Hey ChicaGO SEMP Team,
Just a reminder again that each team member is to post a comment on the week you're studying on from Max Q each week. If you have not posted in the comment section for Week 1 or Week 2 yet make sure that you do that before Sunday. This is a part of the process and is not optional.
Remember that our training meeting is this Sunday, May 1 and we'll be meeting in the Preteen Room again from 12-3 pm.
You need to bring the following to this training meeting:
* ChicaGO SEMP binders
* Lost friend names and addresses
* Bible, notebook, pen
In Him,
Pastor Chris
REMINDERS:
May 7 - ChicaGO SEMP Team Serve with First Serve Saturday at Prairie Camp
* Bring a Rake to use and wear gloves
** Meet at Prairie Camp
*** Dress according to the weather
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
An assumption many people make is that people are influenced by how we treat them. This is true to a certain degree, however peers are much more influence by what goes on around them. Many nonbelievers notice how we treat each other more than how we treat them. It all comes back to "Why are you being nice to me? What do you want from me?" When they see us love each other they know that we actually care about them and that we are interested in enriching their lives. Humans see things that are tangible. We can't see things that are spiritual on our own ability. Truly unless God wills it unbelievers do not see the hand of God in their lives. They can however readily see God where He works through us and pique their interest. -Dan Mohler
ReplyDeleteI've realized in this weeks Max Q that i not only need to talk to people about Christ, i also need to show them through my behaviors and actions that i am a follower of Jesus Christ. If i people see that i am acting differently than everyone else then maybe they will follow. i have been thinking "what do people think of me who dont know me" Do they think that i could be a Christian or do they KNOW that i am a Christian! We as christians need to show lost people that we are Christians through our BEHAVIORS and ACTIONS!!!
ReplyDeleteTaylor Hiester
We as Christians need to show love to everyone of our friends believing or non believing. I no it can be hard sometimes but thats one way people will no we are Christians is by our love.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Prochno
I have been really callenged to step out of my comfort zone this week, to love my unbelieving and believing friends no mature what and unconditionaly, and to not only influence people by my words but also and most importantly by my actions.
ReplyDeleteThis goes with Tuesday's example of 'priming the pump'. I'm an art student and before you can paint you have to 'prime' the paper. I connected to that analogy better. If you use a canvas, you have to stretch the canvas (staple it to the wooden frame) and then (it's really called primeing!) prime the canvas by painting it with gesso. If you do watercolors, you have to completely saturate your paper, staple or tape it to a flat surface and allow it to completely dry before painting. Knowing all the work that goes into prepareing a surface for painting made a great analogy for me to see how you have to 'prime' people before you can 'paint' them.
ReplyDeleteI really hope someone thinks this made sense... :)
Kelly
Here's my thoughts for this week's Max Q: WEEK 3
ReplyDelete* God ALONE is the agent of change and the giver of life.
- This is something that we really need to grasp and understand. Don't get me wrong, we still need to do our part but HE is the ONLY ONE that can produce life and heart change in people.
* The goal is heart change (not behavior), because the heart drives behavior.
- Personally, has our heart change really affected our behavior or do we still act the same as everyone else who don't know Christ?
The second paragraph on page 56 was a huge piece to chew on.
* If we want to be influential in the lives of our unbelieving friends we need to "prime" them by giving them a living picture of who God is and the difference he can make in their lives. . . . . After all, isn't that why God came to earth and existed in a body: to prime mankind's pump by demonstrating in the flesh what God is like?
- I had to stop and ask the question 'How well am I/are we doing with this?'
* To be a student of influence, you must learn to love your lost friends WITH NO EXPECTATION OR OF RECIPROCITY--NO STRINGS ATTACHED.
* The thing that will get you noticed is this: a consistent, compassionate, and godly life lived out before your friends day after day after day.
- I think this would be one of those "Amen" and "Ouch" moments all in one.
Last Big thought for this week from me is: are we the type of person, like Jesus, that people come to because they are convinced that we are accepting, compassionate, available, and capable of offering help that no one else could?
- If I'm not, I need to be striving for this if I want to be a person of influence.
- Chris Lehane
A quote that stood out to me this week was "talk is cheap. What you need is relational leverage." This just reminded me that talking is part of the process of leading people to JESUS, but it doesn't mean anything if u dont back up what u say by ur actions. What I do in a certain situation will stick out more to people then what I say. I want to work on living a consistent, compassionate, godly life lived out before my friends day after day.
ReplyDeleteJaylin miller
I need to love my lost friends and anyone for that matter with no expectation of reciprocity. no expectation for something in return. shouldnt i just love others because God loves me?
ReplyDeletebailey dahlgren
When I was a kid my parents would always say that my two younger siblings look up to me, and i think this week was talking about how no matter who you are there is always someone looking up to you even though you don't know it. I look up to my older brother (though i would never tell him that). i think we all need to practice being "worth looking up at" because if we can't show that we are Christians through our actions as well as our words, then we aren't doing our jobs as followers of Christ. (I just went pretty deep there)
ReplyDelete-Tanner White
this week i struggled with temptation when ever i have problems with this the verse 1 corinthians 10:12-13 always helps me it is " so, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! no temtation has seized you except what is common to man. and god is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." this really helped me out this week.
