People Who Met Jesus

Jonathan Holcomb

People Who Met Jesus , Jonathan Holcomb

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or bay any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Victory Family Church Assembly of God, 455 NW John Jones Dr., Burleson, TX 76028

Cover Design: Darin Brannan

Layout and Editors: Melinda Pace & Debbie Nolte

Table of Contents Introduction My Life – First Session - Nicodemus Session 1: Nicodemus Session 2: The Thief on the Cross Session 3: The Samaritan Woman Session 4: The Rich Young Ruler Session 5: The Grateful Leper Session 6: John the Baptist Group Prayer Log

Introduction What would it have been like? Thrilling, scary, nerve racking, or so many other emotions. I don’t know about you, but actually getting to meet Jesus must have been life changing. That is what we are going to discover is this 6-session study entitled, People Who Met Jesus. Each person that we will look at had a unique encounter with Jesus. Jesus taught each one of them something about themselves, and yet the teachings we see will see still ring true today. Who are we going to meet on our journey?

Nicodemus The Thief on the Cross The Samaritan Woman The Rich Young Ruler The Grateful Leper John the Baptist

With your Life Groups, we want you to be able to experience, learn, and apply the principles that we find through all of these encounters with Jesus. It is my desire for you to see that these were not chance encounters, just like Jesus’ encounter with you. All of us can find ourselves in each of these individual’s shoes at some point in our lives. Our goal is to take the next step and discover how each of us can apply these principles to make an impact in our world. Let start the journey together!

Jonathan Holcomb Pastor of Spiritual Development

Victory Family Church

My Life – First Session – Nicodemus

The My Life Section is designed for your personal use. First we want to help you expand your own personal devotion time, as well as help you prepare for your next session with your Life Group. 1. Read John 3:1-21 2. Why do you think that a religious man like Nicodemus didn’t fully understand what Jesus was telling him? Have you ever made similar mistakes? 3. What has God’s grace meant to you in your life? How would you define His grace? 4. Look up the following verses and write what God is showing through each verse.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Titus 2:11-13 John 1:14-18 How do these verses speak to God’s grace in your life?

People Who Met Jesus

Nicodemus: John 3:1-21

“I have a plan,” is certainly what the educated, well-respected man with political and religious power must have thought before going to see Jesus. Nicodemus was a “ruler of the Jews” and called a “teacher of Israel” (John 3:10 NASB) by Jesus. Nicodemus was in essence THE authority for all things religious. Being in a seat of such authority brings about its own certain obligations and opportunities. Nicodemus could have just called for Jesus to be brought to him, but remember, Nicodemus had a plan. Here’s the plan: He would meet with Jesus alone and at night. This would allow Nicodemus to ask the questions that he wanted to ask, and there wouldn’t be the possibility of political or religious issues that might occur with people around. And to open, Nicodemus would make sure to treat Jesus with respect, so that Jesus wouldn’t be defensive and then he could get direct answers from Jesus: “Are You the Messiah?” Sounds like a pretty good plan, doesn’t it? Very political and shrewd. However, Nicodemus must have forgotten some of his religious teaching from Proverbs 19:21, Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Here’s the execution: Teacher, we know you are a teacher sent from God, because no one can do the miracles you do unless God is with him (John 3:2 NCV). Nicodemus must have thought, “OK, opening line of respect...check...Now...” Jesus interrupts, I tell you the truth, unless you are born again you cannot be in God’s kingdom (John 3:4 NCV). Nicodemus is thinking, “Wait! I HAD A PLAN!” Not anymore. Isn’t it funny how if we plan what is supposed to happen, God has a way of redirecting our attention to His purposes? Remember, it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Jesus understood far greater what Nicodemus needed. Jesus isn’t always in the business of giving us what we want, but rather Jesus gives us what we need the most. Connect • Read the Story of Nicodemus in John 3:1-21 together. 2. What is the most interesting part of the story for you? Why?

