Hypothetical Scenarios
Here are some hypothetical scenarios (based on real experiences) TO CONSIDER & USE FOR DISCUSSION AND PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES.
IMPORTANT!!!
1) Never presume the Gospel, always be prepared to witness clearly.
2) Assuming the person/s in these scenarios are already genuine Christian believers, how would you respond?
What Bible truths would you share?
What Bible passages might guide you?
What biblical actions might you take?
What questions would you ask?
How would you respond?
Bob comes into your office and shares that in his job of home appraisals he regularly runs into “ghostly” appearances. How do you respond?
Jan’s teenage children have been regularly watching “paranormal” TV shows and movies. How do you counsel them?
Steve recently took his kids and their friends to a “haunted” building for Halloween. How do you advise him?
Samantha participated in voodoo dolls and curses as a child and feels that this guilt is now part of her current struggles. What do you say?
John occasionally sees the “ghost” of his deceased wife and communicates with her. How might you disciple John?
Naomi hears loud noises, voices, and has things moved around in her house at night. She shares that this is ongoing reality and frightens her, her husband, and her children. What do you do?
Fred is having problems with addictive substances and claims that a demon is continuing to harass and tempt him, even to the point of making pills, cigarettes, and beer appear out of nowhere. How might you respond?
Fran shares that a demonic voice predicted the traumatic and unexpected death of someone a few days before the man died. What should you say?
A family relates their experiences with multiple traumatic “manifestations” of a demonic presence: the appearance of addictive substances out of nowhere, disappearance of Christian literature, loud accusing voices, writings, text messages, phone calls, flying objects, unknown scripts, audible threats, audible bargaining, and more. What should they do?
April relates seeing reptiles speak and threaten her with a “demonic voice.” Her husband relates seeing and experiencing the same. How should you advise them to process this experience?
A missionary explains that when moving to a new country their young child becomes sick and describes seeing and hearing things in their house. Upon investigation idols are found in the attic of their house and all indications point to sacrifices being made within the house. What should this family do?
Amy keeps waking up with recurring nightmares at 3am. Her dreams are so real that she is fearful and intimidated. She wants the nightmares to stop. How should you counsel her?
Caroline wakes up in the middle of the night with a felt, cold presence in the room. She feels as if it has sexually violated her. She is convinced that she was wide-awake. She doesn’t know what to do now or how to prevent it from happening again. What do you say?
Mike is being counseled by a pastor at his home. During the visit, Mike’s pet kitten goes crazy with unusual and constant meowing and clawing. Later in the week this same kitten begins to deficate throughout their house and bleed through its paws. A demonic type voice claims to the be the source. Mike wants help, what should you say and do?
Jill returns home from a mission trip with several masks and cultural items to add to her already large collection of Indian “dreamcatchers” and other relics. Soon thereafter she begins to hear steps and strange noises in her house at night and observes doors being opened that were previously closes. What should she do?
Tom used to be a Mormon and is now convicted to a new depth as to his past sinful practices in this cult. He still has the book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrines and Covenants. What should he do with these books?
Stephanie is on a mission trip and feels something cold touching her toes in the middle of the night. When she wakes up to the feeling, she feels paralyzed, held down, and unable to move, seemingly overshadowed by a dark and oppressive force. She tells you the next morning and wants advice. What might you say?
Thomas has been involved in multiple affairs over the past six years. Everyone he knows thinks highly of him as a strong Christian man and role model. He has been hearing demonic voices screaming at him and mocking him. No one else seems to hear the voices. His name was written/scratched on the wall when a minister came over the help. He wants your advice and help now. What would you say?
Kameron formerly lived with a Serbian orthodox man and remembers him cooking and chanting things. She thinks he put a curse on her and wants to know what to do about it?
George is a missionary and observes a man seemingly possessed by a demon. He is so violent that the villagers have tied him up and now the local believers in the village are
asking George for guidance and direction. George has called you up and is asking for advice, how do you answer?
Yolanda had a son with Aaron six years ago. Yolanda thinks Aaron may have been demonically possessed and remembers him talking to, worshipping, and singing to a “multitude” of demons. Yolanda is concerned that her son may inherited these demons. How do you counsel her?
