Results 1 - 8 of 8
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Witnessing: What is your style? | John 1:7 | Makarios | 21619 | ||
Witnessing- what is your style? As I continue my experience as a Christian and observe myself and other Christians, I have found that there are many "styles" that people use that are very effective in witnessing for Christ! There are a few "styles" that I've found: 1) The "Direct" Approach... This style describes my father to a "T".. It is a "in your face" style, where a person doesn't really need any preparation: they just go for it regardless of the outcome! Lets just say for a moment that I wasn't saved and I said something like: "Boy, that nice red corvette looks great!" And a person with a "direct" approach would say, "Yeah, and you'd sure look great as a follower of Jesus Christ!" or something like that. They have a God-given, 'in your face', blessed way of witnessing.. A Scriptural example of this 'direct' approach would be Peter in Acts 2.. Peter was very direct and told the Jews that they killed this man Jesus, and they are not going to heaven unless they repent! And many people were saved through that "direct" approach that day. I would say that a contemporary preacher that would fit this "style" or approach is D. James Kennedy. Praise the Lord for these people! 2) The "Intellectual" Approach.. These are people who are "thinkers" and who are able to reason with people about the existence and death of Christ! These are the kinds of thinkers that "prove" the foundations of the Christian faith through reasoning it out and explaining that there is no other way.. In Acts 17, Paul reasons with the Athenians about the very existence of God! These are people who have "kept" their intellectual minds after salvation.. :) They put their minds to excellent use by making a case for Christ! A few contemporary examples of this style would be C.S. Lewis and his "Mere Christianity" and Josh McDowell and his "More than a Carpenter" books.. Praise the Lord for these "thinkers"! 3) The "Testimonial" Approach... I have met and know many people who have discovered what a powerful impact that their testimony can have, just by sharing it! Just by giving their testimony and sharing what Jesus has done for them, they have a strong witness for Christ. There is just something about a testimony that makes it authentic, that makes it powerful! And a good example of this kind of witness would be the man born blind in John 9 whose testimony was simply, "One thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!" These people may not be great orators, but they sure have a powerful story to tell! And more often than not I've seen this method of witness produce results, especially if someone unsaved and directly relate to a particular story.. This is also a powerful witness! Praise the Lord for those who share! 4) The "Social" Approach... Some people find a great opportunity to share Christ through social 'get-togethers'.. These are people who can throw a party or have a church softball league or have a social gathering in which they find the opportunity to share Christ. A good example of a person like this is one who likes to invite people to church. And sometimes, the only thing that an unsaved person needs is an invitation! These people are very social and probably have a lot of friends. Matthew was a tax collector, but the moment that Jesus called him, he threw a party, invited his friends over and asked Jesus to come! (Matthew 9:9-13) I know several people have this "gift" in my church, and I'd have to say that this "style" definitely describes me, Nolan Keck, in a lot of ways! It can be very effective and "far reaching" at the same time. Praise the Lord for people who witness through socialization! I'm not saying that a person can't be "multi-dimensional", that is: being able to witness for Christ by using a different way or combining the ways above, but I'm saying that regardless of whichever way comes naturally for you, they are all equally effective and powerful in winning people to Christ! So we must discover which "way" best describes each one of us and use it to the best of our abilities! So how about you? Is there a particular "style" that best describes you? And have you been able to lead others to Christ by your example? Thank you in advance for your comments! |
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2 | Witnessing: What is your style? | John 1:7 | Morant61 | 21705 | ||
Example of Sovereignty........................ Greetings again Nolan! You got me to thinking about evangelism with your post and I remembered another story that I thought would be helpful to everyone. It is an example of God's relentless love for the lost! I was pastoring a church in Ohio! We had a new couple who had start attending our services. They had attended another church in town before, but left because of a pastor who literally was not providing any pastoral care. One night, they asked for prayer for a friend of theirs, because she was going to have a heart cath done that week. All of a sudden, this overwhelming urge hit me to go have prayer with her. I felt very strongly that I needed to go. I told the couple and they were simply tickled to death. To make a long story short, we drove to Ft. Wayne, IN to have prayer with this woman. I was under the mistaken impression that she was already a Christian. We made it just in time. I literally had just enough time to go into the surgical prep room, introduce myself and have prayer with her. I went to the waiting room and her friends stayed to have a few quick words with her. When they go to the waiting room, they gave me some amazing news. It turns out that this woman was not saved. She was so touched by the fact that someone who didn't even know her would come and pray with her, that she asked her friends to pray with her and accepted Christ. The story gets even better. It turned out that her heart was totally calcified. The cath procedure was meant to be only exploratory, but she never made it off of the operating table. What a gracious God we serve! To this day, I shudder to think of what might have happened if I hadn't listened to the Holy Spirit! The moral of this story is simple: If you feel God's leading to tell someone about Christ, do it! You may never know what God has in store for that person. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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3 | Witnessing: What is your style? | John 1:7 | Makarios | 21764 | ||
Wow! Powerful story Tim! I was in Fort Wayne, IN just last weekend.. :) It's amazing how the Lord uses each and every one of us! Your Brother in Christ, Nolan |
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4 | Reasons for Rejecting our Witness | John 1:7 | Makarios | 22029 | ||
Witnessing ************** Perhaps we could look at the subject of Witnessing in another constructive viewpoint.. What are some common reasons that people reject the Gospel, or act unfavorably toward our witness? Also, is persistence in witnessing always to our benefit? The following are three reasons that I have found that people act unfavorably toward a Christian witness... 1) Fear 2) Love of Pleasure, satisfied with pride and sin 3) A bad experience with Christianity Can anyone elaborate on these or think of others? |
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5 | Reasons for Rejecting our Witness | John 1:7 | stjones | 22031 | ||
4) No compelling reason to believe in Jesus or his claims - no hard evidence, just myths. 5) The Bible is not credible; it contradicts both science and common sense. Science conquered polio and smallpox while the God of the Bible just let people die and children be confined to iron lungs. Science has been proven to be reliable and useful; the Bible is just fairy tales. I don't believe any of that, of course, but I did once. Peace and grace, Steve |
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6 | Reasons for Rejecting our Witness | John 1:7 | Makarios | 22035 | ||
Hello Steve! Thank you for helping us to realize other reasons why people reject the faith.. I was never really put in the position of first rejecting the faith before I accepted Christ, but I would imagine that another such reason for rejecting Christianity would be: 6) I'll put it off until I'm ready or later on in life. I of course don't believe that, but it is a common excuse for not accepting Christ. Thank you Steve! Nolan |
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7 | Reasons for Rejecting our Witness | John 1:7 | stjones | 22038 | ||
Hi, Nolan; Unfortunately, that's a pretty popular one; the younger you are the more immortal you imagine yourself to be. I had the privilege of preaching on September 23. In talking about Satan's unnamed presence in 1 John 1:5-2:6, I mentioned the 11th. I told the congregation that on that day, hundreds or thousands of people lost forever their chance to escape his clutches. I invited anyone listening who was still thinking and deciding to imagine themselves on an upper floor of the WTC.... Peace and grace, Steve |
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8 | Reasons for Rejecting our Witness | John 1:7 | Makarios | 22039 | ||
Greetings Steve! That was a good example to use (being on the top floor of the WTC and coming up with excuses about decisions that affect eternity). As for the "unnamed presence" of Satan in 1 John 1:5-2:6, I am currently pretty deep in planning a Forum-wide study on 1 John, so we will definitely have to go over that in the study.. Thank you for your insight! Grace to you, Nolan |
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