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INTO YOUR FIELD

Term 1 2016Growth Group Studies

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“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

I find myself captivated by these words of Jesus in John 4. They speak powerfully to me.

They challenge the perception I have of my relationships and my community. They cause me to see people differently, pray more passionately and invest more deeply.

I have a ‘field’ and so do you. Chances are our fields are quite different. You have relationships with people I have no ready access to, and equally I have relationships with people who would be complete strangers to you.

Whilst our fields are different, the call of Jesus is the same:

open your eyes and look at the fields (be aware of them - really SEE them) - John 4:35

go out into your field and make disciples (don’t leave it at ‘spectating’ the fields, GO into them) - Matthew 28:19-20

In our opening series for the year I want to explore what it means to go into your field. I’m praying that God will help us to really SEE our fields and that He’ll empower/equip us to go into them like never before.

I believe that this series (in fact this whole year) will stretch us as a church. Changing how we see our field is not an easy thing. Equally, finding the courage to go into these fields with a missional mindset is also countercultural activity.

But I do believe it’s not only vitally important, it’s also one of the most exciting and fulfilling things you’ll ever do! There is nothing that inspires me more than discipling others. There is something deeply soul-nourishing when you’re used by God to lead someone to Jesus and help them grow in Him. It doesn’t get any better than that!

I’m believing great things for NVBC this year. So together let’s see and go … into your field!

Every blessing,

Pastor Craig.

INTRODUCTION

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STUDY 1 Open Your Eyes!

RECAP: Looking back at last Sunday’s message, what were the main themes that stood out to you? What questions did it raise? What was God saying to you through this time?

DISCUSSION: In 1987, Aussie rock legends Hunters & Collectors released a single called Do You See What I See? The opening lines of song say: “I spy your humble home, I see the tea towels fly. In a blinding flash I see the years go by, memories twisted around.” Whilst reflecting on the brevity of our existence and relationships, the band continually challenges the listener’s perspective, calling us to reconsider what we’re doing with our lives - “Do you see what I see?”

It seems that Jesus could well have sung that line too. Regularly we see Jesus challenging the perceptions of those around Him - particularly the twelve disciples. Like each of us, they simply didn’t ‘see’ the world like He did or value the things He valued.

This is perhaps nowhere better seen than in John 4. Ask one member of the group to read John 4:1-26. Jesus and the disciples travel through hostile territory - Samaria. As the map to the right indicates, most Jews would avoid Samaria like the plague. They’d normally rather cross the Jordan river twice than venture through Samaria. Here’s the reason why …

After the reign of King Solomon, Israel divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom, called Israel, established its capital first at Shechem, a revered site in Jewish history, and later at the hilltop city of Samaria.

In 722 B.C. Assyria conquered Israel and took most of its people into captivity. The invaders then brought in Gentile colonists “from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim” (2 Kings 17:24) to resettle the land. Intermarriages also took place (Ezra 9:1-10:44; Neh. 13:23-28 ).

Week starting Monday February 8th By Pastor Craig Corkill

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The foreigners brought with them their pagan idols, which the remaining Jews began to worship alongside the God of Israel (2 Kings 17:29-41).

Meanwhile, the southern kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon in 600 B.C. Its people, too, were carried off into captivity. But 70 years later, a remnant was permitted to return and rebuild Jerusalem. The people who now inhabited the former northern kingdom—the Samaritans—vigorously opposed the repatriation and tried to undermine the attempt to reestablish the nation.

For their part, the full-blooded, monotheistic Jews detested the mixed marriages and worship of their northern cousins. So walls of bitterness were erected on both sides and did nothing but harden for the next 550 years.

So when Jesus decides to travel north through Samaria, you can begin to understand the trouble this caused the twelve disciples. They’d been raised as ‘Samaritan-haters’, and now they were journeying into the ‘belly-of-the-beast’!

What we’ll begin to notice in John 4 is that it’s almost as though Jesus and His disciples saw this situation through entirely different lenses.

Lens 1: Fear/Danger vs Grace/Possibility

It was noon (v.6), and all twelve of the disciples go into the town to buy food (v.8). In most groups, a few members of the group will go off to buy lunch. You only bring EVERYONE if there is fear (eg. fear/uncertainty of what sort of food is on offer, fear of how you’ll be received, etc) or a perceived danger. Equally in verse 9 we read that the Samaritan woman is shocked/perplexed when Jesus actually spoke with her and asked her for a drink (“for Jews do not associate with Samaritans”). It seems that both the disciples and the woman viewed this situation through a lens of fear/danger.

