Full Circle (Part 1)

Intro:

I am going to say some phrases, and I want you to tell me what they all have in common.

Donating money to buy mosquito nets for needy families in Africa

Helping stop human trafficking in Southeast Asia?

Volunteering to go dig a well for safe drinking water in Nepal

Volunteering to hold high-need babies born to drug-addicted mothers at a hospital in Guatemala

Trying to save a friend from a rattlesnake on a desert hike

Trying to save a friend by sharing the Gospel with them in the school cafeteria

Spending a month volunteering at an orphanage in India

Volunteering to serve meals at a local homeless shelter

Sharing the Gospel with a friend

Sharing the Gospel with a stranger

What do all of these phrases have in common?

The choices involved various kinds of “causes”

What is a “cause”?

Here is a definition from the Oxford Dictionary:

“a principle, aim, or movement that, because of a deep commitment, one is prepared to defend or advocate.”

“Causes” are a big deal in our culture, right?

Different causes always pop up all over the place

What are other examples of popular “causes” you’re familiar with?

One that I thought of was TWLOHA

There are all kinds of causes we can choose to get involved with and invest our time and money toward.

How do you go about deciding whether or not to get involved with a cause?

It takes willingness, discernment, and prioritizing!

This week, we’re launching into a four-week series about a very particular cause that Jesus was all about.

Before we dive in, let’s open in prayer.

PRAY

Body:

*hand out sticky notes with Scripture references on them

In each of these verses, Jesus is speaking.

As you listen, see if you can spot the “cause” that was near and dear to His heart.

Luke 19:10 (ESV)

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

John 20:21 (ESV)

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

How would you describe in your own words this cause Jesus is talking about?

[Reaching the lost with the Gospel, making disciples who make disciples, The Great Commission]

What did Jesus expect from His followers regarding this cause?

Truly devoted followers of Jesus will do the kinds of things Jesus did.

They’ll heal. They’ll help. They’ll serve.

In short, they’ll make the world a better place to live.

And then, in turn, the disciple-making process will multiply out as they introduce others to Jesus and teach them to do the same

—until everyone, everywhere not only hears the good news that Jesus died for them, but feels the good news poured out on them by the love of those of us who want to be like Jesus.

We all know that this is something that missionaries and pastors do, but...

Is it reasonable to expect ordinary people—including teenagers—to do this? Why or why not?

This calling to spread Jesus’s message is something He asked all of His followers to do—and that includes you and me.

It’s not just for a select few who are willing to be pastors or missionaries.

It’s for everyone who calls himself or herself a Christian.

It’s for here and now, right where God has planted you—in your current circle of friends, at your school, on your team, in your neighborhood, in your family.

Because it’s THE Cause Jesus has invited all of us to join Him in.

You have an important part to play in seeing “[His] Kingdom come [and His] will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10) by sharing His message.

Many of us don’t actively share our faith. Why do you think that is?

For some of us, it’s because we’re apathetic—we just don’t care.

If that describes you, a first step for you would be to pray that God would move your heart to a different place and that your compassion for those who don’t know Jesus would grow.

But for many of us, we don’t talk to others about Jesus because we think it feels awkward.

So how might we more naturally and effectively go about engaging our friends about spiritual things?

Let’s start by taking our cue from Jesus Himself, as we watch this short video.

Watch video

THE Cause Circle of Prayer, Care, Share—this is the Jesus way of engaging with those who don’t have a personal relationship with God.

Over these next few weeks, we’re going to focus in on each of these three elements of the faith-sharing process.

We’ll be using a story about Jesus found in Luke 5 to do this.

We’re going to start this week by reading the whole passage, to get the bigger context of the story, but then in coming weeks we’ll drill down into it farther.

So let’s all look up Luke 5:15-26 in our Bibles, and let’s dive into God’s word together.

Luke 5:15–26 (ESV)

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

This is such a great story! Let’s talk a bit about the cast of characters we find here.

Who are some of the people in this story? (five characters)

CHARACTERS

Jesus

Crowds

Pharisees and religious teachers

Paralyzed man

Friends

OK, let’s talk about some of the possible motives each of these people bring to their actions in this story.

Why do you think they’re here in this crowded room on this particular day?

MOTIVES:

Cared about people/taught truth about God

Maybe looking for entertainment/help/spiritual truth

Skeptical; questioning; challenging Jesus’s claims

Needed physical help

Determined to bring their friend to Jesus.

Which person do you most identify with in the story?

Many of us identify with the friends.

Don’t you just love the audacity of those guys?

They were determined to do whatever it took to get their disabled friend to Jesus to be healed.

So when they realized they couldn’t get inside because of the crowd, they climbed up to the roof, ripped off some roof tiles, and lowered their friend down for some face time with Jesus.

It’s a great picture of the kind of determination and outside-of-the-box thinking that’s sometimes necessary to bring our own friends to Jesus.

But now let’s go in a little bit different direction with this story.

Let’s zero in on Jesus and what the story tells us about what He’s doing.

What do you see happening here that fits the Prayer, Care, Share breakout we saw in the video we just watched?

We get a glimpse here of how Jesus wove a continuous cycle of Prayer, Care, and Share into His interactions with those He was trying to reach with His message.

And we can also see how people responded to Him.

Many were open and interested; some were doubtful and challenging.

So what does Jesus’s Prayer, Care, Share approach mean for us?

In the coming weeks, we’ll unpack THE Cause Circle step-by-step and spend a week each on Prayer, Care, and Share.

But right now, I’m guessing that some of you are thinking to yourselves: “I don’t know the first thing about how to talk to people about the Jesus or the Gospel.”

