INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP

PRE ENCOUNTER
Lesson Plan
Class: 01

I. A MESSAGE TO THE INSTRUCTOR

Consolidation is the phase following a person’s receiving of Christ as their personal Savior.
During this phase, the new believer must receive constant care and attention until the
character of Christ is formed in them.

The Pre Encounter Course plays a vital role in the Consolidation process, and as the
instructor, you’ve been entrusted with this responsibility. Never forget that your role is not to
lecture these students with facts and information but to impart life. Keep in mind that an
instructor that doesn’t have life cannot give life. You must live at the level of your message!

The purpose of Pre Encounter is to lead the new believer through the basic steps of the
Christian faith. After completing this course, each student should:

1. Possess an assurance of their salvation

2. Understand the benefits of their salvation as provided through the Cross

3. Experience God’s power in delivering them from their past

4. Be prepared (encouraged and motivated) to attend an Encounter

II. CLASS OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this lesson is to show the new believer four (4) simple (but life-changing)
benefits they received as a result of being born again and how to take full advantage of them:

1. The Benefit of Forgiveness

2. The Benefit of Reconciliation

3. The Benefit of Restoration

4. The Benefit of Relationship

It’s important that your students understand that these four (4) benefits are results of being
born again…not requirements to be born again. At the conclusion of this lesson, give
everyone an opportunity to receive Christ as their personal Savior.
III. INTRODUCTION

[NOTE: The purpose of an “introduction” is to put everyone at ease and to build rapport with
your class. Remember…for some of your students, this is the first bible class they’ve
attended, and their first opportunity to meet someone else who attends Word of Life.]

A. Introduce Yourself

1. Name, occupation, how long you’ve been a part of Word of Life, etc…

2. Introduce your class assistant.

3. Share a brief testimony of how you were born again. Keep this testimony focused on
why you needed Christ and the impact He has made in your life. [Note: Although this is
a great opportunity to capture the hearts of your students, keep this testimony clear and
brief. This is NOT the time to recite your entire spiritual history; doing so will both waste
your class time and confuse the student.]

B. Student Icebreaker

1. Break your class into pairs (groups of 2).

2. Have each student briefly share something interesting about themselves and why they
decided to attend this class.

[Note: This is a great opportunity for the students to get to know one another. Feel free
to substitute this icebreaker for one of your own.]

IV. LESSON: THE FOUR (4) BENEFITS OF BEING BORN AGAIN

A. Opening Illustration

A man booked a passage on a ship with just enough money to buy a ticket, a wedge of
cheese and some biscuits for the long voyage. The first few days at sea the biscuits and
cheese tasted good, but eventually they became stale. Each day as he watched the porters
carry large steaks, lobsters, chicken and many other delicious foods to the other
passengers, he became very hungry. In fact, he became so hungry that he finally stopped
one of the porters and said, “I’ll do anything to get one of those steaks! I’ll wash dishes,
clean rooms, even mop the deck.”

The porter replied, “Didn’t you know that your meals were included with the price of your
ticket?”

Pre Pre Encounter Page 2 of 5

Class: 01
 1. This man didn’t understand the benefits included in the price of his ticket! He spent
most of his voyage hungry and miserable until he realized what rightfully belonged to
him.

John 10:10 (NKJV)

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that
they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

2. We received an abundant life when we were born again. Unfortunately, many

Christians are like the starving man on the ship. They have the God-given right to
experience an abundant life but they’ve settled for miserable living.

3. Why? Simply because they don’t know about the benefits of being born again. In
today’s lesson we’re going to look at four (4) of the most important benefits God gave to
all of us when we were born again.

B. First…The Benefit of Forgiveness!

1. Illustration

There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran
away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a
last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad
read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is
forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for
forgiveness and love from their fathers.

2. True or not, this story illustrates an important point…we all have a deep need for
forgiveness. Why? Because we’ve all sinned…against God and others.

Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

3. But God’s love is amazing! Instead of turning His back on us He sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to make forgiveness possible.

Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV)

13
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of
the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins.

Pre Pre Encounter Page 3 of 5

Class: 01
 4. When we accepted Christ into our hearts (and were born again), God forgave us of all
of our sins! We no longer need to carry around the guilt and shame of our past!

Psalm 103:10-12 (NKJV)

10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our
iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward
those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us.

C. Second…The Benefit of Reconciliation!

1. Illustration

In his book, Miracle on the River Kwai, Ernest Gordon wrote…

The Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had
degenerated to barbarous behavior, but one afternoon something happened. A shovel
was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing
shovel be produced. When nobody in the squadron budged, the officer got his gun and
threatened to kill them all on the spot. It was obvious the officer meant what he had
said. Finally, one man stepped forward. The officer put away his gun, picked up a
shovel, and beat the man to death. When it was over, the survivors picked up the
bloody corpse and carried it with them to the second tool check. This time, no shovel
was missing. Indeed, there had been a miscount at the first check point. The word
spread like wildfire through the whole camp. An innocent man had been willing to die to
save the others! The incident had a profound effect. The men began to treat each
other like brothers. When the victorious Allies swept in, the survivors, human skeletons,
lined up in front of their captors (and instead of attacking their captors) insisted: "No
more hatred. No more killing. Now what we need is forgiveness." Sacrificial love
has transforming power.

2. At times, in a relationship something happens that breaks the trust between two people.
Although we may come to forgive that person, their actions still damaged the
relationship and it may never be the same again.

3. Not so with God! Not only has He forgiven us; He’s also reconciled with us.

Colossians 1:21-22 (NKJV)

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and
blameless, and above reproach in His sight--

4. It’s one thing to forgive your enemies...it’s another thing to become friends! Not only
has God forgiven us, but He treats us as if we never sinned in the first place.

Pre Pre Encounter Page 4 of 5

Class: 01
 D. Third…The Benefit of Restoration!

1. In His parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), Jesus taught about a young man
who demanded his inheritance so he could abandon his father & family for a life of sin.
Through a turn of events, this son found himself broke and living with pigs. He soon
realized that his father’s servants were better off than he was. He decided to go back
home with the intention of asking his father to become one of those servants.

Luke 15:17-19 (NKJV)

17
"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have
bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 'I will arise and go to my father,
and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 "and I am
no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." '

2. But his father had a different plan in mind…

Luke 15:22-24 (NKJV)

22
"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put
a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 'And bring the fatted calf here and kill it,
and let us eat and be merry; 24 'for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found.' And they began to be merry.

3. After being forgiven and reconciled to his father, this young man was restored to his
position of sonship. When we were born again, God brought us into His kingdom, not
as servants…but as sons & daughters!

E. Fourth…The Benefit of Relationship!

John 1:12 (NKJV)

12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe in His name.

1. When we received Christ as our Savior and were born again, we were also born into
God’s family. We are sons and daughters of God!

2. Our God wants us to have a genuine relationship with Him. “Religion” says that God is
out of reach and can’t be known. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came so that we can know
God in a personal way, and understand His plan for our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace
and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Pre Pre Encounter Page 5 of 5

Class: 01