Grow Although Nicodemus had his own plan going into his meeting with Jesus, and then Jesus took that plan and turned it upside down, to Nicodemus’ credit, he listened to Jesus. Jesus took Nicodemus to a new level when it came to the perspective of a relationship with God. Jesus stated, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the

Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again” (John 3:5-7)

Nicodemus, full of all the knowledge of scripture had missed a basic principle. In order to have a relationship with God, something has to happen from above. 3. How do you sometimes try to have a relationship with God on your terms? How does this generally work for you? For an educated and religious man, Nicodemus understood many things about the Laws of God, and the actions that were required of men, but Jesus taught something completely different. For Jesus, everyone had the ability to connect with God the Father through nothing of his or her own doing. It was no longer just Jews, but everyone. John 3:14-15 states, Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, the Son of Man must also be lifted up. So

that everyone who believes can have eternal life in him. 4. Which is easier for you: trying to do something to gain your way to God or accepting that God did everything for you? Why? 5. Why do we sometimes try to gain approval from God through our actions or works? How can we learn to operate in grace and not works? Serve Throughout Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus showed an enormous amount of patience. Jesus met Nicodemus at the place he was at; an educated leader in the religious community. Jesus challenged Nicodemus in a way that was not insulting, but rather focused on Nicodemus’ strengths. 6. When you interact with people and talk with them about Jesus, how do you approach them? Do you have one way that you talk with people? Do you exercise patience? 7. How can you better pull people into a conversation about Jesus that makes them crave more information about having a relationship with Him?    Prayer Focus This prayer focus: Accepting God’s grace in our lives.    

My Life – Next Session: The Thief On the Cross The My Life Section is designed for your personal use. First we want to help you expand your own personal devotion time, as well as help you prepare for your next session with your Life Group. 1. Read Luke 23:32-43 2. What imagery do you get when you read this story? What do you see in your minds-eye? 3. The story doesn’t tell us what the thief did to deserve the cross, but what do you imagine he did? How do you think he felt going to the cross? 4. How does what Jesus says to the thief surprise you? How does it make you feel about your own shortcomings? 5. Look up the following verses and write what God is showing through each verse. 1 Peter 4:10 Ephesians 2:8-9 Romans 8:1 How do these verses speak to you on a personal level about the grace God gives us?

People Who Met Jesus

The Thief on the Cross: Luke 23:32-43 Guilty was the verdict. He knew it. He understood that he had been judged correctly. Now the most excruciating part…waiting. What would be the punishment? He understood that crucifixion was probable, but just maybe he wouldn’t have to go down that road. However that was his fate, with two others. “What has this become, a celebration of some sorts?” the thief must have thought. People mocking him, the beating from the soldiers, and the nails going through were apart of the “celebration of justice.” However, this thief met an unlikely man hanging beside him. He noticed that Jesus took most of the jeers from the crowd, the hardest beating, and greatest humiliation of all three men hanging that day. Knowing the story of Jesus and understanding that Jesus was innocent of all crimes, the thief decided to take a chance on Jesus. The thief simply said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (v. 42). The amazing thing is that Jesus accepts the thief’s statement. I think Philip Yancey says it best about that conversation on the cross: In one of his last acts before death, Jesus forgave a thief dangling on a cross. Knowing

full well the thief had converted out of plain fear. That the thief would never study the Bible, never attend synagogue or church, and never make amends to all those he had wronged. He simply said, “Jesus, remember me.” And Jesus promised, “Today You will be with me in Paradise.” It was another shocking reminder that grace does not depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us.1

This conversation on the cross gives hope to everyone. Condemned justly by earthly standards, Christ reaches down and says, “My standards are to give you what you don’t deserve.” Grace means that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more or less.2 Christ extends to us not what is fair, but unfair. Just like the thief on the cross, Christ decides to be extravagantly unfair to us all.3 He gives us grace. Connect 1. Read Luke 23:32-43. 2. For you, what is the most remarkable part of this story? Why? Grow Grace can be a tough thing to accept, can’t it? I don’t know about you, but when I receive grace, everything is wonderful, but when others receive grace it doesn’t quite seem right. Especially when we see those that have done horrendous things. With the thief on the cross, Jesus granted him the same eternal reward as anyone else who had not done the things that he had done.

