Assigned To: Let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:25
Lay Talk (15 minutes for the Talk plus 55 minutes for the Family time) Objective of the Talk: The goal of this talk is to help the Participants become more open and vulnerable to the other members of their Family, and to help them realize that God not only is with them now, but has been all their lives, even in troubled time. Some Participants may have trouble seeing how God could have been with them in their times of difficulty, and Team members in the Family should resist trying to offer their suggestions of how they can see that God was there. Instead, the other Participants should be encouraged to offer their observations of how they can see that God was with the person in those hard times. This opens the door to the Participants ministering to each other - a foundational need for Share and Prayer grouping. Prayer: Kairos Community Prayer, page 11, Freedom Guide Speaker introduces self, telling name, whether lay or clergy person and giving the name of the talk. Also, display this information on a poster board, flip chart sheet, or chalkboard. Introduction: There is a story about a person who was walking on a sandy beach with God. At one point, they stopped, and looked back at their life, represented by their footprints left in the sand. There were two sets of footprints, side by side. One was the person s and one was God s. But then, the person began to notice that at those places in their life where they faced great adversity, pain, and disappointment, there were only one set of footprints instead of two. This person felt that God had stopped walking with them when they needed Him most. They turned to God and angrily ask why it was that when they needed God the most in the troubled times of life, that God abandoned them. God asked what
they meant? They showed God that there were only one set of footprints in the sand, rather than two. God smiled, and said My child, I didn t abandon you in your most desperate times, it was then that I picked you up and carried you on. There have been times in my life where I felt much like the person in this story. Let me take a moment and show you what I mean. [Tell your personal story of ups and downs by drawing a line on a chart like the example below. Make sure that you, at this point, do not include any reference to God being with you during the hard times of your life. Your story will set the model for how the Participants will do their story-line, and you should set that model by not including too much detail. You do not want to set the stage in such a way that the Participants think they should reveal the crimes they committed as they describe their life stories.] Present your Story-Line Note: It is best to not have a big, fancy chart pre-made. You are modeling what the Families will do, so just draw a horizontal line on a poster, make the point that your birth is on the left side, and today on the right. Things above the line are good/positive, and things below are negative. This is not like the old Lifelines talk. There are NOT two lines, only one line - your Story-line. After describing your Story-Line At the time, I too saw only one set of Footprints in the sand of my life. Especially in the hard times, I felt like I was on my own. But now, as I look back on my life, I realize that God was with me. Even in the hardest, most difficult times, I can now see that God held me - even though I didn t see it at the time.
[Go back to your Chart and share a couple of places that were difficult - and how you know God was with you. For example ] [ Now, when I look back at that bankruptcy that was so devastating to me, I realize that it was an attack on my prideful spirit. I was more concerned about what people would think of me - that I was a failure. But, I am now convinced that God used that low point for me as a turning point in my spiritual life. You see, He used this event to break my prideful spirit. He knew that my pride was a wall, a barrier to my trusting in God and my willingness to be obedient to His will. ] Now, in your notebooks, take a page and draw a line across the page. Now draw your Story-Line. Times and events that you remember as good or positive go above the line, and times and events that were negative go below the line. Make sure you include this weekend, too. Then, when you have drawn your Story-Line, and from the point of view that you have right now, as your heart may have been touched by God this weekend, reflect on how God has been with you - cheering you on, crying over your pain, holding you close, protecting you, closing doors and opening doors, and loving you regardless of your circumstances. You may go ahead and begin to draw your Story-Line. [After completing the talk, speaker asks the participants and Family Team members to draw their Story-Line. Then, after 10 minutes to allow time to draw the Story-Line, participants begin sharing their story lines with the family]. Now, once you get your Story-Line finished, share your chart and where you can see God walking with you with your Family members. Brothers(sisters), don t focus your sharing on explaining the details of your Story-Line, but focus on where you can now see that God was with you. (If no participant volunteers start the sharing, the Family Leader
may demonstrate by sharing theirs (keep it short). Participants are reminded they are not required to share and should only share what they feel comfortable sharing.) After each participant shares their Story-Line, the Family Leader asks where can you now see that God was with you? If the participant has trouble answering that, the other participants should be asked to help with their observations about how they can see that God was with the participant. It is important that the Family Team members do not jump in to offer their insights about God s presence - this is a time of the Participants helping each other. (If time is still available after all participants have shared, Team members might share their Story-Lines.