Every believer should be able to give a short, passionate, and personal testimony that points people to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After the Gospel, your personal testimony is the most important message. Point them to the instructions and tips on how to write a personal testimony. I always have my group write it out on a single page. This is a powerful exercise considering very few believers have publicly shared their testimony. I would prefer they are familiar enough to share without looking at their notes. 

Leader Guide 

• Continue to hold them accountable to read, journal, and memorize.

• If you haven't already, start being intentional with your prayer time at the end of each meeting. Look for ways to grow them but be careful not to intimidate them. Model what you expect from them.

• Encourage your group to write out their stories but come prepared to share without notes. It should only be 2-5 minutes long.

• After everyone has shared, I ask the group some follow-up questions about the testimonies they just heard.  

• Did you hear any churchy words?

• Did anyone share what God did in their story? It is common for people to leave God out of their testimony and make it look like they made the decision to be good.

• Have the group share something they liked from each testimony.

• Be careful on time – this could take the whole meeting if you have a big group. Allow time to ask a few follow-up questions.  

• Listen for red flags. It is possible that someone doesn't have a personal relationship with Christ or hasn't made a commitment to follow Him. If so, don't address it in front of the group. Take them to lunch or meet with them to go a little deeper into this area.

Get Strong Bible Reading Plan – Talking Points 

• Moses' excuses - What excuses do we make to keep from doing what God wants us to do?

• Compare the Passover (Exodus 12) to Easter today. Great picture of the OT pointing to Jesus in the NT.

• Have your group try to name the 10 Commandments from memory (there are 613 OT laws). Compare to the Catholic 10 Commandments - why are they different?

• Shema (Deut 6) - This is a great model for spiritually leading your family.

• Why were the Israelites so unfaithful to God? How are we similar?

Book Recommendations:  

There are no assigned books this month. The first book is in month #3.