                                                                                                               1  Philip Yancey. What’s so amazing about grace? Visual Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 79. 2  Ibid, 28-29. 3  Andy Stanley. The Grace of God (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 187.

3. Is there any point at which grace can’t reach us? How do you feel about “death bed” conversions? Often times we get caught up in the idea of deserving something or at least make sure that things are fair. I know as a child, I wanted everything to be fair. Letting someone have the same reward of eternal life at the very last minutes of their life doesn’t quite seem fair. But the fact is, Christ’s death and resurrection signaled to the world that the kingdom of God is not

reserved for good people. It is reserved for forgiven people.4 In fact, the system that Christ created by dying on the cross and rising again ensured that this was the fairest system of them all. Everybody is invited. Everybody gets in the same way. Everybody can meet the

requirement.5 4. How does your worldview examine fairness in your life? 5. How does God’s system of fairness resonate with you? Why is it good/bad?

Serve I think that the hardest part about the grace of God is putting it into practice in my own life. Yet there is a certain truth that we must come to grasp with, The world thirsts for grace.6 This is when we must remember Christ’s words and internalize them like never before. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a

ransom for many (Mark 10:45 NIV). 6. How can you serve others by showing them grace? What are some practical steps you can take?

Prayer Focus This prayer focus: Showing grace to others when they don’t deserve it.

                                                                                                               4  Ibid, 190. 5  Ibid, 191. 6  Yancey, 106-107.

My Life – Next Session – The Samaritan Woman The My Life Section is designed for your personal use. First we want to help you expand your own personal devotion time, as well as help you prepare for your next session with your Life Group. 1. Read John 1:1-14 2. What tension do you feel when Jesus meets the Samaritan Woman? Do you ever feel this tension with others you come into contact with? 3. What do we mean by “Living Water?” How does it apply in your life? 4. Look up the following verses and write what God is showing through each verse: Galatians 5:16 Luke 6:46 John 7:37-38 What does each of these verses have in common? How can we access the streams of “Living Water” and let them flow in our lives?

People Who Met Jesus The Samaritan Woman: John 1:1-14

Equality among diversity? Like today, in the time of Jesus there was no such evidence. Romans, Jews, Samaritans, and even more were apart of the same empire, but all fell within a certain sphere of cultural relations with each other. Jews and Samaritans were quite possibly the worst of enemies. Jews would make their travel plans to make sure that they wouldn’t go through Samaria. This way they wouldn’t have to deal with the Samaritans and the tension that it would bring. That is what makes Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well an even more interesting story. Jesus sat at a well after a tiring and exhausting long hot walk through Samaria. The Samaritan woman appears, taking ownership of the well, not backing down to a Jew that was imposing. And to her surprise this Jew asks. Yes the audacity for a Jewish man to speak to a Samaritan woman! Jesus asked, Please give me a drink. Shocked and in awe, the Samaritan woman follows the cultural trend and brushes off the request as something that would be out of the question. Yet Jesus pushes further than this woman or even you and I could have imagined. Jesus offers this woman “living water.” Jesus went from the physical to the spiritual in a heartbeat. Jesus looked beyond the cultural differences and cared for the soul of the Samaritan woman. I think this is where Martin Luther King Jr. caught fire in his own fight for equality, because like Jesus, Martin Luther King understood that the,

Important thing about a man is not the color of his skin or the texture of his hair, but the texture and quality of his soul.7

Jesus lived this. He was far more concerned with the soul of the woman at the well than any cultural norm or understanding. This “living water” struck a chord with the woman. At first, she was reluctant to break the line, but once she did, it changed the way she lived and viewed life forever. We are told that she ran into the city to tell all of her friends and family. That is the amazing thing about “living water,” it always finds the cracks in people’s souls that is thirsting for salvation. Connect 1. Read John 4:1-14 2. When you read this story, what jumps out at you the most? Why? Grow One of the more interesting facets about this story is the fact that Jesus refused the political and cultural norms of the day. Yet Jesus did so with purpose. He did not create a scene or make the woman at the well uncomfortable, but decisively pushed the conversation from the natural to the spiritual. Because of this, the woman at the well forgot the cultural norms as well, and wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. 3. How much do you think we should use or dismiss cultural norms in our society when talking about Spiritual matters?

