REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS Part 1

Encouragement for Village Church Planters

Repent and Believe the Good News 
Part 1

Please click the arrow above to listen to the video and make sure to 

turn on the closed caption (CC) for the words to be seen too. 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A Word of Encouragement for Village

Church Planters.”

The first of the 7 basic commands of Jesus is to repent and believe the Good News.

The Gospel of Mark starts out by telling us that “After John was put in prison, Jesus went

into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.   “The time has come,” he said. “The

kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

As a follower of Jesus and as a Village Church Planter, you have the wonderful privilege and

great responsibility to help people in villages today the way Jesus helped people in Galilee

and Judea. One way Jesus helped people was by telling them good news. In fact his whole

message was called “The Good News.”

So Jesus proclaimed the Good News of God. And the first thing he said when he proclaimed

that good news was “Repent!” What a strange thing to say! To repent means to change

your way of thinking and change your behavior, to stop doing what is evil and start doing

what is right. Telling other people to repent does not sound like good news! Maybe if he had

said “Peace be unto you,” or “Blessing is coming your way,” people would have recognized

his message as good news. But Jesus said, “Repent.”

So, how is calling people to repent good news?

It is good news because it means that because of God’s grace, people are free to change. Its

good news because God is present and He is willing and able to help people change. To say

“Repent,” is good news because it means that sinners do not have to keep sinning. Change is

possible. This is good news indeed. Fighters can stop fighting. Robbers can stop robbing.

Adulterers can break off adulterous relationships. Liars can stop lying and begin to tell the

truth. Drunkards can stop destroying their bodies and their families with alcohol. Why?

Because the Kingdom of God has come near. The grace of God to transform human lives is

available here and now. We simply need to repent and believe the Good News. God will give

us power to change.

So, as a Village Church Planter, you can invite people to repent and be free from the sinful

ways of life which are destroying them. What a privilege. When you invite people to

repent, be sure to do so with a heart full of love. Do so with humility. Let them know that

you too have repented and continue to repent of sinful ways. Tell them how God changes

the life of those who repent and put their trust in Jesus. Do not be afraid to invite people to

repent. When you invite others to repent you are following Jesus’ example. What a

privilege is yours to do what Jesus did and say what Jesus said!

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #7BasicCommandsofJesus #RepentAndBelieve

You Can Be A Great Story Teller

Hello, my name is Dean Davis and this is “A word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  Please let me speak personally to you today.  You are a village church planter.  God has called you to a great work. He has called me too.  But so often we feel like our gifts, our skills and our abilities are very weak.

One of the most important skills for Village Church planters is the ability to tell Bible stories well. I have good news for you.  You can be a GREAT Bible story Teller.
Last night I was visiting in the home of a family from Uvira, DRC. Their son-in-law had begun attending my church and so we went to visit his family.  After we met everyone and talked, my friend’s mother in-law-brought us some fried bread and a cold bottle of water.  Soon I asked, “May I tell you a story?”  They said yes and I began to tell them the story of the Woman at the Well.  We had a wonderful time.  They  liked the story very much and happily answered my questions after I told it.  When I left their home, my heart was filled with joy.  I had told a familiar story simply and clearly in the power of the Holy Spirit.  It was easy to do.

Do you know why it was so easy for me?  Because I had made a story board. Then, based on John chapter 4 I had worked hard to remember every part of the story of the Woman at the Well. I had practiced telling the story to myself many times so I could tell it from memory without looking at notes and without reading from the Bible. Since I learned to tell it from memory, I have told it to others many times.  So last night it was easy and it was fun to tell the story again.

You can be a GREAT Bible Story teller.  Read a story from the Bible over and over until you understand it well.  Draw a story board to help you remember each part of the story.  Tell the story using ordinary words. But tell it with feeling; use your voice to communicate emotion. You can do it.  I know you can.  You can become a great Bible story teller.  Once you learn to tell a Bible story well, you can teach others to do the same.  This is what we call multiplication.  2 Timothy 2:2. You can be a great Bible story Teller.  Great Bible Story tellers, accurately tell Bible stories with warmth and love.  Great Bible story tellers ask questions after they have told the story.  Great Bible story tellers teach their friends to tell the stories of God’s word.  My brother, my sister, you can be a great Bible story teller.  This has been a word of encouragement for Village church Planters.