Get Equipped to Speak Winsomely
If you need convincing that our world needs Jesus, just take a short trip to Dubai. It is decadent and arrogant, constantly self-proclaiming that they are the best, want to be the best and want to be known as the best across the whole world. Walking through the city is like living in a reenactment of the Tower of Babel. They want to make a name for themselves! Even when the call to worship their god is trumped across the country, life just goes on, the chanting is just background noise to the grand-scale attempt at glory.
If you need convincing that our world needs Jesus, take that short trip to Dubai and then come back to Sydney. While the decadence and arrogance may not be so in your face, the reality is the same. Sydneysiders live with God in the white noise. Jesus barely gets on anyone’s radar and because we know we are living in the most glorious city in the world where prosperity comes as the reward for hard work and the divine is irrelevant to everyday life.
This is why we as a church are committed to Share Life. How can Sydneysiders believe in the one of whom they have not heard? How can they hear without someone speaking to them?
Share Life is how we describe our shared evangelistic mission here at Christ Church. So when we talk about Share Life, we are talking about all of us sharing Jesus with friends and family, with colleagues and neighbours, who don’t yet know him. We are talking about all of us sharing Life to the full that Jesus promises. We are talking about all of us sharing Life as we are designed to live it — in relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. We are talking about all of us sharing Jesus with those we know and love.
It is what we try to do all year around but there are some focus moments to enthuse, encourage and equip us in the work of sharing Jesus and a few of those are coming up over the next few weeks. You can find the full details for these on the website.
On 21 May, John Lovell, head of CMS NSW, will be with us for lunch to enthuse and inspire people thinking about full-time ministry. We will also have a chance on that day to dig in further to our new mission partnership with the Tyler family who are preparing to go with CMS to engage in Bible translation ministry in Vanuatu.
From 23-25 May, Elliot Temple is going to be running Share Life Go - events over three days for all our Growth Groups (and those not in groups) that are designed to give you a boost in your passion and enthusiasm for reaching people with the life Jesus offers. These interactive seminars are designed to help us move forward in our own personal efforts at Sharing Life - even if you are completely paralysed by the idea of Sharing Life with a friend, these events are for you to help you build courage.
On 8 June we have our next Share Life Event with Chris Cipollone who will speak on the theme of “Down, Not Out: Depression, Anxiety and the Difference Jesus Makes”. Chris will share his personal story and perspective on the intersection of Christianity and mental health. This will be a great night for you to invite a friend.
Everyone is doing some version of life. But as Christians, we know how life is meant to be lived, at its best, and that’s the news we want to share. When you trust in Jesus you find hope, purpose and a future that can never perish, spoil or fade.
We Christians have the words of eternal life and the solution to the existential yearnings of the world. That solution is Jesus. I am praying that you will come and be a part of these events and so be encouraged, enthused, equipped and inspired to pray and to have a GO at sharing life.
At the very least, let us all be those who are calling on our Heavenly Father to change lives through the preaching of the Gospel so we may rejoice together at his grace and kindness to our friends and family as they come to find Life through Christ.
In Christ,
Nigel
