Choose one of the following icebreakers: (If you have first time guests, begin with a round of introduction and warmly welcome the new visitors.

Transcription

1 4Ws for Week 25, Jun 2018 WELCOME (15minutes) Choose one of the following icebreakers: (If you have first time guests, begin with a round of introduction and warmly welcome the new visitors.) 1. World Cup Fever Describe your passion for football and the World Cup 2018 now taking place in Russia. Have the group to answer the following questions: 1. How long is the tournament? 2. How many teams are competing in this competition? 3. Who is your favourite team? 4. Who is your favourite player? 5. Which country will win the World Cup? 2. Who does what? The group should sit in a circle facing each other. Each person writes down on 2 slips of paper 2 things about themselves (e.g. hobbies or things that they have done etc). The facilitator gathers all the slips of paper, folds them and mixes them up in the middle of the table. The direction of play is agreed then each person takes one piece of paper out at a time, reads it out loud and then guesses who it relates to. Guessing correctly earns the player 1 point. The player with the most points at the end wins (and receives a small prize!) Transition to Worship: Psalm 100 says we are to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. The key to God s presence is thanksgiving, so let us give thanks and praise His name for He is worthy of all our praise and worship. WORSHIP (20 minutes) You may use the following suggested worship songs: 1) Forever (D) 2) Blessed Be Your Name (G) 3) Worthy Of It All (E) 4) What A Beautiful Name (D) Do not rush to end the worship but give time to wait upon the Lord for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Encourage everyone to seek the Lord and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Transition to Word: 2 Tim 2:15 says Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Let us look to God s word for our edification so that we can apply God s truth into our lives and the truth shall set us free. WORD (45minutes) 1

2 Memory verse of the week: Acts 7:48a (NIVUK) However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. Sermon Title: Excited About Jesus By Pastor Wang Guanghan on 16/17 June 18 Scripture Passage: Mark 5:21-43 (NIVUK) - Jesus raises a dead girl and heals a sick woman 21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered round him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live. 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed round him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from him. He turned round in the crowd and asked, Who touched my clothes? 31 You see the people crowding against you, his disciples answered, and yet you can ask, Who touched me? 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead, they said. Why bother the teacher anymore? 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, Don t be afraid; just believe. 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep. 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, Talitha koum! (which means Little girl, I say to you, get up! ). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. Introduction Last weekend, Ps Wang Guanghan shared in his message why we should be excited about Jesus. When we are excited about something, we will share with others. The week before, people all over world were excited about the Trump-Kim Summit which took place in Singapore. It was the talk of the town. The whole world was transfixed on Singapore where this historic event took place. And now, in Russia, the World Cup 2018 has just started, people are excited, talking and staying up late just to watch the football matches. Indeed, when we are excited about something, it is only natural for us to share with others what we are excited about. The question is when it comes to Jesus, are we excited about Jesus? Are we sharing with others about Jesus? Now, what is it about Jesus that makes us so excited about Him? What is it about Jesus that makes us want the world to know Him? What is it about Jesus that makes us think and talk about him day and night? 2

3 There are two key reasons why we are excited about Jesus: 1. Jesus is Powerful - We need to get through the crowd to Him. 2. Jesus is Personal - He will get through the crowd to us. Discovery and Understanding Questions: Q1. What was one common factor which the woman with the issue of blood and Jairus had that caused them to push through the crowd to get to Jesus? A1. They were desperate to get to Jesus because they believed Jesus has the power to heal. The woman believed that if only she could just touch Jesus clothes, she would be healed, and this gave her the determination to get through the crowd. Mark 5:28, If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, Who touched my clothes? Q2. With so many people crowded around Jesus, why did Jesus stopped to ask who touched His clothes and even bothered to follow Jairus back to his house to heal his sick daughter? A2. Jesus was not only powerful, but He was also personal. Even though He was swarmed by the large crowd, He desired to reach out to Jairus and the woman who touched Him. He chose to make Himself available to them and was interested in them. Often, we think God overlooked us; is not interested in us; does not notice us, and He is too distant. But no, He is imminently near us. Nothing escapes God s notice. He pushes through the crowd of our doubts, unbelief, and hopelessness to touch us. He desires to reach out to all of us. Mark 5:34 34 He said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. Q3. Despite knowing that Jesus is powerful, why are we not experiencing God s power in our lives? A3. Many of us still do not experience God s power in our lives because we often allow our souls to be crowded with things that block us from getting to Jesus e.g. discouragements, negative thoughts, problems and issues of life, shame, guilt, busyness, etc. Q4. When news came to Jairus that his daughter was dead, the servants told Jairus not to bother Jesus anymore. But in Mark 5:36, Jesus told Jairus, Don t be afraid, only believe. What is this passage trying to tell us? A4. Many of us in the church today believe in this lie: Do not bother Jesus anymore because the situations in our lives are already dead. As a result, we give up, lost all hope, and we have stopped coming to Jesus. But today Jesus wants to tell us personally not to be afraid, but to keep believing that there is hope in our situations. Mark 5: While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead, they said. Why bother the teacher anymore? 36 Overhearing [c] what they said, Jesus told him, Don t be afraid; just believe. 3

