{"id":305936,"date":"2020-04-18T07:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-04-18T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/sharing-the-gospel-2\/"},"modified":"2020-04-18T07:00:04","modified_gmt":"2020-04-18T11:00:04","slug":"sharing-the-gospel-2","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-this-week\/sharing-the-gospel-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing the Gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Larry Osborne, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jessica Thompson, and Randy Newman talk about sharing the gospel with members of your family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"http:\/\/d2c17sq0nj1f7e.cloudfront.net\/flw2020-04-18.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:28:00","filesize":"25.64M","filesize_raw":"26883020","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821,2806],"tags":[4427],"podcast_series":[],"cwp_profile":[3438,8825,3312,8950],"series":[10388],"class_list":["post-305936","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","hentry","category-reaching-out","category-spiritual-development","tag-sharing-the-gospel","cwp_profile-elyse-fitzpatrick","cwp_profile-jessica-thompson","cwp_profile-larry-osborne","cwp_profile-randy-newman","series-familylife-this-week"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/10\/FLTW-Podcast-Cover-2-1400x1400-1-300x300-1.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/dts.podtrac.com\/redirect.mp3\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/305936\/sharing-the-gospel-2","player_link":"https:\/\/dts.podtrac.com\/redirect.mp3\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/305936\/sharing-the-gospel-2","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-this-week","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"gtyEsZl2bs\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-this-week\/sharing-the-gospel-2\/\">Sharing the Gospel<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-this-week\/sharing-the-gospel-2\/embed\/#?secret=gtyEsZl2bs\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Sharing the Gospel&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"gtyEsZl2bs\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Larry Osborne, Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jessica Thompson, and Randy Newman talk about sharing the gospel with members of your family.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/flw\/flw2020-04-18.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michelle:<\/strong> If you\u2019re a Christian, you probably have people in your life, whom you love, who aren\u2019t Christians. They most likely have questions about how a good God could allow suffering in the world. Have you thought through your answer? Here\u2019s Jessica Thompson.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong> \u201cOkay, so listen, sweetie; when God created the world, He created it perfect,\u201d\u2014I like to use the term, \u201cunnatural disasters\u201d; these actually <em>aren\u2019t<\/em> the way they were intended to be\u2014\u201cGod created the world so it would be perfect. But then you know what happened?\u2014sin. And do you know what?\u2014where sin goes, tears go.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michelle:<\/strong> We want to help you create a compelling gospel narrative to benefit the people <em>you<\/em> love the most on this edition of <em>FamilyLife This Week. <\/em>Stay tuned!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWelcome to <em>FamilyLife This Week. <\/em>I\u2019m Michelle Hill. You know, we are living through unprecedented times in our world. There seems to be this unrest, and confusion, fear, and even <em>heaviness<\/em>. It\u2019s when we need each other the most that we are being told to keep our social distance. It\u2019s in these times that people are <em>wanting<\/em> hope. They\u2019re wanting that true and lasting hope. For those of us who put our faith in Christ, you <em>have<\/em> that true and lasting hope. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve heard pastors say\u2014even Bob Lepine, who is a pastor, too\u2014say that now is the time to be bold. Now is the time to share why you <em>have<\/em> that hope and a future. Let\u2019s learn how to share our faith; let\u2019s learn how to share the gospel narrative in our life. For that, let\u2019s turn to Larry Osborne. Larry\u2019s a senior pastor at a <em>large<\/em> church in California. He\u2019s been at this church for over 30 years, and has watched it grow from 128 members to 11,000\u2014that\u2019s Southern California\u2014not exactly the Bible Belt, if you know what I mean.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs a senior pastor of a church that is <em>highly<\/em> successful, he has helped people develop their gospel narrative and avoid something he calls \u201cscaredy cat Christianity.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Previous <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup> Broadcast]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Larry:<\/strong> I call it \u201cscaredy cat Christianity.\u201d Sometimes it comes from those of us who are pastors like myself, or sometimes radio shows, or whatever. We talk about the things that are happening that are negative, and we want to put a stop to that tsunami of changes taking place. At times, frankly, we even <em>overstate<\/em> what the problem is so that people are, if you will, aware of it. Well, the unintended consequence of that is people begin to live in fear. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf I was to go back to, say the Apostle Paul, and have a sit-down with him, and complain to him about the wickedness of the culture today, I think he would look at me and go, \u201cUh, what are you talking about? Do you understand Rome? Do you understand I\u2019m in prison right now? It\u2019s not, \u2018I\u2019ve lost a tax deduction.\u2019 I\u2019m in prison because of my faith.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe lose the perspective of being people, who are pilgrims in a strange land. If we can gain that once again\u2014and, again, that\u2019s what I tried with my family and with the congregation I lead\u2014to help them understand: \u201cThis is an awesome privilege. God never puts us in any place that we\u2019re not capable of handling.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michelle:<\/strong> So the question that you may have\u2014because I do\u2014is how do we share the gospel? How do we share Christ in this culture?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Previous <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>Broadcast]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Larry:<\/strong> Well, I think one of the key things is\u2014we simply think like a missionary. If you go onto the mission field, you go there and you say: \u201cYou know what? We are here to have influence. We are also here to infiltrate the culture\u2014to understand the culture\/to adapt to the culture\u2014but our goal is to realize that we live differently but we live <em>within <\/em>this new framework.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s pretty much what I tried to do with my own children as we raised them\u2014is to say: \u201cWe\u2019re going to live in this culture. We\u2019re not going to get in our holy huddle and run away. But, at the same time, we\u2019re going to live a different life than what you\u2019re experiencing out there in your day-to-day experiences.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michelle:<\/strong> So Larry Osborne is helping us see that it is <em>so important<\/em> for us to live out the gospel every single day\u2014not only in the culture out there\u2014but also in our homes. Because in our homes are the people we love the most and whom God has put in our lives so that we can live the gospel example to <em>them<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI only shared a little bit of Larry Osborne\u2019s interview with Dennis and Bob. You will want to go back and listen to this entire interview; it\u2019s at FamilyLifeThisWeek.com. As Larry mentioned, the gospel message needs to be on the forefront of our minds in every conversation of our homes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve heard it said <em>many times<\/em> that our family\/our children are our biggest mission field. But a little word of warning here: \u201cA plus B does not always equal C.\u201d In fact, the perfect formula doesn\u2019t always end up the perfect way. It\u2019s not a cookie-cutter solution. It\u2019s something that Elyse Fitzpatrick knows well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tElyse has written a book with her daughter, Jessica Thompson, about Jessica\u2019s faith journey. Jessica grew up in a home that did things right. They taught her about God; they took her to church; she went to Sunday School; she went to youth group\u2014like: \u201cA plus B equals C.\u201d They did all the right things <em>right<\/em>! So how did they miss the fact that their daughter <em>wasn\u2019t<\/em> a Christian? Here\u2019s Jessica describing some of those early warning signs. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Previous <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>Broadcast]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong> I had gone to a movie and came home. One thing my mom always did for us\u2014that I really appreciated and hope I do it with my children also\u2014is to press into: \u201cWhat is the worldview that you are seeing here? What is the world telling you, and what is the biblical worldview of this?\u201d\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Now, wait. You just said you always appreciated that?\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0No, no, no! I appreciate it\u00a0<em>now<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Now!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t <em>then<\/em>\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014at all! [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Because no 15-year-old wants to come home to a mom or a dad, saying, \u201cSo, what do you think that worldview was?\u201d\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong> No!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0No, I should rephrase that; I didn\u2019t appreciate it then at all.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0She wasn\u2019t ever happy about those conversations. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0No; so I came home from some movie\u2014I don\u2019t remember what it was\u2014and she was sitting on the stairs. If I didn\u2019t roll my eyes outwardly, I did it in my\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0Oh, you did. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0Okay. [Laughter]\u00a0I was going to say, \u201cI did in my heart.