Invite

Manuscript Template

Title:  Invite

Focus Statement:  

Function Statement:  

Tweetable Phrase:  

Main Text:  Acts 1:6-8

Supporting Text:  Matthew 4:18-19 / Matthew 28:19-20 / Acts 1:8 / 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 / John 14:26 / Ephesians 3:20 /

Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):  Mark 5:1-20 / Mark 8:1-10 / Mark 7:31

Benediction:  1 Peter 3:15 / Colossians 4:5-6

WELCOME

Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson, and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us.

‌Welcome to those joining us online. We hope you're doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.

And a special welcome to those joining us for the first time. We’re so glad you chose to be here.

ME/INTRO - Tension

As we enter into this third week of Advent, a time to anticipate and prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, how can we not do so with JOY.

Knowing what Christ did for us, the gift that He has already given us, should produce in all of us the desire to REJOICE (or express our JOY) for all He has done.

To start our final topic of of our discipleship series of INVITING, I want to start on a fun note. I wanted to say THANK YOU for all the ways that you have INVITED me and my family into the Kansas City Community. You all have been so generous in your suggestions of things we can do and try here in Kansas City. You have all brought great JOY to my families lives through all the suggestions you have made throughout the last year.

FOOD (mainly BBQ)

Jack Stack / Zarda’s / Joe’s KC / Q39

ACTIVITIES

Nelson Atkin Art Museum / KC Zoo / Crown Center / Hallmark’s Kaleidoscope / Ferris Wheel / Renaissance Festival / Arboretum (even if I never found it!!!)

Places to Go

Hutchinson Strataca Salt Mine / Original Freddie’s in Wichita / Katy Trail in MO / Flint Hills Trail in Emporia

We’ve had such a great time exploring, experiencing, and taking steps to becoming Kansans.

THANK YOU for INVITING us to experience all Kansas City has to offer.

I find it interesting how easy it is to share our likes and passions with others about food, activities, and places to...

...but so many of us find it terrifying to share with a non-believing friend our faith in Jesus.

I want to put all my cards on the table; historically I have struggled sharing my faith as well.

The devil puts thoughts in our heads making the act of sharing our faith a scarry proposition.

We’re afraid of rejection

We’re afraid of being judged

We’re afraid the friendship will change

We’re afraid that we’ll lose that person as a friend altogether.

It’s also easy to convince ourselves that it’s not our job, since Ephesians 4:11 says that:

Ephesians 4:11–12 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Evangelism: Defined as sharing your faith with others and inviting them into a relationship with Jesus is a Spiritual Gift that not all of us have.

Yet, Jesus makes it clear that sharing our faith and inviting our non-believing friends into a relationship with Him is not something reserved only for those with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelism.

Evangelism was so important Jesus bookended His ministry calling His disciples to be His witnesses

The first thing He told the disciples was that He would make them “Fishers of Men”

Matthew 4:18–19 NIV

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

After the resurrection and right before Jesus was about to ascend to Heaven He last thing he told the disciples was to “be my witnesses”

Acts 1:8 NIV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

If you’re a parent, you know how bookending works. When there is something you really want your kids to remember, you tell them.

After they tell you over and over how they heard and how they will do what you asked, right before they leave, you tell them again just to make sure they understand how important it is that they actually do what you talked about.

This is how important it is to Jesus that we have non-believing friends, that we share our faith with our non-believing friends, and that we INVITE them to consider placing their faith in Jesus as their LORD and SAVIOR.

WE - Tension

I know in this room we have quite a few people who have the Spiritual Gift of evangelism, that share their faith boldly and frequently to anyone who will listen, and that is amazing. The Kingdom needs all of you you to use your gift.

For the rest of us who don’t have the Spiritual Gift of evangelism, probably most of us, God still needs us to obey Jesus’ call to share our faith and be His witness.

When I talk to many of you about this the major roadblock to sharing your faith is

not feeling like you know how, or

that you feel unprepared to handle questions if the person you share with starts asking them.

So...

Do you have the Spiritual Gift of Evangelism? If so, are you using it? If not, are you sharing your faith anyway?

For all of us...

Do you have non-believing friends?

Do you share your faith, or shy away, fearful of our friends reaction?

What’s keeping you from being a better witness to all Jesus has done for you?

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

How do we share our faith with non-believers in our lives?

To set the foundation of our discussion today (as we have done every week this series), we’re defining discipleship as:

Discipleship is the process of slowly giving over pieces of your life to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to shape and mold you into a person with a Christ-Like character.

We’re in the 6th and final week of our series on discipleship.

