MESSAGE:  How will they hear? (Lost Friends)       Date: 3/9/2025

SERIES: Fundamentals 

COMMUNICATOR: Pastor Kevin Geer

CHECKING IN: How was your week? What was a highlight? What was a challenge? 

Share Wins: How did you see God love this week? How has God answered a prayer, reminded you of His presence, or used you to bless someone? In what ways have you seen Jesus advancing His mission? 

THINK, DISCUSS, LIVE: These questions are ideal for personal devotion or group discussions, guiding you to grow spiritually, engage deeply in biblical community, and live out your faith in the world around you.

1. Share the story of how you became friends with one of your closest friends. What do you think helped you connect in the first place? Was there a particular moment, conversation, or experience that stood out in forming that bond? How has that friendship grown over time?
2. What are three key characteristics of genuine friendship? How can these qualities be reflected in your interactions with neighbors or acquaintances you encounter?
3. Do you have an awkward or memorable story about sharing your faith or someone sharing theirs with you? What happened and how did it unfold? 
4. Read Matthew 9:37-38. Who is Jesus addressing in this passage? What does the metaphor teach us as His disciples, and why is it significant? How does this connect with Matthew 9:36, and what does it reveal about Jesus’ heart for the lost?
5. Bob Pierce of World Vision once said, “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” How does Jesus show this in Matthew 9:36? Which descriptions of the people in this verse stand out to you? Think about how these traits compare to the people you see in your city and life. How does this change the way you view and respond to others?
6. Identify by name who you see as the “harvest.” What do you believe is our role in being part of the answer to this prayer? What do you feel is the next step to take with this person?
7. As you reflect on your relationships with people who aren’t followers of Jesus, what are some of the challenges you encounter? What are some of the benefits you experience?
8. What are some examples of ‘story-based questions’ you can ask of new friends?
9. How does Philippians 2:4, which calls us to “take an interest in others,” highlight a fundamental aspect of building friendships? Why is this principle so essential for creating meaningful relationships? How have you personally experienced this truth, both as someone receiving it and as someone giving it, and how has it impacted your connections with others?
10. Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-6. Make a list of creative ways to connect with people who don’t yet know Jesus. Choose 1-2 ideas and commit to trying them within the next month (these are ways to “water the seed”). Share your wins and challenges with your group or close Jesus friends. Remember that it is ultimately God who causes the growth.
11. TAKING NEW GROUND! This week, take new ground by praying intentionally for your friends who don’t know Christ. Ask God to open doors for you to share His love with them. Consider taking a prayer walk through your neighborhood, inviting the Holy Spirit to reveal insights into the lives of your friends and neighbors. 
12. How is your faith journey progressing within the Transformational Model? Where do you currently see yourself in the Canvas Circle, Jesus Friends Circle, and Lost Friends Circle? In what ways are you growing to be more like Jesus and moving closer to the center of the diagram?

2025 TRANSFORMATIONAL CHALLENGE: We’ve created a Bible reading plan to help us go through the entire New Testament in a year. Read or listen to just one chapter a day, five days a week. Simply go to the Canvas Church app. and click on ‘Bible Reading Plan.’ If you prefer to listen, that option is available too! Join us on this life-changing journey! Encourage a friend to join you on the journey. 

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP PRAYER OPTIONS: “Jesus hasn’t revealed a God we can perfectly understand, but he has revealed a God we can perfectly trust. Trust is the certainty that the listening God hears and cares.” Tyler Staton

1. Praise Sentences: Take a moment to offer short sentence prayers of thanks to God for who He is and what He has done this week. Allow multiple people to pray, even more than once. Then, lift up the needs shared within your group. Finish by thanking Him for hearing your prayers.  
2. Invite Jesus into the challenges you or a loved one are facing right now, trusting in His presence and guidance. As you pray aloud, encourage one another with your words.
3. Pray for the person on your right, it can be out loud or in silence, if in silence nudge the person next to you letting them know you are done. 
4. Prayer Clusters: Groups of two or three (by gender) and share your week together. Pray together and for each other. Send them a text, or leave a message letting them know you have prayed for them this week. 

Practice on your own: What if you made it a daily habit to ask God what He wants you to know? It could be in every situation or just the ones that arise. Next, ask Him what He would like you to do?  It could be a specific answer or a way to apply what He reveals about what He wants you to know. Try it and see what happens! 

Ask someone in your group to keep an ongoing list of prayer requests and the answers to those prayers. This will help everyone in the group stay up-to-date on each situation, celebrate when prayers are answered, and encourage us to keep praying when the answers haven’t come yet.