Romans 1:16-17, Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 9:23-26
If
you think about it, the real question to ask isn't why to invite our friends to
church, but why not? In other words, why DON'T we invite our friends to church
- what makes it awkward or uncomfortable?
There
are a few reasons we might feel odd or unprepared to invite our friends to
church. Maybe when we're not at church on Sunday our life doesn't look like
it's been changed by Christ so we don't want to seem like a hypocrite and
invite them to be around us at church when we act 'holy.' Maybe we're afraid
they'll think differently of us because obviously all Christians are 'weird.'
Maybe we just forget what life was like before we had hope and have lost our
urgency.
The truth is, the real reason behind all of these excuses is
selfishness. We're more interested in what will make US feel comfortable than
we are with caring about our lost friends.
The
harsh reality is that if we really cared about those around us, we would
realize that their number one problem is that they don't know Christ. Why
wouldn't we want to offer them the chance to respond to Him since we've been
given that chance and it's changed our life? When God changes us, it motivates
us to spread that great news to others!
Practical Steps
// Being completely honest, list a few reasons why you've avoided inviting your
friends to church. Then pray over each one of them - that God would give you
compassion and courage instead of focusing on yourself.