Attend - learn facts about who Jesus was and what Jesus did (discipleship starts in the HEAD)

Believe - put faith in Jesus as your LORD and savior based on what you know (discipleship moves to the HEART)

Grow - start living out your faith, applying what you learned

Serve - allow God to work through you to serve those hurting around you (discipleship is lived out through your HANDS)

Give - support others doing Kingdom work by giving back to God what He gave you to steward

Invite - offer the life change you’ve experienced to others by inviting them into the community

My prayer for this series, is that each and every one of us hears from the Holy Spirit at least once and chooses to take that next best step toward Christ.

This week, we’re going to talk about STEP 6: INVITE

If you missed the previous messages, please feel free go to our website, TheLightKC.org, to catch up.

As we begin, please turn with me to [Acts 1:6-8: Sanctuary Bible Page # 882]

We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.

AND... if you don’t have a Bible, we have Bibles under the seats. If you don’t have a bible and would like one, please come see me after the service and I’ll get you one you can keep.

Let's dive in.

GOD - Text

To tackle the topic of INVITING today, I think we each need to answer three questions for ourselves

Why do I follow Jesus?

What is Jesus calling me to do as a witness?

Can I even do it; am I qualified?

WHY WE FOLLOW JESUS

Our motivation matters. If we don’t even know why we believe in Jesus, we can’t even start to consider INVITING others to join us.

If you don’t have a clear answer right away, don’t worry the disciples struggled as well.

Let’s start today in Acts 1:6

Acts 1:6 NIV

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Keep in mind this is after they

Traveled with Jesus for 3 years

Heard all of Jesus’ teaching

Saw all of the miracles Jesus performed

Saw Jesus die on the cross

Saw Jesus come back to life on the third day

And now they had just been taught by Jesus for 40 more days

...and after all that, they still don’t get it.

Given everything the disciples knew and experienced, they asked Jesus if it was time for Him to overthrow Rome and re-establish the kingdom of Israel back to its former glory.

The disciples were following Jesus for all those years because they thought that he was going to overthrow Rome.

They completely missed the point of everything Jesus said and did.

Jesus quickly shut down this line of thinking?

Acts 1:7 NIV

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Jesus consistently taught that He was going to be a different type of conquering king. Jesus was going to conquer the power of Sin in our lives and bring forgiveness, not conquer Rome to re-establish the kingdom of Israel.

But how often are we exactly like the disciples, do we do the same things?

How often do we put our expectations on Jesus and follow Him just to get what we want?

It is easy for us to want Jesus in our lives to fix our problems (just like Israel wanted freedom from Rome), but Jesus has a bigger plan. If we’re going to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we need to accept Jesus’ mission: to seek and save the lost. We need to follow Jesus’ plan, and stop advocating for our own.

So...if you consider yourself a Christian, the first thing you need to do is answer for yourself, why do you follow Jesus?

If you don’t yet consider yourself a Christian, is Jesus someone that you would consider following even if you don’t get what you want?

WHAT IS A WITNESS

Even when we get our motivation correct, I don’t know about you, but I still struggle.

Because when I think about having a conversation with someone about faith, I tend to think I have to be Jesus’ DEFENSE ATTORNEY. I feel like I need to argue the CASE FOR CHRIST, have an answer for any and all possible questions they may ask, and persuade whoever I am talking to into putting their faith in Jesus right there on the spot.

Anyone feel this way?

Anyone feel like they need an answer for any question that could be asked?

Anyone feel the weight of their response?

The comforting truth is that we are not called to be DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, Jesus calls us to be WITNESSES.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus says:

Acts 1:8 NIV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

And a WITNESS doesn’t need all the answers. A WITNESS just give an honest account of what they have seen, heard, and experienced.

Jesus calls every believer to share what they have seen, heard, and experienced.

Our job is to obey...

God’s is responsible for the result.

It’s not our job to persuade, it’s our job to share, it’s up to God for the rest.

Paul says it well in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9:

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 NIV

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

So our job is simple. Just tell people the truth about what Jesus has done for us. When talking with people, don’t be ashamed of believing in Jesus, but be willing to share what you’re seen, heard, and experienced.

Your faith should not be something you only share on special occasions, but like so many other aspects of your life, something you think about and share regularly with others who are important to you.

CAN I EVEN DO IT - QUALIFICATION

But...

Even having my motivation right, and knowing that I’m only sharing what I personally have seen, heard, and experienced...

I think the biggest hurdle to sharing my faith is just doing it.

I still ask myself, “CAN I DO THIS”, “AM I QUALIFIED”

I feel like I wait for a God anointed moment to share my faith.

I wait for a clear sign when all the stars align to have that faith conversation with my non-believing friends.

And if I wait for that moment, it typically never comes, because I can always find a reason why the moment I am in is not it.

Anyone with me?

