Week 2 check-in
Learning to abide

Your role

By now you have met once, so the conversation may come more easily. Keep the same posture: listen first, point to Jesus, and follow through on anything you promised last time. If you said you would look into their question, bring what you found.

Plan for about an hour. If you can, meet in the same place as before. Familiar settings make honesty easier.

Before you meet

• Pray for your friend by name, and for the need they shared at your first check-in.
• Read John 15:1-11 and 1 John 1:5-2:2 yourself. Abiding and honest confession carry the week.
• Look back at what they told you at the day-7 check-in, so you can ask how things have gone since.

Open the conversation

Start again with the booklet’s three things:

• One discovery. Something they learned about Jesus or about following him.
• One question. Something they are unsure about.
• One prayer need. Something they want you to pray about.

Day 14 also asks them to invite you to describe growth you have noticed. Be ready to name one specific thing honestly, without flattery and without making it the measure of their standing with God.

Questions to ask

Choose two or three.

• What has your daily time with Jesus actually looked like? What helps, and what gets in the way? (Days 8 and 9)
• On day 10 you summarized a verse in your own words. Which one did you choose, and what did it mean?
• Which part of the prayer Jesus taught gets the least attention when you pray? (Day 11)
• Where have you needed the Spirit’s help to obey something you already understand? (Day 12)

What to listen for

Bible reading that feels like failure. Many new believers expect every reading to feel rich and conclude they are doing it wrong when it does not. Reassure them that faithful attention matters more than strong feelings, and that understanding grows over time. If reading itself is hard, suggest an audio Bible.

Prayer that only asks. Day 11 gives a fuller pattern. If their prayers are mostly requests, that is normal. Gently show them the other parts: praise, seeking God’s will, confession, trust. Do not make it a new rule.

Confession on day 13. Day 13 asked them to name a specific sin to God and take one step of repentance. They may want to talk about it, or they may not. Do not press for details. If they do share, keep it in confidence, remind them of God’s faithfulness to forgive (1 John 1:9), and help them think through one practical step. If what they share involves harm to someone else, serious danger, or anything beyond what you can carry well, involve a pastor.

Guilt confused with God’s voice. Some new believers treat every uneasy feeling as a command. Day 12 warns against making major decisions from a passage they are unsure about. Help them tell the difference between clear teaching in Scripture and anxiety, and encourage them to bring big decisions to a pastor.

Measuring growth by performance. Day 14 looks at the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Fruit is something God grows, not a scorecard. Point to small evidence of grace, and remind them that their acceptance still rests on Christ.

Pray together

Invite them to pray first again. Pray for the need they named today and follow up on last time’s. If they confessed something difficult this week, thank God aloud for his mercy with them.

Before you leave

• Set your next check-in for around day 21.
• Ask whether they have a church gathering on their calendar this week. Week 3 is about belonging to the church, and it helps if you can go together.
• Do not add homework. The booklet is enough.

This week’s readings