Invest, Invite, Introduce

This Sunday at 9:30am, we will continue our series, Encounters with Jesus.  There are certain times when Jesus loves to surprise us.  It usually happens just as we are ready to throw our hands in the air and give up hope; when we have come to the end of our resources, exhausted, out of ideas; when quitting seems like the only remaining option; Jesus pulls out a miracle...surprise!

Paul the apostle experienced this so many times that he began to detect a pattern.  The best things happen when we've come to the end of ourselves.  Look what he wrote in II Corinthians:

But the Lord said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (II Corinthians 12:9-10)

This was Jesus' plan when he encountered Peter, Andrew, James and John on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  He would teach them to become ever more dependent upon their Master.  Their first lesson in dependence began with their calling in Luke 5:1-11, when their impossibility gave Jesus the opportunity to give them a surprise gift.

Join us this Sunday, as we look at Simon Peter's encounter with Jesus.  An encounter which involved not just listening to the words of Jesus, but responding in a way that would change his life forever.

Easter Sunday (April 9) is just 4 weeks away.  Who are you beginning to invest in?  Are you sharing the love of Jesus to them through encouragement, listening to their story and serving them?  As we begin to make an investment in the life of someone who needs to encounter Jesus, we open the door to invite them to experience our church community. 
​Let me give you two reasons to invite someone to church this Easter: 
1.) Everyone needs biblical community.  The church is a hub for encountering Jesus and spiritual growth and we want people to engage in that. 
​2.) Everyone needs an invitation to follow Jesus.  A gospel-centered church (a commitment of Calvary Parkside) is a church where Jesus is talked about and where non-believers have the opportunity to respond to Jesus.  Let's begin praying that God would reveal to each of us, who he wants us to invest in, so that we will have the opportunity to invite them to church and be introduced to the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.

Praying for each other is a great way to begin "Connecting with one another authentically".

See you Sunday.

Doug