Ask: “What is God up to in this?”  Celebrate the Empty Tomb!

36. Stretch Them to Christ’s Grace Story

37. Cling to Our Image of God’s Holy Love  “They were exhorting the people, warning them to remember the judgment of God, asking them to be witnesses of the prisoners’ joy in suffering…because of Christ’s love.”

38. Stretch Them to Christ’s Grace Story  “Perpetua followed with a quick step as a true spouse of Christ, the darling of God, her brightly flashing eyes quelling the gaze of the crowd.” Cling to Our Image of Who/Whose We Are in Christ

39. Stretch Them to the Resurrection Story  “Her friends were equally sad at the thought of abandoning such a good friend to travel alone on the same road to hope.” Travel Together on the Road to Resurrection Hope

40.  “The day of their victory dawned, and with joyful countenances they marched from the prison arena as though on their way to heaven. If there was any trembling, it was from joy, not fear.” Weave in the Truth: We Are More Than Conquerors! Stretch Them to the Resurrection Story

41. Stretch Them to the Eternal Story (CFRC)  “Perpetua was singing victory Psalms as if already crushing the head of the Egyptian.” See Life with Cross Eyes

42. Stretch Them to the Scriptural Story: Engage in Healing Gospel Trialogues  “God’s timing and ours are often light years apart. What are you experiencing as you wait on God? As you hope in Christ?”  “Satan wants to use your suffering to suck the life out of you. How can you connect to Christ’s resurrection power to find new zeal for God? How can you not only survive, but thrive?”  “How could you relate Paul’s gospel perspective on his suffering in Romans 8:17-39 to your life? How could taking on his perspective alter yours?”

43. Stretch Them to the Scriptural Story: Engage in Healing Gospel Trialogues  “How could knowing the end of the story in Revelation 19 impact your life today?”  “God is all-powerful, holy, and loving. What impact do these attributes of God have on you as you face this difficult situation?”  “Like David in Psalm 27, how have you been able to worship God in the midst of this?”  “How could the eternal perspective of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 impact your response to this painful situation?”

44. Picturing Gospel Conversations

45. Maturing As a Gospel-Centered Encourager 1.Who has joined you in the healing process by helping you to sense “it’s possible to hope”? Who has “celebrated the resurrection with you” and stretched you to Christ? How? How did it minister to you? 2. How could you use these 5 healing compass points to encourage God’s people to see life from Christ’s resurrection perspective?

46. Session Six Gospel Conversations How to Care Like Christ

47. Helping Hurting People Still Can Feel Like a Maze!

48. Some Signs Are More Important for Some People

49. Some Signs Are Convicting!

50. Some Signs Are Spot On!

51. Some Signs Give Good Advice!

52. We Need a Gospel Conversations GPS

53. Gospel-Centered Care-fronting For Sin & Sanctification  Care-fronting: Nouthetic—Care-fronting out of Concern for Change (Growth)

54.  “You must be aware that you have become cold, have given your heart to idols… I am concerned about your soul. I cannot permit myself to cease praying for you and being concerned about you. For then I am convinced I would cease being the Church.” Gospel-Centered Care-fronting For Sin & Sanctification

55. Gospel-Centered Care-fronting For Sin & Sanctification  Reconciling Grace for Sin/Sanctification: Rom. 5:20  Guiding Grace for Sin/Sanctification: Titus 2:11-14  Gospel Foundation: Christ’s Grace Superabounds Over Our Sin  Gospel Focus: Shed Their Enslaving Story of Death and Expose Their Sin and Christ’s Grace

56. Reconciling  “It’s Horrible to Sin!”  In Love and Humility, Load the Conscience with Guilt  “You have fallen away from such good beginnings and become a very different person. You are sharply and severely oppressive to your subjects. God will not suffer this.”

57. Reconciling  Expose the Heart Sin by Probing Relational Patterns

58. Reconciling  Catch Them Red-handed : Hebrews 3, 4  Leave the Conviction to God: 2 Timothy 2:24-26

59. Reconciling  “It’s Wonderful to Be Forgiven:” Romans 5:20  Lighten the Conscience with Grace : 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

60. Reconciling  “You say that the sins which we commit every day offend God, and therefore we are not saints. To this I reply: Mother love is stronger than the filth and scabbiness on a child, and so the love of God toward us is stronger than the dirt that clings to us.”

61. Reconciling  Recognize the “Quadrolog” : Matthew 4  “It is the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of the gospel. If I can hold onto the distinction between law and gospel, I can say to him any and every time, that he should kiss my backside. Even if I sinned, I would say, ‘Should I deny the gospel on this account?’”

62. Reconciling  Be a Dispenser of Grace  “For who is able to express what a thing it is, when a man is assured in his heart that God neither is nor will be angry with him, but will be forever a merciful and loving Father to him for Christ’s sake? This is indeed a marvelous liberty to have the most high and sovereign Majesty so favorable to us.”

