Jonathan Goode did a great job again on Sunday, didn’t he?
Gospel writer John tells the story of Jesus and Simon Peter meeting for the first time… As soon as they met, something about Simon shifted…
John 1:42 (NLT)
Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”).
Jonathan also showed us the story of the Woman at the Well, who immediately went and began to tell her story. Something in her had shifted.
IN John 9, Jesus encounters the man who was born blind. The man does what Jesus says… He went to the Pool of Siloam and washed himself. Suddenly, he could see!
Suddenly, everyone was talking about him. They knew he was a blind beggar, but now he was able to see. This guy had a major shift.
The Pharisees could not understand this, and questioned him. They refused to credit Jesus, because they said that he must be a sinner. The man’s reply was really simple:
John 9:25 (NLT)
“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
Jesus says that when we begin following him, something should shift in each of us.
John 8:34–36 (NLT)
“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Walk Where Jesus Walked
Israel Tour, May 2027
Jonathan said: “If it is hard for me to tell my story, can I be sure that it is really happening?”
Telling our story of following Jesus is critical to being able to share our faith.
Have you ever shared your story with someone who doesn’t know Jesus?
Jonathan gave us a simple testimony format… It is the same format we use in our New Life class, the format you hear in most of the baptism testimony videos. Why don’t we take a few minutes and share our stories together? Maybe if we can tell it to each other, it won’t be so intimidating to share it with others outside our group!
Simple Testimony format
Describe when you were lost
describe the moment/season when you encountered Jesus
Describe how you have experienced being FREE.