The Great Commission | A Sermon on Matthew 28:16-20

Introduction
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?  What would you do with it?  I asked people on Facebook and here’s what they said:

• Patience
• Time travel - so I could hit all my grandchildren’s ballgames and not have to choose!
• The ability to heal - both yourself and others
• Omniscience - to be all knowing
• The power/charisma to convince people
• Ultimate faithfulness to be able to turn all concerns to Jesus and accept his Will unconditionally with Praise and Glory to God.
• Teleportation
• Invisibility
• The ability to fly
• be to cure cancer
• be to instill love and compassion into every person’s heart
• to be able to duplicate themselves
• Ask powerful questions that helped people reflect on how much they are loved by God such that their character would manifest the fruit of the Spirit
• To ensure that no children go to bed hungry

In our passage today, Jesus says He has been given a super power:  all authority in heaven/earth; then He tells what He wants to do with it.

Matthew 28:16-20
¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

“…but some doubted”
Before we talk about Jesus' authority and what He wants to do with it, I want to point out the first thing that grabbed me in this passage because I think it’s really important.  It says they worshipped Jesus, but some doubted.  They are with the risen Jesus, in the flesh, but some still doubted.  

That amazes to me! Then I realize I have also personally seen Jesus do some amazing things. 
He has provided for me – out of a broken, impoverished home; and I'm still here when many of my friends didn't make it.  God granted me a beautiful wife.  He helped me raise three successful kids.  He saw me through 25 years of ministry - ordination, ministry struggles (staff changes, addictions, fires, floods, disaffiliation).  God has been with me through all of this, yet sometimes I still doubt.

So, if you sometimes doubt, don’t beat yourself up.  Jesus still loves you whether you are brimming with confidence or struggling or just hanging on trying to believe.  And Jesus still gives you a mission.  The mission is based on His authority, not our certainty.   Jesus says, “ I am with you always…”

Authority
Now let’s talk about Jesus’ authority.  What would you do if you had “all authority in heaven and on earth”?  Jesus had all authority.  He could have used it to make people bow down to Him, to serve Him, to build His throne.  He even could have used His power and authority to snap HIs fingers and fix the whole world all by Himself in an instant.  But he didn’t.

Jesus chose to use His authority to commission us.  Rather than doing something all by Himself, He gives us the honor of doing it with Him.  He must have done that for a very important reason, because we’re idiots!  So, there must be something about the God of Heaven and Earth inviting His children to get involved that’s really important.  I think it is part of the healing process for us to help God in His work to save our world.

How do you use your influence?  Do you use it to control?  Protect yourselves?  Elevate yourselves?  Do you use it selfishly or do you use it to empower others?  Jesus used His authority to empower us to do something.  What exactly did He empower us for?

Verses 19-20 tell us we are to make disciples, baptize, and teach.  Let’s look at each of these.  We are to make disciples.  This is the main command but do we know what it means?  It doesn’t just mean to win converts, gain new church members, or get people to attend church.  We’re called to make disciples.

We are called to make disciple.

A disciple is a follower of Jesus.  

A disciple is someone who learns from Jesus.  

A disciple is someone who begins to live like Jesus.  

And a disciple is someone who makes disciples

Jesus also told us to baptize.
Jesus also commissioned us to baptize people.  Baptism publicly identifies a person with Christ.  It says, they are a member of God’s family.  

Way back in the Old Testament, God called Abraham to leave his home and go to a promised land he would show him.  And God said He would make Abraham the father of a great nation that would be God's special chosen people.  And God told Abraham that every child should be circumcised at 8-days old.  Circumcision would be the sign that they were God's chosen people.  Them, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul said baptism is the new circumcision--the sign that Christians are God's people.

It is our tradition in the Methodist Church to baptize our children to claim them for Christ—to say they are part of the family of God.  When they grow up, they choose Christ for themselves.  Ultimately, we baptize people because, someone who is baptized has a new identity in Christ.  People today identify themselves in all kinds of ways:  parent, American, a Georgia bulldog fan, introvert/extrovert, etc. You can be all those things, but Christ should be your primary identifier.  Baptism is the moment we say, ‘I belong to Jesus now.’

