Sermon Based Curriculum
Sermon Date: Oct. 4, 2009
Sermon Title: "What's So Good about the Good News?"
Sermon Text: Luke 19:10
Small Group Text: Acts 26: 1-23
Introduction
When Jesus comes into our lives, our life stories are transformed. We receive God’s presence, peace, pardon, power, and purpose. That’s GOOD news! He comes to restore us from the isolation, brokenness, emptiness, and aimlessness of a BAD news life. Every one of us who has welcomed God’s gift of salvation into our lives has a story to tell. Though each story is personal, the GOOD news theme is that we have been reconciled to God and that His transforming power is at work in us and through us. What’s your personal story? Would you be able to share your GOOD news story with a friend in a clear and compelling way? Let’s take a look at how the apostle Paul shared his story. Notice how he moves from the bad news of his life before Christ, into his encounter with Christ and concludes with the good news of his life since Christ; a life filled with purpose and power. Then, let’s discover how those same three elements play into our own story and help us tell our friends and family “what’s so good about the good news.”
Discussion
1. Read Acts 26:1-11 out loud. Paul begins by sharing what his life was like before Christ. Why is that such an important part of his story? 2. In this passage, how does Paul compare himself to his listeners? Why does he point out these similarities? 3. Read vv.12-18. Here Paul explains his encounter with Christ. How does your conversion experience (your encounter with Christ) differ from Paul’s?
4. Would someone in the group be willing to share their conversion experience with the rest of us in one minute or less? 5. Are there words or phrases typically used in describing our conversion experience that may not be clear to a person who is not a Christian? How might we re-state those words or phrases in ways that would make sense to them? 6. Now, let’s read vv. 19-23. In this third part of his story, Paul tells what has been happening in his life since his conversion. How would you paraphrase or summarize this part of Paul’s story? 7. Would someone in the group be willing to share, in one minute or less what his/her life has been like since they began walking with Christ?
Application
Paul’s personal faith story serves as model for us. basically told his story in three parts: •
My life before Christ
•
How I began my relationship with Christ
•
My life since accepting Christ
He
1. Divide your group into smaller groupings of 3-4. Ask if someone could share his/her story following Paul’s 3-point outline. Try to tell the whole story in 3 minutes or less. Ask the other members of the group to listen and then ask clarifying questions. Listen for typical religious words or phrases that may not be clear to a non-Christian? How could these be re-phrased? 2. Ask each person to write out a 2-minute story of their faith journey and to bring it with them the next time the group meets. Have each member practice telling their story to a spouse or friend at some point throughout the week.
Sermon-Based Curriculum