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WHAT DO WE TELL?

A GOSPEL SCRIPT

Starting

• What kind of relationship with God would you say you have?

• What makes you say that? How did you come to that conclusion?

• What would it take for God to accept someone like me?

1) God is Holy (1 Peter 1:16)

• The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:16, “” This means to be in a right relationship with God, we must be as holy as He is. "Holy" means God is so pure and good that He is set apart from anything evil. He cannot approve of what is wrong.

• If someone didn't want God to accept them, what would they have to do? What gives you that impression?

2) We are Sinful (Romans 3:23)

• Romans 3:23 says, “” This means we fail to be holy because our hearts naturally turn away from Him. We don’t measure up to His standard; we’re born disregarding what He wants and willfully doing what He disapproves of.

• How do you think that affects our relationship with God?

3) We owe Death (Romans 6:23)

• Romans 6:23 says, “” We owe a debt of death for our sin. By default, hearts and our actions offend the One and Only True Holy God and separate us from Him.

• We are all dying physically because of sin, and the Bible says after death, we will be judged. We will be separated from everything enjoyable about God forever, experiencing only His just anger in the Lake of Fire as punishment for our sin. This is the "second death."

• How can we stop this from happening?

4) Jesus died and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Jesus is God the Father’s Son; who became a man. Jesus is God in a human body. He lived the holy life we couldn't, then took our punishment by dying in our place for our sins. Three days later, He came back to life physically according to the Bible.

• What difference do you think this makes?

5) Turn and Trust (John 3:36)

• John 3:36 says, “” To have eternal life, we must trust that Jesus is God’s Son who died, was buried, and rose again for us.

• If we trust Him, we have God’s love forever. If we don’t, His anger remains over us. To embrace this, we must admit it's true and turn from whatever stops us from trusting Jesus as the only way to be accepted by the Father.

Their Response

• Where are you at with all of this? Based on that verse, which person are you? When did you tell Jesus that you believe?

• John 5:24 says God forever accepts those who trust Jesus. Since He was judged for our sin, we will never be judged for it ourselves.

The Prayer

• If someone truly believes in Jesus, what would it take for God to reject them?

• Romans 8:38-39 says nothing can separate a believer from God’s love.

• How do you feel about what Jesus did for you? What’s holding you back from telling Him that right now?

LONGER GOSPEL SCRIPT

Starting

• What kind of relationship with God would you say you have?

• What makes you say that or how did you come to that conclusion?

• What would it take for God to accept someone like me?

The reason I ask is that:

1) God is Holy (1 Peter 1:16 & 1 Samuel 2:2)

• The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:16… This means to be in a right relationship with God, we must be as holy as He is. "Holy" means God is so beautiful, pure, and righteous that He is set apart from anything evil. He cannot approve of what is wrong. There is none holy like God. (1 Samuel 2:2)

If someone didn't want God to accept them, what would they have to do?
What gives you that impression?

2) We are Sinful (Romans 3:23 & Romans 5:12)

• God created humans in His image (Genesis 1:27), which means we have value and dignity, and we can know Him personally.

• What do you think changed our relationship with God?

• Romans 5:12 says… This means that the first human, Adam, chose to rebel against God, and he ruined us and all of creation with sin and death.

• Romans 3:23 says… This means we fail to be holy because our hearts naturally turn away from Him. We sin when we don’t measure up to His holiness; we’re born disregarding what He wants and willfully doing what He disapproves of. For example, He says don’t lie, but we lie.

How do you think us being sinful affects our relationship with God?

3) We owe Death (Romans 6:23 & Revelation 21:8)

• Romans 6:23 says… We owe a debt of death for our sin. Our hearts and our actions offend the One and Only True Holy God and we are dead spiritually, which means we are separated from knowing Him personally.

• We are all dying physically because of sin, and the Bible says that after death, we will be judged. We will be separated forever from everything enjoyable about God, experiencing only His just anger in the Lake of Fire as punishment for our sin. This is the "second death." (Revelation 21:8)

How do you feel about us being separated forever from God?

How can we stop ourselves from being separated from God?

4) Jesus lived sinlessly, died, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says… Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Jesus Christ is God the Father’s Son, who became a man, being miraculously born from a virgin woman. Basically, Jesus is God in a human body. He lived the holy life we couldn't, then took our punishment by shedding His blood and dying in our place for our sins. Three days later, He came back to life physically according to the Bible, God’s Word.