                                                                                                               7  James Melvin Washington, Ed. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of

Martin Luther King, Jr. (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991), 85.

4. When you speak about spiritual issues to others, do you use concepts that are easy to understand and entice others to hear more? Can you give some examples? Serve It is a difficult thing sometimes to look at the soul of a person and not simply at their physical being. True love looks below the surface of humanity, and shows love not because you have to, but because you recognize the potential of the person that God designed.8 Psalms 139:13-14 NIV reminds us, For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise

you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made… 5. How can we look past the natural and fixate our eyes on how God views people? Author Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, To love a person means to see him as God intended him to be.9 6. Who has God intended for us to be to the world? How can we see God’s intentions for others? Prayer Focus This prayer focus: Living God’s Love.

                                                                                                               8  Ibid, 8-9. 9  Yancey, 14.

My Life – Next Session – The Rich Young Ruler The My Life Section is designed for your personal use. First we want to help you expand your own personal devotion time, as well as help you prepare for your next session with your Life Group. 1. Read Mark 10:17-31 2. What is your first reaction to this story? How does this story apply to your life? 3. When you think about the financial side to this story, how does it change the way you view your personal finances? 4. Look up the following verses and write what God is showing through each verse. Luke 9:23-24 2 Timothy 2:10-13 Matthew 10:32-33 How do these verses relate to Mark 10:17-31? What is the common theme? How can you personally apply these verses to your life?

People Who Met Jesus The Rich Young Ruler: Mark 10:17-31

Head lowered, his eyes to the ground as he walked away from Jesus. This was not how the rich young ruler thought his conversation with Jesus would end. The rich young ruler in this story was special. Once more, he knew that he was special. We know this when we look at the original Greek text. “Ruler” in this case means “a leader, or official.” In Luke’s version, we see that this ruler was not just rich, but also it tells us that he had “an abundance of earthly possessions that exceeds normal experience.”10 Even though this highly noticed young leader seemed to have it all, something wasn’t quite right. His question to Jesus was simple, “What must I do to have life forever?” Jesus replies in a way that would have probably made the young ruler feel good, because all Jesus says is, “You know the commands…” and essentially lists off the ten commandments. The young ruler, realizing that he had done those things must have thought, “OK, I have been doing all the right things.” However, we don’t see this reaction. We see no sign of rejoicing or emotion. The rich young ruler knew there was more; that’s why he came in the first place. Then Jesus said the hardest words that this young, wealthy leader could have heard:

Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.

Wow, right to the heart of this man. Jesus didn’t just require the ruler to give up his money, but his status as well. Jesus was telling the rich young ruler, when you experience salvation, it doesn’t just change you when you die, but it changes you in the here and now. Connect 1. Read Mark 10:17-31 2. What do you think just went through the rich young rulers mind throughout his conversation with Jesus? Grow In our story, the rich young ruler can be a little tough to swallow. When we picture this real-life event, I can only imagine the excitement and nervousness of a young man (possibly around the same age as Jesus) getting to talk with Jesus, with the right question at hand. However the answer was too hard to bear. 3. What are some things that you tend to hold onto? Why do you have a hard time letting go? When we look further into our story, we see that the story doesn’t just end with the rich young ruler. Jesus makes the idea of salvation seem unattainable. Jesus says, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the

kingdom of God! The followers were even more surprised and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”

                                                                                                               10  Dr. Ralph F. Wilson. “The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23).”

4. When you see Jesus’ explanation, what does it make you think about salvation? Do you wish you were poor?! Serve Isn’t it always hard to reject who we are in the flesh and accept what God has for us in the Spirit? However, we have to remember that when we reject ourselves, we accept God. In Matthew 16:24 NCV it states, Then Jesus said to his followers, “if people want to follow me, they must give up the

things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.” 5. When you deny yourself and accept God, what has been the outcome? Can anyone give a personal example? 6. What can our Life Group pray with you about when it comes to accepting Christ’s way and not your own way? Prayer Focus This prayer focus: Giving everything over to God. My Life – Next Session – The Grateful Leper The My Life Section is designed for your personal use. First we want to help you expand your own personal devotion time, as well as help you prepare for your next session with your Life Group. 1. Read Luke 17:11-19 2. Why do you think only 1 man came back to say “Thank You”? 3. What action do you take to show thanksgiving to Christ and others? Are words enough when it comes to giving thanks? 4. Look up the following verses and write what God is showing through each verse. 1 Chronicles 16:8 Psalms 105:1 Colossians 3:17 Each one of these verses deals with the issue of giving thanks to God. What steps can you take to begin the process of thanking God for the good things in your life? How can you show others this thanksgiving as well?

