INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP PRE ENCOUNTER Lesson Plan Class: 01

Transcription

1 INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP PRE ENCOUNTER Lesson Plan I. A MESSAGE TO THE INSTRUCTOR Consolidation is the phase following a person s receiving of Christ as their personal Savior. During this phase, the new believer must receive constant care and attention until the character of Christ is formed in them. The Pre Encounter Course plays a vital role in the Consolidation process, and as the instructor, you ve been entrusted with this responsibility. Never forget that your role is not to lecture these students with facts and information but to impart life. Keep in mind that an instructor that doesn t have life cannot give life. You must live at the level of your message! The purpose of Pre Encounter is to lead the new believer through the basic steps of the Christian faith. After completing this course, each student should: 1. Possess an assurance of their salvation 2. Understand the benefits of their salvation as provided through the Cross 3. Experience God s power in delivering them from their past 4. Be prepared (encouraged and motivated) to attend an Encounter II. CLASS OBJECTIVES The purpose of this lesson is to show the new believer four (4) simple (but life-changing) benefits they received as a result of being born again and how to take full advantage of them: 1. The Benefit of Forgiveness 2. The Benefit of Reconciliation 3. The Benefit of Restoration 4. The Benefit of Relationship It s important that your students understand that these four (4) benefits are results of being born again not requirements to be born again. At the conclusion of this lesson, give everyone an opportunity to receive Christ as their personal Savior.

2 III. INTRODUCTION [NOTE: The purpose of an introduction is to put everyone at ease and to build rapport with your class. Remember for some of your students, this is the first bible class they ve attended, and their first opportunity to meet someone else who attends Word of Life.] A. Introduce Yourself 1. Name, occupation, how long you ve been a part of Word of Life, etc 2. Introduce your class assistant. 3. Share a brief testimony of how you were born again. Keep this testimony focused on why you needed Christ and the impact He has made in your life. [Note: Although this is a great opportunity to capture the hearts of your students, keep this testimony clear and brief. This is NOT the time to recite your entire spiritual history; doing so will both waste your class time and confuse the student.] B. Student Icebreaker 1. Break your class into pairs (groups of 2). 2. Have each student briefly share something interesting about themselves and why they decided to attend this class. [Note: This is a great opportunity for the students to get to know one another. Feel free to substitute this icebreaker for one of your own.] IV. LESSON: THE FOUR (4) BENEFITS OF BEING BORN AGAIN A. Opening Illustration A man booked a passage on a ship with just enough money to buy a ticket, a wedge of cheese and some biscuits for the long voyage. The first few days at sea the biscuits and cheese tasted good, but eventually they became stale. Each day as he watched the porters carry large steaks, lobsters, chicken and many other delicious foods to the other passengers, he became very hungry. In fact, he became so hungry that he finally stopped one of the porters and said, I ll do anything to get one of those steaks! I ll wash dishes, clean rooms, even mop the deck. The porter replied, Didn t you know that your meals were included with the price of your ticket? Pre Pre Encounter Page 2 of 5

3 1. This man didn t understand the benefits included in the price of his ticket! He spent most of his voyage hungry and miserable until he realized what rightfully belonged to him. John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 2. We received an abundant life when we were born again. Unfortunately, many Christians are like the starving man on the ship. They have the God-given right to experience an abundant life but they ve settled for miserable living. 3. Why? Simply because they don t know about the benefits of being born again. In today s lesson we re going to look at four (4) of the most important benefits God gave to all of us when we were born again. B. First The Benefit of Forgiveness! 1. Illustration There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. 2. True or not, this story illustrates an important point we all have a deep need for forgiveness. Why? Because we ve all sinned against God and others. Romans 3:23 (NKJV) For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 3. But God s love is amazing! Instead of turning His back on us He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to make forgiveness possible. Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV) 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Pre Pre Encounter Page 3 of 5

4 4. When we accepted Christ into our hearts (and were born again), God forgave us of all of our sins! We no longer need to carry around the guilt and shame of our past! Psalm 103:10-12 (NKJV) 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. C. Second The Benefit of Reconciliation! 1. Illustration In his book, Miracle on the River Kwai, Ernest Gordon wrote The Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarous behavior, but one afternoon something happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and threatened to kill them all on the spot. It was obvious the officer meant what he had said. Finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point. The word spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to save the others! The incident had a profound effect. The men began to treat each other like brothers. When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons, lined up in front of their captors (and instead of attacking their captors) insisted: "No more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness." Sacrificial love has transforming power. 2. At times, in a relationship something happens that breaks the trust between two people. Although we may come to forgive that person, their actions still damaged the relationship and it may never be the same again. 3. Not so with God! Not only has He forgiven us; He s also reconciled with us. Colossians 1:21-22 (NKJV) And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight-- 4. It s one thing to forgive your enemies...it s another thing to become friends! Not only has God forgiven us, but He treats us as if we never sinned in the first place. Pre Pre Encounter Page 4 of 5

5 D. Third The Benefit of Restoration! 1. In His parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), Jesus taught about a young man who demanded his inheritance so he could abandon his father & family for a life of sin. Through a turn of events, this son found himself broke and living with pigs. He soon realized that his father s servants were better off than he was. He decided to go back home with the intention of asking his father to become one of those servants. Luke 15:17-19 (NKJV) 17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 "and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' 2. But his father had a different plan in mind Luke 15:22-24 (NKJV) 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. 3. After being forgiven and reconciled to his father, this young man was restored to his position of sonship. When we were born again, God brought us into His kingdom, not as servants but as sons & daughters! E. Fourth The Benefit of Relationship! John 1:12 (NKJV) 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. 1. When we received Christ as our Savior and were born again, we were also born into God s family. We are sons and daughters of God! 2. Our God wants us to have a genuine relationship with Him. Religion says that God is out of reach and can t be known. Jesus Christ, God s Son, came so that we can know God in a personal way, and understand His plan for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Pre Pre Encounter Page 5 of 5