Because of what s on the line.
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Introduction Welcome to your Go Fish journal! Go Fish is far more than a program, a class emphasis, or a sermon series. God is calling us to open our lives to those around us and to share Jesus with them in word and deed. The truths we discover and the life skills we acquire during our Go Fish journey will be crucial for us to fully live out our community front porch vision. What do we mean by Go Fish? Go Fish is our call to follow Jesus and share him with others. Just as we have experienced God s grace, we want to help others discover that grace and experience the life of love, community and purpose found only in Jesus. May God bless us as we share Jesus with others. By God s grace, 39
Week 1 Who We Are In Christ This week we will focus on reconnecting to God s love. Before we think of telling someone else about God s love, it is important that we be reminded of the deep truth that abides in each of us: We are God s beloved children. Let us explore God s word and our lives to uncover confirmation and experiences that accentuate the undeniable reality of God s deep love for us. 1 38
Monday Who We Are In Christ Monday: Ephesians 3:15-19 (NLT) When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Paul tells us in the passage in Ephesians that his realization of God s love for him overwhelms him to the point of falling to his knees and praying to God. Put down your cell phone, close the browser on your computer. Nothing you read today will be more important than this truth. Read the passage again and sit still for a few minutes. Then, meditate on the italicized phrases for about 30 seconds, repeating them in your mind and letting them awaken in your soul. The purpose is not necessarily to memorize them in your brain but to let them sink into your heart. Which phrase resonates most deeply with you? Why do you think that is? Paul was brought to his knees by the love of the Father. Respond to God s wide, long, high, and deep love for you in prayer. 37 2
Tuesday Who We Are In Christ Friday Sharing God s Salvation Story Genesis 1:26-28 26 Then God said, Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.! 28 God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Telling Your Story Throughout the journal we have explored different aspects of God s interaction with his people and our own experience of his love. Use the space on this page and the following pages to write out a full story of God s actions in your own life. Pray for the Lord to pour His Spirit on you to empower you to share your story with those who need to know him. What does this verse say about how God reveals his love to you? Write down verse 26 or 27 and carry it with you today where you will see it or touch it often. Write a prayer to God, in light of what s been revealed to you about His love for you today in Scripture. 3 36
Thursday Sharing God s Salvation Story Wednesday Who We Are In Christ Matthew 28:19 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. How do you feel prepared to make disciples? How committed are you to this calling on your life? Who are you going to disciple now? Ephesians 2:10 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. What does this verse say about how God reveals His love to you? Commit this verse to memory. Pick a minute every hour today in which you will recite that verse to remind you of God s love. Pray that the Lord would take away any inhibitions you have about making disciples. 35 In light of the truth of God s Word, say a prayer to God concerning the way he reveals his love to us in the verse you memorized. 4
Thursday Who We Are In Christ Wednesday Sharing God s Salvation Story Matthew 22:36-40 36 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Write down the people or the things that your heart loves: John 13:15-17 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Throughout this journal, what are the major things you have felt the Lord calling you to do? What is your plan of action? Write the passions that stir your soul: Write the thoughts that you want to take captive for God today: Respond in prayer to a God that wants a love relationship with you and wants all of you in response to that love. 5 Ask God to help you follow through with the things he has been putting on your heart over the past six weeks. 34
Tuesday Sharing God s Salvation Story Friday Who We Are In Christ 1 Thessalonians 2:8 8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Who in your life can you say this about? In your family? Among your friends? At work? Who should you add to that list? John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Explore Your Story Many of us learned it as a fact, something we have known in our head since we were children. Let God s love for you sink into your heart and soul. List three or four people who you would like to see come to know the love of Christ who in your life do you think is ready to hear about God s love for them? Pray that the Lord would open your eyes to the people around you with whom you need to start a deeper relationship and share the Gospel. 33 Spend time talking to God about your friends before you talk to your friends about God. 6
Week 2 Monday Sharing God s Salvation Story John 15:12-13 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Viewing People As Jesus Did Today, respond to Jesus as if he were saying this directly to you. Why would he say this to you? What is your call to action based off of what Jesus has just said? We experience the love of God through Christ in many powerful ways as we live as precious children of God. When Christ came to earth he extended his love also to all he met in his ministry. This week we will explore how Jesus viewed others in order to see how we should view and respond to those we meet. Ask God to help you look to the needs of others first. 7 32