63. Reconciling  Provide Tastes of Grace  “The word of a fellow-Christian has wonderful power. The voice of brethren and fellow Christians are to be heard and believed as the word and voice of God himself, as though God was speaking to them.”

64. Reconciling  Pen Psalms of Home Coming : Engage in Reconciling Gospel Trialogues

65. Engage in Reconciling Gospel Trialogues  “What does God’s Word say concerning your current way of relating? Thinking? Choosing? Handling your feelings?”  “Could we explore James 4:1-4 to understand what might be going on in your heart?”  “How would you compare the way you are relating to me right now to how you generally relate when someone offers you feedback?”

66. Engage in Reconciling Gospel Trialogues  “Tell me about a time when you’ve experienced God’s forgiveness?”  “What role do you think Satan has been playing in tempting you to dismiss God’s gracious forgiveness?”  “We’ve just read the story of the return of the Prodigal son (Luke 15). What desires for God’s forgiveness does this stir up in your heart?”  “What would it be like for you to write a Psalm 32 or a Psalm 51?”

67. Maturing As a Gospel-Centered Ambassador of Reconciliation 1.Who has reconciled you by helping you sense “it’s horrible to sin, but wonderful to be forgiven”? Who has “dispensed Christ’s grace to heal your disgrace?” How? How did it minister to you? 2. How could you use these 9 reconciling compass points to help God’s people experience God’s conviction for their sin and receive Christ’s grace and forgiveness?

68. Guiding  Guiding—“It’s Supernatural to Mature”  Gospel Foundation: The Grace That Saves Is the Grace That Sanctifies  Gospel Focus: Strengthen Them with Christ’s Story of Life; Empower Them toward Christlike Love

69. Guiding  Envision : Who He/She Is in Christ: Eph. 1-3; 2 Tim. 1:5-7  Universal Identity

70. Maria Stewart “Many think, because your skins are tinged with a sable hue, that you are an inferior race of beings; but God does not consider you as such. He hath formed and fashioned you in his own glorious image, and hath bestowed upon you reason and strong powers of intellect.... Identity in Christ

71. Maria Stewart... He hath made you to have dominion over the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea (Genesis 1:26). He hath crowned you with glory and honor; hath made you but a little lower than the angels (Psalms 8:5).” Identity in Christ

72. Guiding  Unique Identity

73. Guiding  Empower : Be Like Christ: Ephesians 4:17-24; 2 Timothy 1:8-18  Putting Off : Mortify—Do Not Be Conformed…  Putting On : Vivify—Be Transformed…

74. Spiritual Nobility: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint “I love you as though you never hit me a lick, for the God I serve is a God of love” (Charlie).

75. Spiritual Nobility: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint “I had felt the power of God and tasted his love, and this had killed all the spirit of hate in my heart years before this happened. Whenever a man has been killed dead and made alive in Christ Jesus, he no longer feels like he did when he was a servant of the devil.... (Charlie).

76. Spiritual Nobility: From Hellcat to Heaven Saint... Sin kills dead, but the Spirit of God makes alive. I didn’t know that such a change could be made, for in my younger days I used to be a hellcat” (Charlie).

77. Guiding  Equip : To Minister for Christ: Ephesians 4:11- 16; 2 Timothy 2:1-10

78. Guiding  Enlighten : Through Christ’s Word: Romans 5- 8, 12-15

79. Engage in Guiding Gospel Trialogues  “I know you tell others about it, but for you, deep in your soul, who are you in Christ? What is unique about how God has designed you?”  “What Scriptures could we turn to in order to see your identity in Christ?”  “So, what would it look like for you to apply Ephesians 4:17-24 and to put off turning to the Internet and to put on turning to God and others when you are tempted?”

80. Engage in Guiding Gospel Trialogues  “Thinking about Ephesians 3:20-21 and 2 Timothy 1:5-7, what strengths do you have that if you surrendered them to God, you would powerfully advance His Kingdom?”  “As you leave here today, connected to Christ’s resurrection power (Eph. 3:19-23; Phil. 3:10), what will you be doing differently?”  “Imagine that over the next six months, God continues to do a mighty work in your life (Phil. 1:6). How will your life be different?”

81. Guiding  Guiding Pictured: Stir Up the Gift of God

82. Maturing As a Gospel-Centered Mentor/Discipler 1. Who has guided you by helping you sense “it’s supernatural to mature”? Who has “stirred up the gift of God” in you? How? How did it minister to you? 2. How could you use these 4 principles of guiding to empower God’s people toward growth in grace?

83. Applying Gospel Truth to My Daily Life & Ministry 1.From everything we’ve shared together, what personal application do you want to make to your life? What has stood out to you personally as especially important? 2. From everything we’ve shared together, what will you apply in your ministry to others? What has stood out to you as especially important in your one-another ministry?

84. Changing Lives Equipping Seminar 1 Thessalonians 2:8