ReplyDeleteshayna graverson
Wow! I am an incredibly blessed Princess of the King. My studies were great this week. What I learned was that this world has a "Monkey see, Monkey do" type of lifestyle. So I guess that means we play a really BIG, no HUGE role in bringing the lost souls home. Cause people look at us and see how we do things (whether God pleasing or not)and then they do them how we do it.
ReplyDeleteI need to be striving to become a person who people can come to because they know I am accepting, compassionate, available, and capable of offering help and advice. I need to become more like Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteHaley Miller
1 John 3:18 was big for me this week....also, this:
ReplyDeleteA heart simply can't resist true kindness and unconditional love. If you love your friends unconditionally, you will use the leverage of reciprocity without abusing it and you will gain a degree of influence among your peers that will stand the test of time and pressure.
This may sound dumb, but it made me realize that in order to actually influence those around me, I have to show compassion and unconditional love towards them!
~Emily Hoffman
I realized that I will have to step out of my comfort zone and love everyone unconditionally even if they are unbelievers to be able to influence them.
ReplyDeleteLindsey Allen
I'd have to agree with What Tanner said about his younger brother looking up to Him. Sometimes I think my brother could care less about me and just wants to annoy the heck out of me for fun, but really he looks at me when I least expect it and evaluates who I am by what I say and do. It's the same way with your lost friends. Even the ones who you really don't even think care about you, are looking at your character when you least expect it. How do I influence them? I like what it says in Max Q for this. "living a consistent, compassionate, and Godly live before your friends day after day after day" (Max Q week 3 day 5)
ReplyDeleteJustin Krakowski
I realized i will need to step out of my comfort zone and to teach my unbelieving friends and make them beliving my beliving friends and i realized in order to be loved back i should show love towards others and influence them to do the same thing
ReplyDeleteAustin
Day 4 really stood out to me this week. The question about whether we have strings attached to our relationships with friends really made me stop and evaluate how I was treating my lost friends as a Christian. I want them to see me as a person they can come to when they really need help. In other words, I need to embrace them when they've fallen instead of pushing them away when they sin. This applies to all circumstances.
ReplyDeleteHolly Prawat
I think it's interesting to note from day 1 that all people have some view of God. Very rarely do people just not believe anything. Whether it's based on fact or fiction, people will believe something. Increasingly today, people are believing in a god. Unfortunately, society mostly believes it doesn't matter who the god is. How do we live in such a way to not just show them they should be moral or be a good person, but that Jesus is the answer?
ReplyDeleteit starting to become more acute to me how much i cood influence some one and it makes me a lil worried becuz i dont want to have an unbeliever look at me the time i mess up and think badly about God cuz of my mistake i think i have to work on being aware of my self and my actions
ReplyDeletekylee stutzman
God wants us to love unconditionally and may be hard, but that's how we show were different then the world my are love and gods love
ReplyDelete-Bobby Krakowksi
I need to reach out more to people that are non believers. I do like to talk to anyone because it's very interesting and funny to here peoples previous point of veiws of me once they get to know the real me. I really hope though that I can start sharing the word of God to more people and not be afraid of rejection.
ReplyDelete-Logan
I realized something this week about myself I did not like. I really dont have hardly any non-christian friends. I have some contacts and and I have places and circumstances where I could but I think I have distanced myself from many of them. Thats so sad! I feel God prompting me to get more involved in the lives of some of these people so that I can have the privilege of having a few of these people call me their friend. I am asking God to open up doors for me!
ReplyDelete"the thing that will be noticed is this: a consistent, compassionate, and godly life lived out before your friends day after dat after day. "
ReplyDeletespencer dahlgren
Gods been showing me threw Max Q this week the things Im good at when it comes to showing people Gods love and things I need to work on so needless to say its been an up and down week but very helpful none the less Dana Keller
ReplyDeleteDay one of Max Q just hit me hard this week. Our behavior originates from out heart. The second question asked based upon your recent words and actions, what would you say is the condition of your heart right now. This put me into realization that I haven't been as loving and caring as i could be. Over the past couple years I have been battling so many different things and have learned to keep everything bottled up. It doesn't take much to make me angry or frustrated..and you don't even really have to try. Which makes me come to the conclusion of me realizing i have such an angry heart. Before i can try to influence any of my lost friends i have some things to tweak!
ReplyDelete**Your heart determines your actions**
Danielle Hudson
Week 3 contiually reminds me of the lyrics, "All of love can be traced to a maker." (-Danger: Wildman by The Devil Wears Prada) If people can see the love we are showing to others, won't they start to trace this love we have for everybody back to Jesus Christ? What's in the heart and is reflected is very important.
ReplyDeleteP.S. sorry it's so late!
What stuck out most to me was that the things that will get you noticed is consistency, compassion, and a godly life in front of my friends daily.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Clickovich
one little part that stuck out to me is that unconditional love is like a giant heart magnet. i thought it was really cool
ReplyDelete~Austin Conrad
"A heart simply can't resist true kindness and unconditional love."
ReplyDeleteEven if our unbeliever friends can reject and refuse to listen to what we say about our faith and our God, it's impossible for them to neglect our love through Christ. Everyone longs to be loved. If we step out and love them as Christ followers they are receiving the best love of all, God's love. This potentially has the ability to break down all the barriers they shield themselves with and allows us to come in and share with them.
Amy