Many pastors and church leaders have taken a trip to Israel to walk where Jesus walked and see the Bible lands. Why not use all those pictures and experiences to share Jesus and Bible truths with others?
Last month (September 2019) my wife Lois and I visited Israel and Jordan with a group of pastors and spouses from Texas. It was an incredible experience. Based on a challenge from our son Dustin we went with the purpose of taking pictures and being ready to have a week of reaping meetings within a few months of our return. Our son Jacob and daughter-in-law Vero were on the trip as well and made videos we could use as part of each presentation. They are available on YouTube.
We just finished our reaping meetings with the Benbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was planted just last year. With any reaping meetings it is important to have people ready for baptism through Bible studies before opening night. At the end of our meetings we had a family of four baptized in the swimming pool of the hotel where we held our meetings. And during the week we made friends with new interests, involved more church members in our God-given mission, saw God transform lives and started a weekly Amazing Facts Study Group as follow up.
Below is an outline of what we did each evening in the reaping meetings. There are links to various resources. Feel free to use or adapt anything here for your situation that might help you win souls for Jesus and His final movement!
We found Shawn Boonstra’s Discovering Revelation resources from the Discovery Centers very useful (Available at no charge for all Texas churches and schools Sept 2019 – Sept 2020 under the Texas Conference partnership with the Voice of Prophecy. To sign up contact evangelism@txsda.org). Also you can order tailor-made invitation fliers like the one above from the Texas Conference Print Shop.
And remember, even if you never go to Israel you can walk were Jesus walked by ministering to those in need just as He did! “Many feel that it would be a great privilege to visit the scenes of Christ’s life on earth, to walk where He trod, to look upon the lake beside which He loved to teach, and the hills and valleys on which His eyes so often rested. But we need not go to Nazareth, to Capernaum, or to Bethany, in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sickbed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great city, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation. In doing as Jesus did when on earth, we shall walk in His steps.” {Desire of Ages 640.2}
Evening Program
- 7pm Welcome and Prayer
- Theme Song – What a Day That Will Be
- Skit (Acted out by various team members based on Video)
- Bible Lands Pictures
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip
- 7:20pm Bible Story (by Lois)
- 7:40pm Bible Facts & Appeal (by me)
- Special Music
- 8:15pm Closing Prayer & Handouts
Day 1
- Visit Petra and Learn why nations rise and fall and how to understand the future
- Skit – Little Things
- Bible Lands Pictures – Petra, Jordan
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Petra
- Bible Story – Daniel 2 Story
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Future
- God knows the future. Isaiah 46:9-10
- God removes kings and raises up kings. Daniel 2:21
- God has given us outlines of history so we can see where we are living in the flow of history. Explanation of Daniel 2
- The climax of history is the Second Coming of Jesus. Daniel 2:44; Matthew 25:31
- Jesus wants you to be a part of His kingdom! John 14:1-3
- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #1
Day 2
- Visit the Mount of Transfiguration and Learn how to deal with demonic intimidation
- Skit – The Stool
- Bible Lands Pictures – Mount Tabor
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Power Over Demons
- Bible Story – Mark 9:14-29
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Satan
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Signs of potential demonic intimidation are fascination with death, supernatural strength, perpetual sleeplessness, uncontrolled screams, cuttings & piercings, nudity. Mark 5:1-5, 15
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Demons (“familiar spirits”) are fallen angels cast out of heaven with Satan. Revelation 12:7-9
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Satan & his demons/angels deceive and persecute whenever they can. John 8:44; Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 3:1-4,6,11-12,15; Job 1:7-9,11-12,21; Job 2:4-6
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Satan & his demons/angels intensify their work before Jesus returns. Revelation 12:12; Revelation 16:12-16
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Jesus is more powerful than Satan and all his angels/demons. John 12:31-32
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Each day we choose whose side we will be on. Ephesians 6:12; Romans 6:16
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Someday Satan and all his angels will be destroyed by fire. Matthew 25:41; Ezekiel 28:18-19; Revelation 21:4
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- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #2
Day 3
- Visit Bethany and Learn how to deal with the death of someone you love
- Skit – Lord, Lord
- Bible Lands Pictures – Bethany (Lazarus’ Tomb)
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Lazarus’ Tomb
- Bible Story – John 11
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Death
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When someone we love dies, Jesus comforts us with Bible promises. John 11:35; Psalm 116:15; Revelation 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
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The pain of death will be gone when Jesus comes again, resurrects His people and gives them immortality. 1 Timothy 6:15-16; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
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When people die they sleep until Jesus wakes them up in one of two resurrections. John 11:11-14; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Job 27:3; Psalm 146:3-4; Ecclesiastes 9:5-6; Job 7:9-10; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:6
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Satan’s angels can appear as dead relatives (familiar spirits) and even an angel of light to try to deceive people. 2 Corinthians 11:14; Leviticus 20:6
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Jesus promised the thief on the cross that He would remember him when He came in His kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus. Luke 23:42-43; John 20:17
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When Jesus returns we will be reunited with all our loved ones who enjoy spending eternity with Jesus in heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