By comparison Jesus is quite happy to be by Himself at the well. He is not afraid to drink from a Samaritan cup (an alternate translation of the explanation in verse 9), and He’s more than happy to speak with the Samaritan woman. Instead of the lens of fear/danger, Jesus’ lens is one of grace/possibility - this is chance to extend God’s grace to someone made in His image. This is a chance to make disciples amongst a different cultural group. This is a chance for God’s Kingdom to come to those whom the world considers ‘unlikely’!

Read 1 John 4:18. As you consider your relationships with those who are not yet followers of Jesus, through what lens do you look? Does the lens change when you consider different people/groups? Why?

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Lens 2: Barriers vs Importance

Ask one member of the group to read John 4:27-42.

Author Warren Wiersbe writes:

“No doubt the disciples had said, as they approached the city of Sychar, “There can be no harvest here! These people despise us Jews and would have no use for our message.” But just the opposite was true: the harvest was ready and only needed faithful workers to claim it. For some reason, when it comes to witnessing for Christ, it is always ‘the wrong time’ and ‘the wrong place’!”

What barriers to the gospel appear to be uppermost in the minds of the disciples (see verse 27 also)?

What barriers to the gospel are uppermost in your mind when considering sharing your faith? Why do you believe those barriers are there?

Jesus makes some unusual statements in verses 32 and 34. What does He mean when He says “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work”? What does this tell you about Jesus’ priorities?

Lens 3: My Story vs Their Story

The disciples were well aware of the history of this region and the enmity that existed between Jews and Samaritans. The story the disciples had been raised with essentially said “Samaritans are bad, we are good. Don’t go near Samaritans.” The disciple’s ‘story’ left little room to actually ‘hear’ the Samaritan’s story.

Jesus alludes to a work God was ALREADY doing amongst the Samaritans (see v.38). Some theologians believe that it may have been John the Baptist, or some of his followers who had prepared the way (John 3:23 refers to John baptising at Aenon, which is close to Sychar). Regardless of who God used, the bottom line is that God was at work amongst these Samaritans - their story was one of God’s work of grace. The harvest was ready!

Equally when Jesus speaks with the woman, much of His conversation centres around engaging with the woman’s story.

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God is already at work in the lives of your family, friends and colleagues. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has “set eternity in the human heart” - His Spirit is already at work! He simply calls you to partner with Him in making disciples.

What are some practical steps you could take to listen to those whom you’d love to see become disciples of Jesus?

Transformation, Not Just Information What is ONE thing you are going to apply from this study THIS WEEK? Share this with one other member of your group and follow up with one another next week to see what that experience was like for you.

Prayer: Group Focused Pray for the needs and current prayer requests of the people in your group.

Church Focused Pray for the following leaders of NVBC:

• Elders• Pastors & Staff• Church Board

World Focused BOOLARNG: [Purfleet Community – Taree] Praise God for the children whose lives were touched during the January Boolarng program. Pray that those who are starting out on their faith journey will become firmly embedded in Jesus. Pray that those who are continuing in their walk will shine like lights in the darkness.

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DISCUSSION: I didn’t go to scouts growing up. I’ve never backpacked around Europe. I struggle to pitch a tent. I was given a Bear Grylls multi-tool as a secret santa present last year - but I don’t even know what all the tools are! I’m clearly a part of a generation reliant on Google Maps, creature comforts and readily accessible places to charge my phone (so Siri can advise me if I get stuck in a tight situation). When it comes to going on a journey, ‘being prepared’ means something vastly different in my mind than what it might if I was a fire-starting, knot-tying, physically resourceful kind of guy.

In Luke 10 Jesus sends 72 disciples on a journey “to all the towns and places he planned to visit”. He gave them some instructions…but at first glance they seem very strange. Things like: ‘Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals.’ (What are these disciples going to do if their sandals get damaged? Or if they don’t suit the dress code of all the social gatherings they attend??)

When Jesus sends his disciples ‘into the neighbourhood’ he sends them with something better than a Bear Grylls multi-tool. He sends them with a clear reminder of who God is and who they are.

