It is my conviction that the age of the Gentiles is rapidly coming to a close and the return of King Jesus is imminent.  The biblical signs of the times are occurring at a level never before seen, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is in progress.  It is happening in Asia, Africa, and South America with signs and wonders.  It happened at the Brownsville Church in Pensacola Florida, and is going to continue to spread over the entire world.  Most Christian congregations are going blindly along, either oblivious to what is happening, or ignorant of the consequences of a touch of the Spirit.  If they were asked "What would you do if the Holy Spirit suddenly came to you with such power that hundreds of people came to your doors saying 'God Just touched me!  What's it all about?'" they would probably answer "Tell them about Jesus."  They can deal with the few that know something and want to learn more.  Those people are welcomed, found places within the church family, taught the denominational doctrine, and then invited to Sunday school and Bible studies.  If they choose to not participate many of this group go straight out the back door.  The truth is, most congregations are not prepared for a massive influx.  They neither have a plan in place nor even have considered what they should say about Jesus to someone who knows nothing.  Should they set up one massive class, or form many small home groups?  What should they have ready to present to someone who knows nothing?  What do the new Christians need to know in order to have a foundation on which to build?

 

This set of lessons is intended for those who know little or nothing about Christianity, those who have been recently touched by God and have a burning desire to know more about Him.  The great commission given by Jesus is usually remembered as "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  However, there is not a period after "Spirit" because the scripture continues, ", and teaching them everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19&20).  Notice that the directive was not to make converts to Christianity, but to make disciples.  This entire course of instruction should be considered to be introductory, a foundation on which to build.  It is intended to be followed by more in depth studies on each topic, plus other topics not addressed.

 

New converts are likely to have a variety of questions fueled by their hunger for more of God.  The class leader needs to make them realize that it is not possible to give them everything within the contents of the first sentence, or even the first lesson.  If, during the presentation, a question is asked that pertains to the subject of a later lesson, make a note of the question and attach it to that lesson.  Then ask them to defer to a later time when the appropriate lesson is to be covered.  Be sure to address the question(s) during the appropriate lesson.  If a question is asked that does not come under any of the fifteen topics listed, put it in "The Parking Lot".  Have a white-board or a large newsprint pad labeled "The Parking Lot".  Explain that the question is not being ignored, but is being parked until the end of the current session.  Be sure to leave some time when the session is completed to go to the parking lot.  Read each question in turn and ask "Does anyone wish to discuss this now?"  If anyone does, discuss it.  If no one does, go on to the next question.

Understand that when God starts to do a work the enemy forces take notice and try to stop it.  In lesson 6 we will learn that they are limited in what they are allowed to do.  As a born again Holy Spirit filled child of God you have the authority to stop them dead in their tracks.  They may try to cause distractions that interrupt the session.  The may try to use individuals to sidetrack your agenda and lead discussions to areas that are no threat to them.  There is no limit to the tricks they may use to prevent new converts from growing into mature brothers and sisters in Christ.  Open each session with prayer, claiming the room as holy ground dedicated to the Lord's work and off-limits to evil forces.  Ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of discernment that all attempts to disrupt may be immediately recognized for what they are.  Ask the Holy Spirit to filter what goes into the minds of those present, that they may receive only what is from God.  Finally, throughout the class, whenever it looks like things are going astray, shoot a small silent prayer to the Lord like "Lord, we could really use your help right now."  Know that the new babes in Christ will probably not be aware that every thought that comes into their heads is not necessarily their own thought, but could have been slipped in by the enemy.  Always be aware that "He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world."

 

The various lessons are not designed to fit into any particular time allocations.  They are intended to cover each subject in however much time it takes.  Some prepared studies specify 5 minutes for this and 10 minutes for that so the entire session fits neatly into 55 minutes, or 90 minutes.  Specific class time limits can be used, but material should not be skipped.  If a subject is not completed in the session at hand, continue it during the next session.  The only objectives are to impart the knowledge to new believers and to inspire them to make that knowledge their own.  The first lesson in the series is on the scriptures because everything else is based on scripture.  An understanding of the nature and reliability of the Bible is essential to the rest of this set of lessons.

 

Each lesson consists of three parts:

1)  The lesson text is the authors intended material in the order it would be presented.  This text is not intended to be all-inclusive, but rather it is a starting point for more discussion and expansion.  Let the Holy Spirit guide your speaking.

2)  A lesson outline which can be used to develop the presenter's own delivery.  The outlines contain the main scripture references, the main point associated with the scripture, and considerations

not sure of, don't guess.  Offer to find the answer.  After all, only God knows everything.

3)  Word definitions give selected words in the original languages and their shades of meaning.  Both Hebrew and Greek words have a deeper and more varied interpretation than English words.  Their various shades of meaning provide a deeper insight to their use.  The words listed are from the King James version of the scriptures simply because the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance I have is based on King James.  The word definitions are in the same order as the outlines.

 

David R. Laughlin - Yelm, Washington - January 30, 2005
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