Nothing But Christ

In recent weeks I have invited two different families to come with us on a Sunday morning. One family has some religious background a little different than mine, and one really has no religious background at all. Leading up to the Sunday they were going to visit with us I was so hopeful that everything would go perfectly. I wanted an engaging song leader, heartfelt prayers that weren’t too long or too short, a thought-provoking Lord’s Supper talk, an energetic lesson, etc. I hoped their kids wouldn’t get upset during worship, that enough people would come talk to them and be inviting, that the Bible class they and their children went to would leave them wanting to come back for more! I wanted everything to go just perfectly so I could win them over to “coming back to church with us.” As of when I am typing this, neither family has come back for a second visit. But a few days ago I was sitting in a home Bible study with a wise man who I really look up to and he said something that struck me. He said he never invites someone to come to church with him…he invites them to come and worship his God with him. It’s not about winning them over to any of the externals of the church life, it’s about winning them over to Jesus who has changed MY life! When someone comes to know and fall in love with Jesus, they won’t care how long the man prayed, how elaborate the nursery is, or how “entertaining” the worship service was to them. 

Now my prayer changes from, “Lord, help them to come back to church with me” to “Lord, help me teach them who Jesus is!”

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And I, when I came to you, brothers,[a] did not come proclaiming to you the testimony[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men[c] but in the power of God.”

Blessings to all of you!

Brianne Johnson, Florence, AL