Why do you think God sent His Son for you?

5) Turn and Trust (John 3:16-18 & John 17:3 & John 3:36 & John 14:6)

• John 3:16-18 says… God loved us and gave His Son to be a willing sacrifice for us, so that if we believe that He was condemned for our sin, then we will not be condemned for our sin.

• What is eternal life? John 17:3 says… Eternal life means to personally & truthfully know God the Father and God the Son in a loving & right way.

• John 3:36 says… To have eternal life, we must trust that Jesus is God’s Son who died, was buried, and rose again for us. Jesus is the only way for anyone to personally & truthfully know God & His Son. (John 14:6)

• If we trust Jesus, we have God’s love forever. If we don’t, His anger remains over us, and we are still condemned for our sin. To embrace eternal life, we must repent. This means we must change our mind about God, sin, and Jesus, and whole-heartedly admit that Jesus is God’s Son who came for us. We must turn from whatever stops us from trusting Jesus as the only way to be accepted forever by God the Father.

• Based on that John 3:36, which person are you, the one who has eternal life or the one still under God’s anger? What makes you say that?

When did you tell Jesus that you believe that He died for you and rose again?

The Prayer

• How do you feel about what Jesus did for you? (Romans 10:9-13) What’s holding you back from telling Him that right now?

• I am going to bow my head and talk to God out loud, then I am going to ask you to tell God what you believe in your own words. You can say it out loud or in your heart. When you’re done praying, say “In Jesus’ Name, Amen” out loud so that I know that you’re done.

• You told me that you understand that God is holy and you are sinful and that you owe death. Tell God what you believe about that…You told me that you believe that Jesus is God in the flesh Who lived a sinless life for you, died, and rose again. Tell God what you believe about. Tell God that you believe He has forgiven you through Jesus and tell Him how you feel about it.

• So, what were you telling God?

• Get their contact info and give them a bible or Gospel of John and a Next Steps booklet. Help them find a church at makingmessengers.com and tell them about the importance of being baptized, prayer, reading the Bible, etc. Pray for them.

• If you don’t believe, then when you think about His love for you, by dying on the cross and rising again for you, what about His love for you is not good enough for you to accept? Why would you rather embrace His anger and judgment? What questions or struggles do you have? I would love to show you what God’s Word says. I need you to know, that until you trust in Jesus, you are still separated from God. Can I pray for you?

Where are you at with all of this?

Clarifying that what Jesus did is enough (John 5:24 & Romans 8:38-39)

• John 5:24 says… God forever accepts those who trust Jesus. Since He was judged for our sin, we will never be judged for it, once we believe.

If someone truly believes in Jesus, what would it take for God to reject them?

• Romans 8:38-39 says… Nothing can separate a believer from God’s love.

• John 10:27-30 says… No one can take a believer out of God’s hand.

Clarifying what happened when someone believes (Ephesians 1:13-14)

• Ephesians 1:13-14 says… the moment someone believes the Good News about Jesus; God puts His Spirit inside their hearts (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) guaranteeing that Jesus will come back for them (Ephesians 4:30), because they are now His children. (1 John 1:10-13; 1 John 5:1)

• The moment they believed, His Spirit made them a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17). Their hearts are changed with new thoughts about God and people (Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 9:19-22 & 10:31-33; 2 Corinthians 5:14-20) and they have new desires to follow Christ.

• Jesus will come back for believers to change their bodies into bodies that have no sin and death. (1 John 3:1-3; Philippians 3:20-21)

• Until then, believers have new hearts in old bodies (Romans 7:14-25), so they have to choose to submit the Holy Spirit’s leading in their lives instead of living how they have always lived. (Galatians 5:16-25)

• God is using everything in their lives to make them more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-30; James 1:2-8) as they submit to the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18) by trusting and obeying the Bible (Philippians 2:12-14; 1 John 2:3-6; James 1:22; John 8:31-36) and loving people. (1 John 3:23-24; 1 John 4:11-21; Luke 6:27-36)

• When they sin, they must confess it to God (1 John 1:5-10) with a heart to forsake it (Proverbs 28:13) and believe that God still forgives them because of Jesus. (1 John 2:1-2; 1 John 4:9-10)

• God’s Spirit confirms in their hearts that they truly have eternal life. (Romans 8:1,14-17; Galatians 4:6-7; 1 John 5:9-13)

• Which person best describes you in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Galatians 5:19-23 and 1 John 3:7-10? Why would you say that?