St Francis of Assisi apparently spent years praying two simple questions: ‘O God who are you? O God who am I?’ Arguably, it was a developed understanding of these two concepts that enabled St Francis to be so effective in bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God. Have you ever prayed these questions?

The more we understand and apply the teachings of Jesus in this passage, and the more we understand both God’s role and our role in proclaiming the Kingdom, the better equipped we will be to go forth into our neighbourhoods together, ‘prepared’ with a message of hope and life.

RECAP: Looking back at last Sunday’s message, what were the main themes that stood out to you? What questions did it raise? What was God saying to you through this time?

STUDY 2 Neighbourhoods For Christ

Week starting Monday February 15th By Pastor Will Small

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Going IN Community TO Community

The work of discipleship is done in community. Jesus sent 72 disciples out in pairs. He sent them into the local community, within the framework of a community. Within our larger community, we are sent out with the fellow disciples around us, to go into our context with the message Jesus has given us. As you go through this study, consider the larger church community going through this material, and how the smaller group you are meeting with is an important part of that.

Who God is (the sender) and Who You are (the sent ones): Read through Luke 10 as a group. Then re-read verse 1 to verse 7.

What do these verses tell you about who God is? What do they tell us about who the disciples are?

Some things to consider/discuss:

- Jesus highlights that God sends the workers into his fields and he is in charge of the harvest (verse 2). God’s fields. God’s harvest. God’s sending.

- Disciples are the ones sent into the fields - and are also instructed to pray for God to send more workers.

- God provides what is necessary for the work, as it is being done and not in advance (verse 4-7). Why might this be?

- Disciples are lambs…amongst wolves (verse 3)….who can walk among snakes and scorpions (verse 19)? How should we think about ourselves in this dangerous sounding zoo? Is this a message that should make us feel empowered? Cautious? Spend some time discussing the ‘posture’ we should go into our community with as followers of Christ. What are the different things we need to balance?

The Kingdom and the Neighbourhood

Read through verses 8-11

Jesus’ message about the Kingdom is consistent - both in places where it is welcome and places where it is not. Yet, how it is received, and how it should be delivered will vary.

Have you had experiences of the message being welcomed in your ‘neighbourhoods’? What about rejected?

It appears as though a part of Jesus’ strategy for proclaiming the Kingdom involves telling everyone first, and then focusing on those that have received it positively (rather than continuing to try and convince people who aren’t ready yet). Have you ever thought about this before? How can we continue to live the consistent message in all places we go - ‘The Kingdom of God is near’ - while looking intentionally for ‘people of peace’ and places that are open to receiving the message?

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Why (and Why Not) to Rejoice.

Read verses 17-24 again.

Here we see Jesus once again bringing his disciples back to an understanding of their identity. The disciples get pumped because they’ve been kicking out demons. Jesus reminds them that no amount of demon-kicking-out can compare to the true joy of simply being welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ prayer and statement at the end of the passage further imply that simply being with Christ is far greater than any of the experiences had by the prophets and kings (in other words, intimacy with Jesus = greater than miracles and power!).

The gifts the Spirit has given us as disciples to proclaim the Kingdom are exciting - spiritual authority for seeing people healed, released and provided for in tangible ways. It can be easy to seek the 'spiritual highs’ of seeing the tangible work of the Spirit - and forget that these works are foretastes of and signposts towards the Kingdom itself. Frequently after Jesus performed miraculous signs, people seemed to ‘miss the greater point’.

Do you have any personal experience of this you can share with the group?

How can we seek the work of the Spirit, and grow in our areas of spiritual gifting while keeping our focus on the joy of being a part of the Kingdom?

Spend some time reflecting on and celebrating what it means to be in restored relationship with God. Pray that this week as you go ‘out into the field’, you can do so with your identity planted in who God is and who you are.

Challenge yourselves as a group to pray the simple prayer each day this week: ‘O God, who are you? O God, who am I?’

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Transformation, Not Just Information What is ONE thing you are going to apply from this study THIS WEEK? Share this with one other member of your group and follow up with one another next week to see what that experience was like for you.

Prayer: Group Focused Pray for each member of the group that they will increasingly get planted in deep & genuine relationships through actively sharing in our common mission/Vision.