Week 6 Monday Viewing People As Jesus Did Sharing God s Salvation Story The good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel of our salvation, is both an invitation to a new way of life as a beloved child of God and a call to join in his mission to invite all people to share in that community of believers under the Lordship of Christ. As we conclude our exploration of the story of God s work in our lives, we will spend time this week dwelling on that call and its implications on the way we live our lives. Matthew 9:9-13 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." What is your response to today s scripture? The latter half of verse 13 is the focus of Jesus ministry. What is your focus? Where can you begin? Look up the lyrics to Until the Whole World Hears by Casting Crowns. 31 8
Tuesday Viewing People As Jesus Did Friday Connecting Our Story To God s Story 2 Corinthians 5:16-19! 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. How does it change your view of people to read, We regard no one from a worldly point of view? Verse 18 says you are given a ministry of reconciliation. Respond to God and this ministry you have been given. Ephesians 2:10 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. God has a plan for you in this life. Write of your faith in how God will use you to bring His works of love to life here on earth, or how he has or is currently using your life to glorify God by helping other. Look up the lyrics to If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns. 9 This week we have looked at how God has transformed our lives from dead in sin to his own workmanship. Pray for God to reveal his story of his workmanship to your friends. Look for opportunities to share what God has done and is doing in your own life. 30
Thursday Connecting Our Story To God s Story Wednesday Viewing People As Jesus Did Thursday: Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. There is no way that we can earn our way to God s love or to heaven. God gives it as a free gift. Write of how God wants to give this free gift to everyone, and how you have been able to share His grace with others. You could describe how the many other things you were chasing after in life wanted you to earn your position: status, relationships, substance abuse (highs), accomplishments (sports or work or other), but God s grace offers acceptance and salvation. Romans 5:6-8 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. What does this scripture tell you about God? What does this scripture tell you about Christ? Take a moment to memorize this verse before you write your response to these questions. Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion. It is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ. - Billy Graham 29 10
Thursday Viewing People As Jesus Did Wednesday Connecting Our Story To God s Story John 13:34-35! 34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." We are called to love one another as Christ loved us. How do you respond to this? What are you doing in this regard and what can you do differently? Ephesians 2:6-7 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Since you have been raised from a life of death to a life of fullness and hope, describe the transformation that was manifested in you as you received God s love and responded to his love with obedience. Write of the hope of heaven that we have because of this unearned gift. Look up the lyrics to Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath. The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for food Mother Teresa 11 28
Tuesday Connecting Our Story To God s Story Friday Viewing People As Jesus Did Ephesians 2:4-5 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. Write of how in the midst of your messy life, God saw you as worth rescuing with his love. Before you had a chance to get it all right, he began rescuing you (through someone teaching you, or loving you, or God moving in your heart and leading you, or other circumstances). Friday: John 4:39-42 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.! 42 They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." Explore Your Story When did you first decide to commit your life to following Christ? What factors, experiences, or influences led you to that decision? Ask the Lord to help you see the people you named at the end of lesson one through his eyes. 27 12
Week 3 Monday Connecting Our Story To God s Story Ephesians 2:1-3! 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. Care By Listening And Learning Christ cared so deeply for us that even while we were sinners he chose to die to set us free from sin. In his ministry he attended to a variety of needs expressed by those who came to see him. Each day this week we will focus on a particular need often shared by those we will meet, a need that like Christ we can seek to fill. Talk about your life without Christ. Write about more than your lack of hope of heaven; write also about the earthly realities of separation from God: broken relationships, discontentment, self-centeredness, lack of hope, lack of purpose, disillusionment, guilt etc. 13 26
Week 5 Monday Care By Listening And Learning Connecting Our Story To God s Story Like last week, we will spend our fifth week together looking at the ways in which the story of God in scripture can help us tell our own story. This week our thoughts and reflection will be guided by Ephesians 2:1-10. Following each daily verse and question, explore the ways in which your own life has confirmed the truth of scripture found there. Again, the point is to seek the story of God s work in your life. Hebrews 10:24-25 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Think about a time when encouragement made a positive impact on your life. On the lines below, journal about the following questions: Who was the one who encouraged you and how did they do it? How would things have been different if you had not been encouraged? A complete outline of the passages and their focuses is found below. The outline can prove to be helpful as you explore ways in which you can share scripture and your own story of God with those you are extending the love of Christ to. Tell of your life before you gave your life to Christ (Eph 2:1-3) Tell of how God s love rescues us from that life (Eph 2:4-5) Tell how God has offered hope and life to you (Eph. 2:6-7) Tell how God s grace in your life is something you cannot earn unlike other things you have pursued in your life (Eph 2:8-9) Tell how God has given your life purpose (Eph 2:10) Ask God to show you someone in need of your encouragement this week. 25 14
