The Death of Summer

LESSON FOUR by Stephen Kimbrell

BIBLE READING
After watching the biblical teaching by Heath Ferguson, read the following portions of Scripture.

Mark 2:1-12
Colossians 4:2-6

The Mark passage is at the very beginning of HIs public ministry. People are watching closely and being amazing at His miracles, His understanding of Scripture (His teaching and explanations), and His love and compassion for people. He is extremely popular at this point, and people are trying to do anything they can to see Him. When these men bring their paralyzed friend, there are so many people inside and around the house that they cannot get him to Jesus.

The Colossians passage is the Apostle Paul giving instructions on how important our identity in Christ is and the fact that He is our strength and source of power for living out the gospel every day. In chapter four he gives instructions on how to make this possible: 1) continue steadfastly in prayer; 2) walk in wisdom toward outsiders; and 3) always be gracious, kind and answer people the right way. The "outsiders" are not weird people but those who simply do not know Christ (those outside the faith). For us to truly impact our friends with the gospel, we must actively pray and have biblical wisdom.

PASSAGE GUIDE
Use a journal and interact with Scripture as you read, study and meditate on it.

Mark 2:1-4 - These men do whatever it takes to get him to Christ
Mark 2:5 - Jesus, seeing their faith, heals him and even says "your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:6-7- The scribes (who were the enemies of Christ) react to this by trying to accuse Jesus of blasphemy. This was punishable by death.
Mark 2:8-11 - Jesus responds. Notice that he "knew their thoughts." This shows His deity. He also made it clear that He was God - "the Son of Man" is a Messianic title.
Mark 2:12 - The miracle shows the power of Christ to heal and the fact that He was God.

Col. 4:2 - Paul tells us to pray steadfastly - consistently and with great meaning and thankfulness
Col. 4:3-4 - He asks them to pray for two things: 1) that he would have opportunities to share the gospel; and 2) that his sharing of the gospel would be clear (that he would have wisdom to share it the right way with them)
Col. 4:5 - the need for biblical wisdom. Paul is emphasizing the importance of knowing what God has said in His Word.
Col. 4:6 - Be gracious - always! Make sure your speech is "seasoned with salt." Salt was an important substance in that day. He is saying: "make your words important."

REFLECT
Prayer Guide
  • a desire to truly share the gospel with your friends
  • courage to talk to them about Christ
  • repentance over being ashamed of the gospel and of Christ
  • your friends - that God would use you to help them see Christ and the significance of the gospel to change their lives
Personal Evaluation/Actions
  • Write down a list of three of your friends who need Christ. Using the three words Stephen taught us about, write down how you use them to reach these three people.
  • Relationship - How can you better build relationships to share the gospel? What can you specifically do to get to know people better?
  • Intentionality - What are you doing that is intentional concerning sharing the gospel with your friends?
  • Creativity - What can you do to "find a staircase outside of the house" to help get your friends to Jesus?
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