Church Focused Pray for:

those who have joined us recently at NVBC, that they will connect purposefully with our Vision and relationally with those who have been here some years.those who have been a part of NVBC for quite some time, that they will continue to passionately serve the common cause and grow in their sense of connection with their brothers & sisters at NVBC

World Focused ZOE MINISTRY SCHOOL: [Thailand] During the course of their two years at ZMS, students receive 960 hours of Bible training. This qualifies them to serve as a Pastor or Senior Ministry Leader in Thailand. Pray for the current students will be learning to walk by faith as they grow in their knowledge of God.

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DISCUSSION: Parties often can be powerful. They can cause immense stress for those planning them, they can cause excitement, they can cause fear of being in new environments or with unknown people, there are all sorts of things that parties can cause.

When Mel and I were planning our wedding, which is essentially just a really expensive party, we had particular anxiousness around Mel’s Grandma’s. They had refused to talk to each other in years and were certainly far from being on agreeable terms to be in the same room at the same time! Every family event previously had to be done twice; two family christmas’s, two birthday dinners, two farewell dinners - everything!

Seemingly miraculously, the two Grandma’s reconciled because of our wedding, and the event brought the two together to sit at the same table for the first time in years. That’s the power of a party!

Invite someone in your group to read John 5:27-32

What stands out to you from this passage?

Levi (who Jesus later calls Matthew), had an encounter with Jesus. Matthew’s life was forever changed; he left everything, and from that day forward he began to follow Jesus.

After he began following Jesus, Matthew invited people that he knew from work and other areas of life, and threw a party! He invited people that he had built relationships with to come and encounter this same Jesus that he had encountered.

RECAP: Looking back at last Sunday’s message, what were the main themes that stood out to you? What questions did it raise? What was God saying to you through this time?

STUDY 3 The Power Of A Party

Week starting Monday February 22nd By Pastor Benj Gould

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We've been discovering that we all have a 'field'. In most cases, we all have multiple fields. Fields in which God has called us to prepare (pray and build relationships), sow (spread the message of Jesus in word, deed and sign) and to grow.

Mathew seemingly identifies pretty quickly that one of his fields, is that of his work mates. The tax collectors that he worked alongside. He had obviously been building relationships, and created a relational space for his workmates meet Jesus.

What does your 'field' at work look like? Who does it have in it?

Most likely, everyone's work field in your group will look differently. That's ok, in fact, that's great! It means that we have all been called to different environments, and to different people!

What does your work field look like? Who are the people that you interact with?

Can you identify whether your field needs to be prepared, needs to be sown, or needs to be grown? What might you do differently for each step of that process?

In the book ‘Becoming A Contagious Christian’, Bill Hybels and Mark Mittleberg point out that there are many styles of evangelism. As a group discuss the following six styles of evangelism.

1. Direct Style

Biblical Example: Peter in Acts 2

Characteristics: Bold, confident, assertive, straight to the point.

2. Intellectual Style

Biblical Example: Paul in Acts 17

Characteristics: Inquisitive, analytical, logical

3. Testimonial Style

Biblical Example: The blind man in John 9

Characteristics: Story telling, personal accounts of what Jesus has done in your life.

4. Interpersonal Style

Biblical Example: Matthew inviting him workmates to a party in like 5 (as above)

Characteristics: Conversational, relational, friendship orientated.

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Transformation, Not Just information

What is ONE thing you are going to apply from this study THIS WEEK? Share this with one other member of your group and follow up with one another next week to see what that experience was like for you.

5. Invitational Style

Biblical Example: Andrew in John 1:35-51

Characteristics: Relational, persuasive, inviting someone to church etc

5. Serving Style

Biblical Example: Dorcas in Acts 9:36

Characteristics: Others centred, patient, caring.

Which of these most resonate with you? Why?

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Prayer: Group Focused Pray for each member of the group that they will increasingly get planted in deep & genuine relationships through actively sharing in our common mission/Vision.

Church Focused Pray for NVBC as we move ‘into our field’, that the Holy Spirit will go ahead of us and prepare the hearts of people.

World Focused PETINA ABBOTT: [GiA – Thailand] Petina has now completed two years of language and culture study. Pray for the relationships she has formed in the community and for wisdom and guidance as she seeks out further ministry opportunities.

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RECAP: Looking back at last Sunday’s message, what were the main themes that stood out to you? What questions did it raise? What was God saying to you through this time?

