Week Five – Day 6
SERVICE DAY – Today it is time to put this prayer in action by inviting someone to attend church with you tomorrow. Ask God to lead you to the right person or people to invite, pray that He will give you words to say, and trust that God will soften their hearts to accept your invitation.
Devotional:
Read Luke 14:15-24
This week we are being challenged to share our faith in Christ with others. There are a few things this passage can teach us about doing so:
Firstly, Jesus’ heart is that the invitation be extended to all people. There is no such thing as a preferred group in God’s Kingdom. Jesus invites people from all walks of life, backgrounds, colors, and religious upbringings. This can be challenging because Jesus doesn’t tell us to just go and get people who are like us, but to extend the message to those on the outskirts of society, the marginalized, the oppressed, the hated. As Jesus’ servants (and friends) we have been handed the invitation and have been asked to go out to the highways and byways with this message: “You’re invited! Come! There is still so much room at the table!” And they certainly are invited.
Secondly, this message is a warning. We must never get complacent because we are simply on the invitation list. An invitation is useless. It’s just a piece of paper if we don’t attend. Just like those in Jesus’ parable, it’s easy to make an excuse and cancel. Be on the offensive against making excuses. There is nothing more important than Jesus’ Kingdom in a believer’s life (Matthew 6:33). What often trumps Jesus’ invitation to us? Specifically, our jobs, money, and family. If we truly want to be able to make an impact for the Lord through sharing our faith, priorities must be organized; excuses thrown away.
Service Suggestions:
- Maybe offer to take them to lunch after the service to answer any questions they may have or to share your own personal faith story.
Prayer Focus:
Let’s ask the Lord to make our hearts like His by loving those that He loves. Let’s ask that He would give us boldness to step out of our comfort zones and reach the marginalized, the oppressed, and the hated. Let’s ask God to allow our priorities to be in the right place so that not only will we be in right relationship with Him, but we would be able to make an impact for the Kingdom.
Key Scripture:
“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.” Luke 14:23 NIV
