You Y’all will be my witnesses.

CONFESSION

We will help you share your faith — together as a community.

Our witness for Jesus is often stronger when it’s spoken and lived out as a family — the body of Christ.

    • This series highlights 4 key practices.

    • Each practice is deeply rooted in the life and ministry of Jesus.

    • These practices move the gospel deeper into our communal life. They also provide a magnetic, life-changing witness to the world around us.

KEY TERM

BODY LIFE WITNESS

“BODY LIFE WITNESS is happening whenever someone who is not a Christian encounters the gospel as it is spoken and lived out in the communal life of a group of Christians.”

OVERVIEW

Today’s Practice

Confession

  1. Watch 1 min

  2. Discuss - Confession: word association and definition 5-7min

  3. Read and Explore - The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 5 min

  4. Workshop - Meet Josh and write your own micro-testimony 20min

▼ Watch together (1 min)

Madison and Chandler

Madison and Chandler are college students in Boston with roots in Texas, Arkansas, and Germany. They will get us started at the beginning of each practice we are learning together.

Let’s do a word association

▼ Take 5-7min and discuss as a group

When you think of CONFESSION what comes to mind?

When you think of CONFESSION what comes to mind?

IDEAS FOR SHARING:

  • what WORDS come to mind?

  • what FEELINGS arise?

  • what EXPERIENCES positive or negative, come to mind?

▼ Read this section aloud.

Confession

BY CONFESSION, WE MEAN

humbly acknowledging our sin and brokenness before God and receiving His mercy, grace, and forgiveness as a result of Christ’s death on the cross.

WE ALSO WANT TO EMPHASIZE

the vulnerable, honest confession of our sin, brokenness, and need for God with one another as we follow Jesus together.

▼ Read and discuss the following parable (5 min)

BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS

Check out this parable of Jesus. What might a religious Pharisee and a tax collector teach us about our witness to our friends?

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9-14

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

▼ Discussion questions (5 min)

In your own words, describe the scene in this story.

Imagine bringing a non-Christian friend into your Christian community. What would make your friend feel like he/she is in the presence of:

  • a group of Pharisees?

  • a group of tax collectors?

What would it take for our community to be a place where people:

  • take off their masks

  • are real with one another

  • are open and honest about what is broken inside of them

  • and express their need for God’s grace in their lives?

Meet Josh

Josh helps us tell stories of God meeting us in our brokenness.

▼ Watch Together (2 min)

Workshop 

▼ Read and workshop (15 mins)

We are now going to take 15 minutes so you can write your own micro-testimony of confession.

You’ll have the opportunity to share with the group, or keep it personal.

Let’s now write our own micro-testimony of confession.

As Madison shared at the start, Christians still struggle with sin, doubt, addiction, anxiety, loneliness and depression. These are all examples of our brokenness.

But in a strange way, the humble admission of our own brokenness provides a vivid witness to outsiders of what Jesus has done to save us. 

DIRECTIONS

1. Read the three sections below with prompts showing how to write a micro-testimony.

2. Invite God, through prayer, to prompt you with something to share.

3. Cut and paste the three sections into a notes app on your phone.

*After spending 15 minutes working on your own, we will get back in your group to conclude our time.

**If you are in a larger group, invite some people to share their micro-testimony with the whole group.

▼ Read. Pray. Copy & Paste in a notes app.

1. A Place of Brokenness

Take a few minutes to reflect on an area that feels broken in your life. This can be a loss, fear, anxiety, insecurity, unmet desire, struggle with sin, etc. Describe this reality.

SAMPLE PROMPTS

“I have been struggling with (your struggle here) . . .”

“One thing that has been really hard lately (hard thing here). . .”

2. Hiding and Pretending

How are you tempted to hide, pretend that you are better than you are, or rely on yourself to fix the problem?

SAMPLE PROMPTS

“To avoid sharing about (your struggle here), I (action you take) . . .” 

“I don’t want to be seen as struggling with (name your struggle here), so I (action you take) . . .”

3. Jesus in the Brokenness

Is there anything in the gospel story that gives you comfort, hope, or joy in the midst of this?

SAMPLE PROMPTS

“A passage from the Bible that brings me hope/that I hold on to . . .”

“Because I know that God . . .”

“God has met me through . . .”

▼If you want more inspiration

A few finished micro testimonies

  • “One thing in my life that has been really hard lately, is that my parents are getting divorced. I feel really torn and stuck in the middle. And I'm both really angry and really sad. 

    Because I am embarrassed that this is going on, I tend to avoid talking about my home life and my family. I tend to just say “I’m fine, life is good” when people ask how I am doing or how my family is. Or I just change the subject. 

    One way that God has been meeting me in the midst of this mess that is my family, is to remind me that I am a part of His family. That I have spiritual fathers and mothers who love me, and brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage me. I am holding on to that reality in my life and trying to be more honest with them about how I am feeling about it all.”

  • “I am pretty insecure. I often notice a conversation going on inside of my head whenever I walk into a room filled with people. How am I doing? Do these people like me? Am I making a good impression? Do they think I’m smart? Funny? Are they impressed? What can I do to wow them?

    It can be intoxicating when I do, distressful when I don’t, and exhausting either way.

    But when that voice in my head is replaced by awareness of the quiet speaking voice of God’s Spirit in me saying, “do not merely look out for your own interests but also for the interests of others” I find myself simply becoming curious about others, taking an interest in their lives, or trying to show love to someone else, God’s peace comes over me and fills my heart with joy.”

GATHER TOGETHER IN A LARGE GROUP AT THE END OF OUR TIME.

Would you be willing to share what you wrote?

CONFESSION:

BIG IDEA

BIG IDEA

When the Body of Christ practices confession, it humbly demonstrates our need for Jesus and the gospel, and draws people into God’s family.

Next time we meet…

AM I WANTED HERE?

Have you ever been invited somewhere and when you arrived you wondered if they really wanted you there? Or if you were in the right place?

If God welcomes all who would come to him, what does that mean for his family, the body of Christ? Next time, we will dive into the practices of Welcome & Invitation.