\u201d\u00a0I was walking up the stairs; and she said: \u201cNow, stop. Let\u2019s talk. What worldview was the movie trying to tell you?\u201d\u00a0I just sarcastically\/angrily said to her, \u201cNot everything has to have a meaning,\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0Silly girl. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014which I\u2019m sure encouraged a great conversation between the both of us, at the time. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut yes, I mean, talking to our kids\u2014every conversation, every movie, every book\u2014there actually is a good story. There is one good story, and that\u2019s the gospel. You can <em>see<\/em> it all over; you see it in most movies. Any movie that\u2019s good, you\u2019re going to see the gospel story of someone laying down their life for those that they love.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Did you know, when you were faking it, that you were faking it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, I did. I mean, I don\u2019t even know if I thought that\u00a0deeply\u00a0about it, to be real honest. I think I thought: \u201cThis is what everybody else is doing, and that\u2019s fine,\u201d and \u201cI don\u2019t want people bothering me.\u201d\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll play the game.\u201d\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll play the game. I will play the game, and I will get all the awards. Everybody will love me.\u201d\u00a0Yes, that was more of where I was at.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0And I\u2019m just curious, did you know she was faking it?\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0Oh, no; not at all. When she came home that night from Bible college\u2014and she said to me, \u201cMom, I got saved today,\u201d\u2014it didn\u2019t even\u00a0<em>register<\/em> in my mind what she was saying. It was\u00a0<em>shocking<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>to me that\u2014all these years: this girl who, when she was in kindergarten, won Miss Christian Character; she went on mission trips; she was in the youth group\/one of the leaders of the youth group; in Bible college\u2014all the time, faking it; because she wanted my approval and the approval of the family. Coming from a ministry family\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014the approval of the family. I was utterly\u00a0<em>astounded<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Is there a way a parent can diagnose whether a child is faking it? I\u2019m just wondering if there is anything we can do, or do we just kind of go with it and keep praying for them?\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0I don\u2019t think there is a way to diagnose that, but I think there is a way for parents to talk to their kids about their goodness not being everything. Being a good kid doesn\u2019t equal being a Christian. Your goodness will never be good enough; you need the goodness of Jesus Christ. You need <em>His<\/em> righteousness alone to stand before a holy God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we\u2019ve talked about this; it\u2019s\u00a0not that I\u2019m going to surprise her right now. That\u2019s nothing we ever heard, growing up.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0Correct.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong>\u00a0What we heard was, \u201cBe a good kid, and that will get you through life.\u201d The gospel message is, in fact,\u00a0<em>so much more<\/em>\u00a0and deeper than that. You\u00a0can <em>never<\/em>\u00a0be good enough\u2014so to tell your kids, \u201cPut your own goodness away and trust and rest in the goodness of Jesus Christ on your behalf,\u201d\u2014that\u2019s a message that our kids need to hear so that we\u2019re not raising Pharisees and legalists.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0What Jessica is illustrating here, I really want parents to hear. We\u2019re losing a generation,\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014who are growing up in the church today, who are playing church\u2014sometimes because the parents are playing church; okay? They are simply replicating what they are seeing their parents model; <em>their<\/em> hearts are far from God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong> Right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut I think, as you were growing older, Jessica, we began to really practice confessing our sins\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong> \u2014so it became more of an atmosphere where we could talk about our sin.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Did you notice things changing as you got older?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong> Well, I think for sure. Probably late high school, or right around in there, things definitely started changing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think, even for <em>my<\/em> family, things have been changing even <em>more<\/em> dramatically. The more I\u2019m willing to talk to my boys\u2014when they say, \u201cI go to church and it doesn\u2019t mean anything to me,\u201d\u2014instead of like, \u201cOh, you just need to listen more!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong> \u201cTake good notes!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jessica:<\/strong> \u201cTake better notes!