Jesus said: “Teach Them..”
Jesus commissioned us to teach people to obey everything He commanded.  We’re not just teaching them about Jesus, because knowing information about Jesus is not the same as following Jesus.  We’re to teach people to obey Jesus’ commands.

What Jesus commissioned His followers to do is like raising a child.  Think about it.  We’re called to bring people into God’s family and then teach them how to live.  Then, they go out and bring more people into God’s family and teach them how to live.

If we’re not helping people grow in Christ, then we’re not fully doing what Jesus called us to do. 

Holy Communion
So, here we are.  Some us worship.  Some of us doubt.  We do both at different times--and sometimes a the same time!  Jesus doesn’t wait for perfect faith.  He doesn’t hold back His mission.  He speaks with all the authority of  Heaven and Earth and He commissions us to make disciples, to baptize, to teach.

But before we go out into the world to serve, to try and live out this calling, Jesus invites us to come to Him.  Because it begins with what Jesus has already done for us.  

One of the most sacred ways He reminds us what He’s done is Holy Communion.  At this table:

• We remember His sacrifice
• We receive His grace
• We experience His presence

And I would remind you something we’ve learned today: 
this invitation isn’t just for people with strong faith. 
It’s also for those who still have questions and doubts.

So today, if you have confidence—come.
If you have doubts—come.
If you long to believe—come.
Because Jesus meets us right here in all of these.

The same Jesus who said, ‘Go and make disciples,’ also says,
‘Come to the table.  Taste and see.’

 

Jesus Searches for the Lost | A Sermon on Luke 15

Introduction
If we say we are Christians, then we follow Jesus.  We obey His teachings, follow His way of life, and do what He did.  Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).  If we follow Him, searching for the lost should be our top priority because:
Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we.

Luke 15:1-2
¹ Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. ² This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

I want to pause here, because this is a key to understanding what comes next.  Jesus is going to share three stories for the Pharisees and teachers of religious law (who were considered the most religious, most righteous people of Jesus’ day) because they were complaining about the sort of sinful people Jesus associated with. 

Luke 15:3-7
³ So Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. ⁶ When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Jesus Searches for Lost Sheep
A lot of people struggle with this parable.  Leave 99 sheep for the one that’s lost?  I think we struggle because we’re worried the 99 will be in danger if left unattended.

A clue to understanding this is that Jesus actually asks his listeners what they would do.  “If a man has a hundred sheep and one gets lost, what will he do?”  It’s a rhetorical question.  Everyone Jesus was talking to knew the answer.  They would leave the 99 and search for the lost.  They knew the 99 would be safe because:  they were together, they were probably in a sheep fold, they may have other shepherds guarding them.  IE, they are safe.

But that one lost sheep was in great danger.  Predators search for lost sheep that are weak and vulnerable all by themselves.  If you ever want to know a good reason why you need to be part of a church, it’s because we are very much like sheep.  We need the safety of the flock.  We are in great danger when we get off by ourselves.  1 Peter 5:8 says: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  You need the safety of the flock.

But if someone wanders off and gets lost, Jesus goes searching for them because:  Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we.  Now, there’s a second story.

Luke 15:8-10
⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

It’s an Urgent Search!
The silver coin Jesus is talking about was a drachma.  It was worth a full day’s wages.
So I figure in Butt’s County, that’s about $230! 

Some things are worth more than their monetary value.  About 6 months after my youngest child was born, we took a vacation to Hilton Head, SC.  This was back before smart phones with video cameras on them.  So we had one of those camcorders.  Do you remember those?  I took it on the vacation to capture some family memories together.  And we went on a put put adventure.

I was determined to get the best score.  On one of the wholes, I set the camcorder down so I could concentrate on the put.  And sure enough, by the end of the 18 holes, I had the best score!  (Proud Dad moment, right?  Yeah, who cares, right?)  Well, as I was celebrating, I realized I didn't have the camcorder anymore!

