Invite Someone

Greetings in the Name of our Lord,

This past Sunday, we had the largest attendance so far this year! Keep it up church!

This week the time changes, so don’t forget to move your clocks forward. Plus… these next two Sundays come before and after Spring Break for the local schools. Let’s show our Lord that we will not let anything get in the way of our weekly time for worship. 

Invite someone to worship this Sunday. Studies show that people respond to an invite to worship. Almost 100% of those invited are appreciative and 40% will attend. Think about those family members who live in the area, work colleagues, schoolmates, neighbors, friends, or someone who once attended Stonebridge UMC. Invite them and see what happens. 

Just let them know the great things that are happening here. Share the good news of what we are doing with all ages. Make sure they know that the miracle of God’s presence is flowing through the hallways and worship areas of Stonebridge Church. 

Let them know that we are continuing our journey with Jesus toward the Crucifixion and Easter Resurrection through song and sermon. We are calling these sermons “Seeing the Real Jesus”. This Sunday we examine the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in John 18:1-11. 

We often think of this event as a depressing narrative of human failure. Instead, what we see is the power of God through Christ as Jesus takes control of the situation. Jesus shows His love for us by submitting himself for us against the evil of the world. 

Matthew, Mark, and Luke focus on the misguided betrayal of Judas; the confusion of Jesus’ followers; the desperate religious leaders swirling in the background, willing to do anything to stop Jesus. These three Gospels focus more on the failure of the followers of Jesus. Subsequently, this is what we remember because it reveals our own failure to fully see the real Jesus. But this is not the whole story! 

The Gospel of John focuses on Jesus. On the night of the betrayal and arrest… and really on every dark night of life… it is Jesus who takes control and gives himself up, to stand in the way of evil for our sake. 

In seeing the real Jesus through the eyes of John… what shall we do? John shows us that even though Jesus has the power to resist the arrest, he goes willingly in such a way to protect his disciples. 

We underestimate the power of Jesus. We look at the accumulation of the losses in our lives or the condition of the world around us and wring our hands saying, “Oh no, what are we going to do? Things are so bad, and they are going to get much worse.” We even take things into our own hands and pull our emotional, financial, or intellectual “swords” in vain. 

I think it is safe to say the disciples underestimated the power and love of the Master. The question for us is… will we? Our challenge is to remember the promises and victory of Jesus; to never underestimate the power of the King of kings. Let us always remember that God is all powerful at all times. Whatever may come our way, our God is bigger. God’s love will always overcome the evil of this world. 

Do you need the power of Christ in your life? Come experience the love and grace of our Lord and experience the spirit that is Stonebridge UMC.

See you Sunday! And all the people to invite!

Pastor John Allen