JESUS THE SAVIOR
Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches
of the Philippines
Lesson 5
THE PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
Aim: That each learner will share Christ with someone, following biblical
principles.
Scripture:
John 4:1-42
Memory Verse: John 4:35 – Open you eyes
and look to the fields! They are ripe for harvest. (NIV)
In
Advance
1.
Pray
2.
Memorize Mark 16:15
3.
Prepare copies of a simple
evangelistic tool (There’s Only One Way or
any other simple tool). There should be
enough for each learner.
4.
Study John 4:7-42
Introduction to
the passage:
The shortest route from Judea to Galilee
was through Samaria. The Jews, however,
normally did not take this route.
Instead, they took the longer route east, crossing the Jordan and
passing through Perea. They avoided the
Samaritans whom they despised as “half-breed” because of their mixed ancestry.
The Samaritans claimed, though, that they were also descendants of Jacob. Their
claim was based on the presence of the historical Jacob’s well in their land.
CLASS SESSION
ENTRANCE
Let the learners
enumerate common characteristics of good salesmen. Write their answers on the
board. Say that we are salesmen too in the sense that we need to share our
faith with others.
Transition Sentence: We will discover sound
principles on how to share our faith with others.
SUBSTANCE
Divide
the class into 2 groups. The members of each group will discuss among
themselves and plan their answer to the question assigned to them. They will
appoint one member to report later.
Instruct everyone to silently read the entire passage first.
Questions:
1.
Group 1 – What principles of witnessing can we see in the example of Jesus?
2.
Group 2 – What principles of witnessing can we see in the example of the
Samaritan woman?
Answers:
1.
Principles of witnessing
exemplified by Jesus:
a.
He went – v.4 (Hence, John
20:21; Matthew 28:18-20)
b.
He did cross-cultural
evangelism – v.9
c.
He did personal evangelism –
v.9
d.
He exercised tact. He started at a positive point of interest
(water) – v.9
e.
He established a need (v. 10)
and revealed Himself only when the woman was prepared for it – v. 25
f.
He did not hesitate to
contradict the woman – v. 22
2.
Principles of witnessing
exemplified by the Samaritan woman:
a.
She went to her own people – v.
28
(She gave such
importance to her discovery that she left her water jar behind – 28
b.
She did not wait until she knew
more (cf. John 9:25)
c.
She used personal experience –
v. 39
d.
In spite of her probably low
reputation, many became believers through her – vv. 39-41
Question for all: What is the
challenge of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 4:35-36?
Answer:
If
we open our eyes and look intently enough, we will realize how ripe for harvest
the field is. We need to be caring and sensitive enough to see peoples’ need
and hunger for the Lord. Humanly
speaking, the Samaritans would have been considered “hard ground.” Jesus showed
that going to such people and witnessing to them with love, tact and wisdom,
would bring positive results.
General Truth: We need to share the Gospel with others using biblical principles.
SIGNIFICANCE
Questions:
1.
Who are the people today who need to hear about Christ?
Answer: All kinds of
people. Some are easy to share with,
others are difficult to reach. We need
to share Christ to them all.
2.
How can we share Christ?
Answer: (Review
principles exemplified by Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Ex. John 4:4 Jesus went. Cf. John 20:21;
Matthew 28:18-20).
There are
specific methods too, like:
film showing
crusades
tract distribution
Bible studies
sharing our testimonies
sharing the gospel through evangelistic
tools
PERFORMANCE
Give time for individual prayer.
Distribute the evangelistic tool and
read through it with the class. Assign
them to practice it at home and to use it with someone.