\u201d I\u2019ve been able to say to them: \u201cThere are weeks that I go that my heart isn\u2019t alive either. I don\u2019t feel quickened\u201d; but if we can stay centered on Jesus Christ, as the Author and Perfector of our faith, that\u2019s where we can build confidence in our children. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michelle:<\/strong> Okay, I want to break in here, just for a second. If you\u2019re listening right now, and you feel that your child isn\u2019t a Christian, I just want to encourage you. I know it could be a hard place to be, not knowing if your child will be in heaven for all of eternity with you; but remember that God\u2019s Word does <em>not<\/em> return void. Don\u2019t stop praying for them; don\u2019t stop living that daily example of laying it all down at the foot of the cross.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHey, after the break, we\u2019re going to continue on with a conversation with Jessica Thompson and Elyse Fitzpatrick; so stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Radio Station Spot Break]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michelle: <\/strong>Welcome back to <em>FamilyLife This Week<\/em>. I'm Michelle Hill. We\u2019re talking today about the gospel narrative, and how to live that out, and how to share that and be <em>bold<\/em> with those around us. Being bold with those around us means it needs to happen first and foremost in our home. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re in the middle of a conversation with Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson about the heartbreak of having a child, who does not walk with Christ the way that <em>you<\/em> do. You can hear the whole conversation at FamilyLifeThisWeek.com. Let\u2019s continue on with more of this conversation with Elyse and Jessica. Here\u2019s Bob.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Previous <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>Broadcast]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> You know, the faith issue is one of those issues that parents can have a tendency to freak out over.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tElyse:\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0A child asks a question like: \u201cHow can I trust God?\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t believe there is a God,\u201d or something like that. They make those statements; we can get itchy about that. When you turn on the news\u2014and there\u2019s a question about 250,000 people dying in a natural disaster, and your child says: \u201cWell, why did God allow that?\u201d or \u201c\u2026cause it?\u201d\u2014did God cause that to happen, Elyse?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tElyse:\u00a0Right; you know, that\u2019s where having built an understanding of what we would call a worldview paradigm; which is: creation, fall, redemption, consummation. We want to say, \u201cWhen the world was first created, in its beauty and goodness, there would not have been tsunamis that killed 250,000 people.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Elyse:<\/strong> \u201cBut, at the fall, not only did mankind fall into this bent state, but Romans 8\u00a0tells us that creation itself fell; and the world is now groaning.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDo I want to say, \u201cDid God set out that day to kill 250,000 people?\u201d\u2014I don\u2019t think I want to say\u00a0that\u2014but what I do want to say is: \u201cGod is sovereign. He is ruling over this creation, and part of what happens with sin is that the creation itself has fallen. We are waiting for the redemption of the creation, with a new heaven and a new earth, where these things will not happen anymore.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Okay, I could see having that conversation with my 14-year-old.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tElyse:\u00a0Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0Now Jessica, how do you have that conversation with the six-year-old, who says\u2014talking about creation being under the curse and groaning\u2014can you have that kind of conversation with a six-year-old?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJessica:\u00a0Yes; obviously, you would use different terms. I\u2019ll go into that a little bit differently. I do think, though, that talking to them continually about this paradigm: \u201cOkay, so listen, sweetie; when God created the world, He created it perfect,\u201d\u2014I think I like to use the term, \u201cunnatural disasters\u201d; these actually\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0the way they were intended to be\u2014\u201cGod created the world so it would be perfect, but then you know what happened?\u2014sin. Adam and Eve sinned. You know what?\u2014where sin goes, tears go. Where sin goes, death goes, unless Jesus Christ redeems it. One day\/one day it\u2019ll be totally redeemed, and we\u2019ll be in a place where there will be no more unnatural disasters.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0And \u201cIn those disasters, there were some people who died, who loved Jesus;\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tElyse:\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJessica:\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0\u2014and for them, that was the best day of their life\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tElyse:\u00a0Correct.