2018 Beach Retreat Leader Manual

BRIDGE ILLUSTRATION
Step 1
In the beginning, God, who is perfect and holy in all of His ways,
created man out of love and pleasure. God even gave man
free will. We matter to God. He made us; He loves us with an
extravagant love; and He wants to have a relationship with us
[Write GOD on the right and MAN on the left.]
Step 2
However, one day, man sinned against God and so was
separated from God. We’ve all disobeyed Him. (Romans 3:23)
And our sins have separated us from Him, and broken off the
relationship. Sin is anything that falls short of the standard of
the perfect and holy God (e.g. murder, theft, lust, lies, etc). It
includes our thoughts, speech, and attitudes.
[Draw the 2 cliffs separating MAN and GOD.]
Step 3
To varying degrees, most of us are aware of our distance from
God. And so we start doing all kinds of things to try to get
back to Him, like being a helpful neighbor, paying our taxes,
going to church, and giving money to charities.
There’s nothing wrong with these, but the Bible makes it
clear that none of them can get rid of our sins or earn us
God’s forgiveness and re-establish our relationship with Him.
[Draw arrows on the side of MAN pointing to GOD.]
Furthermore, the sins we’ve committed must be punished,
and the penalty we owe is death, which means both physical
death as well as spiritual separation from God for eternity, in
a place called Hell. (Romans 6:23)
[Write DEATH at the bottom of the valley between the
2 cliffs.]
that Jesus is truly the sinless Son of God, that He came to
Earth, died on the cross for our sins, rose again proving His
victory over sin and death; and then committing to following
Him as our Lord, Savior, and King. That simple act of trust and
obedience results in our sins being forgiven. Our relationship
with God is firmly established, because we’re immediately
adopted into His family as His son or daughter.
[Draw a cancellation on the word DEATH.]
Step 5
Ask “So, where are you standing at now?” The answer would
lead you to know whether the person is ready to receive Christ.
If he/she is still on the MAN’s side, you can ask, “What stops you
from going to the other side?” (Romans 10:9-10)
[Draw a man on each side connected by an arrow.]
It’s not enough to just know about this or even agree with it.
We’ve got to act upon it. God wants us to move over to the
other side.
Remember not to be pushy, but be led by the Holy Spirit.
If the person is not ready, just pray and wait for another
opportune time.
Step 4
However, there is a way out. You see, God loves man, and He
wants us to live fulfilling lives. So He sent Jesus Christ, His one and
only Son to come down to earth to die for our sins. (John 3:16)
[Draw a cross in between the 2 cliffs, bridging it.]
58
This is the Good News! We can move to the other side by
admitting to God that we’ve sinned against Him, confessing our
sin and our need for His forgiveness and leadership; believing