The gospel message begins with the fact that God is love. As an expression of this infinite love, God created us in His image so that we may glorify him; His creation was perfectly “good” in his sight (Acts 17:29, Gen. 1:26-31). However, man made a choice that made him dead in sin, severing the relationship between us and the Father (Eph. 2:1, Romans 5:12). We were dead in sin and estranged from the Father, however God still loved us. God loved us so much that he sent his son, Jesus, both God and man, as a sacrifice to restore the relationship between the Father and his creation. Jesus, God incarnate, lived a sinless life and was crucified at the hands of sinful beings (Acts 2:23-24, 2:36 3:14). Only Jesus, the man who lived a perfectly holy
…show more content…
I went to Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, and did just about every activity my church had to offer. At that age, I knew what it meant to be a Christian, but I would not say that I had a relationship with God. When I was eight years old, my parents decided to separate. This was especially hard on me because I had friends with divorced parents, and I did not want my life to become complicated like theirs. More importantly, I did not want my perfect lifestyle (nice house, happy parents, dog, etc) to change. I can remember every night after my parents decided to separate, I would get down on my knees and pray to God, “Lord, why are you doing this to me? Please bring my parents back together.” These prayers went on every night for years. As a result of my parent’s divorce, I grew closer and closer to God each day. I read my Bible daily and prayed every night. My parents had strayed from the church for a couple years due to the big changes, however I would drag them to church so I could go to youth group; I just wanted to know God more and more. When I was 10 years old, I officially accepted Jesus in my life, although I already felt like I had. From that point on, my relationship with God has been one of steady growth. There have been some dry patches in my relationship with Him, however He always seems to strategically put friends in my life that challenge me to be a better Christian each …show more content…
Five Takeaways from Root’s Book
• Prayer: Root spends a whole chapter focusing on the importance of prayer when evangelizing. He writes, “there is more involved in sacramental evangelism than horizontal, one-on-one witnessing. Before you do that necessary act, be sure to start your vertical ministry: pray.” Root emphasizes the importance of having a healthy prayer life when ministering to others. He suggests that we should make it a point to pray for the salvation of those around us. Additionally, if we do not know how to witness to someone, the first thing we should do is pray (pp. 36-37).
• Spirit led evangelism: Root spends another chapter on the Spirit’s role in our evangelism efforts. He affirms that we should be confident of the Sprit’s work when we share the gospel with others. Additionally, while we may not always see the Spirit’s work or presence in our evangelism efforts, we simple have to “trust the Spirit is working” (pp.
I went to Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, and did just about every activity my church had to offer. At that age, I knew what it meant to be a Christian, but I would not say that I had a relationship with God. When I was eight years old, my parents decided to separate. This was especially hard on me because I had friends with divorced parents, and I did not want my life to become complicated like theirs. More importantly, I did not want my perfect lifestyle (nice house, happy parents, dog, etc) to change. I can remember every night after my parents decided to separate, I would get down on my knees and pray to God, “Lord, why are you doing this to me? Please bring my parents back together.” These prayers went on every night for years. As a result of my parent’s divorce, I grew closer and closer to God each day. I read my Bible daily and prayed every night. My parents had strayed from the church for a couple years due to the big changes, however I would drag them to church so I could go to youth group; I just wanted to know God more and more. When I was 10 years old, I officially accepted Jesus in my life, although I already felt like I had. From that point on, my relationship with God has been one of steady growth. There have been some dry patches in my relationship with Him, however He always seems to strategically put friends in my life that challenge me to be a better Christian each …show more content…
Five Takeaways from Root’s Book
• Prayer: Root spends a whole chapter focusing on the importance of prayer when evangelizing. He writes, “there is more involved in sacramental evangelism than horizontal, one-on-one witnessing. Before you do that necessary act, be sure to start your vertical ministry: pray.” Root emphasizes the importance of having a healthy prayer life when ministering to others. He suggests that we should make it a point to pray for the salvation of those around us. Additionally, if we do not know how to witness to someone, the first thing we should do is pray (pp. 36-37).
• Spirit led evangelism: Root spends another chapter on the Spirit’s role in our evangelism efforts. He affirms that we should be confident of the Sprit’s work when we share the gospel with others. Additionally, while we may not always see the Spirit’s work or presence in our evangelism efforts, we simple have to “trust the Spirit is working” (pp.