We look at empty chairs and realize the real issue isn’t that people don’t want God, it’s that many have been given a fearful version of God they can’t trust. We go back to Genesis 3 and forward to Jesus to show how the finished work of Christ replaces shame with freedom and gives us a simple way to reach the people who are hiding.
• empty seats as a mirror for the church’s message and posture
• evangelism as announcing good news rather than applying pressure
• “Who told you that?” as a doorway into deeper conversation
• Genesis 3 as the moment perception shifts and hiding begins
• behavior versus belief system and why shame hijacks identity
• Jesus moving toward people who feel disqualified
• the cross as reconciliation rather than distance and anger
• confession as agreement with God instead of earning forgiveness
• repentance as renewed thinking and waking up to truth
• learning to see treasure in people instead of dirt
Talk to somebody, find that one person, that’s it

We dig into how Jesus shares the gospel by treating it as good news and meeting people where they are, not as a script or a sales pitch. We challenge ourselves to stop chasing outcomes and start carrying the heart posture that helps real people see what God is like. 
• the gospel as news about what Jesus already finished 
• news versus advice and why that distinction changes everything 
• evangelism as communicating clearly with people, not holding a title 
• heart posture over perfect words, especially with skeptical people 
• Nicodemus and starting with God’s love instead of condemnation 
• Zacchaeus and moving toward people others avoid 
• the thief on the cross and grace that cannot be earned 
• refusing to turn people into projects, problems, or tallies 
• practical guidance on listening, staying present, and saying “I don’t know” 
Be an example. Follow the example of Christ.

We challenge the way we’ve been trained to share faith and ask a sharper question: how does Jesus actually evangelize. We trade condemnation and dirt digging for the good news of the finished work of Christ, learning to speak to the treasure God has placed in people. 
• redefining evangelism as everyday conversations, not just crusades 
• challenging the habit of leading with sin, shame, and fear 
• choosing to announce what God has already accomplished in Christ 
• digging for treasure in people rather than exposing dirt 
• using the “lens” idea to explain how interpretation shapes approach 
• reframing the gospel as news, not advice or instruction 
• learning from the woman at the well, the issue of blood, David, and Esther 
• practicing three simple shifts: love before fixing, treasure before dirt, Christ at the center 
• redefining repentance as changing the mind from distortion to truth

We revisit the woman at the well and flip the perspective from her searching for God to Jesus intentionally seeking her out. We challenge the performance mindset and trust the finished work of Christ to reshape how we read Scripture, worship, and share the gospel. 
• Jesus choosing Samaria as a picture of grace over tradition 
• God doing something eternal in ordinary moments 
• Jesus starting with relationship rather than worthiness 
• shame and perception management versus being fully known 
• “The Father is seeking” and worship beyond locations 
• modern “mountain” questions about denominations and doctrines 
• finished work as reconciliation already initiated by God 
• replacing fear-based messages with actual good news 
So go out this week, talk to somebody, invite somebody, share the gospel, share the good news, share the truth 

We follow Jesus into Samaria and watch a simple request for water turn into a revealing conversation about worship, identity, and living water. We challenge the way we label people by their worst chapter and spotlight a grace that knows the truth and still stays close. 
• Jesus choosing Samaria as a divine appointment 
• Starting with water instead of starting with shame 
• Moving from religious arguments to revelation of the Father 
• Jesus revealing himself as the Messiah 
• Refusing to make someone’s past their identity 
• Being fully known without being rejected 
• Leaving the water jar as a sign of real change 
• Grace giving people a voice and a message 
• Living water as a better source within 
• The “Come and see” invitation as simple witness 
Make sure you’re here next week. Bring somebody with you. 

