Worth Sharing Discussion Guide - Week 2

Welcome
Last week we talked about the reasons why it is important to share our faith with others. This week we move on to thinking about the content of our message. Despite countless examples of pushy Christians, there is a way to share your faith that is compassionate, honest, and authentic. Our hope is that this conversation can help each of us discover what this could look like for ourselves.


Opening Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for bringing our group together again. We thank you for each member you have led here and we pray that you use each one of us to help us grow. Help us to think deeply, open our hearts, and share how you are moving in us. As we consider the topic of invitation, open our hearts to the invitations you are placing in our lives. Amen.


Ice Breaker
In the spirit of sharing, recommend something to your group. A book, tv show, restaurant, or experience. What’s something you love and love telling people about?


The Head
Sharing our faith has gotten a bad reputation, in part, from showy street preachers, pushy relatives, and Facebook friends who speak only in platitudes. The Bible gives us a much different picture of how Jesus offered invitations. Our scriptures this week give us a chance to study Jesus’ approach and notice how it differs from the picture of evangelists we have become familiar with in today’s culture.

Mark 2:13-17
13 Jesus went out beside the lake again. The whole crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he continued along, he saw Levi, Alphaeus’ son, sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”Levi got up and followed him.
15 Jesus sat down to eat at Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples. Indeed, many of them had become his followers. 16 When some of the legal experts from among the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why is he eating with sinners and tax collectors?”
17 When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners.”

• Jesus ate a meal at Levi’s house. What can we learn from Jesus’ example of spending time with the people he was inviting to follow him?
• What traits of a good doctor could inform our approach to sharing our faith? 

John 1:35-46
35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”
They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?”
39 He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
40 One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ[a] ). 42 He led him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
43 The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”
46 Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?”
Philip said, “Come and see.”

• As you look at the men Jesus invites to follow in this passage, what do you notice about their relationships to each other? 
• What is absent from the invitation Jesus offers in these verses? 
• Why do you think Jesus presents such a simple invitation in these verses? 

The Heart
When we look back on the invitations to faith that have been offered to us, we might feel a mix of emotions. Gratitude, fear, and frustration could all be present, and that’s ok. Take this time to reflect on experiences you’ve had in the past, and use those experiences to inform how you can start to share your faith in a way that feels true to you.

• What kind of Christian evangelism has stood out to you in a negative way? What about their approach do you want to be sure to avoid when sharing your faith? 
• How can you shift your mindset from fear of sharing your faith, to trusting God will use your story for good? 
• What is your ‘come and see’ message? In other words, how has God showed up for you in a way that could make a difference for someone else to hear? 

The Hands
An incredible testimony is powerful. It is easy to see why stories of dramatic life change compel others to join the faith. For many of us, though, our story of faith feels unremarkable. The good news is that God isn’t asking us to tell some grand story. Instead, God is asking us to get comfortable making our faith a part of our normal conversations with the people around us.

• What specific things about your faith in God are ‘worth sharing’? 

Consider these questions prompts for aspects of your faith you could share without having to tell your whole life story:

• What is one area of your life God has made a difference in? 
• Who is someone who has made a difference in your life that you would have only met through church? 
• How has God shown up for you during a difficult season? 
• What difference does daily connection with God make for you? 
• What do you like about going to church? 

Closing Prayer
God, we thank you that someone once invited us to know you. We give you thanks for the people in our lives who saw us when we were in need, spoke honestly and compassionately about you, and guided us as we began to explore faith. Help us to look for people in that same position around us. Give us courage and grace as we invite others to ‘come and see’ how you can make a difference in their lives. Amen.

From Pastor Charity
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