It was lost.  And that thing wasn't cheap!  But even worse, even more precious than the camcorder was the tape inside it.  It was the same tape that had the footage of my youngest daughter's birth and the first 6 months of her life! 

I frantically zoomed backwards through the miniature golf course, hole by hole until I found the camcorder (and the precious, irreplaceable tape inside).  And the relief I felt reminded me of the woman who found the coin in Jesus' parable. 

But how much more valuable is a human being?  And not just their physical body, but their eternal soul inside!  But thank God:  Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we. 

Now just in case anyone didn’t think Jesus was serious about seeking and saving the lost, He told a 3rd story.  And remember, Jesus is telling these stories to the “Church People” of His day–the ones who were the most religious, who always went to worship, and lived good lives.

Luke 15:1-32
¹¹ To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴ About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸ I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

²⁰ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.^[b]’

²² “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³ And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶ and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹ but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰ Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

³¹ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Who’s Really Lost Here?
We usually focus on the younger son in this story.  We even call it the story of the Prodigal Son who wanders off, comes to his senses, and then comes home (& the Father welcomes him back).   But Jesus wasn’t actually focusing on the lost younger son.  He’s focusing on the good son.  Because, remember who is Jesus talking to in this chapter?  He’s talking to religious people.  They are the “good sons” in the story, because they feel like they’ve always done the right things.  And they look down on Jesus for associating with notorious sinners, prostitutes, & tax collectors.  Meanwhile they view themselves as God’s chosen people–holy & pure (even though they weren’t).

And these “good people” are “lost” because they think they’re holy, but they’re not.  They are sinners in need of God’s saving grace.  But they are also blind because they think they are righteous.  Their self-righteousness keeps them from coming to the party for the lost who were found.  Their holier-than-thou attitude will lead to their eternal death if they don’t wake up!

And Jesus is a master story teller.  He doesn’t tell how the story ends.  Does the older son ever go in to celebrate with his brother?  Does he join the party?

We don’t know.

Jesus leaves the question unanswered.  And He looks at the Pharisees and teachers of religious law and with the questions in His eyes:   “Are you gonna keep standing out here in the cold dark night or are you gonna come inside and celebrate the Father’s extravagant love that welcomes everyone who was once lost, but now is found?”

Closing
Three different stories:  A Lost Sheep, A Lost Coin, and a Lost Son.  And all are found because:  Jesus searches for the lost.

So what are we going to do?  What are you going to do?  

…Jesus searches for the lost; and so should we.

Fish for People | A Sermon on Matthew 4:19

Matthew 4:19
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus called his first disciples.  Matthew 4:19 – Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Fish for People
This wasn’t just a call for the first disciples.  It’s a call Jesus gives to all of us.  To fish for people means to join Jesus in His mission of drawing others into God’s Kingdom through our witness, love, service, and proclamation of the gospel.

Jesus taught His disciples to fish by doing it.  Let’s look at a few examples of Jesus fishing for people. 

Jesus calling the disciples (Matthew 4:18-22) – Jesus meets fishermen where they are and uses their own experience to invite them into a new kind of fishing.  You have to understand people's lives and the needs and struggles and meet them where they are.  As Jesus called the disciples to be “fishers of people,” He didn’t just walk up randomly and make the invitation. He had watched these fishermen—He knew their daily lives, their routines, and their struggles. He understood what their work meant to them. Then He took something familiar—their skill in fishing—and gave it a greater, kingdom-minded purpose. Jesus said, in effect, “This thing you’ve been doing, I’m inviting you to do it in a whole new way. Not to catch fish, but to reach people. And I will show you how to do it.”  

The Woman at the Well (John 4) – Jesus engaged in personal conversation and drew the Samaritan woman to faith.  Here we see that Jesus isn’t just reaching out to people like Him—Galileans who grew up in the same region, or fellow Jews of the same background. Instead, He crosses cultural and social boundaries to speak with someone considered an outsider, someone others would have avoided. Jesus walks through Samaria, sits by a well, and notices a woman coming to draw water in the heat of the day. Why is she here now, when no one else is? Why not in the cool of the morning? He sees her situation, understands her deeper story, and begins a one-on-one conversation. Through truly seeing her and knowing her, He leads her to faith.

