LEAD THE WAY
Extra Sessions
DOING THE STUFF - 3

CONNECT

  • Connect through care, prayer and loving accountability for previous “I will …” statements

DISCOVER

REVIEW

Session 1

J.P. Moreland from WWJD: How Could Jesus Do Miracles? 

It never occurred to me that this belief that Jesus' miracles were done out of His deity—was false, nor did I see any problems for the life of discipleship brought about because of the belief. But false it was. And it was harmful in a subtle sort of way. I believed that most of what Jesus did in the Gospels — especially the supernatural works—were done out of His deity. Therefore, most of His actions (healings and so on) were simply irrelevant for me—a mere mortal. So I ended up with a Jesus whose teachings I followed and whose "ordinary" actions of loving the needy, praying, living a holy, sacrificial life and so forth I sought to imitate, but that was it.

I never really tried to heal someone in the authority of the Kingdom as He did, to cast out demons as He did, and to be a vehicle for the Spirit to use to speak prophetically to someone else. I really had to fiddle with John 14:12, which promises that Jesus' followers would do greater works than He because He was leaving. In truth, I didn't know what to do with it.

J.P. Moreland from How Did Jesus Train?

Jesus [however] lived and acted as a human being filled with the Holy Spirit in dependence on His Father’s leading. Throughout His incarnation, he voluntarily refrained from employing his divine nature (Philippians 2:5-11). He thereby becomes a real example for us to follow.

Session 2

The Already but Not Yet

Robby Dawkins in Do What Jesus Did, p. 206

The fullness of the Kingdom is yet to come, but there’s a level of the Kingdom we aren’t experiencing now because we’re not GOING.

So let’s GO and see just how much of the Kingdom of God we can experience!

SHOW & TELL

  • An integrated approach to evangelism—both showing and telling of God’s love (Proclamation & Demonstration / Word & Wonder)

  • Use as you go through your day or as a team on an outreach

  • NOTE: Things don’t always go as planned on paper

PRAYER > CARE > SHARE > DARE

Our mission is to Join Jesus in making disciples of those around us by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle.

PRAYER — Pray for others to encounter Jesus.
CARE — Care for others’ needs.
SHARE — Share each others’ stories and Jesus’ Story.
DARE — Dare others to be disciples of Jesus.

  • Why is Join Jesus at the center of our mission?

  • Why is the order of Prayer > Care > Share > Dare important?

  • As you read through Acts 3:1-19, where do you see the missional components of Join Jesus, Prayer, Care, Share and Dare?

Acts 3:1-19 (NLT)

1 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.

12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!

16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.

17 “Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.”

  • How did Peter and John first SHOW the Good News of Jesus’ love and then TELL the Good News of Jesus’ love?

JOIN JESUS

John 5:19-20 (NLT)

19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.”

John 20:20 (NLT)

“As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

John 15:5 (NIV)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

In the same way, Jesus did what His Father was doing, we need to do what Jesus is doing. Our mission, then, is to join Jesus in His mission. As we remain in Jesus (that is, as we connect with Him and depend on Him through faith and love), He will show us what He is doing and help us bear the fruit of a missional life.

PRAYER

Start your day and regularly pray throughout your day (especially as you transition from one activity to another or one location to another) …

“Jesus, how can I join You in mission? Give me eyes to see and ears to hear and courage to do what You show me.”

Stay attentive and be ready to follow the Lord’s leading.

You may be able to build rapport in one interaction or it may take several. Continue to connect, ask questions and show interest in the person’s life. Keep on caring for his or her needs.

CARE (Show)

1. ASK

To build rapport …

Get a conversation started with questions, like …

  • How are you doing today?

  • You seem a bit down today. What’s up?

  • Wasn’t your son struggling in school? How's he doing? How are YOU doing?

Ask a question and then listen—really listen.

To offer prayer …

Then ask some follow-up questions, like …

  • How can I pray for you?

  • Can I pray for that?

  • If God would answer one prayer for you, what would it be?

  • What could Jesus do for you to show you just how much He loves you and wants a relationship with you?

Practice active listening by repeating what the person is saying or asking you to do.

2. INVITE

Ask the Father/Jesus/Holy Spirit to come and to show His presence and love to the person you’re praying for. Let the person know that you’ll pause for a moment to just be still. This gives space and time for the person to experience God’s presence personally and for you to listen for direction from the Spirit. Be okay with a bit of silence. Your comfort will make them comfortable.

