(Acts 13:13-52)
This week in home group, we discussed how there is power in the simplicity of the Gospel message.
In this particular passage, Paul is given an opportunity to speak. Rather than take a moment to collect his thoughts or think of something to say, he stands immediately and begins to speak about Jesus Christ. He reminds his audience of how far God has brought them and what their future looked like without Christ. He then proceeds to explain the story of Jesus Christ and the grace and forgiveness and gift of eternal life that is now theirs because of His death and resurrection.
Following his "sermon" the people who were listening were intrigued and asked that they come back the following Sabath to tell them more about these things. The next week, nearly the entire city gathered to listen to what Paul had to say about this man named Jesus Christ. At this, the devout Jewish leaders were threatened and forced Paul and his companions to leave that region.
What's amazing about this passage is that without thinking Paul used his platform and his opportunity to proclaim the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. There were no catchy titles or a certain number of points, he simply spoke of Jesus Christ and that was enough to change an entire city!
So often as Christians we try to enhance the Gospel message. We think that we need eloquent speeches and fancy titles and three point messages to capture people's attention and present Jesus to them...in reality, Jesus speaks for Himself. There is nothing wrong with creativity and handling God's Word with care and pride, but when all else fails, just preach Jesus and that message will be effective in itself. The Gospel message is a simple but powerful one and it's time that we start trusting God to change hearts with His good news! After all, it's all about Jesus anyways, so let's ALWAYS point people to Him.
Here are some things to think about this week...
1. Take some time to think about God's redemptive story in your own life...even through generations. How far did He go to bring your family to Christ; to bring you to Christ?
2. Reflect on who you are without Christ and the drastic changes that came with letting him into your life.
CHALLENGE:
This week, take some time to write out your testimony of the power of Jesus Christ in your life. This should become your "go to" sermon, the thing you share without hesitation when given any opportunity or platform to speak. When you aren't sure what to say, start with Jesus :) There is nothing more powerful than your own personal testimony to the saving power of Jesus!
*Feel free to post any
and all questions related to our discussion tonight in the comment area below.
You can also share anything you learn while pondering the questions or engaging
in the challenge. We are so excited to encourage each other and grow even more
in our studying of God’s word throughout the week! This is a conversation! This
is Transit Continued.
I think this was a fantastic reminder! It's easy for Christians to feel the need to fluff up the story of redemption in an effort to make it "more appealing" or more "culturally relevant," when in reality, the simplicity of the Gospel is attractive and powerful to stand on its own.
ReplyDeleteIt's not wrong to employ creativity in our presentation of the Gospel (and oftentimes helpful), but our creativity must always enhance the message of Christ, never distract.
This was an awesome night. A special thanks to Rachel for presenting what God laid on her heart, I'm always amazed at the people that God has placed in my life. And a second shout out to Joshua for setting the atmosphere for our worship unto God.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I have a lot that I took notes on from this night so I'm sure there will be lots of questions or things that I throw out there.
ReplyDeleteThe first of which is: Would you say that the Gospel is simple or basic?
I know this sounds kind of nit-picky. But it seems like there is a huge difference. (At least to what I can see, I am open to other suggestions.) By definition "simple" means "easily understood". And the term "basic" means "forming an essential starting point".
I don't know if I would categorize the Gospel message as simple. Only because it isn't really easy to understand. It is complex. There is a lot of stuff involved with it. Creation. The Fall of Man. Sin. Sacrificial System. Jesus. Grace/Mercy. The Cross. Resurrection. All words or phrases which could be and have been made into their own books and theological points. And all of which can be extremely confusing and hard to understand.
No wonder we have to be awakened to understand the message of Christ by God Himself.
But I'm also not sure if I would say that the Gospel message is basic. It is foundational in the sense that you start your relationship with God with the Gospel. But everything still hinges on what Jesus did. So it cannot just be a starting point.
I'm not sure ... What are your thoughts??
I think the Gospel can potentially be both simple and basic. Those that have taught the Bible to young kids can attest, I'm sure, that they have taken the message and made it easily understandable without losing any of its essence. But the wonder of deeply studying Scripture is the discovery that it is a great paradox: it is both shockingly simple and incredibly profound.
DeleteI also think the Gospel is necessarily basic--it MUST be--but paradoxically so, again. Depending on your spiritual maturity and ability to dig into God's Word, the Gospel is both basic and tremendously advanced.. both "milk" and "meat."
I like that! Thanks for sharing that.
DeleteMan alive, I love the Gospel. Even with it's simplistically complex nuances.
Simple. Basic. Complex. Complete.
"Just think of the lengths that God took to draw you to Him." I loved this being said on Tuesday. Just reflecting on my own story, I am blown away by the leaps that God made to draw me towards Himself.
ReplyDeleteA couple things that stuck out to me in this passage were the phrases where the people wanted to hear this message. They "begged, urged, gathered to hear."
The question that I have and the question that I believe we started to discuss was, "how do we return back to this place where the world 'begs' to hear the story of Jesus?"
Thoughts?