Feeding the Five Thousand (Mark 6:30-44) – Jesus includes the disciples in the act of caring for the crowd, showing them that “fishing” can also mean meeting practical needs that open hearts.  Jesus says, “I want you to take care of these people’s practical needs. They’ve been with us all day, and they’re hungry.” The disciples want to send them away, but Jesus responds, “You give them something to eat.” They’re confused—“How can we possibly feed them?”—and then He shows them how, performing His miraculous work. In doing this, Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, that fishing for people often begins with meeting practical needs. If someone is hungry, homeless, or without clothing, how can they truly hear about eternal life until their immediate needs are met? Care for their physical needs first, and hearts will be open to receive the hope of Christ.

Sending out the Twelve & the 72
Jesus didn’t just show the disciples how to fish for people by doing it all Himself.  He challenged the disciples to get out in the world and do some fishing themselves.  In Matthew 10:1-15, Jesus sends the 12 disciples out to practice preaching, healing, and proclaiming the Kingdom.  In Luke 10:1-20, He sent a broader group of 72 disciples out to share the message, showing that “fishing” is a task for all followers, not just the original twelve.

And the disciples learned well.  By the time we get to Acts 2, we see Peter preaching in Jerusalem and leading 3,000 people to believe in Jesus and be baptized.  But it wasn’t just about big numbers.  Every single person was important to the disciples because every person belongs in God’s Kingdom.  That’s why I love the story of Philip.  The story is found in Act 8:26-40, but let me summarize it.

It’s the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch was a high official, the treasurer to the queen of Ethiopia, riding in his chariot on the road home from Jerusalem. He had gone there to worship, but because he was a eunuch, the Law of Moses said he could not fully participate in the temple. So here he is, hungry to know God, yet feeling excluded. As he rides, he’s reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah about the Suffering Servant—someone who was despised and disfigured—and he’s wondering what it all means.

Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit tells Philip, “Go to that chariot.” Philip runs alongside and hears the eunuch reading Isaiah. He asks, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The eunuch replies, “How can I, unless someone explains it?” He invites Philip into the chariot, and Philip begins to share the good news: this prophecy is about Jesus, the Messiah, who gave His life so that all may be welcomed into God’s family. No barrier from your past, no wound, no exclusion can keep you out—because through Jesus, you are made whole.

The eunuch hears this, sees some water by the road, and says, “Look, here’s water. What’s to stop me from being baptized?” And in that moment, he is baptized into the family of Christ—fully included, fully loved, fully His.

Whether it was the 3,000 who responded to Peter’s preaching, or the one man Philip led to Christ, the disciples were faithfully doing it. They had learned well what it meant to fish for people.

Other Aspects of Fishing
It occurs to me that there’s a lot more to fishing than just the moment you cast out your nets.  My brother-in-law Joey is one of the best fishermen I know. Anytime we go to the beach on vacation, I get excited because I know Joey will be there—and that means we’re going to catch fish. Now, Joey isn’t necessarily better at casting a line or reeling in a fish than I am. I know how to rig the hooks, cast accurately, and set the hook just right. I’m as good at the mechanics of fishing as he is.

But here’s what makes Joey a great fisherman: he starts fishing long before we ever get to the beach. Months in advance, he’s studying the tides, the kinds of fish in season, the best times of day, and the best spots to fish. He asks around, gathers information, and prepares. By the time we show up, Joey knows exactly what bait to use, where to cast, and what to expect. I just get to do the fun part—cast the line and reel them in—because Joey has already done the hard work.

On top of that, Joey knows what kind of fish we’re catching, whether they’re keepers, how to clean them, and how to cook them. That’s what makes him an excellent fisherman—it’s not just the moment of casting a line, but the preparation, knowledge, and care that go into it.

Now let’s take that idea into our spiritual call to be fishers of people. Too often, when we think about fishing for men and women, we only think about the moment itself: What am I going to say? Will I know what to do? But real fishing begins long before the moment of encounter.

