This week, we wrapped up our "GET SNEAKY" series, where we've been talking about how, the small “sneaky” things we can do everyday can make a big difference in somebody’s life!
It’s sad, but a lot of people feel that many Christians are pushy and forceful people—that they just want to shove “religion” down somebody’s throat—that they enjoy waving signs telling people that they’re going to hell—pointing their fingers of judgment with a smile on their face. Unfortunately, it’s usually the crazy, offensive people who call themselves “Christians” who get the airtime on the news. While those people might mean well, generally when people share their faith in loud, forceful, even offensive ways, it brings the complete opposite effect- where people don’t want to have anything to do with Jesus because of them. It is, however, possible to talk about "God-stuff" without being a jerk.
1. WE CARRY GOOD NEWS
In the Bible, it talks a lot about sharing “the gospel”. The word “gospel” in the Greek language literally means- “good news”. So, as people who have faith in God, we have “good news” worth sharing. Generally, you don’t have to have your arm twisted to share good news. People are always sharing things that interest them or things that they’re excited about. On Facebook or Instagram, people post pictures of the successful meals they created. They share “selfies” because they want to show the world how good they look. They share memes that make them cringe or laugh. They share baby and wedding picture. People are CONSTANTLY sharing things about their lives!
A lot of Christians, however, find it hard to share stuff about what they might believe…or that they go to a church or youth group, or to share a Christian perspective on something happening in the news, because we don’t want to come off as being pushy or annoying. The temptation is to keep quiet and to never let people know what we believe about God and life, keeping the “good news”, the “gospel” a secret.
The good news is that God loves us and that through Jesus we can find forgiveness from sin. We can hope! We can live a fulfilling life, and have an eternal future in heaven!
2. PRAY FOR YOUR FRIENDS
God doesn’t over-ride people's wills if they’re dead-set against him. He gives us all a choice in choosing to know and follow him or to go our own way, but when we pray, we can ask God to draw people to himself…we can ask God to help our friends to start to think about deep, spiritual questions…we can pray that God would give us an opportunity to have a conversation about the stuff we believe.
“Pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them. Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God. This kind of prayer is good, and it pleases God our Saviour. God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth, which is, There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God.” (1 Timothy 2:1-5)
The Bible encourages us to pray for people—praying that God would bring the very best in their lives, praying for the people who are in charge of our world, and praying that people would come to know the God who loves them and wants a friendship with them! Don't give up praying for your friends and family!
3. LIVE OUT WHAT YOU BELIEVE.
One of the most hated kinds of people in our world today are hypocrites—people who say one thing, but do another. If you have accepted God’s love and forgiveness, but don’t actually try to live it out and follow God with your life, then you’re not going to be very convincing if someone asks you questions about what you believe.
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus calls his followers, “a light in a dark place or a city on the hill”. He’s basically saying that we should stand out as people who love and follow him- that there should be some noticeable difference in the way we live our lives! Do we stand out in the things we say? Do we stand out in the things that we do? If we don't take living out our faith seriously, why would anyone else take it seriously either?
4. BE OPEN AND HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU BELIEVE
A lot of people think that sharing your faith means preaching a sermon at people… and that’s just not true. Sharing your faith—sharing the good news of God’s love—can be as simple as being OPEN and HONEST about what you believe with other people.
When someone asks about your weekend (and it happens all of the time), tell them about what you did at CATALYST or that you were at church! If you’re reading the Bible and something jumps out at you, share it on social media! If you’re having a discussion with your friends on some topic—talk to them about what the Bible says on that issue. Let a friend know about a fun youth event that's coming up and invite them to join you!
It can be REALLY tempting to stay quiet about those things because we might be a little afraid of how people might react or respond—but we have to get over that. When we’re simply open and honest about what we believe, it’ll prompt people to ask questions! "CATALYST? What’s that?" "Why do you go?" "Why do you go to church on a Sunday instead of sleep in?" "Why do you volunteer in your church?" "Why do you go to the Christian club at school?" "I’ve noticed that you don’t swear or gossip about other people—why is that?"
When people ask questions and you give open and honest answers, you never know how God will use those conversations to get them thinking about God-stuff that they’ve never thought about before!
We can share our faith in small, “sneaky” ways everyday…and when we do, we can expect that people will ask questions, and we might just have an opportunity to point someone in the direction of the God who loves them!
QUESTIONS FOR HOME
1. Does your teen know somebody who seems far away from God or uninterested in faith stuff? Take the time this week to regularly pray for that friend, believing that God can spark spiritual needs and spiritual questions in their lives.
2. If someone were to ask your teen why they go to church or why they go to CATALYST, what answer would they give? Talk to them about why YOU are committed to being a part of church community. Explain some reasons why YOU feel that it's important for yourself.
3. Encourage your teen to be open and honest about what they believe. When someone asks what they did on the weekend, challenge them to share about CATALYST! It's something so simple that could spark more conversation!
4. Over the next two weeks, our mission is to play all of our Sneaky Cards. Ask your teens what cards they got this week and do what you can to help them complete their missions!
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