Clarifying that we are saved by grace and mercy through faith, not by works

Which best describes you? 1) I am only accepted by God trough His grace because I trust in Jesus. 2) I trust that I am accepted by God because I try to avoid doing wrong and I try to do what’s right. 3) Both #1 and #2. The only right answer is #1.

• A debt is owed to someone who earned a reward for their work. (Romans 4:2) Eternal life is not a debt that God owes a believer for their works. (Romans 4:1-3)

• Grace is being granted access to a free gift that we don’t deserve; it cannot be earned by works otherwise it would not be grace. (Romans 11:6)

• Mercy is not receiving the punishment that we do deserve for the debt that we rightly earned by our sinful works. (Romans 4:6-8; Titus 3:3-8)

• Faith is receiving the free gift of eternal life by trusting in Who Jesus is and in what He willingly did to earn it for us. (1 Timothy 1:12-16; Acts 26:18) We receive eternal life the moment we believe. (John 5:24; Romans 5:1)

• We are not saved by our faith in our faithfulness. (1 John 5:9-13)

• We are not saved by our faith plus our righteous works. (Isaiah 64:6)

• We are not saved by our faith plus our obedience to the Law of Moses. (Romans 4:13 & 9:30-33; Acts 10:43; Acts 11:15-18; Acts 13:38-39)

• We are not saved by our faith plus circumcision. (Romans 4:9-17)

• We are not saved by God’s grace apart from our faith. (Hebrews 4:12)

• We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9), apart from our faithfulness, (2 Timothy 2:13) apart from our righteous works, (Romans 3:27) and apart from our obedience to the Law of Moses, (Romans 10:1-4; Acts 15:5-11; Romans 3:27-31; Galatians 2:14-21; Galatians 3:1-9; 10-14) because Jesus was righteous for us. (Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:1-9)

Clarifying the importance of works for believers

• Just as God has already provided His Son for us to believe in Him; also, before God created everything, He had already provided works for us to do once we believe in Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:8) Those good works don’t save us, nor prove to God that we are saved. (Matthew 7:13-23) However, those good works do demonstrate to other humans what we say we believe (James 2:14-25), and they earn us rewards (1 Corinthians 3:1-15; Colossians 3:23-25; Revelation 11:18 & 22:12). Our bad works don’t eternally condemn us before God (Hebrews 10:10, 14; Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5), but He may discipline us. (Hebrews 12:1-14)

• The only work that saves us is the work faith in Jesus. (John 6:27-29)
  
  

Clarifying how Abraham’s faith and works justified him

• Abraham believed God (Genesis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8-9) and obeyed Him when he was 75 years old.

• God declared Abraham righteous for his faith in Genesis 15:6 when Abraham was about 85 years old.

• That happened before he disobeyed God by fathering Ishmael. (Genesis 16:3, 16)

• Then when Abraham was 99 years old God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and had him circumcised. (Genesis 17:1, 9, 10, 24)

• When Abraham was 100 years old, Isaac was born. (Genesis 21:5)

• Abraham offered Isaac when Isaac was at least 15 years old. (Genesis 22:5-6; Genesis 21:5)

• This means that Abraham was justified by faith before God apart from his works when he was at least 85 years old. Besides, God already knew that Abraham would obey him. (Gen 18:17-19)

• At age 115, Abraham’s work of offering up Isaac justified Abraham’s claim of faith before humans.

• So, 30 years beforehand, God had previously justified Abraham before Himself.

• Therefore, Abraham was not justified before God by his works (Romans 4:1-2); but his works did justify him before us by showing us that he truly did believe God and that his faith was not useless. (James 2:20-24)

Clarifying that water baptism does save anyone

• We are not saved by water baptism, because water baptism is not the Gospel. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 & 1:13-18; Romans 1:16-17)

• It is the baptism of the Spirit that saves (John 6:63; John 1:12-13), not water baptism. (John 1:29-34)

• The water does not give us the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13-14; Acts 8:12-17; Acts 10:43-48)

• The water demonstrates that the Spirit washed our hearts. (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Titus 3:5; John 3:1-12; Acts 15:9; Acts 22:15-16)

• John’s water baptism that prepared Israel for the coming Messiah is not the same as the water baptism that the apostles were commanded to do for believers after Jesus already came. (Acts 19:1-6)

