SESSION 3: TELLING AND LIVING THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD
(Meditations for March 5-11)

Before the Session
Read through the scripture, meditations, and prayers from The Upper Room, March 5-11. Write on large sheets of paper the scripture references and questions listed in "Reflection on The Upper Room" in the pages at the back of the March-April issue of the magazine. Display these on the wall or on tables in your meeting space.

Opening Prayers and an Introduction to the Study (5 minutes)

An Introduction to the Theme for the Session (5 minutes)

Invite the group to join you in saying responsively,

LEADER: Go out and proclaim the good news of God.
PEOPLE: What shall we say?
LEADER: "The Lord is gracious and merciful,
PEOPLE: slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
LEADER: The Lord is good to all,
PEOPLE: and his compassion is over all that he has made." (Psalm 145:8-9)

Introduce the theme of the session, saying,

God calls us to live faithfully and to speak boldly, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. What should we say? How should we live so that God is revealed in all that we do? This session is about telling and living the good news of God.

Reflection on The Upper Room (25 minutes)

Invite discussion of the meditations for March 5-11. What is God's story as it is told in each of the meditations? What do the meditations tell you about the good news of God? What do they say about proclaiming the good news or living as followers of Christ? Which meditations are most meaningful to you? Which come closest to your understanding and experience?

After they have discussed the daily meditations from The Upper Room, invite each of the participants to walk around the room, to choose one of the following scripture passages, and either to reflect on or to discuss the questions listed below:

March 5 Matthew 25: 31-40
In the final judgment, God offers the kingdom to those who have served Jesus Christ.
What does the scripture say about living the good news?
Read aloud Matthew 25:40 (CEV): "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me." What is the challenge of Christian living?
How do you feel about God's judgment?

March 6 Psalm 119:10-16
What does each verse of the psalm say about expressing our relationship with God?
What are some of the ways we tell and live the good news of God?
In what specific ways do you seek the Lord, treasure God's word, or declare God's teachings?

March 7 1 Corinthians 12:4-20
What does the scripture say to you about gifts and service?
What gifts does the scripture mention?
How does the metaphor of the body apply to the church?
What are your gifts? How can you use your gifts to strengthen the work of Jesus Christ in the community of faith? in the world?

March 8 Luke 12:22-32
Memorize Luke 12:31a (CEV): "Put God's work first."
How does Jesus' admonition apply to your daily life?
How can you not worry about paying for fuel and groceries and the costs of having a home?
Wha
t does it mean to "put God's work first" or to "strive for his kingdom" (NRSV)?

March 9 1 John 1:1-4
What is "the word of life"?
What have we seen and heard? What do we tell?
What is the purpose of proclaiming the good news of God? What is the effect of proclaiming it?

March 10 Psalm 63:1-8
Worth remembering are verses 3-4 (CEV): "Your love means more than life to me, and I praise you. As long as I live, I will pray to you."
It is God's nature to answer prayers, not sometimes or once in a while but always. What does knowing that God hears your prayers mean for your life?
What do you believe about prayer? What would you tell another person about prayer?
How does your life in prayer proclaim the good news of God?

March 11 Luke 8:4-8
In the story, the seed is God's word. The sower flings the seed around indiscriminately; but in good soil, the harvest is abundant.
How do you feel about telling people about God? What do you expect? How do people respond?
What does Jesus' parable say to you about proclaiming the good news?

Practice Telling the Good News (20 minutes)
Write on separate index cards these statements of faith (feel free to add others):

• God created and sustains the world.
• The Lord is gracious and merciful.
• God loves us.
• God is good to everyone.
• God answers prayers.
• God forgives us.
• Jesus died for our sins.
• Jesus Christ is alive.
• By God's grace, we are saved.
• God promises a time when there will be no more pain, crying, or death.
• Healing is a sign of God's love.
• God gives each of us gifts to use in serving others.

Tell the participants to work with partners or in groups of three. Put all the index cards in a hat and ask a representative from each group to draw a card from the hat.

Invite the pairs or small groups to discuss their statements, using these questions:

What does the statement of faith mean? What is another way to say the same thing?
In what situations does the statement speak to you?
In what situations would you use the statement-or a similar statement-to tell someone else the good news of God?

Ask each pair or small group to create a skit of a situation in which they would say the statement of faith.

Bring the groups together to present their skits.

Suggested Activities for Multigenerational Groups

• Write on a large sheet of paper simple statements of faith such as "God loves us" or "God is good to everyone." Tell the participants to form small multigenerational groups, and ask each group to choose a statement of faith. Invite discussion: What are some different ways we can tell other people about God? How can we tell other people about God with our actions? Provide posterboard, magazines with plenty of pictures, scissors, and glue. Invite each group to make a collage of pictures showing people living their faith, following Christ's command to love one another.
• Ask the group to sing together the first verse and refrain of "I Love to Tell the Story":
      I love to tell the story
      of unseen things above,
      of Jesus and his glory,
      of Jesus and his love.
      I love to tell the story,
      because I know 'tis true;
      it satisfies my longings
      as nothing else can do.
      Refrain:
      I love to tell the story,
      'twill be my theme in glory,
      to tell the old, old story
      of Jesus and his love.

Tell the participants to form smaller multigenerational groups. Invite discussion: What stories do you know about "Jesus and his love"? What are ways we show Jesus' love to other people? Then ask each group to write another verse of the hymn and, in the lyrics, to tell about Jesus' love. Have them write their verse on posterboard. Bring the groups together to sing "I Love to Tell the Story" with the new verses added.

Closing Prayers (10 minutes)

Invite the group to join you in singing "Rejoice, the Lord Is King" (UMH 155), "I Love to Tell the Story," or "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations."

Say a prayer: Thank you, God, for your steadfast love and faithfulness. Teach us to tell the good news and to live in your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

This Week at Home
(facilitators: make copies of the following brief suggestion and distribute to people as they leave)

Prepare for the next lesson by reading each day the scripture, meditation, and prayers from The Upper Room.

At the beginning of each day, think about one person you can tell about God or one way you can show another person God's love. Say a prayer: God, give me words to tell the good news and imagination to live in the love of Christ Jesus. Amen.