The Invitation of Jesus PART 2

CHILD DEDICATION:

This is such an exciting moment for us as a church family. Today we get to come alongside a family as they dedicate their three boys—Kyrie, age 6; Morrison, age 4; and Brixson, 3 months old—to the Lord.

Psalm 127:3 says:

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”

Here at The Hub, we don't baptize infants or children who have not yet made their own decision to follow Jesus. We believe baptism is the public expression of a personal decision to believe and follow Christ.

Instead, we practice Child Dedication.

Dedication does not save a child—Jesus saves. Today, Mom and Dad are publicly saying:

“God has entrusted these boys to us, and with His help, we will raise them to know Jesus, know His Word, and see what following Him looks like through our lives.”

Deuteronomy 6 tells parents to love God wholeheartedly and then teach His ways to their children in the everyday moments of life.

And there is something especially beautiful about today. Later in this service, Mom and Dad will be baptized, publicly declaring their own decision to follow Jesus.

Today they're saying, “As we follow Jesus, we want to lead our boys toward Him too.”

INVITE FAMILY FORWARD

At this time, I'd like to invite Kyrie, Morrison, Brixson, Mom and Dad, and any family members who will be intentionally supporting them on this journey to come forward.

TO MOM AND DAD

Do you recognize Kyrie, Morrison, and Brixson as gifts entrusted to you by God, and do you commit—with God's help—to raising them to know His Word, experience His love, and see through your lives what it means to follow Jesus?

WE DO.

Do you commit to praying that each of these boys will one day personally place his faith in Jesus Christ and choose to follow Him as Lord?

WE DO.

TO THE FAMILY & CHURCH

I'm going to ask the extended family and our church family to stand.

Will you commit to walking alongside this family—to pray for them, encourage them, support them, and help point Kyrie, Morrison, and Brixson toward Jesus?

If you will, say:

WE DO.

ANOINTING

Kyle and Payton, with your permission, I would like to anoint each of your boys.

Kyrie, we dedicate you to the Lord and pray that as you grow, you will know Jesus personally, discover the gifts He has placed within you, and follow Him wherever He leads.

Morrison, we dedicate you to the Lord and pray that you will grow knowing how deeply God loves you and that your life will be filled with His joy, love, and presence.

Brixson, your story is just beginning. We dedicate you to the Lord and pray that God's hand will be upon your life, protecting and guiding you, and that one day you will personally choose to follow Jesus.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for Kyrie, Morrison, and Brixson. Thank You for these three incredible gifts You have entrusted to this family.

We pray that Your hand would be upon their lives. Protect them, guide them, and surround them with people who will continually point them toward Jesus.

Give Mom and Dad wisdom, patience, strength, and grace as they raise these boys. Help them not only to teach their children about Jesus, but to show them what following Jesus looks like through the way they live.

And Lord, we pray for the day when each of these boys will personally choose to put his faith in Jesus and follow Him.

Today Kyle and Payton are saying, “We want to lead our boys toward Jesus,” and later they will step into the waters of baptism and say, “We have decided to follow Jesus ourselves.”

May this be a defining day for this family and the beginning of a legacy of faith that continues for generations.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

WHEN THE INVITATION BEARS FRUIT

Last week we talked about the invitation of Jesus: Come and see.

We talked about relationships—how God uses ordinary people and ordinary relationships to introduce people to Jesus.

But today I didn’t want to preach on the invitation again, we are suppose to see it, to experience what happens as we invite, as we build relationships, and we have already witnessed this morning fruit of the invitation!

We're going to hear testimonies. At the end of service, there are going to be baptisms. That alone sounds like an amazing service, but even after that then we're going outside, opening our doors to our community, and doing it all over again—inviting people in.

So what does the Bible say happens when people encounter Jesus and actually respond?

Acts 2 gives us a picture.

ACTS 2:37-47 NLT

37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”

41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

The Believers Form a Community

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer.

43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

I just shared this same passage a few weeks back when talking about KOININIA- part of the fruit of invitation is the community, the fellowship, the oneness we experience because of and through our relationship with Jesus.

Peter has just preached Jesus to a crowd. He tells them about the cross. He tells them about the resurrection.

And then Acts 2:37 says: “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart.”

I love that. Because before anything changed around them, something happened inside them.

1. THE GOSPEL CHANGES HEARTS

They weren't entertained. They weren't impressed by a church service. THEY WERE CUT TO THE HEART. That's conviction.

That's the Holy Spirit revealing: I need Jesus. And their response was: “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter answers in verse 38: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”

There is the Gospel response.

REPENT. Repentance means more than feeling bad. It means turning. It means having a changed mind.

I was going my way. Now I'm turning toward Jesus. He makes me new and gives me a new mind, a mind of Christ. That's where real fruit begins. Not behavior modification. A CHANGED HEART PRODUCES A CHANGED DIRECTION.