DISCUSSION: Mother Theresa is quoted as once saying: “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”

Not a bad suggestion given that sometimes our families are not known for peace.

Your family gets to see you ‘warts and all’ each day. Before you’ve been able to put on the veneer of looking like you ‘have it all together’, your family has seen the real you.

Perhaps this is why for some of us, our family can be the greatest challenge when considering going ‘into your field’.

Yet even with these perceived barriers, one of the first example of someone going ‘into your field’ in John’s gospel occurs within the context of family. Over the coming weeks we will explore other parts of your field - you friends, your workplace, your community. Yet the starting place in John’s gospel is family, because family matters.

Invite someone in your group to read John 1:35-42.

What questions does this passage cause you to ask? What things do you immediately notice?

STUDY 4 Family Matters

Week starting Monday February 29th By Pastor Craig Corkill

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A Special Note To NVBC Leaders From Pastor Craig …

Fellow leaders of NVBC, I want you to see something VERY significant in John 1:35-37. Before we consider family as part of our field, I want you to note that the passage begins with John the Baptist and two of his followers - Andrew (1:40) and probably John (the author of this gospel).

With a mindset of humility, John the Baptist’s goal was to point people to Jesus, even when it came at a cost to himself personally (in this case ‘losing’ two of his disciples to Jesus). I love what J. Oswald Sanders writes in his classic Spiritual Leadership …

In the early days of his ministry, one might have concluded that the greatness of John the Baptist lay in his fierce denunciation of the evils of his day, in the burning eloquence and blistering words that pierced and exposed the hearts of his contemporaries. But the secret that made him the ‘greatest of those borne of women’ is to be found in his unconscious but infinitely revealing affirmation: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). In that one sentence his spiritual stature is revealed.

John the Baptist’s goal was never to build his own ‘ministry empire’, rather he chose the path of humility and invited people encounter Jesus. What a BRILLIANT example of leadership!

Similarly our goal as leaders is, with an attitude of humility, point people to Jesus, not to ourselves. I want to challenge you, as I challenge myself, are we as leaders doing this in the sphere of influence God has given to us?

Are you wanting to move into the field of your family? Are you wanting your kids, spouse, parents, in-laws to know Jesus? Then these few verses contain some vital principles to see that become a reality.

Principle #1 - You Can’t Give What You Don’t Have

The initial interaction between Jesus, Andrew and John is important. Jesus initially asks them “What do you want?” or perhaps more accurately “What are you seeking?”.

The response of Andrew and John is: “Rabbi, where are you staying?” This could either mean “If you’re busy now, we can visit later”, or it could be a request for Jesus to take them on as disciples (particularly given that in this era, disciples lived with, ate with and travelled with their rabbi). Either way, we read that before Andrew and John seek out anyone else, they spend time with Jesus (all day in fact).

The principle here is that you can’t invite people to become a disciple of Jesus if you’re not one yourself. Does this mean you need to be ‘perfect’ or have reached some arbitrary level of spirituality before you go into your field?

Not at all. It simply means that at a fundamental level a disciple is one who is with their rabbi/leader. Perhaps for some of us, the best thing we could do to see our family come to know Jesus is to spend time with Him … to become like Him … to hear His heart for our family.

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As a group discuss this principle. What disciplines (the same root word as ‘disciple’) do you have in place that help you practice the presence of Jesus? What keeps you from being with Jesus? Why? What is one discipline you'd like to experiment with this week? When are you going to do that?

Principle #2 - ‘Go and tell’, ‘Come and see’

Re-read verses 40-41. What was the first thing Andrew did after spending the day with Jesus?

Andrew was not content to keep this good news about Messiah to himself. Rather, his conviction was to go and tell his brother Simon. Presumably Simon was going about his normal day as a fisherman when Andrew approached him, which highlights one of the keys to making disciples - "go to where they are".

In a few moments time we'll consider 'come and see', which is often expressed as an invitation to a space/event where people can encounter Jesus. Yet ‘come and see' is rarely effective if we first haven't entered into the world of our family member to be with them.

When you consider family members who are not currently disciples of Jesus, what would it look like to enter their world more fully? What activities/interests do they have which you could connect with?

