We returned to Mr S’s house last night. No rain, so the walk was easier. His daughter is recovering quite well and will have her stitches out in another week.
We spent an hour or so just visiting and enjoying company before beginning the Bible storying. We have purposed to be friends and family. We want to set the DNA of the relationship as one of equals under God, and not any other thing. In the past, we’ve inadvertently set ourselves up as one who is above. This is the wrong way to start churches and make disciples. (Please read “We Ministered to Them” in my Beyond Outreach Blog)
Our start was the same as always, each person sharing something they are grateful to God for, and then each person sharing a need in their life. This is how we set the place for prayer at the beginning of home Bible studies.
After we finished this, I asked Mr S to pray, putting him on the spot. He stood up with all of us, trembling and frightened, and prayed. This was a major breakthrough for he and his family. It is the first time he led his family in prayer and prayed in front of his family. It was a big deal for everyone.
A cousin has come to live with the family. She has been participating for the last 3 weeks in this home Bible study. She is growing very close to God as well. The whole family is transforming. In addition, neighbors who are members of a local evangelical church have been observing what is happening in this family and are working hard to call them to join. We will see what happens there. God is at work.
The Bible passage was John 9. I told the story in my own words, but 100% faithful to the scripture, not adding or taking away anything. We stepped through the story together, meaning the whole family recreated the passage, talking through the details until they got them all right. We then observed parts of the passage and found applications. We agreed together on how each of our families and each of us individually would put this scripture in to practice in our lives, and made plans to meet again next week.
(My current deafness is making this a little more difficult for me, but has been used of God in this whole process. He knows what he is doing. You can read about my deafness at http://smy2ci.blogspot.com )
No comments:
Post a Comment
You can write to me here and I will respond in the comments section. If you have questions or comments you may leave them here. If you want specific information that I don't want to provide publicly, I will respond by email, so leave an address for me.