People Who Met Jesus The Grateful Leper: Luke 17:11-19

“Now what do you say to the nice man?” “Oh yeah, thanks.” I am sure that as a parent you have never had to remind your kids to say thank you when they were given something, have you? It is a simple concept; say thank you when someone else does something for you or gives you something. But gratitude is more than just words; it is the emotion, tone of voice, and action that we display to others that shows our gratitude. In Luke 17:11-19, we are shown an event where ten men, who had leprosy were healed by Jesus. However, only one man came back to thank Jesus. This wasn’t just a quick, “Hey, thanks for helping out” kind of thank you. Leprosy was a disease that virtually condemned you. You were looked at as sinful, cursed by God, and banished from the community at large. When Jesus healed these ten men, it changed their entire lives. Yet only one came. He did not come bearing any gifts. The only gift of thanks that this man could give was his humility. In verse 16 it says, Then he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. For this man, the very least that he could do was the most that he could do. Falling on his knees, “thank you” took on the emotion, voice, and display of gratitude that was deserved. Only one came and his gratitude took the form of action. This grateful leper put into action Psalms 106:1 NIV, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His thanks came out of something within him. Saying thank you wasn’t enough. Jesus had changed his current circumstance and the leper knew that his future was now limitless. He didn’t have to be reminded to give thanks. Thanksgiving instinctively flowed out of his soul. Connect 1. Read Luke 17:11-19  2. Why do you think the other nine men didn’t come back to say “thank you” to Jesus? 3. Why do you think the one man did back to say thank you? Grow As we mentioned in the beginning, saying thank you is generally taught to us when we are young. However, a lot of times when we get older, we begin to wane from the teachings of our parents. Being thankful is so simple, yet also has to be intentional. 3. What are some ways that you say thank you to others? Why is it important to say thank you? In our story, the leper did more than just say “thank you,” he expressed his thanksgiving. When we show our thanks, it usually comes from somewhere deep inside us. We feel a sense of responsibility to try to convey to others the entirety of our thankfulness. It is what St. Augustine meant when we said,

But let my soul praise You, that it may love You. Let it confess back Your mercies to You, that it may praise You.11

4. How does your thankfulness express itself to God? Can anyone give an example of how your thankfulness has been expressed to God? Serve When we look at the thankful leper, we know that there were nine men that did not come back to express their thanksgiving. Jesus even asked those that were around him, Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine? 5. Why do you think God wants our thanksgiving? Does He need it? 6. What steps can you take to make sure that your thankfulness to God is shown not only to God but to others as well? Prayer Focus This prayer focus: Giving God thanks through words and deeds. My Life – Next Session – John the Baptist The My Life Section is designed for your personal use. First we want to help you expand your own personal devotion time, as well as help you prepare for your next session with your Life Group. 1. Read Matthew 3:1-17 2. How do you relate with John the Baptist? What are some similarities in his role and your role as a Christian? 3. What do you see as your role as a Christian in the world? How do you show this? 4. Look up the following verses and write what God is showing through each verse. Matthew 5:13-16 Ephesians 2:10 Psalms 139:13-16 These verses speak to God’s personal touch in our lives. How does this make you feel about how God can use you? Do you feel you have a purpose in this life? Is so, what is it?

                                                                                                               11  St. Augustine of Hippo. The Confessions of St. Augustine (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker

Publishing Group, 2005), 72.

