08/25/2026
Five Biblical Challenges with Congregational Invitations and Testimonies
Ken Tyler
Ken encouraged the congregation to invite guests for “worship and lunch” next Sunday and highlighted how simple invitations can have profound effects. He announced a guest speaker for the evening service and continued a Sunday morning series on “challenges of the Bible,” presenting five challenges to shape daily Christian living: do good like Christ, obey like Abraham, say no like Joseph, pray like Daniel, and choose like Joshua. The message concluded with illustrative stories and a call to respond to the Lord’s invitation.
Upcoming events and invitations
• Invite a Guest to Worship and Lunch (next Sunday): Members are urged to invite someone to worship and stay for lunch, aiming for a “big, big crowd.”
• Tonight at 6:00 PM: Derek Brown will speak. He is a young man taking over the Open Door Ministry for Brother DeMar Elam, specifically the work in the Philippines. The congregation is encouraged to attend, meet him, and be encouraged by his enthusiasm.
Series context and purpose
The congregation is studying “the challenges of the Bible” on Sunday mornings to draw closer to God. Four lessons have already made an impact; this session covers five additional challenges and urges members to incorporate them into daily life.
Challenge 1: Do good like Christ
• Scriptural focus: Acts 10:38 (“He went about doing good”) and Matthew 20:28 (“The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many”).
• Core call: Make each day about serving others—seeking opportunities to help, relieve burdens, weep with those who weep, encourage, and show love.
• Impact: The more good we do, the more God is glorified, the church is honored, and the greater our influence on others.
Challenge 2: Obey like Abraham
• Scriptural focus: Genesis 22 (God tests Abraham to offer “thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest”). Abraham rises early, prepares, trusts (“God will provide himself a lamb”), and is stopped by the angel; a ram in a thicket is provided.
• Faith perspective: Hebrews 11:8–10—Abraham obeyed when called, went not knowing where he was going, and kept his eyes on “a city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
• Core call: Adopt Abraham’s attitude—whatever God says, that is what we will do.
Challenge 3: Say no like Joseph
• Context: At 17 (Genesis 37), Joseph serves in Potiphar’s house where God blesses him. Potiphar’s wife tempts him repeatedly: “Lie with me.”
• Stance: He refuses, citing his master’s trust and asking, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39). He resists day by day, flees when grabbed, leaves his garment, and is imprisoned after her accusation.
• Core call: Say no to what God forbids, regardless of circumstances or anonymity; let God rule and direct life.
Challenge 4: Pray like Daniel
• Context: Daniel’s enemies trick Darius into a 30-day decree allowing petitions only to the king, unchangeable by the law of the Medes and Persians.
• Stance: Knowing the decree was signed, Daniel prays with windows open toward Jerusalem, kneeling three times a day, giving thanks “as he did aforetime.” He is cast reluctantly into the lions’ den; God shuts the lions’ mouths. The conspirators and their families are later devoured.
• Core call: Prayer meant more to Daniel than life itself; he did not know God would deliver him. Examine your prayer life and pour out your heart to God daily (the Jews prayed three times a day).
Challenge 5: Choose like Joshua
• Scriptural focus: Joshua 24:14–15—fear the Lord, serve in sincerity and truth, put away other gods, and “choose you this day whom ye will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
• Application: Many modern “gods” displace God (money, sports, recreation, jobs). Regardless of others’ choices, commit your household to serve the Lord.
• Practice: Be present when it is time to worship; emphasize doing good and helping souls be saved—talk, plead, and encourage people.
Illustrative stories
• Power of invitation: An older couple from Madison (visiting from Huntsville/Madison) attended on a previous “invite a guest” Sunday when a lesson on the Lord’s church was preached. The man said he would seriously think on what was said, and afterward he and his wife began attending the Madison Church of Christ.
• Childlike evangelism: At a Friday night ball game in Gunson, a second grader (with his sister) politely asked the speaker, after patting his leg for attention, “have you been baptized?” and “you think you might come and go to church with us?” The speaker explained he needed to be at his congregation because he is a preacher. He commended the family’s example of “me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Call to response
• Invitation: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
• For those not Christians: Repent and be baptized (Acts 2.38).
• For those who have walked away: Repent, be restored, and serve the Lord faithfully every day.
Next steps and actions
• Invite guests to next Sunday’s worship and lunch; aim for a “big, big crowd.”
• Attend tonight at 6:00 PM to welcome Derek Brown, hear him speak, and get to know him as he takes over the Open Door Ministry for Brother DeMar Elam, focused on the Philippines.
• Embrace the five challenges daily: do good, obey God, refuse sin, pray consistently, and choose to serve the Lord in your home.
• Focus on helping others be saved: talk to people, plead with them, and encourage them.
