This is lesson 4 in a 6-week Five Thresholds of Faith InterVarsity series.
The pivotal moment for curious people is when their questions cease to be intellectual or academic and become personal. Threshold three, change, is all about learning to recognize and minister to people who are moving from a place of curiosity to a place of personal relevance when it comes to matters of faith in Jesus. How can we help “shake” people out of their complacency? Gain some strategies below.
Video Highlights:
- “Curious people” (threshold two) are asking academic or technical questions, not questions that are personal to them. This is not the same as “seeking” (threshold four).
- In John 3, Nicodemus is a religious leader. Jesus’s approach to reach him is sarcasm. Jesus is seeking to help him become open and leave his complacency behind.
- In John 4, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well who is full of shame and pain. Jesus asks loving questions that help her reveal her past. Instead of deflecting, she receives his loving honesty and then the very living water Jesus promised.
- In John 5, we meet a man who’s been crippled for thirty-eight years. Jesus asks the man, “Do you want to be well? Get up!” Jesus is direct with him because he is stuck in hopelessness and self-pity and Jesus is seeking to shake him out of it.
[Related: Do I Really Have to Talk to People About God?]
[Related: Endorsing Shoes and the Good News]
[Related: How to Share Your Faith with Your Friends (Youth)]
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Have you ever made the mistake of thinking someone was a “seeker” when they were in fact just “curious?” Explain.
- Nicodemus was a religious leader, the Samaritan woman was an outcast, and the crippled man was sick and alone. How do these facts tie in with the way Jesus interacted with these three people? How should this inform our own interactions with those who are on the faith journey toward Jesus? Explain.
- Sarcasm asks, “How’s that life choice working out for you?” Can you think of an example where sarcasm has effectively helped someone change from “curious” to “seeking?” Explain.
- What are some of the potential pitfalls of using sarcasm? Explain.
- Can you think of an example where exposing pain and brokenness has helped someone change from “curious” to “seeking?” Explain.
- What are some of the potential pitfalls of exposing pain and brokenness? Explain.
- Can you think of an example where directly addressing someone’s person issues has helped them change from “curious” to “seeking?” Explain.
- What are some of the potential pitfalls of directly addressing someone’s issues? Explain.
- Thinking of your own faith journey, what was it that led you to “change” from curious to seeking? Explain.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