2. CHANGED HEARTS BECOME PUBLIC LIVES

Verse 41 says: “Those who accepted his message were baptized.”

That's what we're going to witness today. Baptism doesn't save you.

JESUS SAVES YOU.

But when Jesus changes you on the inside, eventually there should be evidence on the outside. That's what baptism declares:

“I belong to Jesus.” Today you're going to watch people get into that water who have made that decision.

They're not saying: “I have everything figured out.”

They're saying: “I KNOW WHO I'M FOLLOWING.” That's fruit.

3. THE FRUIT DIDN'T STOP AT BAPTISM

But here's what I really want the Church to catch today.

Acts 2 doesn't end at verse 41. If it did, we might think the goal was simply: Get people saved and baptized.

But look at verse 42:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

They didn't just make a decision. THEY BECAME DISCIPLES. They learned the Word. They prayed. They ate together. They built relationships. They became a community. And I think that's important for us because sometimes we celebrate the moment someone comes to Jesus—and we should! But salvation isn't the finish line. We discussed the chairs. this is chair one- moving to chair 2

IT'S THE BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE.

That's why we have these chairs. Chair 1 matters. Come and see. Explore. Ask questions. Encounter Jesus. But eventually Jesus calls us deeper.

As we receive the invitation Jesus has for us we not only will experience a different eternity, but JESUS CHANGES HOW WE LIVE RIGHT NOW.

It changes marriages. It changes parenting. It changes priorities. It changes homes.

JESUS CHANGED PEOPLE in Acts.

Changed people became a community. That community lived differently. And other people saw it. And the Lord kept adding people.

That's the fruit of the invitation.

THE CHURCH BECOMES PART OF THE INVITATION

Sometimes we think evangelism is just telling someone: “Come to church with me.” That's part of it. But Acts 2 shows something deeper.

THEIR LIFE TOGETHER BECAME AN INVITATION.

People saw generosity. People saw community. People saw worship. People saw changed lives. People saw something real.

And they wanted to know: “WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?”

Church, that's what I want The Hub to be. Not simply a place where people hear about Jesus it is to be a place where we experience Jesus. — As we seek Jesus in relationship, abiding in Him, as He abides in us we will bare much fruit!!

A PEOPLE AMONG WHOM THEY CAN SEE WHAT JESUS DOES.

They should see marriages being restored. Families changing. People serving. People forgiving. People being generous.

People getting baptized. People telling their stories. People who shouldn't even like each other sitting at the same table, having each others backs! That's the Church.

TESTIMONY

Last week I ask if anyone wanted to a quick testimony of their invitation story, or how God was moving in their lives. It was amazing what was shared, and shortly after service was over, I was made aware there were more testimonies in the room.

Revelation 12:11 says: And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by the words of their testimony.

When we hear the word testimony, it is something that God has done in someone elses life, and we share it because HE CAN DO IT AGAIN! Testimonies increase our faith, give us hope where we are. So please, BRIEFLY.

AFTER TESTIMONIES

This is what Acts 2 looks like. Not exactly the same circumstances— BUT THE SAME JESUS IS STILL CHANGING PEOPLE.

And maybe you're sitting here thinking:

“I don't have that.” Maybe, you have never actually surrendered your life to Jesus. You have recieved the invitation, but you thought it was to enter the building. The reality is the invitation is to let Jesus be a part of you.

Listen again to the question they asked Peter: “What shall we do?” And his first word was:

REPENT.

Turn. You don't clean yourself up and then come to Jesus. You come to Jesus and let Him make you new. Jesus died for your sin.

He rose from the grave. And Scripture says: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Not everyone who becomes religious. Not everyone who gets their act together. but EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON JESUS.

So maybe today the invitation has reached you. You've come. You've seen. And now the Holy Spirit is asking:

“WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?” as the worship team makes their way up front-

I want to ask you that same question. What will you do with Jesus? He has invited you, the invitation of accepting His gift, Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. He is inviting you into a relationship with him, not so you can become religious, or put on a christian tshirt, but so that He can wash you clean, make you new, You need to know, that there is nothing you can do to make the Lord love you more than He does right now. So I want to ask you to respond today. Respond to whatever He is calling you to. The way we do baptisms here are a little different, we do them as a part of our altar call. As the worship team begins, anyone who will be getting baptized please come up. As we are witnessing and celebrating their baptisms, I also want you to respond. The altars are open, we have people that will pray for you, and if you’re being called to be baptized, I would love to baptize you!

Baptisms

Acts 2:41: Those who accepted his message were baptized. And today we're going to celebrate people who are saying: “JESUS HAS CHANGED MY LIFE, AND I BELONG TO HIM.” Let’s pray.