Sharing the Knowing God Personally Booklet Purpose: To be equipped in sharing the Gospel using the Knowing God Personally booklet (KGP). Content: Learn transitions to the KGP. Role-play sharing the KGP. Resources: Guidelines for the actual Bible study time, Knowing God, How to Bring a Person to a Point of Decision worksheet, Closing the Knowing God Personally Booklet, and an illustration worksheet. Bible Study Structure Review: Highlight last week s study on Developing a Heart for Evangelism Ask & Discuss: What would a person need to know in order to become a Christian? God s love, the reality of our position apart from Him because of our sin, God s provision through Christ s death on the cross, grace, forgiveness, transferring one s trust from self to Christ (receiving Christ), etc Give the definition of successful witnessing: Successful witnessing is taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. Ask: What would be the benefit of using something like the KGP booklet? It can be used to begin a conversation. It s easy to carry and you can leave it with them. It gives you confidence (you can practice and have a game plan of what you want to say). You can show a person how to begin a personal relationship with Christ in a short amount of time. It represents a transferable method for training others to witness. It s a clear, simple presentation of the Gospel that includes Scripture references. Point out: We need to depend on the Holy Spirit, not ourselves, when we share. It is the Holy Spirit Who convicts a person of sin and the need for Christ in their life. Remember and remind: The simplest way to explain the Knowing God Personally booklet is to read the booklet aloud as written (don t paraphrase). It s a simple, not fancy, presentation of the Gospel. Demonstration: Do a complete demonstration of the KGP with the individual. (Keep in mind the Helpful Hints found on the following page.) Practice: After the demonstration, give them a booklet and have them write TRAINING on the front cover. This is great because they will always have this to look back on if they have any questions in the future. Walk them through your presentation page by page (tell them what you say, questions you may ask, illustrations you may use, etc). Remember that what you teach and show them is what they will do in real life and teach other people. Give them a chance to practice with you after each point (i.e. each two pages). Spend a good amount of time on the circles answering their different questions about different responses that could happen while they are sharing with someone. (Be sure you are equipped and prepared for this. Become familiar with the additional resources in this section so that you are ready to teach it.) As you practice, remember that the goal is to get them familiar with this evangelistic tool (not to have every illustration perfect or have a fancy presentation). Hand out: After you practice together, give them the additional resources on the following pages ( Walking Through the Knowing God Personally Booklet sheet, the Clarification for Knowing God Personally, How to Bring a Person to a Point of Decision, Closing the Knowing God Personally Booklet, and Illustrations for the Knowing God Personally Booklet as resources for them to use during their practice time and also for future reference. (You don t want to overwhelm them with all the sheets you are passing out, so make sure they know these are just resources.) Application: Go out and let them see you share the booklet in a real life setting now or within the next week. (You might go out and do some initiative evangelism or have them set up an appointment with a co-worker or pair up with them in a large group outreach). It would also be great to set up another time where you go out and this time let them share the Gospel. Note to leader: Don t expect them to go out on their own if they have never shared their faith. Most of us went kicking and screaming the first time someone took us out.
