1

2

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

3

YOUR BEFORE AND AFTER STORY

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

Your Before Describe what type of person were you before you met Christ.

Your Encounter with ChristBriefly describe the circumstances that caused you to submit your life to Jesus Christ.

Your AfterDescribe the primary difference that Christ has made in your life.

4

THE POWER OF A GOOD STORY

1. Be Brief

2. Be Clear

3. Be Simple

4. Be Humble

5

6

Matthew 9 : 9-13 (NIV)

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.   10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.  11

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?”

7

 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

8

Colossians 3 : 1-3 (The Message)

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

9

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life — even though invisible to spectators — is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too — the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.