We prepare by spending time with Jesus, reading His Word, and letting Him shape us. That way, when we come alongside someone—like Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch—we’re ready. He just “happened” to be reading Isaiah, and Philip was able to say, “I know what that’s about.” That didn’t happen by accident; it was God at work in both of them. And God can do the same in you.

You may think, I don’t know the Bible well enough. But here’s the truth: you don’t have to know it all. God knows what’s coming. He may nudge you today to read Isaiah 40, and you might not know why. But four weeks later, you’ll find yourself in a dentist’s waiting room, and someone will bring it up—and suddenly you’ll realize God had you preparing for that moment all along.

It’s like maintaining your fishing gear. I’ve been there: I show up at the beach, throw my line out, and the reel locks up because I never cleaned it from last year. Is your spiritual life like that? When someone opens their heart and says, “My wife just told me she wants a divorce, and I don’t know what to do,” do you freeze up? Or are you ready because you’ve been walking with the Lord, keeping your nets clean and your heart prepared?

And fishing doesn’t end with the first catch. When someone says, “I’m coming to church with you Sunday,” don’t just say, “Great, see you there.” Meet them on the front porch. Walk in with them. Sit beside them. Help them find a small group, a class, or a place to serve. If they love to sing, introduce them to the choir. That’s what it means to cast the net and to follow through.

Fishing for people is so much more than one moment. It’s preparing beforehand, being ready in the moment, and walking with people afterward. That’s the full picture of what Jesus calls us to.

Essential: Casting Our Nets
Preparation is important—but at some point, you have to cast the net. You can do everything right beforehand, but if you never cast, you’ll never catch.

Jesus called His disciples to be “fishers of people,” and that same call comes to us today. So, let me ask you—who are you fishing for? Who in your life needs to experience God’s love, hear the good news, or see faith lived out through your example? Every one of us has family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers who need the hope of Christ. Following Jesus means not just being caught by His grace, but also casting our nets wide so that others might be drawn into His Kingdom.

World Communion Sunday
The disciples’ faithfulness in becoming fishers of people led to the rapid expansion of the Christian Church. As more and more people became followers of Christ, they too became fishers of people. Being fishers of people is not optional—it is essential. Any generation that fails in this calling faces decline and eventual death. But faithful disciples across the centuries have carried the gospel, and now followers of Christ are found in every corner of the globe. Today, on World Communion Sunday, we celebrate this witness to the spread of the faith. Though we speak different languages, eat different foods, and live in different nations, we are united as part of Jesus’ fishing crew—bound together by His sacrifice and the power of His resurrection. World Communion reminds us that all Christians are interconnected, breaking down denominational and cultural barriers. It is also a call for us to remember our mission to be fishers of people. What our world, our country, and our community need now more than ever is to live out the principles of forgiveness, grace, love, sacrifice, and service that Christ taught us. This is the only hope for our world.  Will you answer Christ’s invitation:  “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Christians Are Witnesses for Jesus. Amen!

Introduction
I'm not a die hard sports fan, but if I chose favorite teams, I would probably choose the Georgia Tech and Washington, and I'll tell you why.  My brother went to Georgia Tech.  He was eight years older than me and sometimes would invite me to come up and stay with him at college.  It was really cool.  And though we were never hard core college football fans, I guess if I had to choose a college team, I would choose Georgia Tech.  But really, our family's team was the Washington (formerly Redskins).  Why?  Well, even though I've lived most of my life in Georgia, I was born in Maryland (along with my brother and two sisters).  We all moved to Georgia when I was only about 7. So we left everything we knew behind and came to a strange new place--Macon, Georgia.  People thought we talked funny and we felt the same way about them.  And my family still rooted for Washington; it was sort of our thing we were proud of because of where we came from.  

