Everybody likes to be invited. God invites everybody to believe in Jesus, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44).

Jesus invites everybody to come to Him and receive forgiveness from the burden of sin, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 6:28).

The promise of heaven is an open invitation to anyone who will “COME” by faith and receive Jesus as their Savior, “The Spirit and the bride (Church) say ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears  say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:17).

The gospel of Jesus is given to us so that we may receive it, believe it and come to Jesus in repentance and faith.
 
The church of Jesus Christ gathers in response to Christ’s invitation to come, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

A church family offers an open invitation to all who wish to worship God, and share in His blessings, “O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; and let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:1-2).
 
There is power in the invitation for God’s people to gather together to pray for each other and to serve the Lord in unity and love, “…they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, and the Spirit was giving them utterance” (Acts 2:4).

The invitation that God offers His church is to believe, to come together in unity and faith to receive the power He offers that makes such a glorious difference in everything around us.
 
God is a God of the open invitation. He invites all to receive Him and receive all that He promises. That’s why our church invites people to join us. We invite friends, family, neighbors and even strangers to come and join with us because we ourselves have been invited. People want to be invited to come to Jesus. Folks need to be invited.
 
There was an attorney who after reading several scriptures and meditating on God’s love and willingness to forgive our sins, decided to write all his clients who owed him money and cancel all their debt. After about a week, the letters he sent began to be returned from the post office. Only a couple of the letters were returned with thank you letters inside from people who had their debts forgiven. The rest refused to sign the certified mail form fearing that the letter inside was a notice to pay up or be sued. They missed the invitation to be debt free from their obligation by saying no to this caring and kind lawyer.
 
When we invite somebody to church, we are just extending to them the invitation that God has offered us. When you tell somebody about Jesus and ask them to receive His loving invitation, you repeat the invitation that you responded to when someone told us about Jesus. When you ask two people to come to church, it is very likely that one will take you up on it. It’s a two-for-one deal.

Commit yourself today to extend Christ’s invitation. Return the favor. Ask someone to join you here at Grace.

​Remember, people want to be invited.

Have you ever been disappointed at church?
 
Sometimes people don’t listen to you like they should. Often things don’t work out like you want them to because somebody stood in your way or did not let you do what you thought was right. People at church are like people everywhere. We are prone to mistakes, misunderstandings, and overall self-interest and self-preservation when it comes to working with others. 
 
Think about it. A drive to work in the mornings does not always work out smoothly. Somebody cuts you off, or gets too close to your bumper, or a clog in flow of traffic makes you late. At the grocery store people do not always do what you think they should. Sometimes even friends say things before thinking about what they say leaving hurt feelings that have to be mended.
 
Even well oiled and successful teams like the Georgia Bulldogs fail in their teamwork during championship games. They must fix what’s broken and practice like crazy to do better the next time. We all witnessed that happen between the SEC Championship loss to Alabama and the National Championship win to the same team this past Monday night. Think about the money spent on football in both states. Think about the leadership, the hours spent in preparation, the salaries paid, the players recruited, everything it takes to win a national championship on both teams, and still somebody loses. Think about the fans from each state who paid thousands to attend the game. Somebody gets disappointed even in the most televised, most important, most commercialized game of the year. Disappointment happens no matter the cost of the ticket.
 
In 1858, the Illinois state legislature, using an obscure statute, sent Stephen A. Douglas to the United States legislature rather than Abraham Lincoln, even though Lincoln had won the popular vote. When a friend asked Lincoln how he felt about it, he said, “Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.” We all feel that way in our disappointments.
 
My mom used to say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try—try again.” My grandkids say about disappointments, “Suck it up and move on.” The Bible says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). That is amazing. God takes all our disappointments, our fears, and our flaws and perfects them into the work of His kingdom. I don’t know how He does that, but I am confident that He is in control and oversees the outcome.
 
Are there ruff places along the way?
 
Absolutely! But Jesus is able to take my flaws and my disappointments and transpose them into His perfect will and purpose. That keeps me going. That keeps me coming back again and again even when I’m disappointed. That keeps me expecting the best. That keeps me loving God’s people, and His church. God is greater than my disappointment.