But, going back to in Acts 1:8, Jesus says HE will give us POWER through the HOLY SPIRIT

Acts 1:8 NIV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The word used here for POWER is Dynamis and is the same word used throughout the Gospels to describe the power Jesus used to perform miracles

When we put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to live out the life Jesus calls us to live.

Jesus says it plainly in John 14:26

John 14:26 NIV

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit, living inside of us will give us everything we need to do everything Jesus calls us to do.

YOU - Takeaway

I’m sure by now, you are thinking: okay I have my motivation correct, I agree that I can be a witness, and I agree that the Holy Spirit will give me what I need...

...BUT HOW???

The truth is, sharing your faith with someone is very simple.

1. Tell what your life was like BEFORE Jesus was a part of it

2. Tell the story of HOW you met Jesus

3. Tell what changed in your life AFTER starting a relationship with JESUS

4. INVITE them to join you at a church event, small group, or Sunday service

AND the best thing is that we already do this. Many of you did this when giving me suggestions on things my family should do in Kansas City.

Let me give you a recent example about something I have recently discovered that I have been sharing with people; maybe a few of you have heard this.

BEFORE

Growing up, my go to treat was a Reece’s peanut butter cup and Life was great.  The dance of peanut butter and chocolate was amazing. I ate as many as I could get my hands on. I particularly liked them frozen. I’m not sure what it was about frozen peanut butter and chocolate, but I loved it. I even made it a point to stop in Hershey. PA on a family trip to Gettysburg to visit the birthplace of the Reece's Peanut Butter Cup. I loved them.

[Picture: Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup]

HOW But my kids started watching YouTube and found out their favorite creators started candy brands... and after much begging we tried them. 

Ryan Trayhan started JOYRIDE a gummy style candy brand, that is good, but nothing special.

Mr Beast started Feastables an ethically sourced chocolate company. Their chocolate bars are good, but again nothing special.

But their peanut butter cups changed my life.  The peanut butter is creamy.

[Picture: Feastables Creamy BP Cup]

It is not that gritty peanut butter / powdered sugar mixture that Hershey uses. There is more chocolate surrounding the peanut butter so you don’t have the problem of all the chocolate getting stuck to the wrapper and forced to scrape it off with your front teeth. And there are better ratios of peanut butter to chocolate.

[Picture: Feastables Chocolate / BP Ratio]

They optimized the peanut butter to chocolate ratio to create a symphony of flavors being played by your taste buds.  It is so perfect, I don’t have to or even want to freeze them anymore. Thinking about it, I honestly think I only froze them to keep the chocolate from peeling off and getting stuck on the wrapper. Oh, and Feastables doesn’t even use a wrapper. They took my favorite candy and in the words of my favorite early 2000’s food network chef Emeril Lagasse, “kicked it up to notches unknown”. 

They even have a hazelnut chocolate filled version, and make fun holiday shapes.

[Picture: Feastables Hazelnut Cup]

[Picture: Feastables Jack-o-Lantern]

[Picture: Feastables Snow Man]

AFTER Since my first bite, I can barely eat a Reece’s cup.  The peanut butter tastes gritty, there isn't enough chocolate. I can't go back to the way I used to live, even though at the time I thought it couldn’t get any better.  

INVITE

Have you tried a Feastables cup.  If you haven't, they sell them at Target, I believe it will change your life too. 

Sharing with others what we’re excited about is easy and natural.

...

Sharing our walk with Jesus should be just as easy and natural.

Here’s my 30 second witness:

BEFORE

I grew up in a Christian household. We went to church every week. I thought my life was good. I had a loving family, I did well in school, I had friends. I had no complaints. Live was good.

HOW

But there was something missing. No matter what I did, no matter how big the goals were that I set or accomplished, it never felt like it was enough. I could never satisfy the longing for something greater. I turned to accomplishment for fulfillment. I turned to sports (playing Hockey), I turned to school (looking to grades and degrees), and eventually employment (looking to my income and position) for validation, but nothing seemed to satisfy.

Then I started looking at faith and church differently. I stopped equating church to drivers training; a boring class you attend to learn the rules that keep you from a fiery death. I started looking at faith less about rules to follow and more about a relationship to pursue. I started to believe that God loved me just the way I was, and sent His son Jesus to die for my sins before I ever accomplished or deserved anything.

AFTER Since then I don’t feel that emptiness. I don’t feel that longing for something more. I still work hard, I still try to accomplish the goals I set, but I set those goals with God and trust that He will give me the strength and ability to achieve for Him and for His Kingdom. My job is no longer to solve every problem, but to obediently follow the guidance from the God that created everything and loves me dearly. I’m only responsible for obeying God’s guidance, God’s responsible for the result.

I thought my life was good before seeking a deeper relationship with God, but I can’t imagine going back.

