Living in 3-D (Luke
15)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Slide 1:
Title
Slide 2:
Review
(►Willing/Unknown;
►Listen
for the Spirit;
►Just
walk)
Often we’re
looking right at a picture and everything’s there, we don’t
see it. (Little girl at a wedding “Why doesn’t he hurry
up and pick one?!”)
Sometimes
we’ve gotten so used to something when it changes we miss it
(John’s beard story)
Slides 3
and 4
3-D movies -
replaced by HD (don’t need glasses anymore)
Old picture
was hard to figure out without the glasses.
What was
added by the mixture of colors was a third dimension:
length, width, and now depth.
Slide 5:
Simple
gospel:
►Three-part
mission from Jesus:
1.
►Come,
follow me (be like me)
2.
►Love
each other (live in intimate community – identified with JC)
3.
►Go
make disciples
Slide 6: Luke 15:1:
Now the tax collectors and
"sinners" were all gathering around to hear him.
Jesus in a marketplace
surrounded by ordinary people: talking, listening, and
interacting with anyone who happened to be there.
Slide 7: Luke 15:2:
2 But the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and
eats with them."
“It’s
important for every Christian to be growing in knowledge, in
worship, in character, in serving, in giving. But are we
also growing in our ability to radically accept whoever is
standing on the other side of the room?”
(Hybels)
►
“Walk-across-the-room” people live life in 3-D (like Jesus!)
Slide 8: Dimension 1 - Dive
in to the crowd
Dive into the crowd willing
to view every interaction as a first step in developing a
new, God-honoring friendship. CHECK YOUR CALENDAR: Where are
you spending the majority of your time? (Watching TV?, at
church? With other Christians? Events you go to) WHEN YOU’RE
“OUT AMONG ‘EM” – Are you looking for ways to connect?
(People who need help, conversation starters, requests for
advice, “how’s your day going? Have you seen Beowulf? Other
ideas…)
Slide 9: Dimension 2 (Dive
into the crowd)
►Dip
in to someone’s space
Strike up a relationship with
someone
Start hanging out with them,
Start taking an
interest in what’s going on with them
ENLIVENS BIBLE STUDY AND
PRAYER LIFE; IMAGINE SMALL GROUPS TALKING OVER ISSUES
RAISED BY IRRELIGIOUS PEOPLE. DIGGING INTO THE SCRIPTURES
FOR ANSWERS, PRAYING INTENTIONALLY FOR WISDOM AND INSIGHT;
IMAGINE READING A PASSAGE YOU’VE READ A THOUSAND TIMES AND
SEEING THE ANSWER TO YOUR FRIEND’S QUESTION, FOR THE FIRST
TIME!
Phil 1:9-11
Warning: It make take a
considerable time investment to get to the heart of a
person’s story…”people don’t care how much you know…”
Often I have to wait for an
invitation to share my story
Slide 10: Dimension 3
(Dive…Dip)
►Dig
in to God’s heart
(We’re never going to find the motivation until we do!)
Slide 11:
Three stories in Luke 15: all
with the same message:
1)
Lost sheep
2)
Lost coin
3)
Lost son
What’s important about all
three stories:
1)
99 sheep weren’t enough (the
flock wasn’t complete without 100)
2)
9 coins weren’t enough (the
bag wasn’t full without 10)
3)
1 son wasn’t a whole family
1)
99 sheep probably felt
“uncared for” while the Shepherd searched
2)
9 coins sat on the table in a
bag while the hunt went on (paper
route money)
3)
1 son played the game by the
rules without a party (when
Cliff got in trouble and Dad took him to a ball game)
The priority is clearly on
the outsider, the bad guy, the wanderer, for us: “Unchurched
Harry and Mary”
1)
The shepherd left the 99
2)
The woman was more determined
to finding the lost coin than she was in having 9
3)
The father’s heart was on the
prodigal
Once we dive in to the crowd
and dip in to someone’s space, how do we dig into God’s
heart?
Slide 12 What would/did
Jesus do?
(Follow/be like, love people, make disciples)
1)
►Tell
a story
2)
►Ask
a question (Craig: what is
it that turned you off?)
3)
►Make
a comparison to a circumstance you’ve faced
4)
►Offer
to pray
5)
►Offer
a practical solution that involves you/us
(“Preach the gospel, if
necessary, use words”)
6)
►►Follow
through!!!
Pair up with someone this
week. Commit to diving in to the crowd, making a connection
in someone’s space, dig in to God’s heart TOGETHER