Closing: Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel using the Knowing God Personally booklet with someone this week. Forecast for next lesson together. Helpful Hints The following are helpful hints when sharing the Knowing God Personally booklet. Never force anyone to receive Christ. Remember that most questions are answered as you read through the KGP booklet. When questions are asked that would change the subject, you can say, That is a good question. Let s finish the booklet and then discuss it. If the question is not answered by the time you finish, answer it then. Be aware of your listener. If there seems to be no response, stop and ask, Is this making sense? Hold the booklet so it can be seen clearly. Use a pen or pencil to focus on important points. This helps to hold the person s attention. Fold the booklet in half and that will prevent someone from reading ahead. If you are sharing to a group, give each person a booklet. Pray with those who are interested in receiving Christ. If only one is interested, find a way to talk alone. Be sure people understand that becoming a Christian involves transferring their trust from themselves paying for their sins (in eternal separation from God) to Christ s death on the cross paying for their sins in full. It isn t about saying a prayer or simply believing. It s placing their faith in Christ by asking Him into their lives that s important. Be sensitive to the person who wants to pray the prayer silently. Some will feel embarrassed about praying out loud. They can simply pray silently and then say Amen or look up to let you know they are done. When a person does not receive Christ during your first time together, be available to talk at a later time. Be sure to finish the booklet, which explains many of the basics of the Christian life as well as helps them become aware of how to take their first few steps in their growth.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Walking Through The Knowing God Personally Booklet (Pages 1-10 of the KGP booklet) The following is a breakdown of the four points of the Knowing God Personally booklet. Keep in mind when you share that you should read every point, bolded heading, verse, question, paragraph, etc. as it is. Use analogies and such as you see fit in order to help explain better the concept you re on at the time if needed. Don t forget to be aware of your listener and whether or not they understand it all. Remember: the point isn t to just get through the book. It s to help someone know how they can have a personal relationship with God through Jesus. Point one is simple. You can just read it pretty much as is, no explanation needed. 1. God loves you and created you to know Him personally. God s Love: John 3:16 God s Plan: John 17:3 What prevents us from knowing God personally? Give them a chance to answer. 2. Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love. Man is Sinful: Romans 3:23 Underline the word all. Emphasize that this means everyone, no matter who they are. Read the paragraph describing sin. You may want to say that sin is more than just doing bad things or just breaking the 10 Commandments. It is rebellion against God...choosing to do our own thing (whether that s our thoughts, words, or actions) instead of what God would want. Man is Separated: Romans 6:23 Ask: How would you define the word wages or what are wages? Answer: Wages are what we deserve as a payment for something. In this case, the payment for our sin (rebellion) is death (spiritual separation from God). In other words, there s a death penalty that must be paid. Read the paragraph explaining the diagram. You may want to share things that man tries to do to reach God (like go to church, pray, help people, do good things, etc) but point out that none of those things will ever get us to God. The gap is too big between His holiness and our sin. The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf... 3. Jesus Christ is God s only provision for man s sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God s love. He Died in Our Place: Romans 5:8 Underline Christ died for us. Go back to point 2 and Romans 6:23. Point out that Christ paid the death penalty for our sin. He Rose from the Dead: 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 He is the Only Way to God: John 14:6 Point out that Jesus did not say He was a way, but He was the way. Read the paragraph explaining the diagram. Ask: What do you notice is different about this diagram and the one on the previous page (flip back and show them so they can think about it)? Answers: There s a bridge; there is only one arrow and it reaches to you and I. It is not enough just to know these truths... 4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love. We Must Receive Christ: John 1:12 We Receive Christ Through Faith: Ephesians 2:8,9 Circle the words grace, saved, & faith. Go through each word one at a time. You could ask them if they know the definition to each word, then explain them using these simple definitions: Grace: unmerited favor or an undeserved gift (i.e. you get something you don t deserve) Saved: rescued (you could ask, what are we rescued from? the answer is not our sin, but the result of our sin) Faith: trust When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth: John 3:1-8 You don t have to look up those verses. You may want to explain briefly that when we trust Christ, we re given a new life (i.e. that s where we get the phrase born again ).
