Living the Good News in the 168 “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So, when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” ~John 4:39-42 As we have looked at the story of the Woman at the Well in John 4 over the last few weeks, we have seen Jesus break social & religious barriers, a woman going immediately to tell others about Jesus and the disciples learning about evangelism. Through this 4th chapter of John, God is teaching us how to be evangelists today. The word Evangelist is derived from the Greek word meaning “proclaimer of good news”. An evangelist is someone who tells the good news of whatever it is s/he has to share. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to tell the good news of what He has done for us. We are to share with those in our lives how Jesus makes a complete difference in our lives. We, as the Woman at the Well did, can share about our own experiences with Jesus. We tell our story and bring another to Jesus, so s/he can have their own story with Him. Telling the good news is not done only with words. It is in how we interact with others in all areas of our lives. Being a follower of Jesus is not just in the one hour a week we go to church. It is in each of the 168 hours of a week. This means that telling the good news is also to be a part of how we converse with those we may disagree with on a particular issue. Differences do arise because we are all uniquely created in the image of God and have different experiences, but if we only speak from anger and argue with one another we miss the opportunity to learn from each other. Perhaps as evangelists we ought to take a breath and listen in order to learn from one another and share the good news of Jesus in that interaction. Brothers and sisters in Christ each of us are evangelists in every hour of the week. Let us learn from the Woman at the Well how we can go to our immediate community and share our story. Let us share the good news in our social media posts without judgment, but instead with the open arms of Jesus Christ reaching out to those who have not heard yet. See from the verse at the beginning of this blog how an entire community came to know Jesus because of one woman’s story. Now imagine how many people the Holy Spirit can reach through you when you live the Good News in the 168 hours of the week. What will you do differently in your day to day life with this mindset? How will your interactions in person or online change when you begin seeing yourself as an evangelist in the 168 hours of the week? Now imagine how much our local community here in Brooklyn Park and throughout the Twin Cities area can change if and when all of us live the Good News in the 168. Do you hear people saying they believe now not because of what we have said but rather because they have heard for themselves? As we begin to re-enter into physical gatherings in our communities let us each come with the mindset that we all are evangelists 168 hours a week. May we continue to be the Church in all aspects of our lives, including outside of the church building, sharing our stories and inviting all people to discover their full life in Christ for themselves. Fellow disciples we are on the verge of a great movement of God. We are being empowered by the Holy Spirit and sent out by God the Father to be evangelists. As we gather together online and in small groups, we can encourage one another to keep sharing the Good News. We are being sent out now to share and tell our stories. Go and tell your story. Be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to share. Remain transparent so that as others look at you, they see Jesus Christ welcoming them home. Share, wherever God the Father leads you, so that His Will is done here on earth. ~Pastor Vicki Epper
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9/16/2022 01:33:48 pm
Thanks for sharing this article. Did you know ERTC credit (Government Money) is available for Churches?
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