Week 1 - JOIN JESUS
Welcome!
Jesus calls us to see our everyday circles of influence as mission fields—places already ripe for harvest. So let’s discover how to Join Jesus in the mission of discipling others toward Him by living a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare lifestyle.
JOIN JESUS is a 9-week Discovery Bible Study designed for Contact4Impact. While you can go through it on your own, you’ll benefit far more by working through it with one or two others from where you live, learn, work or play. As you do, you’ll form a Contact4Impact Team within your natural network—right where Jesus has already placed you.
The Good News and Bad News about Sharing the Good News
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”
The good news:
2/3s of Americans (66%) are open to having a conversation about faith with a friend, including 41% saying they’re very open.
Even more surprising, 50% are open to having this conversation with a stranger, including 25% saying they’re very open.
The bad news:
6 in 10 Americans (60%) say their Christian friends rarely talk about their faith.
2/3s of Christians (66%) don’t know any methods for telling others about Jesus.
(Statistics from LifeWay Research, “Evangelism Explosion Study of American Christians’ Openness to Talking about Faith,” 2022.)
The great news:
JOIN JESUS will equip you to live out your faith and share it compassionately and confidently.
DISCOVER
Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word.
Luke 19:1-10 (NLT)
1 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”
6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.
8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Read the passage again (perhaps in another version).
Have someone retell the passage in their own words.
What stands out to you in the passage?
Do you have any questions about the passage?
What does the passage say about God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)?
What does the passage say about people, including ourselves?
What does the passage say about the life God is calling us to live?
Dig Deeper
Luke 19:10 (NLT)
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.
How did Jesus describe His mission?
How does the story of Zacchaeus showcase Jesus’ mission?
His Mission Is Our Mission
John 20:21 (NLT)
As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.
The word mission comes from the Latin word missio which means “to send”.
What mission did the Father send Jesus on?
What mission has Jesus now sent us on?
How is our mission just the extension of Jesus’ mission?
Not only is our mission the same as Jesus’, namely, to seek and to save the lost. The means of pursuing that mission is the same, too. In other words, the WHAT and the HOW of our mission are the same as Jesus’. After all, Jesus said AS the Father has sent me, SO I am sending you. So how did Jesus pursue His mission of seeking and saving the lost?
Joining the Father
John 5:19-20 (NLT)
19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.”
John 12:49-50 (NLT)
49 “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”
How did Jesus pursue His mission?
How was Jesus’ mission a partnership with His Father?
Joining the Son
Matthew 4:19 (CSB)
“Follow me,” [Jesus] told them, “and I will make you fish for people.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (ISV)
18 Then Jesus approached [his disciples] and told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, as you go, disciple people in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. And remember, I am with you each and every day until the end of the age.”
How is our mission to be a partnership with Jesus?
Why is Jesus’ authority and presence so important to our mission of discipling others toward Jesus?
Acts 18:9-11 (NLT)
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! 10 For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” 11 So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.
Why did Jesus have to encourage Paul?
What did Paul do in response to this encouragement?
How could the shift from doing mission on your own to joining Jesus in mission practically impact your mission to those around you?
What do you need the encouragement of Jesus’ presence for right now?
LIVE
Start using this mission prompt:
GO with Jesus
Lord, how can I join You in mission?
How would regularly praying this, not just at the beginning of your day but repeatedly throughout your day, help you stay on mission?
Keep praying this prayer and acting on what Jesus shows you?
Next Meeting
Who will facilitate next time? (See FOR THE FACILITATOR.)
Pray for God’s help as you seek to join Jesus in mission this coming week.
Follow-Up Bible Readings
After each group meeting, there will be 3 Bible readings to help you dig a bit deeper into what we have discussed. Here are the Bible passages you are encouraged to read this coming week: