knowing your friends

As a friend, you have a role to play in your friends' life stories and they have a role to play in yours. Do you agree? Good, but you have to take time to hear your friends' stories if your communicating of the Christmas story is going to make any lasting impact.

Think:
As you think back over the time you have known your friends, you'll think of occasions where there has been a lot of overlap in who you are and what you enjoy and who they are and what they enjoy. You both have shared memories, experiences, likes and dislikes.

You Get Out What You Put In:
As in any relationship, the more time you spend sharing your life story with your mates, the more you understand them and they understand you. The problem is, all this happens so naturally, and yet when it comes to Christianity and sharing our faith, we feel so unnatural about it all: "Why should I share that part of my life?" That is why we sometimes need to be deliberate in our thinking. It's not that we are being false, scheming or premeditated about sharing our faith, it's simply that we need help in being relaxed in sharing this most important aspect of our life.

So How Do I Go About Sharing?
To do this, you need to know your friends and where exactly they are coming from. Ask yourself these key questions:

•   Who are your friends? – Write down the names of up to five friends.
•   How long have you known your friends? [Some of your friends you may have known for years,
      whilst others you may just be getting to know. What do you already know about them?]
•   What are they like? – funny, sporty, musical, Christian, etc.
•   What do they like? – movies, football teams, famous people, etc.
•   What don’t they like? – [Reverse of the above].
•   What memories have you shared? Were they funny, traumatic, embarrassing?
•   Why would you say they were your friends?
•   Do they know you are a Christian?
•   How/where did you get to know them? Was it part of a shared interest?
•   Do you want to tell them about Jesus?
•   If you have told them, how did those conversations go? Successful or embarrassingly painful?
•   Describe your listed friends in just three words.
•   Describe yourself in three words.
•   How well do you know your friends' families and backgrounds?
•   Finally reflect on all the above, add to it, and pray about it.

Now, let's get smart on really knowing the Christmas Story