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Rethink Opportunity

Session 5

We’ve been challenged to go, send, and mobilise as our perspective changes. Now we will discuss some intentional ways we can advance God’s kingdom in our own communities.

Take a few minutes and review the previous sessions. If you are studying in a group, discuss some of the main points and share any personal takeaways you had. 

Connecting With Neighbours from Different Backgrounds

Session 5 - Video 1

“I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” - Acts 10:34-35

YOU ARE ABLE TO GO TO THE NATIONS WITHOUT EVER BOARDING A PLANE.

Footnotes:
By rethinking your opportunity to connect cross-culturally, right here where you live, you may be able to advance God’s kingdom on a global scale.

So who are you connecting with?

  • Neighbours
  • Co-workers and classmates
  • Shop and restaurant owners
  • Students
  • Healthcare staff and other patients
  • Refugees, asylum seekers and immigrant families

You have the chance to connect with people from unreached areas who have never met an authentic Christian, and may never heard the gospel. We have the incredible opportunity of loving them and sharing Jesus with them.

The Lord’s plan for reaching every nation is based on his people being engaged in cross-cultural relationships. From the beginning of the church, Christ has been helping his people connect with those who are not like them.

Example: Peter

  • One of Christ’s disciples and close friends.
  • Heard Jesus talk for years about the good news being for all nations and even preached at Pentecost, when three thousand people of different languages were baptised.
  • Had to be addressed in a vision, and Paul called him out for acting differently among Jews and Gentiles.
  • Witnessed non-Jewish people receiving the Holy Spirit in Acts 10. Listen to what he says:

“I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
Acts 10:34-35

Neighbours from different backgrounds, who live in our communities, are not just people to be acknowledged. They are the nations the Lord brought here, waiting for someone to reach out and befriend them.

A good way to start building relationships with these neighbours is: ask questions, learn a little and use it a lot, get to know people, and tear down walls.

 

Discussion Questions

15 Minutes

Asking Questions

Session 5 - Video 2


Ask Questions

  • Build bridges.
  • Study their culture and world.
  • Dive deeper into who they are.
  • Be prepared to laugh and make mistakes.
  • Show you value them and wish to understand them more.

Learn a Little, and Use It a Lot

  • Learn a few words in their language.
  • Eat what they eat.
  • Be attentive to what they do. Dress conservatively if they do so. Take off your shoes if that’s what they do.
  • Be cautious about gender interactions.

Get to Know People

  • Be a good listener.
  • Share your life with them.
  • Pray with and for them.
  • Accompany them to appointments and activities.

ALLOW THEM TO WITNESS HOW
THE GOSPEL HAS TRANSFORMED YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE.

Discussion Questions

15 Minutes

Tear Down Walls

Session 5 - Video 3

Building relationships with neighbours from different backgrounds, we often encounter barriers. We spend our lives building walls that, if we want to connect with people who are different from us, will have to be torn down.

Tear Down Walls

  • Correct misconceptions about Christianity.
  • Without dwelling on the bad, speak openly of what’s good and bad in your culture. Rethink opportunities to undo some damage.
  • Being sensitive to others’ cultures can be effective in breaking down walls, but make sure you don’t do anything that conflicts with God’s Word.
  • Be careful not to become too enmeshed in a culture, or you can begin to resemble someone other than a follower of Jesus. One example is that religious symbols are often used in jewellery and accessories.

Responses to Culture
Three Negative Reactions to Culture

As observed by André Houssney, the three most common responses we can have to experiencing a different culture are fear, fury and fascination.1

  • Fear – When we encounter something that’s new or unfamiliar in a different culture. In fear we often become silent, instead of attempting to understand more, or we withdraw altogether in order to avoid awkward situations.
  • Fury – When we recognise something in a culture that doesn’t sit well with us. It can frequently lead to conflict and resentment. We apply anger and hostility, rather than trying to comprehend what makes a culture value what it does.
  • Fascination – It’s great to realise the good in another culture. We must be careful, however, that fascination doesn’t become syncretism, which is perceiving all things in a culture as good and true and losing the truth of the gospel.

Gospel-Oriented Responses to Culture2

  • Love – God’s Word is clear that love should be at the centre of our hearts, no matter the circumstance. Love, boldness, gentleness, and truth are the best ways to represent the gospel to neighbours from different backgrounds.

IF YOU CAN EXPRESS LOVE, GOD CAN USE YOU IN AMAZING WAYS!

Our neighbours are too important to ignore, especially when they hail from parts of the world that have little access to Jesus.

There is no Plan B! God has made it clear that we, his church, are the plan to see that every nation on earth will know that Christ is the best news in the universe.

Discussion Questions

15 Minutes

Footnotes:

  1. Georges Houssney, Engaging Islam (Boulder, CO: Treeline Publishing, 2010), 35-42.
  2. Houssney, Engaging Islam, 44-46.

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