In addition to ‘going and telling’, Andrew also invites Simon to ‘come and see’ Jesus. Andrew’s desire is that his brother would encounter Jesus just as he had. In our context, an offer to ‘come and see’ will look a bit different to Andrew’s invitation (given that Jesus isn’t physically walking amongst us). What will inviting a family member to ‘come and see’ Jesus look like now? (NOTE: whilst the obvious answer may be inviting a family member to an NVBC service, I want to encourage you to think beyond the obvious).

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Principle #3 - ‘You are’, ‘You will be’

Re-read verse 42.

One of the challenges of going into the field of our family is that just as they have an awareness of our frailties and failings, we also know theirs. Sometimes there is a temptation to look at our family member and think “They’ll NEVER change!”

When he first came to Jesus, Simon was impetuous, hot-headed and suffered from ‘foot-in-mouth-disease’. Yet Jesus looked beyond who Simon was, to who Simon could become. Jesus saw that Simon could become Peter - which means ‘rock’.

When you look back, what have been the greatest transformations Jesus has brought about in your life since you became His follower?

When you think about your family members who don’t know Jesus yet, what might a Jesus-following version of them look like?

Transformation, Not Just Information What is ONE thing you are going to apply from this study THIS WEEK? Share this with one other member of your group and follow up with one another next week to see what that experience was like for you.

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Prayer: Group Focused Pray for the needs and current prayer requests of the people in your group.

Church Focused Please be in prayer for the many new people who have joined us in recent months. Pray that they will find a spiritual home at NVBC that continues to nurture, grow and equip them.

World Focused MUANA &VILLY [GiA – Thailand] Pray for wisdom for Muana as he encourages and guides the spiritual growth of those in the faith communities and small Bible study groups and of individual friends. Pray that these young believers will have a growing conviction of the truth of God's Word and it's relevance to their daily lives.

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RECAP: Looking back at last Sunday’s message, what were the main themes that stood out to you? What questions did it raise? What was God saying to you through this time?

DISCUSSION: Australian mateship is the stuff of legend. At Gallipoli and Kokoda; on the Victorian goldfields and at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australian men and women have stood tall as ‘mates in arms’. Some argue that the Aussie mate is little more than cultural fancy, but amazing acts of caring, daring and sacrificial friendship occur across Australia every day.

Have you noticed that shark attacks are on the rise? I’ve lost count of the media reports telling of surfers or swimmers who place themselves in danger to save a wounded or drowning mate. It may sound clichéd, but the rescuers commonly deflect public adulation saying things like “I’m no hero. I did what anyone would do”. And for the main part, I’m sure they’re sincere. Men and women will often rise to extraordinary heights of bravery and self-sacrifice when others are in danger. Josh Greene from Princeton University believes that people are instinctively driven to help others in danger. But is this uniformly true?

As spiritual, physical and mental beings there is more to be rescued than our bodies. The Bible tells us that ‘physical’ life is important, but it is temporal. Our ‘spiritual’ life is more important, because it is eternal (1 Cor 6:12-20; Matt 16:26; John 3:16). So surely, as believers, our drive to rescue a mate that doesn’t know Jesus should be as strong as our drive to save a mate that is struggling in the surf!

Two thousand years ago, Jesus placed a spiritual lifebuoy into the hands of His believers. He called YOU and ME to be a part of God’s mission, and to use that lifebuoy to help save others. So how are we doing with that… not just corporately, but personally?

STUDY 5 It’s What Mates Do

Week starting Monday March 7th By Phil McCamley

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According to McCrindle Research, the Australian population has doubled in the past 45 years. During the same time, the church has almost halved. You may have heard this before, but it never fails to jar me. How did this happen? I find myself imagining what might have been if the friends that introduced me to Jesus, didn’t… and I shudder.

Let’s cut to the chase. If we aren’t genuinely motivated to lead others to Jesus… as God creates opportunities to do so (Eph 2:10), then we aren’t engaging in God’s Mission in our world. And if we aren’t engaging in God’s Mission, then in effect… we’re telling God to get in the back seat.

Ephesians 4:11 tells us that God hasn’t equipped everyone with the skills to be a Billy Graham or a Mike Frost, but Acts 1:8 makes it clear that we are all called to be Jesus’ witnesses - which means actively telling others the truth about Jesus, wherever we are on His mission field (locally, regionally, globally).