• Water baptism doesn’t save. (Mark 1:9-11; John 4:1-2)

Jesus is God

• God the Father calls Jesus God. (Hebrews 1:1-13; Psalm 110:1; Psalm 102:12, 24-27; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7)

• Jesus was called God in the Old Testament before He was born on earth. (John 6:46 & John 1:18 & Genesis 32:30 & Judges 13:20-22; Isaiah 45:23-24 & Philippians 2:5-11; Genesis 18:1-3, 16-22 & John 8:51-59; Exodus 33:11, 18-23 & Deuteronomy 34:10 & Matthew 17:1-3; Isaiah 6:1 & John 12:39-41)

• Jesus recognizes Himself as God. (Exodus 3:13-15 & John 8:23-24, 57-59; Psalm 23:1; John 10:14, 27-33)

• We must believe Jesus is God to be accepted by the Father. (John 5:23; John 8:24; John 1:1-4)

• To be the Son of God, means Jesus is equal to God. (John 5:16-24; Matthew 22:41-46; Matthew 26:63-64 & Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Mark 14:61-64; 2 John 1:3, 9; John 10:30-38; John 14:1-11; 1 John 2:22-24; Mark 2:1-12)

Clarifying that Jesus is the Firstborn

• The meaning of firstborn is two-fold: the first child born to a father or it can mean one who has the outranking rights of the one who was born first even though he was not born first. (1 Chronicles 26:10)

• Just like Esau was Isaac’s firstborn, but the birthright went to Jacob (Genesis 25:20-28, 31-34; Genesis 27:32; Romans 9:10-13). Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn, but the birthright went to Judah (1 Chronicles 5:1-2; Genesis 35:22-23; Genesis 46:8; Genesis 49:8-12). God calls Israel His firstborn (Exodus 4:22) and then He calls Ephraim His firstborn (Isaiah 31:9) even though Ephraim was born after Manasseh (Genesis 41:51; Genesis 48:14-20), because He is referencing rights to the throne, which essentially goes to the line of Judah.

• Jesus is the Firstborn heir to the Davidic Throne (2 Samuel 7:8-16; Psalm 89:20-27; Psalm 2:6-12). Jesus is exalted above everything and everyone. (Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Peter 3:22; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Hebrews 1:3-4)

• Jesus is the Firstborn of all creation in the sense that He is the King of kings, Lord of lords, and He owns everything that has been created because He created it. (Hebrews 1:2-6; Acts 2:36; Deuteronomy 10:17; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:11-16; Colossians 1:13-18)

• Everything that has been created (John 1:3), was created by Jesus (Hebrews 1:2), therefore, Jesus was not created. (John 17:5; Micah 5:2) Jesus is called the Firstborn of all creation, not because He was the first created being, it means that Jesus outranks everything, because He is equal with God and created everything. (Colossians 1:15-16)

• Just like Abraham’s son Isaac was his only begotten son according to promise (Hebrews 11:17-18) although he wasn’t his only son (Genesis 16:16; 17:18-19), Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who alone has the right to be equal with God (John 1:1-4, 14, 18; John 3:16).

• Jesus is the Firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5; Romans 8:29; Revelation 2:8) in the sense that all resurrections are made possible because of His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-24; Matthew 27:50-53) even though He was not the first to rise from the dead. (Luke 11:17-44)

Clarifying the Trinity

• The Father is called God. (John 6:27; Jude 1:1)

• Jesus is called God. (Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1; Acts 2:24-25 & Luke 20:41-44)

• The Holy Spirit is called God. (Acts 5:3-9; Exodus 31:3; Isaiah 11:1-2 & Matthew 3:16-17; Isaiah 61:1 & Luke 4:14-24)

• The Father is not Jesus. (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 17:5; John 13:3; John 20:17)

• Jesus is not the Spirit. (John 16:7-15; Mark 1:9-11)

• God refers to Himself in the plural (Genesis 1:26; Genes 3:22; Genesis 11:6-8; Isaiah 6:8; John 14:23) and the singular (Genesis 1:27; Isaiah 45:14, 18; Isaiah 44:8).

