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If you are having trouble turning the conversation towards Jesus, one potential way of doing so would be to follow the simple mnemonic, SHREKS, below. Note however, this simply tees the conversation up for sharing the gospel. It is meant as a bridge to sharing sacrifice stories.
SMALL TALK
Get acquainted by chatting about anything.
HOMELAND
Only if you’re sure they weren’t born in this country, ask what life is
like back in theirs. How is it different from here? Ask about
the food, culture and, most of all, the faith. "What is religion like in Bangladesh? Oh. Most are Muslims. Are you?" Many westerners feel uncomfortable asking others about faith, but most from other non-western cultures do not.
RELIGIOUS SIMILARITIES
Rather than immediately diving into your differences, create some common ground along these lines. "Oh, you’re a Muslim? I'm follow Jesus Christ and I think that our faiths some similarities. For one: God is good; but people are not. He is perfect, but we have done shameful sins."
EVIL DEEDS BEFORE THE KING
After bringing up sin, bring up judgement. "We have all done shameful things, but God is perfect. When we stand before God on the day of judgment, how can we have enough good deeds to tip the scales?" You may have to politely push a little as follows:
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How's that working for you?
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Do you perfectly fast and pray?
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Even if you live better, are you sure your sin/shame would be forgiven?
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Even if you are able to live better between now and judgement day, will it be enough to make up for past sins?
(Try to tactfully remind them that no one is perfect and that they have sinned. No one wants a Savior unless they believe they need one).
SACRIFICE STORIES
After listening to their hope for forgiveness of sin (which will likely be works oriented), respond like this:
"What I believe is different from that. Maybe you're a better person than I, but I believe my sins will be forgiven because of God's plan. He has a made a way for our honor before God to be restored - for our sins to be forgiven and I'm following that plan. It started a long time ago…"
This sets the stage for you to launch into the Old Testament sacrifice stories.
NOTE: The above is heavily adapted from Mike Shipman's book Any Three
CONVERSATION EXAMPLE
You: Hello. How are you?
Friend: Alhamdulillah, I'm well.
You: You have a beautiful shop!
Friend: Thank you.
You: What kind of food do you sell? From what country?
Friend: We are from Afghanistan.
You: Oh! Wow. Tell me something about Afghanistan. What's the food like?
Friend: Oh, it is the best! We have dishes like bolani, mantu, kabuli pulao...oh it is so delicious!
You: What is the climate like there?
Friend: Oh, very diverse. Desert, mountains...
You: How about religion? Are most people there Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist? What?
Friend: Oh, we are all Muslims.
You: You too? Are you a Muslim?
Friend: Yes, of course.
You: Ah. I'm a follower of Jesus, but I think there are some similarities in our faiths. For example, God is perfect, but people have done bad, shameful things.
Friend: Yes! It is true.
You: So, my friend., there will come a day when each of us die and face the judgement of God. hat hope do we have that - on the God's scales of judgement - our good deeds will outweigh our bad
Friend: Well, that's a good question. If we do the things that Allah has commanded - dua (prayer) zakat (alms giving), fasting during ramadan, going to Mecca - you know the stuff the prophet has taught us - then hopefully this will be enough.
You: Hmm. I believe that when I die my sins and shame will already have been forgiven. But not because I do a lot of good things, but because of the plan that God made. God knew people would sin, so he made a plan of forgiveness. But to understand the plan, we have to go back to the beginning...
[The gospel has not been shared yet. This only sets the stage for sharing it through Old Testament sacrifice stories].