Author Kirk Cameron contends that fear is one of the main reasons why believers won’t tell their friends about Jesus. He and others believe that fear-of-failure kills more evangelistic effort than failure itself! We need to let that sink in.

Last December, Pastor Benj spoke with us about the problem of fear. He made a great point worth repeating now. “Fear is putting our faith in the wrong thing”. And we know that the enemy will pull out all stops to make sure you doubt God, His Mission and His promises.

I’m certain that C.S.Lewis’ infamous ‘Screwtape’ would be delighted with the church-health trends highlighted by McCrindle. There is a clear problem that needs to be tackled. And it is time that you and I asked ourselves a serious question, “Am I going to be part of the solution?”

Read the following questions. Spend a couple of minutes thinking and praying about them, then discuss your answers.

If you saw a child in difficulty in a park lake, would you jump in to save her? Why? And if your friend was spiritually lost, would you be driven to try and save him? Why?

Is there any difference between your ‘willingness’ to save a friend in physical or spiritual danger? In PRACTICE, do you regard one or the other danger as being more serious? Why? Invite a group member to share how a friend led him or her to Jesus. At the end, it would be good to offer thanks to God for the obedience of that friend.

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I love the story of Nathaneal and Philip. They were mates, and the account of Nathaneal’s calling is a great example of how to reach people in spiritual danger. Particularly those that might be cynical about Jesus.

There are many tools that can help believers to share their faith with others. Some are excellent, but I know that certain people have trouble remembering evangelistic formulae or fear being asked questions about the tools that they can’t answer. If this is a stumbling block for you, then know that they aren’t necessary!

What I love about the conversation between Philip and Nathaneal is the relational nature of communicating the Gospel. There is no ‘pre-fabbed' intellectual debate or structured theology. Philip simply told Nathaneal the truth about Jesus (Acts 1:8 in action). And he responded to Nathaneal’s cynicism with an enthusiastic, simple invitation - “Come and See”. Phillip’s role was to ‘Go and Tell’, and as he did that he extended an invitation to meet/experience Jesus. Whilst there can be a place for evangelistic programs and events, the bottom-line is that as we ‘go into our fields’, we invest into relationships and invite people to encounter Jesus. It was up to Nathaneal to say yes or no. And as we know, Jesus did the rest!

So, why didn’t Philip give up on Nathaneal when he offered resistance? Because Philip cared. It’s what mates do…

I would like to leave you with a challenge. The term ‘mate’ stems from the German word ‘gemmate’ which means to share a meal at the same table. Pray about inviting an unsaved friend to your home to share a meal (it could be one of Pastor Phill’s famous BBQ Chickens!). But make the occasion more than food for your bodies. Be a real mate and invite your friend to taste the bread of life.

Transformation, Not Just Information What is ONE thing you are going to apply from this study THIS WEEK? Share this with one other member of your group and follow up with one another next week to see what that experience was like for you.

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Prayer: Group Focused Pray for one another, that we would be attentive the promptings of the Holy Spirit and obedient to His whispers.

Church Focused Pray for our church to be a community that is led by the Spirit and open to His promptings.

World Focused JEREMY & JESSICA REURICH [Urban Promise – Toronto] Praise God for the 15 or more years that Jeremy has spent with Urban Promise Toronto serving the children and youth who live in at-risk neighbourhoods. Pray for him as he trains the current interns and those who will carry on the work when he leaves later in the year. Pray for direction for the UP board as they choose Jeremy's replacement for the Intern Director position.

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DISCUSSION: Once per term NVBC Growth Groups take the opportunity of spending time with each other in a social setting to provide such experiences. Given that last Sunday Pastor Craig addressed the value of community in spiritual formation, it'd be great for you to engage a bit more relationally this week.

Each Growth Group decides how they'd like to spend their time – but here are a few suggestions:

have a BBQgo out to a restaurantenjoy a picnic by the beachgo bowlingput together a 'just thinking of you' package for one of our missionary familieshave a tennis nighthold a games nighthave a 'make your own pizza' nightgo to a soft-play centre

The options are only limited by your imagination, however, you are encouraged to avoid activities that involve little, if any, interaction with the other members of your group (eg. watching a video, going to the movies, etc).

RECAP: Looking back at last Sunday’s message, what were the main themes that stood out to you? What questions did it raise? What was God saying to you through this time?

STUDY 6 The Big Night Out

Week starting Monday March 14th