EVERYDAY WAYS TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AND CHANGE THE WORLD
Changing the world seems like a BIG task, but it doesn’t have to be.
Start with ONE or a small handful of people and go from there. Whose that person in your life who you know can benefit from experiencing the love of Jesus? Your neighbor, a longtime friend, or maybe even a co-worker. Those are all great places to start on your journey of changing the world.
Over the next few weeks, we will walk through these 5 simple things you can do to B.L.E.S.S. others. If you miss a week in-person or online don’t worry you can always rewatch anytime on demand.
We know that these five simple ways are a great way to share your faith in an easy non-intrusive way. Give it a try and we would love to hear your feedback.
DIGITAL B.L.E.S.S. REMINDERS
Click here to get weekly reminders and prompts for the next five weeks that will encourage you to interact with those who you want to B.L.E.S.S. We don’t want to simply HOPE people find and follow Jesus we want to HELP people find and follow Jesus.
We promise to not overload your phone with messages or spam, we just want to help you think about the best way to apply these principles so you can bless your neighbors.
This series focuses on how we can live out the B.L.E.S.S. strategy in order to bless those around us while developing a simple pathway to share our faith!
Want more content around B.L.E.S.S.? Check out this podcast episode with Rusty and Dave Furguson, author of BLESS: 5 Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World, Dave’s insights into church planting and spreading the gospel to all parts of the world are both inspiring and effective. When you listen to this episode, you’ll feel fired up to go love your neighbor like you never have before. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE
BEGIN WITH PRAYER
Prayer like flossing is something that we should do every day but often don’t. Whether you have a name in mind or are completely clueless on who God is calling you to bless, prayer is always the place to start.
If you’re not sure who, why not start with a simple prayer “God show me who in my life you want me to bless.” If you have a name, write it down, use a post-it note or our B.L.E.S.S card and place it somewhere you will see it every day, then take a few minutes when you see their name and pray for them.
Hear how prayer changed the life of one person on someone’s list!
LISTEN
We’ve all been there, had a conversation turned around and poof, everything we heard, gone. Jesus shows us time and time again how this skill can be life-changing, as a matter of fact in the Gospels Jesus asked many more questions than he answered. As you interact with those around you ask questions and then listen. All relationship starts with listening to someone’s words and life.
EAT
Who doesn’t love a good meal? Considering those people on your list, which one have you not connected in a while with? Why not invite them to dinner. There is something about sharing a meal together that moves any relationship past acquaintance toward friendship – faster than just about anything else we can do.
SERVE
Jesus came to serve, or as he put it “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve…” (Matthew 20:28) What are so small things you can do to serve your neighbors, serving is a tangible way we can demonstrate the love of God.
I noticed you forgot to take your trash cans to the curb, no problem as your neighbor I got you!
I know this is a crazy season for you, we ordered some pizza’s for you and the family so you don’t have to cook tonight.
STORY
Once your friends are ready, tell your story! When you befriend and bless people, they feel relationally safe and want to know your story. Your story is so unique, regardless of how you got here or where you are in your personal faith journey, you can make a difference in someone’s life by simply telling your story.
We would love for you to take 30 seconds, grab your phone and let us know your story. Use one of the prompts below, and tell us how the love of God and Jesus’s life has changed you!
- Do you know if there was someone who prayed for you to find God? Share that story.
- How did your life story first intersect with God’s story for your life?
- How did you first find your way into the Church? Did someone invite you? Found it by chance? Share that story.
- Was there a little thing that someone did that had a big impact on how you began to learn about Jesus? Share that story
- Do you think your feelings about how God loves you has changed over the years? If so, how? Share that story.
When submitting your story turn your phone horizontally and start the recording by saying the question you are responding to. Example: “My life first intersected with God’s story when….”
Check out where the B.L.E.S.S. Truck has been!