INVITE

I believe God wants the same for you. If you’re interested, I’d love if you could come to church with me Sunday so you can see for yourself. I’ll even buy you lunch afterwards :).

Sharing your story is that simple, and God can use your Witness in amazing ways.

WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action

The bible gives us a picture of how the simple act of sharing your story can be used by God to change 1,000’s of lives.

In Mark 5:1-20 Jesus take the disciples to the Decapolis (an area that contained 10 Roman cities on the East side of the Sea of Galilee.

There Jesus meets a demon possessed man and heals him.

After the man is healed, Mark writes:

Mark 5:18–20 NIV

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

This may seem like Jesus is being mean, turning away someone who genuinely wanted to follow Jesus and learn from Him, but without any training, without any guidance, Jesus tells this man to Go and be a witness. Tell the story of what he has seen, head, and experienced.

The man obeys, and a few chapters later in Mark 8:1-10 we find out that it is this very place where the feeding of the 4,000 occurs.

One man’s witness, led to 4,000 men (probably >16,000 people) being invited to follow Jesus.

The truth is,

The one thing we (as Christians) have that others don’t is the story of how God is working in our lives

BUT to follow Jesus call to be His Witness, we need to share that story

AND if we obediently share our witness of what Jesus has done in and through us, God can do immeasurably more than we can dream or imagine (Just like he did for that demon possessed man)

The question we all have to answer for ourselves is WILL WE?

Will we obey Jesus’ call to be His witness to the people in our lives that don’t yet have a relationship Him?

Think of the amazing things God could do through The Light KC if all we did was regularly shared our story, our witness, with the people in our lives.

WHO IS YOUR ONE?

Who is the one person God is calling you to share your story with, to pray for, and to INVITE.

There is no better time to invite someone to church than Christmas Eve.

We’re going to add seats to the sanctuary in faith that we all obey God’s call to INVITE the people in our lives that don’t have a church home.

We easily share with relative strangers things we get excited about, or that change our lives for the better, like a new Peanut Butter Cup.

Let’s be a people that shares just as easily the only thing that can truly change lives, our faith in the SAVING POWER OF JESUS.

PRAYER 

Will you join me in prayer...

SONG 

RESOLUTION CARDS (tape to your bathroom mirror)

Next step in your relationship with God

Next step in serving family and community

Next step in finding, praying for, and inviting your ONE

NEXT STEP CARDS

Put your faith in Jesus

Re-commit your life to Jesus

Baptism

Become a Member

Serve

WHITE BUCKET

As we enter into our final song, I want to open the steps up front as an altar to anyone who needs God this week. The steps are open for you to pray to the God who is with you, who loves you, you wants to give you His peace.

‌

You may feel a hand on your shoulder as I or one of the elders join you in prayer.

BENEDICTION 

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

This week...

Let’s stop believing that sharing our faith and inviting our friends to consider a relationship with Jesus is only for those with the Spiritual Gift of Evangelism

Let’s pray about and answer for ourselves WHY we follow Jesus; not to get what we want, but because of what He has done, and because we know that His way is the best way to live

Let’s stop trying to DEFEND Jesus, and simply live out His call for us to be His WITNESSES, sharing with others what we have SEEN, HEARD, and EXPERIENCED

Let’s share boldly, knowing that the Holy Spirit will give us the same power Jesus used to perform miracles, and that the Holy Spirit will teach and remind us of everything we need to know.

Let’s go out this week, and take advantage of the opportunity that we have to invite people to one of the easiest church services for them to say YES to attending; the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Let’s go out and witness to all Jesus has done in and through us

Quick reminder...

Christmas Party - December 14th at 5 PM

Christmas Worship Night - December 21 at 6 PM

Christmas Eve Service - December 24 at 4 PM

Digging Deeper Bible Study - Wednesday at 6 PM - Programming for all ages

If you’re new, please stop by our info desk, or see me. We’d love to say “hi” and get you know you a bit better.

I hope you have a great week.

Go in peace.

You are dismissed.

DISCIPLESHIP QUESTIONS (download into APP)

Can you think of a time when you shared something exciting with your friends? How can sharing your faith be similar?

What motivates you to follow Jesus, and how does this influence your desire to share your faith with others?

How can understanding your own faith journey help you share your testimony more effectively with others?

Why do you believe it’s important to share your faith with friends? What fears might hold you back?

What does it mean to you to be a witness for Jesus in your work, school, or social circles?

In what ways do you see the Holy Spirit empowering you to be a witness for Christ?

What practical steps can you take this week to begin inviting non-believers into conversations about faith?

How can you identify opportunities to invite your friends to explore faith with you?

In what ways can you use your personal interests and experiences to connect and share about Jesus with others?

Who is one person in your life that you feel prompted to invite to church or a church event this Christmas?