Talking About God

Teaching ▹ Groups Resources ▹ Talking About God

Telling someone you are a Christian can lead to a very different kind of conversation. Some of us are more comfortable than others with this, but we can safely say that the subject of God, faith, and spirituality gets trickier when you make it clear you have specific beliefs about those things. If you say you are a Christian, often the relationship or conversation will change.  

But at the same time, we naturally talk about things that are important to us, and we do not hesitate to recommend a movie or TV show or podcast we love. So, what is it about God that makes him so difficult to talk about?

Often, we are worried about either coming across too brash and proud or too weak and uninformed. It’s common for Christians to feel anxious about coming off as judgmental just as much as we’re afraid of coming across too wishy-washy. What we need is both humility and confidence when talking about God. 

This curriculum’s goal is to help us develop a humble confidence in presenting Jesus to our friends. We will make sure we know what the message is (the gospel) and who we are because of it before we go anywhere. We will also look carefully at what the Bible says (and what it doesn’t say) about how we should talk about God. The goal of this content is to help, not to shame or guilt. We want to inspire, support, and serve you as we talk about God with the world. 

Week 1 – Definition: what are we talking about?

Icebreaker (before anything else): 

1. How would you define “the gospel?”
2. On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you when you share about Jesus with someone?

Watch: The Bible Project, “Gospel”

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1-14

Discuss:

1. What aspects of the Christian faith do you struggle most with communicating to other people?

2. After reading these verses and watching the video, how would you define “the gospel?”

Exercise: Four key words to remember when sharing the gospel

1. CREATION: God created all human beings. He knows their purpose and has designed them for good, not evil. 
2. FALL: Human beings rejected and continue to reject the wisdom of God and the grace he gives to us when we fall away. We consistently believe our way is best and we can figure out how to live a fulfilling life without our own selfishness and pride (sin). 
3. JESUS: Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, who came to earth to live the life we could never live and to die the death we were headed for. He took our place, and because of him, we now know God’s purposes for us all the more clearly, and are given a way to God that is not through our own work, but his. 
4. GRACE: Because our life is now in Jesus Christ, we no longer have to prove ourselves to anyone—not even God. We now live under the generosity of God, because we have tied our life to Jesus’. Now, when God looks at us, he sees Jesus’ life before ours. We are given a life we did not deserve and can live confidently out of that new identity. 

Closing thought: 

The gospel is likened to a diamond: it is simply beautiful and good and valuable. When you see it, you know it, and you are struck with its beauty. It’s that simple. At the same time, diamonds can be taken under a microscope to see their intricacies and glory. One can turn a diamond round and round to see different angles of its splendor. It’s quite complex. The gospel of Jesus is like this: it’s both simple and complex. We see through the passages of Scripture that the “good news” is simply Jesus—his life, death, and resurrection. But we also see its complexity: from Jesus’ gospel comes the whole of our faith—everything depends on it! The Christian faith is about exploring the simplicity and complexity of the gospel, turning the diamond over and over again. This should encourage us to know that we are never “done” with the gospel, nor have we mastered it. It also can encourage us to share it very simply: Jesus is good. Sharing Jesus is sharing his goodness. We need not start with the complexities, but simply begin with the fact that what we’re looking at is beautiful, good, and valuable.  

Application: 

Write down your definition of “the gospel of Jesus” or “the good news about Jesus.” Share this with your group next week. 

Week 2 – Purpose: why do we talk about God?

Icebreaker (before anything else): 

When you have shared about your faith with someone, what was your reason or motive?

Watch: The Bible Project, “The Gospel of the Kingdom”

THREE REASONS WE SHARE JESUS

Application: 

Write down your personal reason why you desire to share Jesus with those that you know. Be prepared to share it with the group next week. 

Week 3 – Posture: how do we talk about God?

Icebreaker (before anything else): What are some postures you’ve seen people take when talking about God? In what manner do people share God? Share both positive and negatives. 

Watch: Jackie Hill Perry and Jen Pollock on evangelism

THREE POSTURES FOR TALKING ABOUT GOD

Application: Which of these three postures do you struggle with the most? How can your group pray for you in that particular area?

Week 4 – Audience: who do we talk to about God?

Icebreaker (before anything else): 

• Who shared Jesus’ message with you first? Who else shared Jesus with you later in life that brought you closer to him?

Watch: Joshua Ryan Butler, “How Evangelism Works in a Post-Christian Culture”

THREE RELATIONSHIPS TO CONSIDER

Week 5 – Results: what happens next?

Icebreaker (before anything else): 

• Have you ever watched someone come to Jesus? What did that feel like?
• Have you ever been rejected by someone you shared the gospel with? What was that like?

THREE RESULTS OF SHARING JESUS

Application: Pray that the Lord would grant you the strength to endure whatever results may come with sharing the gospel