People Who Met Jesus John the Baptist: Matthew 3:13-16

There is nothing quite like being the team, or person that precedes those that win the prize. Sports particularly build on each other in this way. One year there might be talent to get to a certain point, but then the next year, with a few additions and subtractions, the goal is met. It is never fun to be the person who is almost the one is it? However, John the Baptist didn’t feel this way. John is described in the Bible as a man who wore clothes that were not fashionable for the times, ate strange food, and preached a message of confession and baptism. The amazing thing about John the Baptist is that he understood who God created him to be in this world. He believed to his core that he had been placed on this earth to prepare the way of the coming Messiah. In Matthew 3:13-16 we see the short, but amazing interaction with the precursor and the One. We see a few things: John recognized Jesus as Messiah right away. Jesus comes walking down to be baptized in the Jordan River, and John’s first response was to stop Jesus from being baptized. John realized that Jesus had authority over him. For John, there was no need to baptize Jesus…He was God. John recognized that he needed Jesus. As John tried to stop Jesus from being baptized, his reasoning was that Jesus needed to baptize him. John humbled himself, knowing that Jesus was the Messiah and needed Jesus far more than Jesus needed him. John recognized his role in God’s plan. Probably the most significant point of this interaction was John’s recognition of his own role. Jesus told John that he should baptize him because it is God’s will. John then agreed. But it didn’t just stop there. When we look at John 3:30, John the Baptist states, He must become greater, and I must become less important. John knew that his role was to “make the way” for Jesus, nothing more, nothing less. John teaches us a great lesson to always yield to God’s will and plan. When we do, we get the opportunity to be used by God. John experienced God in a new way. Finally, it’s what John got to be apart of: when Jesus came out of the water, everyone around heard the voice of God. When we recognize our own role in the plan of God, we get to experience God in ways we could never imagine. By John giving himself over to the will of God, he and everyone else experienced an event that God had planned from the beginning. John played the role he was born to play. Connect 1. Read Matthew 3:1-17; John 3:22-36 2. What do you think it would have felt like had you been asked by Jesus to baptize him?

Grow Throughout the story of John the Baptist and Jesus, there is a clear sense of purpose that John the Baptist felt. John clearly understood his role and purpose in life. For many of us, we are hesitant to be clear and step out in the role and purpose that God has in our lives. Some of us probably think that we are not sold on the fact that God has a purpose for our lives. However, Ephesians 2:10 NCV states, God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which

God planned for us to live our lives doing? 3. How does this verse make you feel when you think about your purpose in life? Does this change how you view yourself? If yes, how so? A lot is talked about nowadays about purpose and who or what you were created for. We hear all sorts of different things don’t we? Christians often times mistake a “call” on one’s life as strictly being associated to church work. When we talk about God’s call in one’s life it is a two-fold calling: First to a life-changing relationship with Him and then to a life-fulfilling mission alongside

Him.12 Paul said a similar thing in I Thessalonians 1:3 MSG, It is clear to us, friends, that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand

on you for something special. So often we forget that Paul was talking to the entire church, not just the deacons, pastors, missionaries, or other church officials. Paul was telling the church and you and I today that God’s hand is on us for something special in our lives. 4. What do you normally think of when you here the word “calling”? 5. What has God placed his hand on you to do in your life? Is it strictly a profession? Serve Isn’t it great that our jobs and our lives are special gifts from God? We each have roles that we play everyday. Whether we are married, single, have kids, don’t have kids, or even still act like a kid, God has a purpose and plan for us. It is our job to find that role and place that God has for our lives. No matter what we do, God has called us to make an impact for His Kingdom. I love the way Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity put it, I see life as both a gift and a responsibility. My responsibility is to use what God has

given me to help his people in need.13 6. Where has God placed you right now to make an impact? What do you need to do in order to make a greater impact in your roles in life? 7. How can our Life Group pray for you to fulfill your role(s) that God has placed you in?

                                                                                                               12  Bob Reccord and Randy Singer. Made to Count: Discovering What to Do With Your Life,

(Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2004), 48. 13  Doug Fields and Erik Rees. Congratulations…You’re Gifted! (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,

2008), 131.

Prayer Focus This prayer focus: Ask God to show each individual how to recognize the gifts that He has given to us.