First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

Have you ever really been down, after some major blow in your life? It might have been when you found out you lost your job, were diagnosed with a very serious illness, or lost a loved one. Do you remember how you came out of it (if you did)? It is in those times in our life when we need a shot of courage to keep going.

In 1748, John Newton was a crew member on a British slave ship called the Greyhound. The ship was in bad shape, and during a violent storm, it began to fall apart and take on water. A fellow crew member was swept overboard. Realizing that he could soon die, Newton cried out to the Lord for help. The ship did not sink, and Newton, known for his wild behavior and mocking of Christianity, became a changed man, eventually writing the famous hymn “Amazing Grace”, which tells his story of coming to the Lord.
Newton lost all courage and all hope, so he cried out to the Lord, who responded with grace and mercy. We too can be messengers of the Lord to encourage – to bestow courage – on those who the Lord brings across our path.
ENCOURAGE is the sixth element of the Lassie approach to witnessing from the Every One His Witness Program. As we get to know a person through Listening, Asking, Seeking, and Sharing, and Inviting them to continue to pursue a Godly life, we can follow through by Encouraging them along the way. It might be to encourage them as they face real challenges in their life, or it might be to encourage them in the most important endeavor of their life – the pursuit of Christ and a life in the Spirit.

So the next time we are talking with someone, let’s be sensitive to what challenges they are facing, and encourage them to stay the course on the narrow path, the way of the Lord.

To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism

Have you ever received a formal invitation? It might read something like this: Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request the honor of your presence at an event… then it gives the details of the date, time, and place. Most of us like to be invited to events, because they are special, with social and perhaps spiritual dimensions, along with food and the opportunity to meet old friends and new people.

INVITE is the fifth element of the Lassie approach to witnessing from the Every One His Witness Program. As we get to know a person through listening, asking, seeking, and sharing, we are then able to issue an invitation to them.

We are not just inviting them to church, as if that is the ultimate and all they need. We are inviting them to:

* continue our conversations about life on this earth and into eternity (which may include a Bible study),
* join us in activities or events relating to our church,
* attend Bible studies and Sunday church service,
* participate in the ultimate spiritual adventure of receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, in which we encounter the real presence of God through His Word, Holy Communion, and the indwelt Holy Spirit.

The latter is described as the abundant life in John 10:10: “I came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The word “life” in Greek means a real and genuine life, devoted to God, a life that is truly worthwhile. It takes us from a focus on success to a focus on significance, from a focus on the world to a focus on eternity.

The Christian life led by the Spirit is an unparalleled life. No amount of money, possessions, or earthly power can compare to riding the waves of life in God’s power through His Spirit. It is experiencing the life that God has planned for us, in which we can experience the joy of the Lord, which transcends earthly pleasures and pains.

So the next time we are talking with someone, let’s be sure to invite them – to continue the conversation or to experience a whole new life in Christ.

To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism

Did you hear the story about the small plane that was going down in which the pilot parachuted out, two parachutes were left, but three passengers: an atheist, a Lutheran pastor, and a Jewish rabbi? The atheist stated he only had life on earth to live, so he grabbed a parachute and jumped out of the plane. Wouldn’t you like to know what the Lutheran pastor said and did? Makes you want to hear the rest of the story, doesn’t it?
Great stories draw us in because they express the eternal challenges of life – joy and sadness, triumph and tragedy, virtue and vice, and life and death. (We should be kind to people because everyone we meet is fighting their own battle, experiencing their own struggle.)
Everyone loves stories because they touch our hearts as well as our minds, our spirits as well as our souls. Jesus told stories, often to crowds numbering in the thousands.
The first elements of the LASSIE approach from the Every One His Witness program – Listen, Ask, and Seek a point of connection, show us how we can encourage others to share their life stories with us, so we can then SHARE (the next element) the truth and love of Christ with them. Our most natural response back to them is to share our life story with them (briefly), which would include how we came to Christ (or He came to us) and the difference it has made in our life.
From Every One His Witness, we learned that sharing the Law is most important when the other person has inaccurate beliefs about God, man, life, death, right, and wrong. And sharing the Gospel – the good news of eternal salvation coming to us through Christ, is best for those who know God, but don’t know Christ.
This is the ultimate story – how Jesus Christ came to set us free from sin and death. For it is His Story that changed the world forever, and can change the life of all who receive Him as Lord and Savior.
So when you meet a new neighbor or someone new at church, ask them to tell you their story, and you can tell them yours, and the Greatest Story of All Time.
To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism

Scenario: You have the opportunity to speak to a group of skeptics who love to talk and argue, but ultimately reject God. (They might even be some of your family or friends). What would you tell them?
An extraordinary example of seeking a point of connection is the apostle Paul speaking to philosophers on the Areopagus in Athens:
“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you…” Acts 17:22-23
Paul then proceeded to tell them about God, and Jesus Christ who came and died for their sins. The Word says some mocked but others believed. Everyone did not embrace Paul’s message; we shouldn’t expect anything different. Our job is to spread the truth and love of Christ, and leave the results to the Lord.
After listening and asking, the next step for us to consider is to SEEK. Because we have listened and asked questions of another person, we are now able to seek a point of connection – between that person’s life and the message of Jesus Christ.
Three steps to seeking a point of connection with others:

1. Seek the Holy Spirit; ask Him how we should respond to another person.
2. Be attentive to the ways and means by which we can effectively speak of Jesus.
3. Seek a connection to their head, heart, or hands, based on how the person connects and communicates. So our conversation might be primarily intellectual, emotional, or focused on practical considerations.
4.
Finally remember: Jesus tells us to seek, and that it will lead to blessings in our lives:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7: 7-8

Most of us have vivid memories of personal interchanges in which some profound truth or deep secret emerges to our surprise. When we ask “Why have you never shared this before”, the response is often: “You never asked.” And our response might be: “I didn’t know you were ______ (fill in the blank – married, divorced, pregnant, gay, poor, rich, that old, that young, a Buddhist, a Mason, an atheist, or a Lutheran!)

And so it is with getting to know another person. Many important truths, secrets, or facts lie just behind the Ask The Question door, sealed off from us and the world until someone cares enough to ask. We, like them, do not bare our soul to the world, for that would be destructive. We require a person to pay the price of admission into our inner life, which is love, trust, and ASKING.

An important part of active listening is to ask people questions, and that we can engage people most effectively by asking questions that relate to their personality type:

* To Head people (thinkers), we can ask information-oriented questions to better understand what they think, understand, and believe.
* To Heart people (feelers), we can ask questions related to how they feel about God and other issues.
* To Hands people (action-oriented), we can ask questions that relate to the person’s sense of purpose as it relates to spiritual matters.
Finally, remember that Jesus commands us to ask, and to ask of Him and the Father:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7: 7,8,11