Sharing the Greatest News

Introduction:
Would you like to hear either of the following news items?
1. You just won $50,000,000 in the lottery!
2. You are on the 5th floor of an office building and the 1st floor is engulfed in flames!
I think you would be very interested in hearing either item of news. In fact, you would be
very upset if nobody gave you either piece of information. And you should be upset as both
would affect your life tremendously.
The Bible contains information even more important than news item #1 above. In Christ, we
are children of the most High God! Our inheritance is literally beyond this world. Fifty million
dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to what Jesus has given and is preparing for us. We
cannot even imagine what God has in store for us in Heaven.
News item #2 is frightening, and Gods Word shares that there are even worse consequences
for people who choose to live a life separate from Gods love. People who choose not to accept
Gods gift of salvation and grace will be eternally separated from His awesome love, which is
Hell. The sad news is many people think theyre good enough to get to Heaven or that their good
works will get them there. They dont know the truth about what God says. Theyve probably
heard of Hell, but theyve never heard the truth about their situation. And they wont know
unless we tell them. How do we tell others about this situation, and what if they dont believe us?

Discussion Ideas:
1. How do we reach out to others with the Gospel?
2. When my daughter was four years old she told me, Daddy, we need to go tell other
people about Jesus so that they can be really happy. Then they will want to tell others
about Jesus. Is it that simple? Should it be? Why do we lose the excitement of telling
others about Jesus? What can we do to keep from losing our excitement?
3. What is a testimony and how/when should we give ours?
4. What would be good things to include in a testimony?
5. What does Gods Word say about evangelism?

Truths that Transform:

1. Disciple-making is a form of evangelism.
When we seriously disciple others, we will see lives change and find that the ripple effect
will bring more and more people to the Lord. Evangelism will come naturally as we pour our
lives into the people around us.

2. Guidelines for writing/sharing your testimony:

a. Share paraphrases of scripture as they are appropriate and dont give verse references
(unless appropriate) so that you are more conversational.
b. Share your story.
c. Dont make it too long.
d. Be honest and real.
e. Give practical, real-life illustrations.
f. Show your need for a Savior.
g. Tell what a difference Jesus has made in your life.
h. Give an opportunity for them to know Jesus too.
Think about questions or reasons they might have for not following Jesus:
a. Im not good enough.
b. I believe you can get to God a number of ways.
c. Im a pretty good person. Ill make it to Heaven without Jesus.
d. Others
3. The Gospel is powerful.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of
everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
The exciting thing about this verse is that the Hebrew translation of salvation means salvation
in every area of life. Jesus came, not only to get us into the Kingdom, but to bring restoration to
our livesphysically, socially, mentally, economically, etc. Jesus cares about every area of our
lives.
4. Take advantage of every opportunity.
If we dont tell others about Jesus, well lose opportunities to impact people for eternity. If an
opportunity is missed, dont beat yourself over the head, because you cant mess up Gods plans.
But remember that He will give you other opportunities that will bless you as well as your
listeners.
Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of
every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).
5. Follow Jesus example.
He gave His life for sinners. Committing your life to sharing the message of salvation in this
world takes guts. Youll find others who ridicule you for the stand you take and youll find all
kinds of pressures and time constraints that Satan will use to try to make you less effective. Stand
firm in Gods strength as you commit yourself to a life of witnessing and investing in others.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you
may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:13-15).
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve
it (Luke 17:33).
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John
15:13).
6. Pray for an unbelievers blinders to be removed.
Its not always easy to share our faith because some people arent interested in the Word. Its
because Satan has blinded them. Ask God to open the eyes of their hearts and minds to His truth.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see
the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2
Corinthians 4:4).

7. The Romans Way.

Below are great verses to use when you communicate the Gospel. Committing these verses to
memory and praying for opportunities to share your faith will help you as you witness.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord (Romans 6:23).
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that
you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are
saved (Romans 10:9-10).
for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans
10:13).

Express It and Live It!

1. Practice sharing your testimony with others from time to time to keep it fresh. Remember
that as you grow in your walk with God, your testimony will also grow which is an
exciting part of the journey.
2. Write a letter sharing your faith with a friend who is not a Christian. Share the Gospel in a
way that opens their heart to Gods love. I am inserting a sample letter below that I wrote
to a couple of friends recently to share the Gospel. It is good to follow-up on what you
write.
Dear Joe and Belinda,
It has been a joy to have you in our home. We will pray for you as you go on your
way to be a blessing to many more families and children. I woke up this morning having
a desire to share with you what we believe because our walk with God is the most
important thing in our lives. You had shared how many people in your country go to
church but it doesnt affect how they live. I am concerned that many people may be going
through the motions of a religion rather than having a living relationship with an
awesome God.
Christianity has gotten a bad reputation in the world as a list of dos and donts,
but in reality, God wants to bless us in every area of our lives as we enter relationship
with the Creator of this universe.

I am going to share with you what we believethat we have learned from Gods
Word, the Biblewhich has changed our lives:
God is real and He loves us more than we can understand. He created us to be in
relationship with Him. In the beginning, God gave people a choice to follow Him or not.
Sin came into the world because we chose not to follow Him. Each day, even though I do
a lot of good things, my independent self wants to do my own thing and I dont always
honor God.
Here is the problem. God is a God of justice and holiness. He hates sin even though
He loves me. I cannot be in true relationship with God because of sin in my life, unless
that sin is forgivenjust like if I hurt Sheila, our relationship hurts until we find
forgiveness. I will never enter Heaven unless my sin problem is taken care of. So what do
I do? That is why God came to earth as Jesus. It is so amazing! He took my punishment.
He died and suffered the pain of Hell for me so that my sins could be washed away. All I
need to do is realize that I need His Gift, that I am a sinner, I need to ask God to forgive
me and come into my life to be my Lord and Master. (In other words, I need to step out of
the control seat.)
God loved me so much that He gave His life for me! Even when I mess up, I thank
God that He has forgiven me and I can live in freedom. All of my sins, present, past and
future have been forgiven because of Jesus blood shed for me. Now my role is to live
joyfully before Him and to share this message of hope with others. If you dont have a
personal walk with God, talk to Him about it. Ask Him to show you if He is real and to
show you His plan for you. Let Him be the Master of your lifeHe has great plans for
each of us. Below are some key Bible verses that share the Good News that God has for
us. (Insert the Romans Way verses from this lesson after the next paragraph.)
Our time on this earth is pretty short and then what? God has a beautiful plan for us
here on Earth and after we die. In the meantime, we get to share Gods message of hope
with a world that is hurting. If you want to learn more, let me know. I will give you a call
to see if you have any questions.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
May God bless you as you seek Him!
Blessings!
Brian

Review:
1. How would you explain the way of salvation to a friend who doesnt understand
Christianity?