4 Mark 5: But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, Talitha koum! (which means Little girl, I say to you, Get Up! ). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. Application Questions: Break into smaller groups, share, pray and minister to one another. Q1. Share what obstacles crowding your life are hindering you from experiencing God s power? Q2. Describe a situation in your life which you have given up hope and how this message is applicable in your life. Family Altar Time (F.A.T.) (Cell Leader: Encourage your members to be faithful in keeping the weekly F.A.T. and refer them to this segment of the 4Ws for suggestions for their F.A.T. A possible time for the F.A.T. is after a meal together, say during the weekend.) Use either of the two icebreakers in the WELCOME segment above and select worship songs that are meaningful to your family. If they re old enough, ask your children to select the songs and lead worship, and take the opportunity to teach them skills in waiting on God, praying, and leading with a servant s heart and as a willing vessel for God. After worship, you may wish to: 1. Discuss last Sunday s Family Bible Study in the Living Life journal, or 2. Review your children s take-home materials from GKidz ( or 3. Review and discuss this week s memory verse, or 4. Question: Recall a time when you just realized that something wonderful had happened, e.g., you just found out you did excellently in exams, or you just heard that your favorite team had won, or you just led someone dear to Christ. How did you react? [Let your family members share freely. In all likelihood they were excited and shared the good news with others.] Last weekend, Ps Guanghan preached from Mark 5:21-43 about the characteristics of Jesus that we can be excited about. Have one person to read Mark 5:21-29, and another person to read v30-v34, and another, v35-v43. In this passage, two miracles took place Jesus healed a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, and He resurrected a twelve-year-old girl who had just died. Question: From the Mark 5 passage we have just read, what can you learn about Jesus? [Let your family members share freely. Then summarize Ps Guanghan s two points about how Jesus is powerful and personal.] 4

5 Question: What might have prevented the woman from being healed and the girl was being raised to life? [Let your family members share freely. Explain the socio-cultural barriers that the woman had to overcome as a woman who was bleeding and hence considered to be ceremonially unclean, which explain why she did not openly approach Jesus and ask Him to heal her as Jairus had. Highlight also the crowd that was pressing around Jesus. Explain the doubt, fear and discouragement, and grief and sense of loss that must have entered Jairus heart and mind when he learnt that his daughter had already died. This is why it is important that we do our part to put away discouragement, doubt and fear and any other obstacles that prevent us from coming to Jesus with our need for His miraculous work in our lives.] Question: Is there something you are in desperate need for a miracle from Jesus today? What is it and what barriers do you need to overcome in order to receive the miracle? Question: What is it about Jesus that makes you excited about Him? Share this with a pre-believer this week. End by praying for one another, especially for the situations in need of a miracle in your family members lives, and for opportunities and boldness to share about Jesus with prebelievers, including pre-believing family members, relatives, and friends. Transition to Works: Lord Jesus, You have said to Your disciples that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers into His harvest. Lord, here am I, send me! I am available as a worker to be sent into Your harvest field. WORKS (15minutes) 1. 3x3 Prayer Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the strongholds that bind the people. Ask Him to set divine appointments for us to minister His power over them (words of knowledge, healing, helps, etc.). Pray for one another for boldness, courage and obedience to follow through. 2. Inviting Friends to our Services Continue to encourage one another to invite pre-believing friends to our weekend Services. Make time to listen to The Voice of God for prophetic utterances that speak to our prebelieving friends circumstances as a prelude to inviting them. In addition, take some time to discuss, plan an activity, and pray toward achieving the goal you have set as a cell. 3. Consolidation of New Converts Consolidate those who have accepted Christ - contact them via phone calls; meet up with them over a meal; make house visits; introduce them to members of the cell and invite them to fellowship with the faith community during cell meetings and celebration Services. Make them feel like they belonged. Introduce them to LifeClass. LifeClass is an exciting package of equipping that guides new believers through the foundations of their faith and leads them into a life-transforming encounter with Jesus. It does this through nine weeks of personal study, combined with fun 5

6 and interactive classroom sessions of Bible teaching and an Encounter Weekend. It replaces the former Pre-Encounter Class, Encounter Weekend and Post Encounter. Please check out the Equipping page at our website or Mobile App. Visit for more details. Announcements: Please visit or our FCBC app for more details. 6