Week 11
Bible Reading
Daily readings from the last week:
Acts 5-11
Reflect
What stood out to you from your daily readings over the last week? Any questions?
How did you go with what you said you’d do last week?
Discuss
Have someone read the passage and use the SOAP method to explore the text:
S - Scripture (read scripture together)
O - Observe (what do we see? What does it make us think?)
A - Apply (what does this mean for my life?)
P - Pray (pray together)
Evangelism: Jesus’ call to his disciples was pretty clear. We read in the beginning of Mark that he said “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” The parable here in chapter four gives us greater clarity on what that looks like. In the parable, the farmer wasn’t responsible for whether the seed grew or not, he just scattered seed everywhere and the seed that landed on good soil grew and produced a crop. We are called to spread the message of Jesus wherever we can and to trust God will cause that seed to grow in the hearts of those who are ready to receive it.
Learn
The final part of the BLESS acronym we have been looking at over the last few weeks is S for Story. An amazing way to share about Jesus with people is to tell stories of what he has done in our own lives. It is hard to deny someone else’s experience and can be a really relatable way of sharing about Jesus with someone. In saying that, someone doesn’t necessarily want to spend half an hour hearing your entire life story. Try writing out a personal testimony of what God has done in your life that is 100 words long. You’ll be surprised how short it is. Identify an area of your life where you have experienced transformation or breakthrough and highlight the part God had to play in what happened. The point of this exercise is to help you learn to be brief as you share with others what God has done for you. When you actually get the opportunity to share with someone, make the story you share relevant to something they’ve shared with you.
Pray
Pray for each other as you look for opportunities to share your story with others
Pray about the other things that have stood out to you today.
Next Steps
What could ‘liberally spreading the gospel’ look like for you in your season of life?
Who are you going to tell about what you’ve been learning?
Daily readings for this week: Acts 12-18