LESSON 1 The GOOD News Objective: To present Christ as the good news and the only way to God, the Father. The Bible tells us about the good news. In fact, we can even say that it’s the best news ever. The Good News talks about the origin of life. Since man came from God, He is the One who determines the purpose and direction of our lives. The Good News also talks about the destiny of man: 10 to 20 years from now, we may still be alive, but 100 years from now we are surely gone. Where are you going to spend eternity? There are only two destinations: heaven or hell. Finally, the Good News talks about the eternal love of our Creator: He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to give us eternal life (John 3:16). 1. THE ORIGINAL PLAN OF GOD Why did God create man? Man is a special creation. He is not an accident. He is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). As such, God has planned for him to: (1) Live forever in fellowship with Him; and (2) rule or have dominion over the rest of creation. At the Garden, God has a wonderful personal relationship and fellowship with man and man is destined to rule over all other creatures. 2. THE BAD NEWS But there is bad news: the man that God created to have fellowship with Him had sinned, and his relationship with God was broken. It is bad news because: A. All have sinned (Rom.3:10, 23). It includes everyone. We are all sinners. 1. We are sinners by nature. Sin and death entered the world through Adam (Rom.5:12) We were born with a sinful nature. Suppose you have a pet pig which you bathe, clothe and put perfume on. Since your pig is so clean, do you think she won’t wallow on mud if she sees one? Of course, she’ll wallow on the mud. Why? Because, she’s a pig and it is the nature of pigs to wallow in the mud. The same is true with us, it is in our nature to sin and so, even if no one teaches us to sin, we’ll keep on sinning. We are sinners because we are born with a sinful nature. 2. We are sinners by deeds. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and no one is righteous (Rom.3:10,23). Since we were born with a sinful nature, we were born with a tendency to sin. So, man at a very early stage, even when being taught what’s good, will always commit his first act of sin. This first act of sin will be followed with many more sins against God. We are sinners by nature and we are sinners by deeds. B. Man is separated from God (Rom. 3:23) C. For the wages of sin is death (separation from God). Man will be eternally separated from God and go to hell if he dies without Christ (Rom.6:23). D. Man cannot reach God by good works, religion and other means (Col.2:8) 3. THE GOOD NEWS There is Good News: A. God loves all men (Jn.3:16). He loves you and He wants you to be restored back into His Image and His original plan for you. God does not want you to go to hell. To do this… B. God sent Jesus to die for your sins. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn.14:6). He recreates the image of God in man, and through Him, we can again have a personal relationship and fellowship with God. He is the Only Way to the Father and our salvation. C. Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart (Rev.3:20) a. Repent of your sins. b. Surrender your life to Jesus c. Make Him God, Lord and Savior of your life Let us open our hearts and receive Jesus as our God (our owner), Lord (our ruler), Savior (our way to the Father). Activation: Make an altar call for salvation. Lead participants to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives. The teacher will lead the group to surrender their lives to Jesus and lead them in a prayer. The teacher will teach a very short exposition of Matthew 28:19 The teacher will model how to share the Gospel in 3 minutes only. The teacher will also give a sample sinner’s prayer that is short and simple. They will learn how to share the Gospel in 3 minutes only. The teacher will give two sample bridge conversation or conversation starters: 1. Have you heard about the good news? 2. If you sleep tonight and you died in your sleep, do you know where would you go? Heaven, hell or purgatory? Since the class is small, two will practice sharing in front (plenary) one by one. The teacher will give an evaluation of the practice sharing by the two. Then the others will share to each other in twos simultaneously. They will share the Good News to at least 3 people per week for the next 4 weeks. Group Discussion: What is the plan of God for man? What is the good news? Have you accepted Jesus into your heart today? (If the message was not understood, facilitator should share the gospel again to the group and lead them to Christ). When did you commit your life to the lordship of Jesus? What are the changes that took place after you surrendered your life to Jesus? Action: Write the date today in your Bible if you had made a decision to surrender your heart to Jesus as God, Lord and Savior of your life and signed your name beside it. Memory Verse: John 14:6
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:05:24 +0000
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