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation: Revelation 3:20 Three questions to ask with the answers: What does the door represent? (our heart or our life) What is our responsibility? (to open the door) What does Christ promise He will do? (He ll come in) Read the paragraph that explains what receiving Christ involves. You may want to highlight that it s turning to God, trusting Him to come into our lives and forgive us of our sins, and it s not enough to know this intellectually or emotionally but is an act of the will. These two circles represent two kinds of lives: Read the descriptions of each. Which circle best represents your life? Which circle would you like to have represent your life? (*The following resource page entitled How to Bring a Person to a Point of Decision goes through the various circle responses. You ll want to look at that and be familiar with each scenario.) Go to the next page and read The following explains how you can receive Christ. You Can Receive Christ Right now by Faith through Prayer (Prayer is simply talking with God) Read the paragraph and prayer. Ask Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised. You may want to explain that it s not just about saying a prayer, but what you are doing. The goal is not for them to just pray a prayer, but to receive Christ. Don t emphasize that too much, but it s still good to point out for clarification. For more ideas on the circle responses, closing the book, and analogies, check out the following pages.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: How To Bring A Person To A Point Of Decision Using the circle diagrams to help you and the other person determine where they are in relation to Christ. The left circle How to describe the circles: This person has not received Christ. Ask: Who is this person trusting to pay for their sin? Trusting themselves to pay for sin Explain: Believe they re going to heaven because good The right circle This person has received Christ. Trusting Christ to pay for their sin Believe they re going to heaven because they re they re forgiven Ask: How confident can this person be he/she is going to Heaven? 0% 100% Responses to the questions: 1. Ask, Which circle best represents your life? If they answer: Left continue by asking the next question, Which circle would you like to have represent your life? Not sure or in between continue by asking, Which circle would you like to have represent your life? Right say, That s great! Tell me about when you made that decision to trust Christ. If they are unclear at all, read the next page with the prayer and ask if they have communicated this desire to God in the past. 2. Ask: Which circle would you like to have represent your life? If they answer: Left say, Let me show you how you could receive Christ if you wanted to in the future. Not sure continue reading Right continue to read the booklet 3. Simply read the suggested prayer, and ask if this prayer expresses the desire of their heart. Offer to pray with them. You can read through the prayer with them while they pray silently, or they can pray aloud, etc Try not to tell them that they can take it home and pray if they want. It s totally ok if they want to take it home and pray, but let them bring that option up.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Closing the Knowing God Personally Booklet (Pages 11-14 of the KGP booklet) What are some things a person would need to know after they ve just received Christ? Assurance of salvation Assurance that Christ is in their life That their sins are forgiven How to grow in their faith These points are covered in pages 11-14 of the Knowing God Personally booklet. It is important to cover these with people after they receive Christ. The following helps clarify how to go through these concepts with the person you re sharing with. How to Know that Christ is in Your Life Ask the question: Did you receive Christ into your life? You could say this may seem funny to ask, but notice that the question is not did you pray the prayer but did you receive Christ?. That emphasizes again that it s not about praying a prayer, but what they are doing (receiving Christ). Ask the second question: According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Turn back to page 9 and read the verse again. This will refresh their memory. If you didn t ask the three questions when going through the first time, then ask these to clarify: What does the door represent? Answer: Your heart or life What is our responsibility? Answer: To open the door. What does Christ promise He will do? Answer: Come in to our lives Were you sincere when you invited Christ to come into your life? Answer: yes Then where is Christ right now in relation to you? Answer: In my heart or life Ask the remaining two questions at the top of page 11. *Reminders: After each question be sure to pause in order to give the new Believer a chance to respond. Listen to the person s responses and evaluate if there is understanding of biblical principles. If the new Believer does not understand, do not proceed to the next question. Go on when the person can explain briefly the assurance that Christ is in his life. The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ Read 1 John 5:11-13. Then ask the following questions: What has God given us? Answer: Eternal life Where is this life found? Answer: In His Son Do you have the Son? Answer: Yes If you have the Son, what else do you have? Answer: Eternal life How do you know you have the Son? Answer: Because of God s promise Read the rest of page 11. Do Not Depend of Feelings (the train or plane diagram) Read through the explanation of the diagram. If you feel like you ve been talking too much, then have them read the explanation silently and ask them to explain it back to you. The point of the diagram is to explain that our faith needs to be grounded in fact (God and His Word), not our feelings. You could ask them what is true of our feelings? The point is that our feelings may change and vary, but God and His Word do not. Before going on, ask them if they have just a couple more minutes (to be sensitive to their time).
Read through the rest of the booklet to highlight what is true of their life once they receive Christ and different suggestions for them to grow in their relationship with Christ. It is not necessary to go into a lot of details at this point. *Set up a time to get together with them in the next 24-48 hours to start going through follow-up. Even if you can t get together to go through the first Bible study, try to touch base with them to see how they re doing and encourage them. You may want to take them a Bible if they don t have one with a bookmark or note marking the book of John. Encourage them to read John 1-3 on their own. **We don t just want to make baby Christians, so follow-up is very important to help them take steps and grow in their faith. The 5 follow-up Bible Studies are great to help ground them in the basics of the Christian life.