Christ’s Forgiveness Ministries

Bible Studies
Accepting and Trusting Jesus (Part 2)

Rev. David J Lynn

Christ’s Forgiveness Bible Studies
Copyright ©2015 by David Jonathan Lynn.

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Christ’s Forgiveness Ministries
www.christsforgiveness.com
Email: info@christsforgiveness.com

All rights reserved. No portion of this book or CD may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or any other- except for brief quotations in printed
reviews, without the prior permission of the author without the
permission of the author.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from
the NRSV of the Bible.
 Lesson One ~ Part Two; Telling Others

F.O.R.G.I.V.E.ness - Friendship
A. Introduction
From the sixth Bible Study you will learn about the Forgiveness God offers us and learn how to
forgive and tell others about it as well. It is explained in 7 simple steps! These steps are an
acronym spelling the word F.O.R.G.I.V.E. (NESS is added at the end to indicate that much more
is experienced through the forgiveness Christ has to offer). The steps are placed in a circular
diagram to make it easier to memorize. When you are would like to remind yourself or share with
someone else, you can mentally remember each letter with its corresponding word to ensure that
you haven’t left out some vital aspect of the gospel message. Please see the next page for a full
look at the complete diagram. Take 5 minutes to review it in its entirety with your mentor. You’ll
see what a simple tool it is
to understand what the
good news is!

Friendshi If you haven’t yet made a

commitment to Christ and
would like to learn more or
p
Vehicle Offer
are not ready to share with
others, review this material
so that you can understand
Encounte what this life is all about.
r The more you understand
A Relationship the gospel, the easier it will

Initiative
with Jesus and be be for you to make a
Reality decision about your faith!

B. Friendship
God Jesus treated people as
friends sharing the good
news with them openly!
He invited people to come and see where he was staying (John 1:35-51), he went to weddings, ate
in people’s homes, talked with people on the road, by the watering holes, in the marketplace, in
the temple… He even associated with people that others considered castaways or rejects like
prostitutes, lepers, tax collectors and more. He wished to show the love of God to all especially
children. People followed him in crowds and many left their livelihoods to follow him (Luke 5:1-
11). He had a life of purpose. It was to lay down His life for others and to show them God’s love.
John 15:9-17:
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you… Love each other as I have
loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends… I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my
Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last.”
Jesus challenges people to follow Him in this great pursuit. It is something that lasts more so than
other career choices, hobbies, or adventure challenges. Jesus who was God in the flesh and
sinless, would take our place and die for our sins, so we could go free. He in turn taught His
friends that their greatest act would be loving God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and loving
their neighbour as themselves (Matthew 22:37-38). Essentially it was being their brother’s
keeper! His last words to His disciples (friends) before He rose from the dead were, “Go into all
the world and make disciples of all nations by preaching the gospel to every creature” (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus followers took those last words very seriously. They determined to
follow Jesus’ example and put others first. They sacrificed their time and
resources for others. In fact, they even began using the sign, not of the cross,
but of a fish, to symbolize their mandate by Christ to make friends or disciples of Jesus from
every nation who would then become “fishers of men”. Jesus gives us His good news to share
with others. It’s the miracle of having a God who loves us so much He is willing to come to live
among us as a man in our human history and give His own life as a sacrifice for our sins so that
justice and love are served. We are His friends when we recognize this gift and receive it and tell
others about it!
Are we our brother’s keeper? YES. Are we fishers of men? YES. By sharing your faith, you
will grow spiritually (Luke 12:8-9), and the church will grow numerically (Acts 2:41) as people
find the relationship with God that He longs for them to have. God is not willing that any die
without knowing He loves them!
There are five groups of people that every person has an opportunity to share God’s love with!
Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder of Evangelism Explosion puts it in the acronym FRANS. Frans
stands for:
a. Friends
b. Relatives
c. Associates #1 Friendship
d. Neighbours
e. Strangers q Get to know them.
Everyone has a sphere of influence that affects these five q Empathize with them by Discerning, relating,
levels. You have different friends, relatives, associates, and meeting one of their needs
neighbours and strangers that you come in contact with q Transition: “We all have one problem. That
every day. problem is our sin and it separates us from God
and true peace. Sin sends us to Hell. Yet..
C. Learning “Friendship” in
the F.O.R.G.I.V.E. Model
1. a. Get to Know Them:
Pay attention to the emotions and
conversations of others. Remember,
Friendshi
you have 2 ears; only 1 mouth. p
2. Place their needs before yours. Think
of ways that you can meet their need Vehicle Offer
while they are speaking. Be yourself.
Be concerned about them, their
needs, and get involved in their life.
Encounte
r
q b. Empathize with them by Discerning,
relating, and meeting one of their needs: Initiative Reality
Be open to the person’s communication,

God
actions, and tone of voice. Lovingly be a friend and offer your sympathy, support, and love to their
situation. If there is a tangible need you can meet, meet it. If you can’t meet their specific need, pray
for them and with them. Be genuine and offer the love of God to them. Jesus is with you! Jesus said,
“Heal the sick who are there and tell them, “The kingdom of God is near you…I have given you the
power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm
you.” (Luke 10:9,19) Share with them a life example that relates to their situation. Show that you
understand them by relating a situation in your life with theirs. This shows that they are not alone and
someone out there understands them. Be yourself, down to earth. Example: There was a time when
I felt all alone and no one understood me. I tried to speak with my parents, friends, and no one
understood. But one day I found out about the Love God offers to us all.” Transition: Your example
with the offer God made to you. Bridge your life example with the offer part of the Gospel.
Transition: “We all have one problem. That problem is our sin and it separates us from God and true
peace. Sin sends us to Hell. Yet..
 Start Here!

