Reaching Our Friends

Reaching our Friends

We are going to be looking at 2 pieces of scripture tonight. The first looks at the relationships that we should have toward those of our friends that do not know Jesus yet; the second looks at the way we are supposed to act toward each other-fellow believers.

1 Peter 2:11-12

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Let’s look at this verse piece by piece.

1.We are and in this world.

What does that mean? (Ph. 3:20)

2.We have a ______that we have to battle.

Everyday we are tempted. We sin. Just because we are Christians does not mean that we are exempt from temptation, the question is how we respond to it. We are to abstain from those desires. This isn’t easy-it’s a WAR. But the Lord has given us armor and more importantly, His Son to win the fight.

3.All we have to do is ______for them to see the Lord.

We have all at some time or another heard the Gospel. This verse is not telling us to not preach the gospel, it is telling us to LIVE THE GOSPEL. You can walk into your school and tell everyone about Christ without ever opening your mouth.

1 Timothy 4:12

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

1.We are to set an example in ______.

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6)

2.We are called to set an example with our _____. This goes back to the verse dealing with non-believers. Our lives should reflect Christ to everyone.

3.We are called to set an example in LOVE.

The greatest commandment is “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’Matthew 22 37-39.

We are called to love each other and treat each other with respect. That doesn’t mean we’ll all sit around and sing Kumba-ya together. There are such things as personality conflicts that the world’s love cannot overcome, but God’s love can. If we are faithful in our attempts to love people, God will come and bless us.

4.We are called to set an example with our ______.

Being encouraged to keep reading our bibles to keep praying and to keep reaching out even when it just seems like all we meet is rejection. Our faith will grow!

5.We are called to set an example with our ______.

This one is tricky. There are so many areas in our lives that aren’t pure-especially our thoughts-which are something no one else can see. But our thoughts do make it into our mouths or our actions, so being pure in the head can help us be pure in our life. Why is it important to be pure?

Which of these do you struggle with the most and what are some of the things that we as a group can do to encourage each other more.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourageone another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

Personal Application: Here are some things we can do that will help us grow as Christians and help us reach out to our friends

Before Club

When you wake up, pray for club.
On the way to school, start talking with your friends about club that night.
Make a list of the friendsyou want to invite to club.
Invite your list — be intentional.
Arrange rides for your friends to get there, if necessary.
Pass out club flyers at school.
Introduce your friends to your Young Life leaders at school and at club.
Do your homework that afternoon so you can hang out after club.
Pack your car with friends for club.

During Club

Hang out with the friendsyou invited when you get there.
Don't sit with only your Campaigner group.
Sing club songs enthusiastically; be crazy when appropriate and get other people around you to sing.
Cheer for skits and the people in them.
Be quiet during the talk and encourage others to be quiet.
Pray for your friends and the speaker during the club talk.

After Club

Hang out with your friends after club.
Meet and greet new people.
Introduce your friends to leaders.
If you go somewhere after club, take the friends you brought.
Ask your friends what they thought of club, specifically the talk.
Start talking up club for the next week.
Pray for your friends who did and didnotcome to club before you go to bed.

Before Club

When you wake up, pray for club.
On the way to school, start talking with your friends about club that night.
Make a list of the friendsyou want to invite to club.
Invite your list — be intentional.
Arrange rides for your friends to get there, if necessary.
Pass out club flyers at school.
Introduce your friends to your Young Life leaders at school and at club.
Do your homework that afternoon so you can hang out after club.
Pack your car with friends for club.

During Club

Hang out with the friendsyou invited when you get there.
Don't sit with only your Campaigner group.
Sing club songs enthusiastically; be crazy when appropriate and get other people around you to sing.
Cheer for skits and the people in them.
Be quiet during the talk and encourage others to be quiet.
Pray for your friends and the speaker during the club talk.

After Club

Hang out with your friends after club.
Meet and greet new people.
Introduce your friends to leaders.
If you go somewhere after club, take the friends you brought.
Ask your friends what they thought of club, specifically the talk.
Start talking up club for the next week.
Pray for your friends who did and didnotcome to club before you go to bed.

Reaching our Friends – Leader Notes

Tomorrow-the first club of the semester. It is an important day and this is a great chance for us to look at things that will help us reach out to our friends and help club run smoothly this year.

