Discussion - Engaging
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Liberty University *
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202
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Religion
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by ProfLobster2829
Respond to the following: McClendon and Lockhart outline five foundational practices of the early church. For this discussion please: 1) Select one of these practices, 2) offer a brief description supported with Scripture from the book of Acts,
3) and discuss how you have seen the Lord use this practice in your life to help you grow in Christ and advance the gospel.
For this discussion, I have chosen to write about pursuing the lost. In the textbook, Timeless Church: Five Lessons from Acts
, McClendon relates the story of purchasing a bunk bed. He must put it together, but the instructions are unclear and incomplete.
1 As a church, we should seek out the lost and bring them to Christ, but we often feel that we do not have the instructions for how to accomplish this. The book of Acts speaks several times about the Apostles visiting the temple. “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 5:42, New International Version). They were going to where they would find the lost to present the Gospel and gather more followers. As a church, we often look in the wrong place to find the ones who need the Gospel most. We go to church, and often, that is the end of our search. Another essential aspect of engaging the lost is our behaviors. If we only act like Christians on Sunday mornings, we will not present a desirable appearance to the lost in our everyday lives. Our lives, changed by God for His glory, provide the most enticing example to those we work and socialize with. Acts 2:47 tells us that the disciples had “favor” with those around them (Acts 2:47, NIV). They presented a positive example that drew others to them. As an engaging church, we should get outside our walls to pursue the lost. We will not find many who have not heard the Gospel inside a church. I had a friend several years ago that took his faith into the streets. He was not a pastor and did not have a theology or ministry degree.
He was just a believer who felt called to take the Gospel somewhere his church was not going. He started a ministry in downtown San Antonio, making food and providing blankets for people
experiencing homelessness, and talking to them about Jesus. He provided me with an example of
what it means to search for the lost. You do not find the lost standing at the pulpit; you find them
under bridges.
Word Count: 372
Bibliography
1 P. Adam McClendon and Jared E. Lockhart, Timeless Church: Five Lessons from Acts
(Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020).
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