3. PRAY

Pray for what the person has requested. Pray as the Holy Spirit leads. If appropriate, lay hands on the person. Generally, keep your prayer short and sweet. And don’t preach through your prayer. Just pray.

Note that the prayers that Jesus and the early church prayed were usually quite short and direct. In fact, in many ways, they were more declarations, even commands, than prayers, such as, “In Jesus’ name, medical condition be healed” or “In Jesus’ name, demon come out.” Jesus has authorized us to use His name boldly and compassionately for His Kingdom.

Pray something like this: “Lord, thank You for Your loving presence and Your healing power. Now show _____ that You love him/her and want a relationship with him/her. I pray that You would heal _____’s knee. Knee be healed in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

4. CHECK

Check with the person by asking, “What’s happening?” or “What do you sense God is doing?” or “What is the level of your pain? Can you do something that you couldn’t do before?” or “Are you sensing any direction from the Lord?”, etc.

5. REPEAT

If need be repeat 2. INVITE, 3. PRAY and 4. CHECK seeking more of Lord’s presence, direction, healing or peace.

SHARE (Tell)

Depending on what’s happening, you have several directions to go.

  • Thank the Lord for what He has done or is doing. 

  • Transition to a Good News conversation.

“God has answered our prayer (revealed His presence to you / given direction to you, etc.) because He wants you to know just much He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.

“Can I ask you what your relationship with God is like? Do you believe in Jesus?”

  • Share your story (15 Second Testimony)

  • Share Jesus’ Story (The Good News)

“Has anyone ever shared with you the Good News of the Bible?”

“Can I show you from the Bible just how much God loves you?”

DARE

After sharing the Good News of God’s love in Jesus Christ, it’s time to challenge the person to accept God’s love and follow Jesus.

“Let me ask, What would stop you from accepting God’s love personally and following Jesus?”

  • Interact with their response. Answer their questions. Encourage them to step out in faith.

  • If they’re ready to respond in faith, here’s a prayer you could lead them to pray:

“God, thank You so much for Your love for me. And I’m so sorry for my sin against You. I now believe in Jesus and receive Your forgiveness. Help me from now on to follow Jesus and Your way of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

  • Invite them to start a discipleship relationship with you. Follow The Way Discipleship Journey will help you introduce them to the Story of the Bible and guide them to maturity as a follower of Jesus Christ. Follow The Way is based on a discipleship process that is relational, biblical and intentional.

TELL & SHOW

That’s SHOW & TELL. Sometimes the order will be TELL & SHOW. Instead of starting with SHOW (Demonstration / Wonder), you’ll start with TELL (Proclamation / Word). It goes like this …

Acts 14:3 (NLT)

The apostles stayed there [in Iconium] a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

PRAYER

“Jesus, how can I join You in mission? Give me eyes to see and ears to hear and courage to do what You show me.”

SHARE (Tell)

Share each other’s stories (including your 15 Second Testimony) and Jesus’ Story (The Good News)

CARE (Show)

"God hasn’t just shown you His love for you in the past by sending Jesus to die for your sins, God wants to show you His love for you right now. So …”

1. Ask

“How can I pray for you? What’s one thing that God could do for you that would really show His love for you?”

Work through 2. INVITE, 3. PRAY, 4. CHECK and 5. REPEAT.

DARE

“God has shown you His love for you in Jesus. Now He has shown you His love for you in answering our prayer. Let me ask, What would stop you from accepting God’s love personally and following Jesus?”

  • Interact with their response. Answer their questions. Encourage them to step out in faith.

  • If they’re ready to respond in faith, here’s a prayer you could lead them to pray:

“God, thank You so much for Your love for me. And I’m so sorry for my sin against You. I now believe in Jesus and receive Your forgiveness. Help me from now on to follow Jesus and Your way of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

  • Invite them to start a discipleship relationship with you. Once again, Follow The Way can help you with this discipleship journey.

QUESTIONS

  • What do you think of this approach to evangelism?

  • Is it too bold?

  • Does it test God? Is that a good thing or bad thing?

  • What if God doesn’t seem to “answer” your prayer? Have you damaged God’s reputation? Have you lied?

  • If the New Testament church practiced SHOW & TELL, should we?

  • Share a story of God has used you in SHOW & TELL.

LIVE / LEAD

  • What did you discover in this training session?

  • What is your “I will …” statement?

PRAY

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  • Doing the Stuff - 3