We are going to be looking at 2 pieces of scripture tonight. The first looks at the relationships that we should have toward those of our friends that do not know Jesus yet; the second looks at the way we are supposed to act toward each other-fellow believers.

1 Peter 2:11-12

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Let’s look at this verse piece by piece.

4.We are ALIENS and STRANGERS in this world. What does that mean? Our home is not here. We are citizens of heaven (Ph. 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there.”)

5.We have a SINFUL NATURE that we have to battle. Everyday we are tempted. We sin. Just because we are Christians does not mean that we are exempt from temptation, the question is how we respond to it. We are to abstain from those desires. This isn’t easy-it’s a WAR. But the Lord has given us armor and more importantly, His Son to win the fight.

6.All we have to do is LIVE GOOD LIVES for them to see the Lord. We have all at some time or another heard the Gospel. This verse is not telling us to not preach the gospel, it is telling us to LIVE THE GOSPEL. You can walk into your school and tell everyone about Christ without ever opening your mouth. We’ve talked about a few of the things that set us apart-complaining and gossip.

1 Timothy 4:12

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

Let’s look at this verse piece by piece.

6.We are to set an example in SPEECH. I think it’s interesting that Paul chooses speech to address first. I think it’s because we all struggle with it so much. In James it is written, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6) We have to encourage one another-it’s easy if a group of Christians are together to gossip.

7.We are called to set an example with our LIFE. This goes back to the verse dealing with non-believers. Our lives should reflect Christ to everyone. The more we live our lives for Christ, the more other will see that and strive for it.

8.We are called to set an example in LOVE. This is one that a lot of Christians struggle with. We are to love others. (The greatest commandment is “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’Matthew 22 37-39). We are called to love each other and treat each other with respect. That doesn’t mean we’ll all sit around and sing Kumba-ya together. There are such things as personality conflicts that the world’s love cannot overcome, but God’s love can. If we are faithful in our attempts to love people, God will come and bless us.

9.We are called to set an example with our FAITH. Individually, it is hard to grow in faith-I’m not saying it can’t happen, but God uses the collective body to help our faith grow. Being encouraged to keep reading our bibles to keep praying and to keep reaching out even when it just seems like all we meet is rejection. Our faith will grow!

10.We are called to set an example with our PURITY. This one is tricky. There are so many areas in our lives that aren’t pure-especially our thoughts-which is something no one else can see. But our thoughts do make it into our mouths or our actions, so being pure in the head can help us be pure in our life. Why is it important to be pure?

Which of these do you struggle with the most and what are some of the things that we as a group can do to encourage each other more.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourageone another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

Personal Application: Here are some things we can do that will help us grow as Christians and help us reach out to our friends

Before Club

When you wake up, pray for club.
On the way to school, start talking with your friends about club that night.
Make a list of the friendsyou want to invite to club.
Invite your list — be intentional.
Arrange rides for your friends to get there, if necessary.
Pass out club flyers at school.
Introduce your friends to your Young Life leaders at school and at club.
Do your homework that afternoon so you can hang out after club.
Pack your car with friends for club.

During Club

Hang out with the friendsyou invited when you get there.
Don't sit with only your Campaigner group.
Sing club songs enthusiastically; be crazy when appropriate and get other people around you to sing.
Cheer for skits and the people in them.
Be quiet during the talk and encourage others to be quiet.
Pray for your friends and the speaker during the club talk.

After Club

Hang out with your friends after club.
Meet and greet new people.
Introduce your friends to leaders.
If you go somewhere after club, take the friends you brought.
Ask your friends what they thought of club, specifically the talk.
Start talking up club for the next week.
Pray for your friends who did and didnotcome to club before you go to bed.

Reaching Our Friends

Reaching our Friends

We are going to be looking at 2 pieces of scripture tonight. The first looks at the relationships that we should have toward those of our friends that do not know Jesus yet; the second looks at the way we are supposed to act toward each other-fellow believers.

1 Peter 2:11-12

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Let’s look at this verse piece by piece.

1.We are ______and ______in this world.

What does that mean? (Ph. 3:20)

2.We have a ______that we have to battle.

3.All we have to do is ______for them to see the Lord.

We have all at some time or another heard the Gospel. This verse is not telling us to not preach the gospel, it is telling us to LIVE THE GOSPEL. You can walk into your school and tell everyone about Christ without ever opening your mouth.

1 Timothy 4:12

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

1.We are to set an example in ______.

“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6)

1.We are and in this world.