In church service this past Sunday, I asked three people why they chose to be fans of their favorite team.  One was a Green Bay Packers fan.  One was a Georgia Southern fan.  Another was a Ole Miss fan.  I didn't warn them ahead of time that I was going to ask them why they liked that particular team.  I just asked them write in the middle of the sermon.  Not surprisingly, each one of them could easily share why they loved their team and each had a great story.  The Packer fan had a family connection to Wisconsin, near the Green Bay area.  The Georgia Southern fan and his wife both attended the college and actually met while working together at the original Zakby's in Statesboro.  The Ole Miss fan grew up near Oxford, Mississippi and saw a friend with an Ole Miss notebook when she was a young kid and eventually went there.

We usually don't have a hard time talking about our favorite teams.  If we're not into sports, there are probably lots of other things we love to talk about that seem natural--our kids, our favorite movies or TV shows, etc.

We like to support our favorite teams.  They’re important us for many reasons.

Today, I want to talk about being a witness for Jesus, because Jesus commanded His followers to be His witnesses.  I want to talk about 3 ways to be wintess for Jesus. If you are ready to learn, say Amen! Amen!

Acts 1:8
⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Explanation
The Book of Acts tells the story of how the early Church, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, told people everywhere about Jesus.  Every Christian told their family, their friends, their neighbors, their co-workers about Jesus.  It started in Jerusalem, where followers shared the amazing Good News that Jesus died and rose from the grave.  The Holy Spirit enabled them to do miracles, like the supernatural ability talk to people in other languages they didn't know so that those people could hear and understand the Good News about Jesus in their own native tongue.  No one was in need in the early Christian community because everyone loved each other and they looked after one another as family.  It was a beautiful movement--the original "Jesus Revolution". 

Then persecution broke out.  The temple authorities got jealous and started killing Christians and driving them from their homes and canceling their businesses.  Christians stared leaving Jerusalem and going out into the countryside.  They went out into Judea and told people there about Jesus and more people believed and followed Jesus.  Christians even went to Samaria—a country that was traditionally rivals and enemies of the Jews.  The Jewish Christians didn’t care.  They went to Samaria and told them about Jesus and the Samaritans believed and got saved and became Christians too!

Then the Christians went up into Syria and Turkey and told people there the Good News about Jesus.  Then they went to Greece and Macedonia and even to Rome.  Everywhere they went, Christians told people about Jesus.  They told about his death and ressurection.  They told how Jesus changed their lives.  Even when talking about Jesus could get you in trouble or even killed, Christians were faithful witnesses.  In fact, the Greek word for being a faithful witness--martyr--became synonymous with giving your life for your Christ.  Christians are faithful witness who tell people about Jesus.

Today, I want to talk about three ways to be a witness for Jesus.  1) Sharing Your Love for Jesus. 2) Inviting People to Church. 3) Recruiting people for Jesus.

Sharing Your Love For Jesus
It wasn’t hard for me to decide who to ask about their favorite team.  I knew, because some people are such devoted fans of their team, everyone knows who they support.  You can probably think of several people you know and which team they support.  You could ask them why and they would be glad to tell you.

Being a witness for Jesus can be as natural as sharing about your favorite team.  I hope your love for Jesus is something that everyone knows.  Hopefully, Jesus is the most important thing in your life and that comes through to everyone everywhere, all the time.

It doesn’t have to be hard to be a witness for Jesus.  If you have a real relationship with Him, people will know.  Sometimes, they will just see it. Maybe they saw you wearing a cross or overheard you talking about your faith or they knew you went to church last weekend or saw you doing Christian service.  

If you live for Jesus, people should be able to see your faith at work.  Are you doing the kinds of things that show people Jesus is your Lord?  If someone was looking to find out more about what it means to be a Christian, would they know to come talk to you because they know you’re a Christian?

Sometime people will see your faith and know you are a Christian.  Other times, you will tell them.  If you’re a serious Georgia Bulldog fan (or Alabama or whatever), no one has to twist your arm to get you to talk about your team. Right?  You probably look for opportunities to get in a conversation about them.  You love to talk about the game that's coming up this weekend or you want to celebrate the win last weekend (or cry about the loss).  It just comes natural.  Are you that quick to talk about Jesus?  Do you look for reasons to tell people why you love Him?  Do you relish the chance to share the difference Jesus makes in your life (or even be honest about how He's helping you overcome your shortcomings)?

