This week we shall be following on from last week by exploring the theme of Relevance. How relevant is the message we present to others in our 21st century society? 10-30am live at MRBC Felixstowe.
..
..
For Reflection & Discussion
You may wish to devote more than one session to this if you are doing it as a group.
1. Think of the most innefective and awful presentation of the gospel that you have heard. What was so wrong about it? How could it have been made more relvant to those who it was presented to?
2. Take a look of the following passages from Acts and try to answer the following:
How did the the apostle/preacher adapt the gospel to the people being addressed?
What part of the gospel message was most emphasised? Are there any commonalities? Why?
What role did the Holy Spirit play?
If you are studying as a group, you may like to divide into twos or smaller groups.
Acts 2:14-41 – Day of Pentecost
Acts 3:11-26 – Healing of the lame beggar
Acts 9:1-18 – The conversion of Saul
Acts 10 – Peter & Cornelius
Acts 13:4-12 – Paul on Cyprus
Acts 17:16-34 – Paul in Athens
Acts 22:1-21 – Paul in Jerusalem
Acts 24:1-22 – Paul before Felix
Acts 26 – Paul before King Agrippa
Acts 28:1-10 – Paul on Malta
3. Mark made the following statement in his sermon: We live in a world where we need to think of how we interpret the unchanging truth of God to our generation in a way that will connect with others. We do that against a background of social change has resulted in different values to what pertained say, 50 years ago regarding issues like the role of women in society, LGBTQ issues, changing attitudes to race, attitudes towards migration, pluralism, a multi-ethnic society, and climate change.
How much have these impacted on your life and the life of your local church? What things in popular culture do you struggle with? How can we address these issues and still remain faithful to the gospel?
4. How important do you think when communicating the gospel to others that we should keep the main thing the main thing – that is that we focus on how God loves them, desires them, offers the gift of forgiveness and life?
..
We shall also be praying for Paul and Sarah Brown in Thailand. You can download their latest news here (pdf file): https://www.bmsworldmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/0822-Brown.pdf