August 22, 2010
The Invitations of Jesus
Dave Bollenbacher

1. Invitation to Move from Identification to Intimacy 

Intimacy: 1. “belonging to or characterizing ones deepest nature. 2: marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity. 3: marked by a warm friendship developing through long association, 4: of a very personal or private nature.” 

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall…So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household.” -Eph 2:13-14& 19

“But as many as received Christ, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” -John 1:12

2. Invitation to Move from Fear to Faithfulness 

Jesus invitation is also his expectation: let your faith be ever increasing! 

3. Invitation to Move from Crisis to Miraculous 

“David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel .” -2 Samuel 24:25

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” -2 Corinthians 5:17-18, 20

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”-Eph. 2:10 

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” -Acts 4:13

“But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.'” -Acts 4:19-20