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Illustrations for the Knowing God Personally Booklet In sharing the Four Spiritual Laws or Knowing God Personally booklets, there is sometimes a need to make clear certain issues that are not understood. Our purpose is to make the clearest presentation of the Gospel possible. Illustrations can be very helpful if they are used correctly. Here are some reminders: Trust God to give you wisdom and discernment. There is no way we can make that person understand. That is the Holy Spirit s job. Try to determine if they understand first before you give them an illustration. Just a simple drawing with your illustration will help focus their attention and get them interested if you aren t a vivid storyteller. Humor can be an especially positive thing in illustrations to break the ice a bit further, but don t force it. Use only the illustrations that are necessary. Too many may only confuse them further. Illustrations are meant to communicate one main point so don t try to stretch them beyond that point. The shot gun method is not generally as effective as we think. Even one illustration for every law may be too many. Below are a few helpful illustrations that will help clarify certain points. Illustrations to use on Point 2: Sin Illustration: Use this to help the person understand what sin is, after you read Romans 3:23 and the paragraph that follows. Main Point: Sin is falling short of God s mark of perfection. The term sin comes from an ancient Greek archery term. When a person shot at the target and missed the bull s eye, it was called sin. So, when a person missed the bull s eye, the individual missed the mark. In a spiritual sense, sin is simply missing the mark of perfection. It s doing what God doesn t want us to do. Grand Canyon Illustration: Use this to help the person understand more clearly the meaning of the diagram with the arrows. Use the illustration after you read the paragraph that explains the diagram. Main Point: No one is good enough to reach God. Our best efforts are not enough to reach God. Picture the diagram as the Grand Canyon. People are lined up on one side and God on the other, and we are trying to jump across to get to God. Let s say that one of the people lined up is the world record holder in the long jump. Obviously, he is going to jump a lot farther than I will jump. As you can imagine, regardless of how far the best jumper in the world jumps, he is not going to make it across the Grand Canyon. In the same way, our very best efforts are never enough to get us to God. There is always something that causes us to fall short sin (feel free to write the word sin between the arrows and God to help the person see how sin separates people from God). Swimming to Africa Illustration: This is similar to the Grand Canyon illustration. Use this to help the person understand more clearly the meaning of the diagram with the arrows. Use the illustration after you read the paragraph that explains the diagram. Main Point: No one is good enough to reach God. Our best efforts are not enough to reach God. Let s say everyone lined up on the east coast of Florida and struck out to swim to Africa. Let s be generous and say that I can swim two miles. Well, there are some pretty good swimmers out there who could make it a lot farther than I could, but even the best swimmer just couldn t make it all the way to Africa. It s just too far! One person may make it farther than I would, but we d both still drown because even our best efforts are not good enough. In the same way, our very best efforts are never enough to get us to God. There is always something that causes us to fall short sin (write the word sin between the arrows and God to help the person see that sin creates a barrier between people and God). Illustration to use on Law 3: Judge Illustration: Use this to help the person to see that Jesus bridges the gap that separates us from Him. Use this illustration after you read the paragraph that explains the diagram in Law 3.
Main Point: God requires that justice be done but also provided the payment that justice requires. Let s say that Billy was caught for speeding. He was doing 90 mph in a 45 mph zone and they took him to court. The charges are explained to the judge and he looks down and asks Billy, Do you plead guilty or not-guilty? Billy pleads guilty and hopes that the judge will let him off light. But the law requires that Billy be punished and in order to be just, the judge fines him $100 or 30 days in jail. Billy pleads with the judge, who just so happens to be his dad, saying that he doesn t have $100. The judge bangs the gavel indicating that the decision is final, but then he steps down from the bench, takes off his robe and takes his wallet out to pay the fine for his son. In the same way, God s justice requires payment for our sin, but He paid for it Himself through Jesus. Illustrations to use on Law 4: Chair Illustration: Use this illustration to help the person understand what faith means. This is probably most useful when explaining Ephesians 2:8-9 or after you ve read the paragraph right before the two circles, or if they just need more clarification about faith. Main Point: Faith is active belief, not passive belief. Faith is belief with action. Let s say we are looking at a chair and thinking about sitting in it. Just looking at the chair and believing it will hold my weight isn t good enough. Faith comes when I not only believe that the chair will hold me up, but when I also sit in it and trust myself to that chair. You see faith is not just believing in something. Faith is believing something so much that you will act upon it. Faith is active, not passive. Marriage Illustration: Use this to help the person understand that we receive Christ by faith, as an act of the will. Use this after reading the paragraph before the two circles. Main Point: It is not enough to know intellectually or have an emotional experience. It is an act of the will. Our relationship with Christ can be well illustrated by the requirements for a marriage relationship. A man can be intellectually convinced that his bride-to-be is the right one for him and that they are going to get married, but they are not married until they say I do. Just knowing that they are going to get married is not enough. By an act of the will, they have to commit themselves to each other before a minister or another person of authority before they are technically married. Similarly, It s not enough to intellectually know about Christ and believe in the claims of Christ. We must, by an act of the will, receive Christ into our life as Savior and Lord.