D.
#2 Offer
#1 Friendship
q God has offered us
#7 Encounter LOVE:
q Get to know them.
q Tell them how to receive q Empathize with them by
Lasting Fulfillment
God’s love and Discerning, relating, and
Overwhelming Acceptance
forgiveness meeting one of their needs Value
q Repentance and Receiving q Transition: Your example Eternal life and forgiveness
Prayers with the offer God made to
you. “We all have one
q Transition: There is no other
way to have peace with God and
q Uplift them in prayer and problem. That problem is
escape hell except through God.
our sin and it separates us
through scripture Sin separates us from God and
from God and true peace.
q Scheduale them to attend Sin sends us to Hell. peace. And...
CFM Yet..
q Teach them the q
importance of Bible #3 Reality
Studies and Loving others Friendshi q Each one of us has SIN
p Shame

#6 Vehicle Vehicle Offer Internal Anger

Negativity

q Accept Jesus and his q Transition: Our sin spearates

love by faith Encounte us from God and sends us to
hell. Many of the things we
q Call upon him r have gone through and done at

q Trust his love by Initiative Reality

times cause us to feel distant
from God. We are never at
following him peace until we deal with it. But
God …

q Your testimony:
God
q Transition: Would #5 Initiative #4 God
you like to accept the q
love, forgiveness, q Jesus: Is God’s gift of love to God Cares.
Humanity. He is called Emmanuel, Concerned about us:
and new life that Affirms us:
God with us.
Jesus has to offer? Relates with us:
Gives personal freedom
Improvement Enriches us:
Forgiveness of sins Saves us:
Took our hardships upon himself q Transition: God loves and
q What he did: He died on the cross; cares about you so much
taking your pain and your sin so that he sent Jesus to
that God's love, healing, and mercy establish his kingdom of
could be given to you in exchange. love and give you a new
q Transition: He was then buried beginning by helping you
and rose from the grave. All this so escape the things that bring
that freely, you could be given his downfall in your life. God
love, and forgiveness. The vehicle to took great initiative to
receive his love is to repent and accept Jesus show you his love by
and his love into your life by faith… sending Jesus.
q

* Check the numbers recited perfectly, circle those that are close, and then have a friend &
your mentor rate: _____ _____ Great! _____ _____ It’s coming! _____ _____ Needs work!
E. Being a friend in love and forgiveness
The first step to being an influence of love and forgiveness in this world is the willingness to view
people as your friends. Friends share a certain bond with each other as well as a concern for their
well being. We experience joy and happiness when around our friends. But how do we be a
friend to someone that hurt us, or doesn’t want us around? What if they do not share the same
interests? Being a friend to someone doesn’t always mean you have to share every interest, but
being a friend means that you are willing to help and be involved in their life. It also means you
are willing to show that you care for their well being through each opportunity you have. Being a
friend means that you are a positive person in their life that will do everything you can to help
them receive healing, happiness, wholeness, and prosperity in their mind, body, and soul. It is not
always easy to be a friend to others, especially if the person does not like themselves or others.
But a friend will do any and everything possible to show the other person that they are loved and
cared for. Friends are faithful in tough times, forgiving, loving, caring, honest in a kind way,
patient, and available when called upon. A true friend accepts others for who they are yet are
honest and caring enough to tell them in love about God and destructive tendencies that will lead
to their own moral and physical decay. Why? True friends want to see the other person reach
their full potential. I don’t believe that people do destructive things and are selfish because they
are naturally evil people. I believe that the only reason people do selfish things are because they
have a void in their lives that have not been filled. When someone cares and loves others enough,
it frees the recipient from their selfish acts because their needs are being met. This opens up their
heart to share and give as well. For some people, this process takes longer. However, this builds
trust and helps them receive Jesus Christ and find full satisfaction in him. That is why Jesus said,
“By this they will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one towards another” (John
13:35). Why not befriend someone today?

F. Conclusion: GOD LOVES YOU!

We would like to lovingly remind you that God’s love is everlasting and there is nothing
to big that God cannot forgiveness and nothing to small that God is not concerned about.
We look forward to seeing you again next week.
 CHRIST’S FORGIVENESS HOMEWORK
Lesson One: Part 2
Here’s a checklist to go through to prepare for next week’s lesson! Please tick off each one as you
complete it. Enjoy! These items will be reviewed with your mentor the next time you meet and this sheet
should be handed in at that time.
Part Two: “Friendship” (FORGIVENESS)
q Read over Part Two “telling others”
q Memorize the “F.O.R.G.I.V.E.” outline (page 11). Then practice sharing it with a friend. Get them
to tick each of the boxes as you go along and rate you overall (see box at bottom of that page).
q Invite someone to the next Bible Study
q Fill in three names on your FRANS Chart (see Appendix).

MENTOR’S CHECKLIST
Before Your Next Appointment:
q Receive your assignments from your mentor.
q Get tracts and invitation materials to use for next week. Read through next week’s lesson to prepare your
thoughts.
q If you are only discipling one person for this session, invite a friend or another disciple to join your next
Bible study and your evangelism assignment.
q Pray for your disciple. How can you build a meaningful relationship with your disciple this week?
q Invite your disciple to church and introduce him/her to your friends. Why not offer to pick him/her up
and give them a ride to church?