Jesus said, “COME AND SEE.”
It is a simple invitation. Just come and see. No commitment needs to be made. No expectations. Just come and see.
Do you invite people to church? Do you invite people to come and see TLC? There are, of course, two parts of this equation. You must invite, and we must be ready to receive them, to welcome them, to include them in worship; in the meal, in the singing and in the coffee hour.
As we plan our worship services, we try to make them accessible to everyone, user friendly we might say. If we are going to invite someone to “come and see,” then we must have the confidence that they will see; that they will see and experience Jesus. Jesus, who welcomed every rag tag bum, tax collector, and “down on their luck” sinner.
This Sunday will be a really special service. The music will be uplifting, and I will have the joy of sharing one of my favorite Bible stories. I promise you, if you invite them this week, we will be ready to share Jesus with them.
On Sunday April 3rd I have invited the students of Trinity Lutheran College in Everett to join us for worship. The student body is very diverse. Some of our students have never been to Whidbey Island. Some have never worshipped with the Lutherans. I am not sure how many will come. We may have 10 students with us that day, and we may have 50.
This is where you come in. Can you help me host the students for lunch after church? It has been a tough year for these kids. Their school is closing on May 7th. They will be losing a community they love. They will be saying goodbye to friends, faculty, staff and me. So I would like to take them all to Useless Bay Country Club for lunch. Most of these students have never been to a Country Club. Can you sponsor a student that day for lunch? I figure that it will cost about $15-$20 per student.
After lunch we are going to take them to the beach. This extravagant show of hospitality will be our way of saying “come and see.” Come and see a church where everybody’s welcomed and everyone is loved.
If you would like to sponsor a student, just drop a check off in the office or put a check in the plate and write Trinity College Day at TLC in the memo. I thank you ahead of time for your generous support.
Now I had better get working on that sermon. COME AND SEE!
Blessed to be a blessing!
Love, Pastor Jim