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob:\u00a0\u2014right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tJessica:\u00a0Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle: That was Elyse Fitzpatrick and her daughter, Jessica Thompson. Did you hear what they agreed on? They agreed that sin was a part of their gospel narrative; is it a part of yours? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI serve on staff with Cru\u00ae, also known as Campus Crusade for Christ\u00ae. One of the things that we had to do, when we first came on staff, was learn how to evangelize: how to hit the streets and strike up conversations with people, and tell them about Christ. I had to come up with my own gospel narrative. You know, it takes some work; it probably takes a little bit of life experience and really knowing who your Savior is. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tRandy Newman has been on staff with Cru for over 35 years. He knows this lifestyle of sharing God\u2019s love with others well. First of all, he\u2019s written a book called Questioning Evangelism; but secondly, he lives it out with his family members. He shares God\u2019s love, actively, with all his family members. For Randy, that\u2019s kind of challenging; because he was born into a Jewish family. Not everyone sees Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Previous FamilyLife Today Broadcast]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tRandy: I have tried to talk about spiritual things with one of my relatives, and he\u2019s not interested. He shuts the conversation down before I can get anywhere. If I\u2019m just talking about the existence of God, or the fact that God makes a difference in all of life, walls go up. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I have found is\u2014I need to find other things to talk to him about and try to show how the gospel pertains to that topic. He doesn\u2019t want to talk about God, and he doesn\u2019t want to talk about religion; but he does talk about family, and he does talk about marriage. A couple of years ago, he was talking to me about some struggles he was having in his marriage; it was really tense and difficult. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI thought: \u201cOkay! He wants to talk about marriage. Alright; he doesn\u2019t want to talk about God, but he wants to talk about marriage.\u201d I started saying that my wife and I\u2014we also have our tensions, and our struggles, and our disagreements. I think he was kind of shocked; because I think, in his mind, you either have a bad marriage or a good one; there\u2019s no\u2014you know, \u201cIf you have a good marriage, you never have any problems.\u201d Well, we have plenty of problems!\u2014that\u2019s what happens when two sinful people marry! \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI shared with him that one of the most helpful things in our marriage was that my wife and I had learned a whole lot about how to forgive each other, because we\u2019ve got plenty to forgive; and that we\u2019ve learned how to apologize to each other. He was really listening, more deeply than in any other conversation we had had.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI said, \u201cI think the only reason we know how to forgive each other is that we\u2019ve learned something about being forgiven by God.\u201d Again, he kind of shut things down soon after that; but he heard more about a relationship with God that\u2019s based on forgiveness by my coming in the side door, if I can say it that way. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s what I mean by \u201ccomprehensiveness.\u201d I think we need to talk about the gospel\u2014not just as this message that: \u201cIf you believe it, you\u2019ll go to heaven,\u201d\u2014but it\u2019s a message that has ramifications all over the place: about marriage; about money; about job; about children; about how you think about yourself; how you think about life; how you handle disease. I mean, there are a million ramifications of the gospel that I think we need to talk about. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDennis: Specifically, when you talk about marriage, you\u2019re talking about the culprit between two imperfect people as sin\u2014and self and pride\u2014and our unwillingness to admit fault and ask for forgiveness. You kind of ran past it when you were telling your story, but you talked about how your marriage was made up of two sinners. That implies a standard, and that\u2019s who God is. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI liked the illustration you used, not because it was about marriage and family, but it was that you were sensitive to wanting to break through your uncle\u2019s closed-mindedness or his stiff arm that he had had out in front of you, to be able to talk with him about his relationship with God and with Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tRandy: Absolutely! And by the way, that conversation came because I was willing to talk about all sorts of other things, even less pointed than that. I mean, when it became clear that he didn\u2019t want to talk to me about religion or spirituality\/whatever, what I did find was, \u201cSo what does he want to talk about?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI found out that he was really interested in history: \u201cAlright! Let\u2019s talk about history!\u201d That gave us the opportunity to have long conversations that opened the way for other conversations. It was a willingness to say: \u201cI don\u2019t always have to talk about Jesus in every single conversation; because let me talk about other conversations and see if they lead to the gospel or some aspect of the gospel.