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Ministry Encouragement Podcast – Episode #063 – 9-11-13
Rev. Jim W. Hollis, your Host and Executive Director of Proactive Ministries, our Sponsor
Hello and welcome to this week’s Episode of the Ministry Encouragement Podcast. Wow! There’s much to think about today as we observe the Time of Silence in memory of the 9-11 attacks on our nation, twelve years ago. Can you believe that it’s been twelve years since that fateful morning? I bet you can remember where you were when that took place – I sure can. I remember witnessing that on television and knew that the entire world as we had known it before that day had changed forever.
The next time (the day after they lifted the ban on flights) I flew on Delta it certainly felt different. Seeing the armed military at the airports and tasting the reality of terror in our own country was a different experience of life. Today I want to have us continue to pray for world peace, an end to terrorism and justice for the horrors of war & destruction. Let’s pray.
In this week’s Podcast I want to focus on the topic of:
Jesus’ Model of Compassionate Outreach – Steps For Us Today
We live in a time where we need to authentically live out loving others perhaps more than at any other time in our history. We have hundreds of churches across America that are surrounded by hurting, lonely and angry people. We have families and marriages that are exploding and disintegrating daily. Our schools are experiencing more and more threats, shootings and terrorists are still making it their life goal to destroy the lives of others.
Yet, hundreds of those same churches in the past year have reached ZERO people for Christ. In my own denomination, the United Methodist Church, in many of our Conferences (areas which have up to 1000+ congregations in them) we are seeing statistics that indicate as high as 70% of those churches reported ZERO professions of faith in Christ in 2012. This is astounding and represents a true epidemic of the results of getting and staying comfortable for decades. It is the fruit of being inward focused for years.
To see this reversed, we must return to the model of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. Jesus is our Savior and Lord. Jesus constantly modeled for us how to live as Disciples of his daily and be effective at reaching others with the Good News of God. We look today at The Steps For Us Today which Jesus modeled in compassionate outreach. Using these steps can give us new hope for reaching others around us.
Our KEY SCRIPTURE for this Episode is:
John 4:4-42, in the New International Version
(Jesus and the Woman at the Well)
The Steps we cover today, modeled by Jesus that still work where we live are:
- Positioning ourselves where we can engage and love others outside the faith
- Initiating a new relationship building toward friendship & faith
- Starting with the most pressing needs of those we engage
- Moving the relationship toward trust and addressing of deeper needs
- Experiencing others respond to Christ and spiritual transformation
Journey with me today as we see in detail, step by step how Jesus teaches us to reach others today. This strategy we will discuss works and can be employed by any of us who have Christ in our lives and feel the compassion that the Risen, Living Lord has in this very minute for those who don’t have a personal, saving relationship with him.
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As always, it is my prayer that you will not only personally grow in your spiritual life from this Episode today but that you will take a few minutes of your time to share this podcast with others in one of the following ways:
- Email the LINK to the Ministry Encouragement Podcast to five or more of your friends, inviting them to listen
- Share the Podcast with those in one or more of your Small Groups (Bible studies, recovery groups, SS class, etc…)
- Ask your Pastor to listen and then share the Podcast information in your church newsletter
- Send a “tweet” out about how you enjoy and grow through this Podcast
You can personally make a real difference in many lives by sharing this with others. And, please contact me personally with your thoughts, ideas and suggestions as to how we can make the Podcast better. Do you have topics you would like to suggest for future Episodes? I’d love to hear them. My contact information is:
Email: jim@ministryencouragementpodcast.com
Facebook: Jim W. Hollis
LinkedIn: Jim Hollis
Our Ministry Offices in Georgia (USA): (770) 803-9988
Until our next time together, may God richly bless and keep you. I covet your personal prayers for me and our ministry as we constantly work to make disciples for Jesus Christ in today’s world.
Jim
PASTORS & CHURCH LEADERS: If you are frustrated about how to create and build a practical, biblical and effective relational outreach ministry in your church, please give me a call. I’d love to share with you personally how this can happen where you are in ministry.
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