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Date: May 30, 2021
Trust God to Work
The Point: Share Christ in all situations, but leave the results to God.
Get Into the Study
Use the following information to introduce Question #1.
Forbes magazine recently published an article titled “The Best Bucket List Experience to Plan for 2021 and 2022.” The article suggested that as travel becomes easier and safer again, people will be wanting to travel. Here are some of the bucket-list trips suggested:
* Joining a cattle drive in Montana, where you ride with professional wranglers to round up cattle.
* Book a private island in Queensland off the coast of Australia, where you’ll have a personal chef and private masseuse.
* Travel to Prince Edward Island for the annual oyster festival.
* Ride the world’s largest ferris wheel in Dubai, that takes you to a height of 820 feet for a birds-eye view of the city.
* Go camel trekking in Israel, where you ride in the desert before dawn.
Say: Everyone’s bucket list is different. Then call attention to Question #1 (What is something you have completed on your bucket list?) and invite volunteers to respond.
Information for this post was gleaned from:
Get Into the Study [Option from Adult Leader Guide]
In advance, play a video clip about making a bucket list. Then ask Question #1.
Study the Bible
Use the following information to introduce Question #3.
In a recent Baptist Press article, Bruce Plummer described how he came to faith in Christ. Plummer, a Native American, was born on the Fort Belknap reservation. At age 21, he found himself drunk and having suicidal thoughts during a rainstorm in Portland, Oregon. Seeking shelter from the pouring rain, he crawled under a pine tree that was located in the yard of a church. The next day watching cars coming into the church parking lot, Plummer says God spoke to him there under that tree. “For the first time in my life, I heard God. That surprised me,” Plummer said. “He said, ‘Bruce, I want you to go down there and talk to a man.’”
The man inside the church was a Lutheran pastor who welcomed Plummer and took him home for Sunday dinner. The pastor and his wife offered him a shower, gave him fresh clothes, washed his dirty clothes, and fed him. They invited Plummer to spend the night. Plummer said he argued with the pastor for about two weeks. “He’d tell me, ‘All I can tell you is this: John 3:16.’ He said, ‘Jesus is God. If you ask Him, God will come into you.’
Plummer explained that “What attracted me to Christianity was that he said, ‘Bruce, God can give you a brand new start. He can take all the sins and wipe them all away.’ ‘Holy cow,’ I thought. ‘I wonder if I could get a brand new start? If I could get a chance, I would do it.’”
Plummer asked God to forgive his sins and he put his faith in God. That was in 1973. Soon Plummer was headed to Oklahoma Baptist University to enroll as a student. There he found a church home at the First Indian Baptist Church of Shawnee.
Since that time, Plummer says, “Every morning, when I open my eyes, I begin with the same prayer, ‘Good morning Father, help me walk with you today in my life. Thank you for your love, your grace, and your mercy, and the hope that I have in Creator Sets Free, Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, Aho.’”
Say: The Lutheran pastor found Bruce Plummer in a desperate condition, brought him home, and cared for his physical needs. He answered Plummer’s questions, always pointing him toward Jesus. Then call attention to Question #3 (How do you typically respond when a person is not receptive to hearing the gospel?) and invite volunteers to respond.
Information for this post was gleaned from:
— Donna McKinney wrote these Leader Extras. Donna is retired from a career with the federal government of the United States. She is a veteran Bible study group leader living in North Carolina.
Additional Questions
Icebreakers
- When have you had to persist toward a goal without seeing immediate results?
- When have the end results of a project been out of your hands?
- How would you describe a successful gospel conversation?
Matthew 13:3-8
- How effective do you feel as a “sower” of the gospel message? Why?
- How do you know when the opportunity is right to share the gospel?
- What principles about sharing the gospel can we learn from the sower’s example in these verses?
Matthew 13:18-22
- What are some factors behind people’s unwillingness to believe Jesus’ message?
- What are some things that may prevent us from having gospel conversations with people?
- How can we respond when someone rejects our gospel presentation?
Matthew 13:23
- What are the characteristics of someone who has been transformed by the gospel?
- How would you summarize your role when it comes to sharing the gospel?
- Why is important to share Christ in all situations, but leave the results to God?
For Those in Your Group
Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought:
Don’t Write Off the Non-Christian
Podcast
Click here for a 20-minute podcast for both the group member and the leader.
Magazine Article
This article complements the study. Share this link with your group members.
- HomeLife – The Glory of God
Tips for Leading Bible Study Groups
Podcast (adultsleadertraining): Play in new window | Download
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