*We are currently taking a pause in our usual sermon-based curriculum for you to take time to review our One Life curriculum. We hope this will encourage you and equip you to take steps in sharing your faith with the people around you!
Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:7-8
The first time I shared my faith, I was so nervous. I was unprepared to share it, and I stumbled over my words. I certainly believe that God used my words to impact the life of the person I shared with, but I also believe that if I had been better prepared, my words could have had an even greater impact.
Maybe you can relate to my story. Maybe you feel nervous about sharing your faith with someone because you do not feel prepared. But, I have good news for you! With understanding and practice, you can be better prepared and more confident the next time an opportunity to share your faith arises.
The apostle Paul had a firm understanding of His faith and much experience sharing it. In Romans 5, Paul gives a good overview of the good news of Jesus Christ. Because of God’s love, he explains that when we were helpless and lost in our sin, Christ died for us (verse 6). Through Jesus’ life and death, he writes that our relationship with God has been restored because of the blood of Jesus. These few short verses in Romans 5 are the essence of the Christian faith: We were dead in our sin because of His love, Christ died for us, and in His grace, He offers us a relationship with Him.
If you feel nervous or unprepared to share your faith, we have created a tool, the Bridge Diagram, to help you share your faith with the same confidence that the Apostle Paul had. We hope that this tool will help you share your faith clearly and confidently with those around you. The good news of Jesus Christ, through the power of God, can change a person’s life. It changed Paul’s life. It changed my life. Has it changed yours? If your life has been changed because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, will you share your faith with others so that they, too, can experience salvation through Jesus Christ?
We understand that sharing your faith can be intimidating, so we want to equip you with the Bridge Diagram to help you share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. This diagram can be found through a written script for those of you who are visual learners or on video (Segment 4) for those of you who are auditory learners. Spend time reading the script or watching the video to review the Bridge Diagram and be better acquainted with it to be prepared to share it when you have an opportunity to share with a lost friend or family member.
Romans 5:1-11 (NLT)
"Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God."
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