Tuesday Care By Listening And Learning Friday Connecting With God s Community Romans 15:5-7 5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Think of a place where you feel accepted, perhaps with family or close friends. We are called to extend that same acceptance to others. How has Christ extended his acceptance to you? How can you extend that same acceptance to others? Romans 12:4-5 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. God does not call anyone to live as a Lone Ranger. God calls us to live for Him in community. How has God provided His love through other Christians in your life? (mentors, fellow journeymen, those you have served with, etc ). How have others influenced your walk of faith? How do they continue to do so? Thank God for the acceptance and belonging he extends to you in Christ. 15 How can you connect the four people you wrote down with other believers so they can experience more of God s love toward all his people? Pray for God to show you the best way. 24
Thursday Connecting With God s Community Wednesday Care By Listening And Learning Romans 12:1 1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of God s mercy offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. The appropriate response to God is to give our entire lives to Him everything. We offer all that we have to honor His way of life. When we see what God has done for us forgiving us of our past, giving us true life in the present, and promising us a future how has your life responded to honor such a giver? James 1:19 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, We are constantly surrounded by noise and words from newspapers, radio, and television, not to mention those around us. We hear so many words that it can be easy to shut them out. Today, pay close attention to a conversation you have. Listen closely. Notice the tone of voice, the body language, and maybe even what is not said. Write about what you noticed here: Ask God to help you slow your responses to others and take time to listen carefully and attend to those you see. 23 16
Thursday Care By Listening And Learning Wednesday Connecting With God s Community Romans 12:9-10 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Think of someone in your life who you do not thank often enough. In the space provided, list several things that you appreciate about them. Find a time in the next couple of days to honor that person by sharing those items with them. Romans 6:4 4 We were therefore buried in baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. God extends to us a choice to live differently than the rest of the world. We die to the world s way of life and live a new life, a different life. Write of your baptism in terms of transformation of your life, not simply an act of obedience. Thank God for the person you named above and ask him to help you consistently honor others above yourself. 17 22
Tuesday Connecting With God s Community Friday Care By Listening And Learning Romans 5:8 8 But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When you were at your worse the most selfish, the most hateful, the most apathetic towards God and His ways that is when God decided to show you how much he loved you. Describe what it means to you to be given something you have not earned and do not deserve. James 2:14-18 14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.! 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. Explore Your Story How have actions of others toward you, both positive and negative, impacted your own faith? How have your actions toward others impacted your own faith? Ask God to reveal to you ways that you might fill the needs of others. Pray for boldness to share Christ in every way with the four people you wrote down. 21 18
Week 4 Monday Connecting With God s Community Connecting With God s Community This week and next we will focus on ways in which God s story of his love for his people in scripture is also our own story. This week we will work through select verses from the book of Romans. Each daily verses has some leading statements and questions. Make use of the space below each verse to write out how you personally experienced this truth found in scripture. The point is not to prove this scripture true by backing it up with another verse, analogy diagram, or formula. The point is to prove this scripture true by telling the STORY OF GOD S WORK IN YOUR LIFE. Romans 3:23 23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible describes men and women as people that are falling short of the fullness that God created them for. Describe ways in which you fell short from God s glory. What sin was prevalent in your life? In what ways was your sin separating you from God? Was it a secret sin in your heart (pride, hatred, ignorance)? Did your actions deny God s power in your life? Below you will find a fuller list of verses from Romans describing God s work on behalf of and in partnership with His people. While every scripture will not be explored in greater depth this week, the following progression can be very helpful in telling your own story to others with scripture as an outline. How was your life before you decided to follow God? (Romans 3:23) Tell how at that point God s love and plan for you was revealed. (Romans 5:8) Explain why you decided to begin a new life with God, beginning with a new birth in baptism. (Romans 6:4) Explain that God gives each of us a choice for how we will live this life and where we will spend eternity, and why that choice was/is still very real to you. (Romans 6:23) How does your life profess that Jesus is Lord? (Romans 10:13) God s gift of forgiveness, full life, and eternal life demand a response from us. How is that evident in your life? (Romans 12:1) 19 20