I want to share a brief story about something significant I learned about inviting listeners to respond to the gospel and receive Jesus as Savior and as Lord, King, and Treasure.
It was a few years ago at an Easter service. After preaching, I stepped off the stage, and someone approached me and said, "McKay, you really ought to make an invitation at the end of the service."
Well, it was Easter, and though I didn't do invitations often, I closed the service with folks standing where they were and invited them to follow along with me as I led a prayer if they wanted to receive Jesus as their sin-substitute for the first time.
To my surprise, someone responded, and they've been the AV coordinator at that church now for seven years.
That taught me not just about making an invitation on special occasions but that in every sermon that I preach, I want to invite people to respond to the gospel.
I want to invite believers to respond to the gospel in a way that helps them embrace God’s justifying grace and helps them work out their union with Jesus in the gift of sanctifying grace.
But I also want to make an offer for those who have never responded to the invitation to receive Jesus.
Their call to action wouldn't be to respond to the cross with sanctifying grace but to receive the gift of justifying grace—to find their life renewed, restored, and reconciled with God the Father.
So, invite listeners to receive Jesus.
If you haven't been doing that, give it a shot, and let me know what you think.
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