Monday, December 19, 2011

Advent Conspiracy 03: Give More




Living Water International sends over 1,000 people a year on more than 100 mission trips to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, and Haiti. Every week volunteers are received by indigenous hosts in those countries. We asked one of those hosts, an evangelist and seminary graduate, the following question: “As short-term missionaries, what is the single most valuable thing we can do to advance the gospel in your country? Share my testimony? Show the Jesus film? Drill more wells? Hand out Bibles? Tell Bible stories? Build churches? What?”


This was his answer: “Make friends. Give yourself. Give time. Eat a meal in my house even if all I have is beans. Let me give something to you. Grab a Frisbee and play with our children. It makes us feel important. Laugh. If you don’t speak our language, just smile and make signs with your hands. In our culture, nothing you can say about Jesus makes much sense until you’ve made friends with us. Our perception of gringos comes from television and movies. You could be other things, and we know your time is valuable. Share it with us.”


Is any culture really any different?


DISCUSSION:


• God gave us his son for Christmas. We give stuff. What would a Christmas giving tradition modeled after God’s giving look like?
• Have you ever received a gift you felt was given out of a sense of obligation? How would you describe the “spirit” of such a gift?
• What is the most thoughtful or loving gift you have ever received? How would you describe its “spirit”?
• Life itself is God’s gift of time to you. Is there someone in your life who would prosper from the gift of your time?
• In what specific way will you give yourself in the coming week? 


g-ram

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