Living Faith Christian Church of Collingwood

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How to Have More, and Better, Gospel Conversations

I want to have more, and better gospel conversations. A gospel conversation is just what it sounds like, a conversation where the gospel is proclaimed. I hope these conversations happen naturally, with supernatural power.

three friends having gospel conversations

 

Because we have all had enough of conversations that feel like forced and stilted sales pitches, here are four suggestions to have more, and better, gospel conversations:

 

Four Keys To Better Gospel Conversations

  1. Pray – Sometimes the only reason we are not having more conversations about the gospel is that we are not praying about it. How then should we pray?
    • Pray for motivation – Ask God to give you the right motivation. The right motivation to have more gospel conversations is simply to love and obey Jesus.
    • Pray for more love for people – Ask God to help you love people the way He loves people.
    • Pray for specific opportunities – Ask God to grant you specific opportunities to have gospel conversations. Ask Him to help you recognize them when they occur. Ask that you will have the necessary wisdom and courage to make the most of the opportunities He gives.
  2. Ask for help – We cannot do this alone!
    • The Holy Spirit is at work in the world right now. He is drawing people to the Father and testifying about Jesus.
    • Instead of rushing out on our own and then asking the Holy Spirit to help, we should ask the Lord to show us where, how, and with whom He is already working so we can join Him on mission.
  3. Ask good questions – This allows the other person to share their heart and puts us in the position to practice listening.
    • In every conversation, I should expect to ask a minimum of 3 to 5 questions. This can be done in less than ten minutes.
    • What are good questions?
      • Tell me about your relationships with your parents growing up?
      • What was your relationship like with your siblings? What does it look like now?
      • How was your school experience? Middle school or high school or college?
      • What did you do with your free time growing up? What extracurricular were you involved in?
      • When you were growing up, what did you dream of becoming?
      • Tell me about the neighbourhood you grew up in? How did that area shape you?
      • Who were some of the most important influences in your life growing up?
      • Tell me about your kids?
      • What do you like about your job?
  4. Share your story –
    • As we listen to the answers someone gives to the questions we ask, consider elements of your story that are similar to theirs.
    • Consider sharing what brought you peace, hope, or comfort when you faced a similar challenge.

Above all, proclaim Jesus!

As we pray, ask for help, ask questions, and share our story, we are looking for opportunities to proclaim Jesus. I pray that as we practice these four steps we will discover many opportunities to have gospel conversations so that many people will hear the good news about Jesus.

What To Do In Times of Transition

What kind of people should we be in times of transition? This is our first message in our new series in the Book of Acts. Acts 1 almost seems like an unnecessary chapter. Why not go from the resurrection straight to the day of Pentecost? One reason is to show us what kind of people should we be in between times.

They had witnessed the resurrection and were obeying the command to wait for something to happen. They had experienced an amazing past and were awaiting an awesome tomorrow, but what about today?

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DNA Group Questions

DNA groups are the primary vehicle for discipleship at Living Faith. A DNA group starts with just two people of the same gender and never grows past 4. The groups are intentionally small so that everyone can be heard, and no one can hide.

The three things a DNA group does are:

  1. Discover – sharing what we are learning from the Bible,
  2. Nurture – asking one another accountability questions to keep our hearts sensitive to the Lord,
  3. Act – praying for those in our community who are not in right relationship with the Lord.

As a group forms and gets to know each other they will likely develop a particular set of accountability questions that work for them. To facilitate a group getting started we provide a set of questions as a starting point in our DNA group brochure. They are as follows:

  1. How has your anger or fear or anxiety or addiction shown up this week? How does that reveal what you’re trusting in besides God?
  2. How have you wasted time?
  3. How have you felt yourself resisting obeying God this week: in your mission to the lost? In your sacrificial love for the community?
  4. In light of God’s love toward you, do you need to reconcile with somebody? Are you subconsciously holding a grudge?
  5. How have you battled sexual or intimacy temptation and how are you preparing to deal with it next week?
  6. How has the Holy Spirit been testing and growing you this week? Did you respond in faith or grumbling?
  7. Is anything (school, work, technology, etc.) isolating you from important relationships?
  8. __________________________ (Your personalized question)

You may notice that each of the above questions is open-ended. Most of them begin with the word, “how.” This can be a great starting point for most people. We have found that some of us need more direct questions to get our hearts engaged. Here is a list of accountability questions that are more direct:

  1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
  2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate sexual thoughts about another person this week?
  3. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
  4. Have you been honoring, understanding, and generous in your important relationships this past week?
  5. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind his/her back or face-to-face?
  6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
  7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?
  8. Have you secretly wished for another’s misfortune so that you might excel?
  9. Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?
  10. Have you been completely honest with me?

Whichever list you use, remember that the goal is transparency, purity, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We are not on a fault-finding mission. We are simply wanting to help one another walk uprightly with the Lord, sensitive to His Spirit, and powerfully engaged in His mission.

Why I Believe Jesus Rose From The Dead

Jesus rose from the dead. This is not merely an article of our creed, but a historical fact. This is a very audacious claim to make and so requires some proof. In this message from Pastor Matt Bennett, drawn from Mark 16, you will hear one good reason we can trust the Scriptures’ testimony of the resurrection and 5 convincing reasons we can believe that Jesus rose from the dead.

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