We’ll be talking about that some in future weeks, but I want to introduce you to an app that is a very practical training and faith-sharing tool to have in your pocket.

This app will really help you if you don’t feel very confident about the “how-to” of sharing your faith.

The app is called “Life in 6 Words”

So, if you have one, pull out your smartphone, go to the app store, and download the free Life in 6 Words app right now.

The general idea of this app is that you use it to share 6 words that describe the Gospel with your unsaved friends

Let’s walk through the 6 Words together!

What are the six words? They form the acrostic G.O.S.P.E.L.

Life in 6 Words

God created us to be with Him.

Psalm 100:3 (ESV)

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

We were created on purpose; we were not a mistake or a random happening.

Specifically, God created us to be in relationship with Him.

We see this at the beginning of the book of Genesis

Humanity had perfect access to God

It even insinuates that Adam and Eve walked with God in the Garden!

The relationship was perfect.

… But then something happened, and this is where the next word comes in

Our sins separate us from God

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Adam and Eve ate fruit from a tree that God told them not to eat from.

This introduced sin into the picture.

Suddenly, the bridge between God and humanity was cut.

Humans no longer had access to a relationship with God.

And it didn’t matter how hard they tried; this relationship couldn’t be restored.

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.

Isaiah 64:6 (ESV)

We have all become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

We all fade like a leaf,

and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

God is perfect.

And no matter how hard we try, we can never reach God’s standard of perfection and holiness.

We can’t go to church enough times, read our Bible enough times, or pray enough times to earn our way back to God.

The bridge has been cut; and there is nothing we can do to repair it.

… But praise the Lord, that isn’t the end of the story!

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus, God Himself, came to this earth as a human being, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin.

And Jesus didn’t just do that; he rose from the grave three days later, conquering over the powers of sin and death.

And now...

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.

John 3:16 (ESV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Now that Christ has died and risen from the grave, all that we have to do is “believe in Him”

Now, when we hear the word “believe,” we simply think about intellectual knowledge

But that’s not what the Greek word means

The word believe here means to entirely entrust oneself to something or someone; it is surrender

Believing in Jesus means handing Him the keys to your life.

THAT is how we experience salvation.

And guess what? ...

Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

John 17:3 (ESV)

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

The Gospel doesn’t promise eternal life for followers of Christ in the future; it promises it here and now!

Eternal life begins with believing and knowing Jesus, and this continues into the infinite future

So, the 6 words are:

God

Our

Sins

Paying

Everyone

Life

That’s the Gospel!

After walking through this with your friend, you can as if they would like to accept Christ as their savior

But as I say that, I realize that there might be some of you in here tonight who have never responded to Christ.

But maybe, right now, as we have laid out the Gospel, you realize that you need to respond.

So do that! In the quietness of your heart, accept this message and respond to it.

Repent of your sins and dedicate your life to Jesus.

(Pause.)

And if you’ve just done that in the quietness of your own heart, I invite you to pray this prayer silently along with me now.

This prayer doesn’t save anybody; its rather about the heart

But praying a prayer like this helps us visualize what is happening as we are giving our lives to Christ.

So with every head bowed and every eye closed, if you’d like to accept Christ, pray this with me:

Dear God, I know that my sins have broken my relationship with you and that I could never do enough good things to change that.

But right now, I believe that Jesus died in my place and rose again from the dead.

I trust in Him to forgive me for my sins.

Through faith in Him, I am entering an eternal relationship with you.

Thank you for this free gift! In Jesus’s name, amen.

If you just accepted Christ into your life, come and see me after the lesson.

I would love to pray with you and to encourage you.

Today, we’ve just brushed the surface of THE Cause and THE Cause Circle, and we’ll be going deeper into each element of it over the next three weeks, but I want to give you some time right now to think seriously about who should be in your Cause Circle.

Who has God put in your life who doesn’t know Jesus—friends or family members He wants you to reach out to and share your faith with?

Who is God putting on your heart?

I’m handing out some Cause Circle cards so you can fill in the names of people in your life whom you would love to see come to faith in Jesus

*begin passing out cards

I want each of you to take two cards to fill in—one you will keep yourself and one you can give to me before you leave, so I (and our other leaders) can be praying for you and with you about the friends you’re trying to reach.

There’s also a spot on the card for you to put your name.

Please fill that in, so we know whom we’re praying for.

And in the center of the circle, there are three blanks for you to put the names of people you sense God wants you to be praying for, caring for, and sharing with.

So take a moment right now to pray and ask God to show you whose names you should write down on your cards.

As you wrap up filling out your two cards, I want to challenge each of you to spend some personal time this week asking God to give you an increased passion for reaching the lost.

Ask Him to break your heart for your friends.

Ask Him to begin to use you in these coming weeks to help your friends bump into Jesus and put their faith in Him.

Ask Him to help you become more intentional about the Prayer, Care, Share process Jesus modeled so well.

Conclusion:

Gather your students in a large circle. Place an empty chair in front of the stage

That empty chair represents the desire and potential we have as a youth group to see our friends come to Christ.

Our hearts and our room are big enough to welcome many, many more teenagers into our midst.

I’d like each of you to visualize one of your unreached friends sitting in that chair.

Now close your eyes, and take just a couple more moments to pray for their salvation, and that God would give you the strength to invite them to youth group, and to go pray for them, care for them, and share with them.

Before we close together in prayer, I’d like each of you to take one of your Cause Circle cards that you’ve written your name and your friends’ names on and come forward silently to place it on that chair.

In a few moments, we’re going to pray together over all the names on those cards.

The reason I want you to leave me with a copy of your Cause Circle is because I want to be praying for you and with you about your friends who need Jesus. I want to pray for you and for them by name.

Let’s bow our heads and pray.

PRAY