The months of November and December continue to mark a year of travel with Jesus.
If you had told me in January that there would have been as many plane flights as 2012 has held, I would have laughed, but God tends to surprise me.
In November, I had the joy of teaching for 3 days in a Kansas City DTS (Discipleship Training School) with 20 students and around 10 staff.
The first day I spoke, a Wednesday, was on how to practically preach the Gospel. After teaching on the joy of sharing the greatest news the world has ever known for about an hour, I had the students practically apply the teaching by preaching to each other. It is a simple 60-second exercise to practice sharing our faith in Jesus as the crucified and risen Son of God.
As we began, I noticed one student without a partner who slowly approached me. Her name was Rebecca."I'm not sure I can do this," she said. Having my own bouts with fear, I understood her reluctancy and encouraged her to share a few seconds on the love of Jesus with a classmate as a warmup. She agreed.
After this 1-on-1 exercise, the class split into groups of about 5 or 6 to practice preaching while raising their voices in a proclamation style. Rebecca and a few others gave some looks of "Are you serious?" I smiled knowing the fear about to be overcome. God's love then broke out of each student in a roar of Gospel truth.
The next 20 minutes turned into some of the most joyful moments of the entire week. Why? Every one was reminded of the goodness of Jesus and what He did, every one realized they could share this with anyone, and some realized they could do something they did not think they could 20 minutes prior, including Rebecca... Also, I think Jesus likes it when we declare who He is.
As the class returned to their seats with smiles on their faces, I eagerly waited to tell them the last exercise of the day, my personal favorite. Once more the joy of breaking through fear would be challenged as I asked for a few volunteers to come preach the simple Gospel to the whole class. After some quick teaching points and encouragement, two students eagerly preached, but I knew God had one more in mind. I asked Rebecca to preach.
After a few nervous seconds, the Gospel burst forth from her heart as she declared the love of Jesus, the significance of who Jesus is and the grace available to all who desire to know Jesus for minutes! The class erupted in celebration. Rebecca had dominated fear and learned to share her faith. I knew at this point that I could not keep the students from preaching. Every single student then took 1-2 minutes to preach the Gospel with zeal. Again the joy of sharing the good news hit every one in the room.
With outreach later that night, the students went to local neighborhoods and shared the simple Gospel they had just been learning to share. Some received the salvation of Jesus, many were loved, and Jesus received glory as the Gospel was preached.
I was convinced on that Wednesday that anyone who has known the love of Jesus can share it with confidence and joy and power.
What a joy to follow Jesus!
If you had told me in January that there would have been as many plane flights as 2012 has held, I would have laughed, but God tends to surprise me.
In November, I had the joy of teaching for 3 days in a Kansas City DTS (Discipleship Training School) with 20 students and around 10 staff.
The first day I spoke, a Wednesday, was on how to practically preach the Gospel. After teaching on the joy of sharing the greatest news the world has ever known for about an hour, I had the students practically apply the teaching by preaching to each other. It is a simple 60-second exercise to practice sharing our faith in Jesus as the crucified and risen Son of God.
As we began, I noticed one student without a partner who slowly approached me. Her name was Rebecca."I'm not sure I can do this," she said. Having my own bouts with fear, I understood her reluctancy and encouraged her to share a few seconds on the love of Jesus with a classmate as a warmup. She agreed.
After this 1-on-1 exercise, the class split into groups of about 5 or 6 to practice preaching while raising their voices in a proclamation style. Rebecca and a few others gave some looks of "Are you serious?" I smiled knowing the fear about to be overcome. God's love then broke out of each student in a roar of Gospel truth.
The next 20 minutes turned into some of the most joyful moments of the entire week. Why? Every one was reminded of the goodness of Jesus and what He did, every one realized they could share this with anyone, and some realized they could do something they did not think they could 20 minutes prior, including Rebecca... Also, I think Jesus likes it when we declare who He is.
As the class returned to their seats with smiles on their faces, I eagerly waited to tell them the last exercise of the day, my personal favorite. Once more the joy of breaking through fear would be challenged as I asked for a few volunteers to come preach the simple Gospel to the whole class. After some quick teaching points and encouragement, two students eagerly preached, but I knew God had one more in mind. I asked Rebecca to preach.
After a few nervous seconds, the Gospel burst forth from her heart as she declared the love of Jesus, the significance of who Jesus is and the grace available to all who desire to know Jesus for minutes! The class erupted in celebration. Rebecca had dominated fear and learned to share her faith. I knew at this point that I could not keep the students from preaching. Every single student then took 1-2 minutes to preach the Gospel with zeal. Again the joy of sharing the good news hit every one in the room.
With outreach later that night, the students went to local neighborhoods and shared the simple Gospel they had just been learning to share. Some received the salvation of Jesus, many were loved, and Jesus received glory as the Gospel was preached.
I was convinced on that Wednesday that anyone who has known the love of Jesus can share it with confidence and joy and power.
What a joy to follow Jesus!
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