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBob: You know, I think that\u2019s an important point; sometimes we forget cultivating a relationship.\u00a0We turn relatives into projects instead of friends.\u00a0Friends talk about football, and they talk about the weather, and they talk about what you\u2019re doing in your life, and your grandkids.\u00a0They have all of those conversations without an agenda; it\u2019s just how you build a relationship.\u00a0That\u2019s really what you became committed to\u2014is the cultivation of a relationship\u2014it\u2019s a whole lot easier to share Jesus with your friends than with a stranger.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> There is a moment that is really uncomfortable, that most of us will face with a family member; and that\u2019s standing by the bed of a dying person, who is still lucid, awake, and can have a conversation. Can you give us just some thoughts of, maybe, \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tsome do\u2019s and don\u2019ts. What should occur in those final moments, when you really do have a chance to talk to that person?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tRandy: First, I want to precede it with\u2014acknowledge the elephant in the room, if there is one\u2014\u201cYou know, Grandpa, I know that this is difficult,\u201d\u00a0or \u201cI know we never talk about this,\u201d or \u201cI know we never have talked about this,\u201d or \u201cI know you don\u2019t like me to talk about this,\u201d\u2014that\u2019s the first thing: acknowledge it.\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd then bridge to the gospel with: \u201cBut you know, I really love you;\u00a0I really care about you. I care about you <em>so much<\/em> that I want to tell you something.\u201d\u00a0And then, one of the things I say in the book is: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFind a way to be concise in expressing the gospel\u2014that: \u201cYou can know God in a personal way; but you <em>won\u2019t<\/em> if sin is a separation between you and your God, as it is for everyone. But Jesus is the one who paid the price for your sins.\u00a0He\u2019s the one who bridges that gap if you simply tell Him you want to trust in Him as your Lord and Savior\/that He\u2019s the one you are counting on to be <em>your<\/em> righteousness.\u201d And \u201cGrandpa, would you like to tell Jesus that right now\/right here?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think we all need to practice saying those things in just neutral situations. On our own, practice\u2014even writing it out if we need to or finding a tool that expresses it\u2014because nobody is going to be <em>brilliant<\/em> enough to make that up on the spot. It would be hard to make that up in an <em>easy<\/em> situation.\u00a0If you\u2019re next to someone\u2014who\u2019s a loved one, who is dying\u2014you\u2019re not going to be brilliant on the spot. Don\u2019t count on brilliance on the spot; <em>prepare<\/em>!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tKnow what you would say, and actually know what you would say as a sample prayer.\u00a0If you\u2019d say: \u201cListen, why don\u2019t you repeat after me?\u00a0Here\u2019s a prayer you can tell God: \u2018I\u2019m sorry for all of my sin.\u00a0I repent of all of my sin, but I <em>want<\/em> to know You. I want to spend eternity with You, and I realize I <em>must<\/em> have a Savior. Jesus is my Savior; I place my trust in Him.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t[Studio]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichelle: Oh, that\u2019s Randy Newman with some great encouragement. You know, don\u2019t be afraid to share Christ. Maybe you need to take some time, like Randy said, and practice this gospel narrative of what you would say to somebody. Take some time this weekend, and write down the words that you would use; so that you\u2019ll be ready the next time there\u2019s an opening in the conversation with a co-worker, a close friend, or even a family member.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHey, next week, we\u2019re going to be talking about moms. Tim Challies, Ron Deal, and Laura Petherbridge are going to be talking about step-moms, and single moms, and moms of historical significance. That\u2019s going to be next week on FamilyLife This Week, so I hope you can join us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHey, thanks for listening! I want to thank the president of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, David Robbins, along with our station partners around the country. A big \u201cThank you!\u201d to our engineer today, James Youngblood. Thanks to our producer, Marques Holt. Justin Adams is our mastering engineer, and Megan Martin is our production coordinator.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOur program is a production of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, and our mission is to effectively develop godly families who change the world one home at a time. I'm Michelle Hill, inviting you to join us again next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife This Week.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"about:blank\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2020 FamilyLife. 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