• All Three Persons together. (2 Samuel 23:2-3; Isaiah 48:16; Isaiah 63:7-14; Matthew 3:16; Matthew 28:19; John 14:16-18; 20, 23; John 15:26; Romans 15:15-16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:1-2; Ephesians 1:12-17; Acts 2:32-33; Galatians 4:6l Mark 12:35-36; Acts 7:55; Acts 8:26, 34)

Why are there so many religions?

• We are all descendants of the first two humans, Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:20)

• After they brought sin and death into the world, humankind’s understanding was darkened. (Romans 1:18-21) They began to seek God in their own way, even though they knew better. (Romans 1:22-25)

• Now humans interpret God in light of their circumstances and culture, rather than interpreting everything in light of who God is according to His Word. (Acts 14:15-17; Acts 17:22-31; Romans 10:14-17)

Why is there evil in the world if God is real?

If the Bible wasn’t true, where do you think evil came from? Do you think it has always been this way?

• God cannot commit evil. (James 1:13-15; Psalm 5:4; 1 John 1:5)

• Originally God created everything and everyone very good. (Genesis 1:31; Ecclesiastes 7:29)

• After Satan freely rebelled, (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:11-15) he was cast to earth, then Eve was tricked by him (Genesis 3:1-6) and then Adam and her freely chose to sin (1 Timothy 2:13-14) and ruin everything with sin and death. (Romans 5:12) Now, everyone and everything is affected with evil. (Romans 8:18-22)

• God knew this would happen and already had the plan to fix it through Jesus. (Acts 2:22-24; Acts 4:27-28) God wasn’t powerless, surprised, or absent.

• He is giving everyone exactly what they need to come to Him and be rescued from sin and death. (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 17:24-28)

• At the appointed time, when everyone who will be saved are saved, He will then allow them to live in new creation free from sin and death.
  (2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 22:1-7)

The Bible was written by man and has been corrupted; how can we trust it?

• How do you determine what actually happened with other historical events, since you and those who taught were not there? How does that compare to your understanding of the Bible?

• The original manuscripts of the Bible were breathed out by God. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) God’s Word came from His mouth. (Matthew 4:4)

• His Spirit moved certain men to down exactly what He wanted communicated.

• He used the language, culture, personality, and historical context of the writers. Some of the writers were eyewitnesses of Jesus.

• The writers did not produce the Bible by their own will or own personal explanation of what the Spirit was communicating. (2 Peter 1:15-21)

I’m holding back from trusting in Jesus…

• Because of my family. Matthew 10:24-39; Luke 14:25-27 Don’t let your love for your family, keep you from the love of Jesus. What about Jesus’ love is not enough for you?

• Because I want to wait. Mark 8:34-38; John 3:18-21, 36; Acts 17:30-31 Don’t lose your soul for this life. What would it take for you to repent?

• Because of what happened to me. Romans 5:6-8; Romans 2:1-11 I’m sorry for what happened to you. Your pain is real, and God knows that. He didn’t want us to live forever in a fallen world, which is why He sent His Son to redeem us. He loves you wants you rescue from sin. Rejecting His love for you through His Son, only leads to the Lake of Fire. Why would you intentionally choose more unnecessary suffering?

What do We Tell?

• God is Holy (1 Samuel 2:2; I Peter 1:15-16; Revelation 15:4; Isaiah 6:1-6; Psalm 5:4-5; Matthew 5:8; Matthew 5:48; 1 John 1:5-6)

• We are Sinful (Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 53:6a; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-12; Isaiah 59:1-2; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 13:23; Romans 5:19; Matthew 5:21-22, 27-30; James 2:10; 1 John. 3:4; 1 John 3:15)

• We owe Death (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 1:28-32; Romans 6:23a; Daniel 12:2; John 12:48; Romans 14:12; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:10-15; Revelation 21:8)

• Christ Took Our Punishment (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 3:5; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 27:46; John 10:15; Romans 5:6-10; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Matthew 19:26; John 14:6; John 17:3-4; Acts 4:12; Acts 26:18; Romans 4:25)

• Turn and Trust (Mark 1:15; John 1:10-13; John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31; Acts 17:30-31; Romans 10:8-13; 1 John 5:10-13)

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Introduction

WHAT IS IT?

WHAT DO WE TELL?

HOW DO WE TELL IT?

WHAT DO WE SHARE NEXT?

ROPE ILLUSION

LOOP ILLUSION

MATH CARDS

QUESTIONNAIRE

RIDDLE

GOD-YOU SKETCH MESSAGE

PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTION