Discuss: 1) Do you have opportunities in your life to meet the needs of others? Have there been opportunities to tell your story of faith in these situations? If not, how can you challenge yourself in this? 2) Remember the three people you have been praying for. Share your story of faith with them in a way that is relevant and succinct. 3) Pray about someone you can invite to the next session of Rooted. How can you tell him/her how Rooted has impacted or changed you? 4) Thank Jesus for the way He met your needs, became a friend to you, and moved you spiritually. Ask God to help you tell your story this week.
1) I have to say that God has provided me with ample opportunities in my life to help meet the needs of others, albeit in ways that took some time for me to recognize. The most obvious example of these would have to be within the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, where I regularly meet people that are struggling with many of the very same things I once struggled with. I have shared my story of faith with many of them, and in many different ways, depending upon where they are at in their spiritual journeyš And, as our reading pointed out, these very same people have had just as great an impact (if not more) on my own spiritual journey as I may have had on theirs.
2) The three people I mentioned before, that I have been praying for, are at very different places in their own spiritual journeys, and I have shared my story of faith with them accordingly. Our relationships with one another continue to deepen, and I will continue to share with them as opportunities ariseš
3) Of the three, I think that Adam may one day be the most open to going through something like this Rooted series together. I am right now praying that he would be able to break free from the bondage of addiction, as we are working out the first and second steps of AA together.
4) Lord Jesus, thank You for the way You have met and continue to meet all of my deepest needs! You have faithfully loved me all along my own spiritual journey, and brought people into my life to this end. Help me to love those you put in my path, that I might effectively share the story of what You have done, and that they may come to know You as well. Glorify Your name among all the earth!
I do have opportunities in my life to meet the needs of others. Iām always trying to help other people whenever I can. There have been many opportunity to tell my story of faith but I was nervous at the time but recently I would just constantly tell them about my faith and I try to get them to be interested as well. The three people Iāve been pray for I have gotten the chance to talk to them about my faith and they were interested but one of them still did not care. I will continue praying and hopefully they come to realize God is the answer. I thank God and Jesus for everything they have done for me and I will spread their love and word to others.
Lately there has been opportunities to express my faith. Students and the guys I coach often ask me who is God to me and they have been asking me questions about God. I still have my mom, my dad, and my friend in mine. Just praying for the opportunity of open ears. Lord I thank you for being my best friend and letting me confide in you.
From Cyndi
I confess that I have many opportunities to verbally share my faith and tell my faith story but I hold back and get scared. I donāt want to be awkward and talk about God. Iāve been more living out my Christian faith through my actions and lifestyle instead of verbally sharing my faith. However, I am more convicted today and hope to be better and growing in this area to boldly share my faith story and the good news to others.
This rooted study has been a blessing and I’ve been so encouraged and inspired by what has been shared in this group. I love you ladies. I’ve learned that I am not alone in this Christian walk, we are not perfect people, we all have our struggles and flaws, but by God’s grace we are all saved and loved by Him. This rooted study has also opened my heart and eyes to be more aware of areas that I need to continue to improve and grow in as a seasoned believer.
Please pray for me. I will see my three friends this weekend. I hope these three friends will be friends that I can invite to our church one day.
Thank you God for meeting all my needs and saving me from my sins. I know I am still a work in progress but I pray that you will continue to shape me and help me to grow deeper and more spiritually especially in sharing my faith story and living an impactful life for you. Amen.
Christine
Discuss: 1) Do you have opportunities in your life to meet the needs of others?
I try my best to be there for my friends, my family, those that I encounter to the best of my ability since my life has changed. I also attend meetings to share the message.
I do always share with my Coker that I attend church and that Iām a follower of Jesus. I shared meanings regularly. How God has saved my life how my life was before I accepted God and how it is today. I also believe that my close family and my immediate family also see the change in my life, just by my actions and reactions. Every now and then, when I do have time to spend with my mom, we tend to get into arguments, but I would always try my best to calmly remind her how important it is for her to turn her life over and see God. And I always express how my life would be if I didnāt accept Jesus.
2) Remember the three people you have been praying for. Share your story of faith with them in a way that is relevant and succinct.
Iām actually taking a mean getaway trip with my mom this weekend and I will use that time to be able to talk more about God with her since we will be in the car for more than four or five hours each way
Lord heavenly father thank you so much for the opportunity to be able to bond with my family this weekend. I pray that you bless us with good communication, compassion, understanding forgiving an open mind in an open heart. May you bless the time that I have with them to use fruitful and loving words to be able to share how you have transform my life . May you Holy Spirit fill me to be able to have a loving time with my family to be able to see the transformation that you have done in my life, Lord. The Lord again I just wanna, thank you for blessing me with the new way of life. Lord, I pray that you would give me the courage to continue to share your good news of the gospel to those encounter and may I show compassion and love to those that I also encounter lord. I pray all these things in your precious name Jesus amen.
Not sure if I have opportunities to cater to people’s needs as I’m just doing the basic 9-5 right now while taking care of my own needs in between. At work, the needs I cater to are just part of the work so not sure if there are opportunities there. Plus it’s a work environment so the most I could probably get away with is talking about my faith before HR gets on me for oversharing. Outside of that I lead a pretty secluded life so the most I could do is share with some stranger on the internet.
I don’t have anyone in mind but I pray for someone to come up in or outside of my life that I can share this experience with, whether it’s from Rooted or whatnot (the question comes off as a little self-promotional, but you do you Rooted).
I do want to thank God though, for walking me down this path of life so far as I feel like I’ve come a long way and grown a lot since He met me where I was. And I’m thankful He continues to meet me where I am whether it be through the highs or lows. I begrudgingly want to share my story but I know it’s something I need to do since it’s the least I can do for everything He’s done for me. I pray to have a heart for that.
1. I have been seeing a lot of opportunities to meet people’s needs and share my faith, but I think it gets hard when I focus too much on my own needs instead of others. And sometimes I get selfish, that I think I deserve more help than others. To challenge myself, I will start to create habits of being humble because I should realize that there are those who are lacking more than we lack. There are those who don’t know Christ and a challenge I should reflect on is to be humble and take the chance of inviting people or recruiting people to the family of God.
3. I think I can share how Rooted has changed me by sharing my testimony of how God changed my life and I am going to share it after spring break so I can invite one of the 3 friends I prayed for to go listen to my testimony.
4. Dear God, thank You for everything you have done in my life. Thank you for meeting my needs and being a wonderful friend to me. I ask that You would give me the courage to share my testimony in front of Cru after Spring Break and help me speak boldly and carefully. I pray all these things in Jesus Name, Amen.
I believe I do have opportunities in my life to meet the needs of others. God has blessed me to be a blessing to others. In these opportunities, it could also be a time for me to share my story with them. I pray for one of my closest friends whom Iāve known since middle school. He knows of Christ, but hasnāt fully surrendered his life to Him. We reflect on our lives from time to time, so maybe sharing my life story and How God impacted my life could help Him see Godās love through His Son Jesus.
Lord, I thank You for meeting my needs and for all the blessings Youāve bestowed upon me. Thank You for being a friend to me and for being mindful of me. I am also grateful for the ways Youāve helped me grow spiritually, whether through worship, through scripture and prayer. I pray that when the opportunity arises, that You would prompt me to share my testimony.
āThe greatest gift you can ever give someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus is an introduction to Him.ā Love this quote! I do have the opportunity to meet the needs of others. I think a lot of times people I know just need someone to lean on and be a listening ear. I do share my faith during these moments; however I think I can elaborate more on how Jesus has transformed my life. Itās always very brief and I talk about my prayer life. The people I shared about are curious about my faith and ask questions but sometimes I donāt have all the answers. I pray that God is able to speak through me so I can answer confidentially.
Iām grateful that one of my friends is open to the idea though. Ryan is already going to the rooted series with me but I pray Wendy is able to go. She hasnāt been able to go to church with me because her family is catholic & her mom wouldnāt want her to go to a Christian church.
Thank you Jesus for the way you have healed me, loved me, and met my needs. I pray I am able to be a great friend in those in my life and talk about the ways you have changed me. You have been with me every step of the way and I pray I am able to do the same with my friends. I pray in all ways I am able to glorify your name and share my story!