Inviting People to Church
Following Jesus isn’t just a private thing.  We live out our faith in a community.  One of the ways you can be a witness is to invite people to experience Jesus at Church—the body of Christ.  Here again are some striking similarities with sports fans.

Being a fan of a certain team means being part of a community.  Right?  I mean, you get together with other fans and watch the game.  There’s a whole community.  It can be electric to be in the stands with thousands of other cheering fans, all rooting for the same team.  Or how many of you have gotten together with friends to watch the game on TV?  Even if you watch the game all by yourself, there’s this sense that you are part of something bigger.  You are part of a community and that matters.  And if you really want your friends to experience what it’s like to be a fan of your team, you would probably invite them to go to a game with you (or watch it on TV with you).

The same is even more true for Christians.  If you want people to experience the risen Jesus you know, you might want to invite them to church (or a Christian retreat or Bible study, etc.).  Christians experience the fullness of our faith in a community of believers.  Yes, your relationship with Jesus is personal, but it’s not only personal.  It’s something that takes place with other people.  Stories about Jesus always took place in a group setting.  Jesus called twelve Disciples and they worked together asa group.  Jesus was transfigured in front of Peter, James, and John.  The Last Supper was a meal shared with all the Disciples—even Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus.  When Jesus rose, he appeared to hundreds of people—often in groups.

Christians experience the love of Jesus most fully through other Christians.  We learn in groups.  We worship as a body.  Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three gather in my name, I am there with them.”  That doesn't mean Jesus isn't present when we are all alone.  He's with us when we are alone too, but there's something something sacred and essential about Christians gathering together.  And if you want your friends to experience what it means to really be a Christian, you probably should invite them to Church—the Body of Christ.

Recruiting For Jesus
There’s one more way to be a witness that I want to talk about:  Recruiting.  Sometimes, you just need to be direct.  Sometimes the situation calls for it.  Sometimes all it takes is, “Hey, come to church with me.”  But recruiting could also mean:  “Hey, my church is packing sack lunches on Wednesday nights for the school next door.  Why don’t you come help us out?”

Again, let’s go back to the sports analogy.  In order to build a winning college team, coaches have to get out and find the best high school athletes and convince them to come to their college.  Right?  But it’s not just the coaches that do the recruiting.  How many of you who went a certain college and had a good experience and you try to encourage others to go to that school too?  And it's not that you're trying to sell something people don't need, right?  If you know your school had a great nursing program and you have a friend that's looking for a nursing school, you'd be like, "Hey, the college I went to has a great nursing program.  You should check it out."  We would be doing them a favor by hooking them up with our great alma mater.  Right?

If we believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, I hope we will recruit people to be part that.  Don’t you?  We’d be doing people a favor to recruit them to be on Jesus’ team.  So why not?  A lot of people out there are looking for a team—they’re looking for meaning and hope and peace and love and healing…  Jesus is all of that.  Why not be the ones to tell people where they kind find what they’re looking for?

So there's three easy to understand ways to be a witness: 

1. Sharing your love for Jesus,
2. Inviting people to Church, and 
3. Recruiting for Jesus

I Challenge You to Be A Witness for Jesus.
I’ve been giving you challenges throughout this series. Here’s one for today.  Make a list of specific people you know to whom you could be a witness.  Pray about how you could witness to them.

Could you share with them a spiritual struggle you need Jesus to help you with? 
Could you share with them a way you are growing spiritually because of Jesus?
Could you invite them to come to church with you (or Sunday school or Bible study…)?
Could you ask someone if you could start praying together. (Maybe you and a co-worker go out to each lunch every Tuesday.  Could you ask to start saying a blessing before you eat?)
Is there someone you know who needs to pray to accept Jesus as Lord?  Could you pray with them about it?

Start with a list of people. Write down their names.  Look at it every day and oray that God would show you how you could be a witness to them.  Let the Holy Spirit guide you and empower you to be a witness for Jesus.