Hank has several tattoos with demons, gravestones, and skulls on them. He says a demon scratched him on the tattoos, claims to live in the tattoos, and keeps verbally referencing the tattoos, including a drawing on a dry erase board in his kitchen. What should Hank do?
Francisca has been regularly harassed by a demon and wants it to stop. She has tried being “exorcised” personally and has had ministers attempt to cleanse and anoint her house. The activity has increased and she is asking for help. What will you say?
Danny keeps receiving text messages from “666” and can’t seem to stop the messages. He has also had heard demonic sounding voices over the phone and those he is talking with have heard it too. What should he do?
Steve and Samantha find a list of all of their personal sins written on a piece of paper in their kitchen. Neither one of them knows the source, but both think a demon did it due to prior “activity.” Steve tore up the list and flushed it down the toilet, but wants to know what to do now. A voice reportedly said to Samantha that “these are my attachments to you.” How do you respond?
Cindy walks into a pet store and all of the animals start going crazy. Cindy hears a demonic voice say “they sense me.” A lady in the store remarks that “I’ve never seen it like this, it is like something is in here.” Cindy thinks a demon is following her around. How do you counsel Cindy?
Paul claims to hear God telling him what to do and what to tell others. He regularly tells his family these “revelations” from God. Paul is walking in adultery and sin and his “revelations” are not always in line with Scripture. You have the opportunity to speak to Paul and his family, what do you say?
Megan is pregnant but has been regularly tormented by what she feels is a demon. She has a miscarriage and a voice tells her that he ate the baby and laughs. Megan is devastated by the baby’s lost and doesn’t know what to think. What Scripture might you counsel her with?
Larry had a traumatic brain injury in Iraq but has been able to function quite well. Lately he has been hearing voices from what he claims is both God and Satan. He is extremely confused and doesn’t know how to process his experiences. What questions might you ask? What advice might you give?
Susan has been regularly harassed and finds her Bible opened, with a candle on top. The Bible was opened to Revelation 13 with lots of the passage circled, a drawing, and the number “666” written across the page. She is trying to process this and asks your advice. How do you respond?
Pete is a member of a tribal society and is a new believer. His village has an annual animal sacrifice in preparation for the farming season. How do you advise him?
Kim is a member of an ancestor worship culture. As soon as you enter her house you see the altar dedicated to her family’s ancestors. She is not allowed to remove the altar because it falls under the authority of her husband. She comes to you looking for guidance, what do you say?
Sam is a member of a worldview that believes in shamans for curses. He thinks the local shaman put a curse on him once he became a believer. He is concerned that the curse is real and powerful and affecting his family. How do you respond?
Tammy is a believer in a worldview that strongly seeks to repel demons through sacrifices and hanging items above the entryway to houses. Her friend seems demonically possessed and the local shaman nor modern medicine seem to help. She comes to you and asks you to help. What might you do?
Jim is a new believer in an animistic worldview. He still has his family’s wooden idols and feels burdened by them and wants advice. What do you say?
Kate is a new believer in an animistic worldview. Her village has a particular tree under which they gather regularly and lay sacrifices. She wants to know what is her responsibility when they gather next. How do you answer?
Dave is a new believer in an animistic worldview. Every funeral and wedding in his village involves some sort of sacrifice and ceremony. He wants to know is he can attend the funerals and weddings anymore. What do you say?
Sally is new believer in a tribal worldview setting. She commonly gets her meat at the neighboring village where she knows it has been sacrificed to idols. She asks you if she can buy and eat it, or will the demons attack her through the meat sacrifice. How do you guide her?
Lane is a new believer in a village with a shaman. Whenever someone becomes sick they have particular potions, chants, and common practices not tied to modern medicine. He does not have access to modern medicine. His young son is sick and Lane is desperate for healing. How do you encourage him?
A relative is on a family vacation and contacts you about “spooky” things happening to her daughter and her teenage girls friends while they sleep at night at a condo. They are all scared and want help. How do you help?