Be A Bringer: How Our Story Fits Into God’s Story
Preached to: High School Students
Speaker: Pastor Amanda Hahn
This week, we kicked off our three-week "Be a Bringer" series at Amplify High, focusing on the importance of sharing our faith and inviting others to experience Jesus. Here are the key takeaways from the message:
🔹 Everyone Has a Story – Your testimony is powerful, no matter how big or small you think it is. The moment you met Jesus changed your life, and that story is worth telling.
🔹 Biblical Examples of Sharing Faith – We looked at Paul’s transformation (Acts 26) and the story of the paralyzed man’s friends bringing him to Jesus (Mark 2). These remind us that encountering Jesus leads to real, lasting change, and sometimes, others help bring us to Him.
🔹 How to Share Your Testimony – An effective testimony includes three parts:
1️⃣ Before Jesus – What was your life like before you knew Him?
2️⃣ Meeting Jesus – How did you come to faith?
3️⃣ After Jesus – How has your life changed since?
🔹 Challenge for the Week – Write out your personal testimony and practice sharing it! Whether it’s a full story or a short "elevator pitch," being prepared makes it easier to share your faith.
Let’s step out boldly and be bringers—inviting friends to church and sharing what God has done in our lives. Easter is coming, and we have the opportunity to impact lives!
Keep up with all that’s going on at Amplify Youth, including dates, times, sign-ups, and forms, on our main page.
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Night 1: “Your Story Matters”
📖 Discussion Starter: What makes a story worth telling?
Ask: What’s the best story you’ve ever heard or read? Why was it so powerful?
Share: Jesus often taught using stories because people relate to them. Your testimony is your story of how God has worked in your life.
Ask: If someone asked how Jesus has changed your life, what would you say?
💬 Challenge: Encourage your teen to write down 3-5 sentences that summarize their story with Jesus.
Night 2: “Who Needs an Invite?”
📖 Discussion Starter: Think about your closest friends—do they know Jesus?
Ask: Who in your life could use some encouragement right now?
Share: Mark 2:1-12 (the paralyzed man’s friends)—sometimes, bringing someone to Jesus requires effort!
Ask: What are some ways you could invite a friend to church without it feeling awkward?
💬 Challenge: Encourage your teen to pray for one specific friend this week and find a simple way to invite them (text, call, or in person).
Night 3: “Overcoming Fear”
📖 Discussion Starter: What makes it hard to talk about faith?
Ask: What are your biggest fears about sharing Jesus? (Saying the wrong thing? Rejection? Awkwardness?)
Share: Even Paul (Acts 26) faced rejection when sharing his testimony, but he didn’t let fear stop him!
Ask: If a friend asked you why you go to church, what would you say?
💬 Challenge: Role-play a simple conversation where your teen shares their faith. Keep it light and fun!
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Introduction
Ask: What does it mean to be a bringer?
Discuss how we are called to bring people to Jesus—not just physically to church, but into a relationship with Him.
The Message
Everyone has a unique story.
Stories are memorable and impactful—Jesus often taught using stories (parables).
Ask: What makes a story worth retelling? (Engage students in discussion).
Your testimony is a powerful way to share Jesus with others.
Dig Deeper
1. The Paralyzed Man & His Friends (Mark 2:1-12)
Jesus was preaching in a packed house.
Four friends made extreme efforts to bring their friend to Jesus.
Jesus first forgave his sins, then healed him.
Application: How far would you go to bring a friend to Jesus?
2. Paul’s Testimony (Acts 26:1-29)
Paul shared his story with King Agrippa, explaining his transformation from a persecutor of Christians to a passionate follower of Christ.
Paul’s three-part testimony:
Before Jesus – He was against the faith.
Meeting Jesus – He encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus.
After Jesus – He was radically changed and dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel.
Application: If Paul, once an enemy of the church, could be changed and used by God, so can we.
Apply
1️⃣ Before Jesus – What was your life like?
2️⃣ Meeting Jesus – How did you encounter Him?
3️⃣ After Jesus – How has your life changed?Scriptural Support: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, John 3:16
Encouragement: Your testimony doesn’t have to be dramatic—it just needs to be real.
Challenge
Homework: Write out your testimony. Be prepared to share next week.
Practice a short “elevator pitch” version (60-90 words).
Ask: When was the last time you invited someone to church? Who can you invite this week?
Prayer: Ask God for boldness to share our stories and bring people to Jesus.
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1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (NLT) – Paul’s Message of Christ’s Resurrection
1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.
2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.
4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.
6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.
9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.Mark 2:1-12 (NLT) – Jesus Heals the Paralyzed Man
1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home.
2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them,
3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.
4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.
5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves,
7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?
9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’?
10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,
11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”Acts 26:1-29 (NLT) – Paul’s Testimony Before King Agrippa
1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense:
2 “I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders,
3 for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!
4 “As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem.
5 If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion.
6 Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors.
7 In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!
8 Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?
9 “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene.
10 Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.
11 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.
12 “One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests.
13 About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions.
14 We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’
15 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.
16 Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.
17 And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles
18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’
19 “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.
20 I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.
21 Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me.
22 But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen—
23 that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”
24 Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane! Too much study has made you crazy!”
25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth.
26 And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner!
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”
28 Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?”
29 Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”
