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I. INTRODUCTION Hello, Mr. (Name). My name if John from the Evangelical Church of the City. I’d like to introduce two friends of mine, Helen and James. It’s our custom to visit those who have visited our church. Since your family was at the worship service last Sunday, we wondered if you might have a few minutes to talk with us. (Come right in.) I.A. THEIR PERSONAL LIFE You have a nice home. Are these pictures of your family? (Yes, these are my children, et that one is of my wife. Let me go call them. The family comes in.) Have you live here a long time? (For 3years.) What area do you come from originally? (Madras) I.B. THEIR CHURCH What church did you go to in Madras? (The Catholic Church) That’s very interesting because I have some good Catholic friends where I live. I.C. OUR CHURCH One of the reasons for our visit is to thank you for visiting our church. How did you come to visit us? (A work colleague, Michael Williams, invited us.) How did you like the worship service (we enjoyed it very much). What struck you as particularly interesting? (The people sang so well, with a lot of joy and enthusiasm, and we liked the pastor’s message.) I.D. CHURCH TESTIMONY What you are saying just now really interests me because I noticed the same thing when I visited the church for the first time four years ago. Later, I discovered that Jesus Christ established the Church so that we know we have eternal life. The Evangelical Church of the City believes that the Bible is the Word of God, and it teaches us that we can be sure we will go to heaven after death. But many faithful members of our churches are not sure of this biblical truth. When I visited this church four years ago, I was not certain. I.D. PERSONAL TESTIMONY I.D.1. BEFORE RECEIVING THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE Before I received eternal life, I had a fear of death. Though I was brought up in a church- going family, this had not given me an answer about what would happen with my life when I died. I tried many ways to remove my fear of death, but I failed. I even consulted witch doctors who gave me charms and promised me that as long as I kept them, they would protect me from the fear of death. For a time, I based my hope in those charms and things seemed to be going well. But one day, a friend of mine with whom I worked, went out with a company lorry to deliver goods. Thirty minutes later, I heard that he had died in a car accident. On the day of the funeral, I looked at my friend in the coffin, and the fear of death started again. Although I had my charms, they could not help me. I.D.2. THE FACT OF RECEIVING ETERNAL LIFE Sometime later, I happened to go to a crusade and during it, I received the gift of eternal life. I.D.3. AFTER HAVING RECEIVED THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE Now that I know I have eternal life, the fear of death is gone. The faith I had in charms is gone. I have thrown them all away. I know my fear has been conquered because when my sister died suddenly and was buried before I had the news that she had passed away, I was able to thank God for the fact that my sister was with Him. People could not understand why I reacted as I did. But I told them that to me, the fear of death was gone. Later, I was critically ill while doing my university studies. While lying in a hospital bed, I was told that I could die from the operation. Again, I had a strange peace that God controlled everything. I recovered from the operation, but the crisis showed me that I was ready to leave this world. Now I know I have eternal life and that I will go to heaven when I die. May I ask you a question? (Yes) I.E.1. 1ST DIAGNOSTIC QUESTION “Have you come to a place in your life where you can say for sure that if you were to die today, you would go to heaven? (No) I.E.1. 1 JOHN 5:13 The Bible declares that you can be sure that you are going to heaven: “These words are written so that you might know you have eternal life” TRANSITION May I share with you how I came to know I have eternal life and how you can know it too?” (yes) “First, allow me to ask you a second question.” I.E.2. 2ND DIAGNOSTIC QUESTION “If you were to die today and stand before God, and He were to ask you this question: 'Why should I let you into my heaven?” What would you say? (I would hope God would let me in to heaven because I am doing my best to follow His commandments and help my fellow man.) TRANSITION If I understand correctly, you would say to God.., (repeat his response) Is that right? TRANSITION Thank you for your two answers. I used to think as you do, but my perspective changed when someone shared with me good news that... |