We revisit the woman with the issue of blood and push past the miracle to the moment Jesus stops, turns around, and restores a person who has been hiding for years. We explore how a “finished work” lens changes faith, prayer, and identity so we stop living as our condition and start living as sons and daughters. 
• why Jesus stops after the healing is complete 
• how long-term pain turns into identity and self-labeling 
• reading Mark 5 slowly to notice what we usually skip 
• faith as receiving what Jesus already carries 
• finished work language that reshapes how we pray 
• Jesus calling her out to move her from hidden to seen 
• “the whole truth” told after healing, not before 
• “Daughter” as restoration beyond the body 
• leaving with peace rather than performance 
• why the Bible never tells us her name and why that matters 
We pray that you draw the prodigal sons and daughters back home to this place.

We revisit David and Goliath with a fresh lens and realize the headline moment is not the deepest part of the story. We walk away with a new way to think about identity in Christ, perspective, and the finished work of Jesus so we stop fighting for victory and start living from it. 
• the danger of becoming so familiar with Scripture that we stop discovering 
• David anointed before the crown and chosen before recognition 
• God looking at the heart rather than outward appearance 
• the difference between fighting for identity and fighting from identity 
• perspective determining the size of the problem 
• remembering the lion and the bear as fuel for present confidence 
• the stone as evidence of revelation rather than the source of victory 
• preparation in hidden places before public moments 
• the promise coming before manifestation across Scripture 
• David pointing forward to Jesus and the finished work of Christ 
• shifting from a victim mindset to rest and assurance 
Let’s continue to just lift them up in prayer and pray that any of those obstacles will be removed, anything that keeps them from coming will be removed

We look at Esther through the finished work lens and face the hard question many of us pray in quiet seasons: God, where are you? We find hope in a surprising detail, God’s name is never mentioned in Esther, yet His unseen work shapes every turn of the story and our own.

• reading familiar Scripture from a new perspective and noticing what finally “pops”
• naming the frustration of waiting, declining attendance, and delayed answers without guilt
• seeing Esther as proof that God works behind the scenes when He feels silent
• remembering the wound before the crown, and how purpose can grow inside pain
• understanding favor as given, not earned, and rejecting performance-based belonging
• confronting an orphan mindset, and choosing identity over fear and self-protection
• holding to inclusion before assignment, and love before obedience
• applying the message to church growth, giving, and stepping into the next season together

There’s your challenge for the next seven weeks. If you invite them one time a week, that’s seven weeks to get them here.

We talk about how distortions don’t just affect how we see ourselves, they reshape how we see God, and that changes everything about relationship. We challenge familiar assumptions with the life of Jesus, because He is the clearest revelation of the Father’s heart. 
• the lens metaphor and how pain and fear scratch the way we see 
• why small words in worship reveal big posture shifts 
• how desperation language can contradict the finished work of Christ 
• asking where our image of God came from and who shaped it 
• bringing every tradition and belief back to Jesus for clarity 
• Jesus revealing the Father’s love through John 3:16 and John 14 
• why religious leaders missed Jesus while defending their picture of God 
• “you have heard that it was said, but I say to you” as an invitation to relearn 
• making it personal, letting God search our own distortions 
• praying for God to remove distortion and open our eyes 
So go back and listen to them, read them, print them out, whatever.

We dig into how distortion twists a good and true view of God, then trace how that warped lens fuels fear, guilt, and constant striving. We land on a simple path to transformation: renew our minds, look into the right mirror, and let Jesus reveal who we really are.
• defining distortion as losing a true reflection of what was created good
• separating God’s union with us from our changing feelings and perception
• asking why loved people feel unloved and forgiven people feel condemned
• showing how Jesus changes vision by shaping what we hear and perceive
• unpacking the prodigal story as two sons and one distorted identity
• naming common lenses like shame, rejection, religion, and other opinions
• connecting addiction and mental patterns to renewing the mind
• using Scripture as a mirror that reveals identity and restores clear sight
Go back and read this when Ronnie posted or listen to it or whatever. Read it. Play it in your car while you're driving. Play it to your friends. Post it on your Facebook page.