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- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #10
Day 4
- Visit Nazareth and Learn how to deal with stress
- Skit – Family Skit (Husband & wife bump into each other at home, upset; then man and woman bump into each other in store, very apologetic)
- Bible Lands Pictures – Nazareth (Nazareth Village)
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Capernaum, Jesus’ Home Town
- Bible Story – Luke 4:14-30
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Sabbath
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Jesus promises to give us rest from stress. He created all things, He will never leave us and He never gets tired. Revelation 4:11; Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 96:5; Acts 4:24; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 11:28-30
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Jesus can help us sleep anywhere! Mark 4:37-38; Isaiah 26:3; 1 Peter 5:7
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No everything has to be done right now! Mark 11:11
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At Creation Jesus gave all mankind the gift of rest every Sabbath. This day is for rest, blessing and sanctification. Genesis 1:1; Days of Creation; Genesis 2:1-3 (Rest, Blessed, Sanctified)
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All God’s people in both Old and New Testaments kept the Sabbath holy. Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:27; Luke 4:16; Luke 23:56; Matthew 24:20; Acts 13:14, 42,44; Acts 18:4; Acts 16:13
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At the end of time a call will go around the world to worship the Creator who made the world in six days, rested on the seventh, blessed it & made it holy. Seventh-day Names in various languages; Revelation 14:6-7; Isaiah 66:22-23
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- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #7
Day 5
- Visit the Jordan River and Learn how to deal with your past
- Skit – Trash
- Bible Lands Pictures – Jordan River
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Jesus’ Baptism
- Bible Story – Matthew 3:1-17
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Baptism
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Jesus knows all about us, the best and the worst, and He still loves us. Psalm 139:13,16; Luke 12:7; Hebrews 4:13; Jeremiah 31:3
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If we confess our sins Jesus will forgive and cleanse us and represent us in the judgement. Ezekiel 33:11; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:1
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The Bible is filled with examples of people with a bad past whose lives have been transformed by Jesus. Matthew 1 gives us some Bible examples of people with a bad past, even in Jesus’ ancestry — Abraham, Jacob, Judah/Tamar, Rahab, David/Uriah’s wife
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Jesus calls all His people to be baptized as a symbol they have chosen to fully unite with Him for the rest of their lives. Matthew 3:13-17; Romans 6:3-6; John 3:23; Rebaptism? Acts 19:1-5; Steps to Baptism – 1. Repent (Acts 2:38); 2. Believe (Acts 19:4); 3. Understand (Matthew 28:19-20)
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The mission Jesus gave all His followers is to go make disciples for Him and make sure they are baptized and taught how to follow Him. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 8:36-38
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- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #9
Day 6
- Visit the Mount of Beatitudes and Learn how to deal with temptation
- Skit – Comfort
- Bible Lands Pictures – Mount of Beatitudes
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Jesus’ Temptations
- Bible Story – Matthew 5-7 OR Show Sermon on the Mount Video Clip
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Victory
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When we are baptized we should expect Satan to immediately try to devalue or destroy our connection with God. Matthew 3:16-17 then 4:1
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We can win the victory over Satan’s temptations by guarding our thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Philippians 4:8; James 1:8; Matthew 6:24; 1 John 2:15-17; 1 John 5:4
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We can win the victory over Satan’s temptations by guarding what we see, hear and touch. Psalm 101:2-3; Proverbs 23:12; Proverbs 22:17; 2 Corinthians 6:17
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God’s people in the last days will learn to say “no” to temptation and “yes” to Jesus. Romans 7:24-25; 1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 2:12-14; Revelation 14:5
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- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #3
Day 7
- Visit the Mount of Olives and Learn how to deal with hopelessness
- Skit – Coke (We changed it to Grape Juice) 🙂
- Bible Lands Pictures – Mount of Olives
- Bible Lands Adventures Video Clip – Mount of Transfiguration
- Bible Story – Acts 1:4-11
- Bible Facts & Appeal – Second Coming
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Without Jesus life is hopeless. Ephesians 2:12-13
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When we feel hopeless and helpless we need to remember that Jesus promised to come again and take us to His home. John 14:1-3
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When Jesus comes again we will all see Him, hear Him and feel Him come. It will be the end of earth as we know it. Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Psalm 50:3; Revelation 6:14; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31; Revelation 6:15-17; Isaiah 25:9
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Jesus’ Coming will be a surprise, like a thief in the night, to those who persistently reject Him. 2 Peter 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
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When Jesus comes some will be taken with Him to heaven and those who are left will be destroyed, like the days of Noah and days of Lot. Luke 17:26-30
- Brief Discussion of Secret Rapture Theory compared with Bible teaching. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 shows Antichrist comes BEFORE not after Jesus takes His people to heaven. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 shows Antichrist is destroyed when Jesus comes for His people. Revelation 22:11-12
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Every day we can look forward to the blessed hope, the glorious return of Jesus and help others prepare for this tremendous event. 2 Peter 3:12-13
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- Handout – Amazing Facts Study Guide #8
Dan Serns 