Come and See: Inviting Others to New Life

Jun 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Riding Maria’s Bicycle into Uncomfortable Invitations

The gospel invitation often begins in awkward, vulnerable spaces. Like a grown man pedaling a flower-basket bicycle through Salzburg, discipleship requires leaning into moments that feel unnatural. True evangelism isn’t about polished performances but showing up with humility, trusting the Spirit’s work beneath surface-level discomfort. Courage isn’t the absence of fear but choosing to ring the bell anyway, knowing Christ’s presence rides with us. [41:21]

“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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)

Reflection: What relational “bicycle moment” have you avoided due to fear of awkwardness? How might embracing discomfort become an act of trust in Christ’s nearness?

Day 2: The Woman at the Well’s Three-Word Revolution

A socially marginalized woman with five failed marriages became history’s most effective evangelist through three words: “Come and see.” Her story proves God prioritizes willing hearts over perfect resumes. When we bring people not to our answers but to the living Christ, brokenness becomes a megaphone for grace. The Spirit amplifies simple invitations far beyond our perceived disqualifications. [01:02:55]

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward him… Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.”
(John 4:28-30,39, NIV)

Reflection: Where has shame over your past kept you silent? How might your story of encountering Christ—even unresolved parts—invite others to “come and see”?

Day 3: Digging Through Roofs for Friends in Need

Four friends refused to let crowds, cultural norms, or a collapsing ceiling stop them from bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus. True spiritual friendship tears through barriers, prioritizing eternal outcomes over temporary messiness. Loyalty looks like shouldering others’ helplessness into Christ’s presence, trusting He meets us mid-desperation. [01:05:49]

“Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”
(Mark 2:3-5, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs you to “dig through the roof” for them? What practical step could you take this week to bring them closer to Jesus?

Day 4: Driving the Truck for a Future Evangelist

Albert McMakin didn’t preach to Billy Graham—he drove the truck. Ordinary obedience often fuels extraordinary kingdom impact. Our role isn’t to be the hero but the faithful chauffeur, creating space for others to encounter Christ. Eternal legacies grow from small, consistent “yeses” to inconvenient invitations. [01:09:08]

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”
(John 1:40-42, NIV)

Reflection: What “truck driver” act of service have you undervalued? How might faithful small obediences plant seeds for harvests you’ll never see?

Day 5: Singing Off-Key in the Spirit’s Choir

The gospel isn’t a solo performance but a chorus of mismatched voices. Like cyclists belting Sound of Music lyrics off-rhythm, our awkward attempts join heaven’s symphony. The Spirit harmonizes our fumbling invitations into transformative grace-notes. Our task isn’t perfection but participation in the eternal song. [01:08:25]

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
(Romans 10:14-15, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you muted your voice because it doesn’t sound “Christian enough”? How might embracing your unique timbre amplify Christ’s melody?

Sermon Summary

A song sets the tone. The gospel sounds like a love song that started long ago, a song Jesus still leads, a melody some know by heart, others are learning, and many will hear for the first time. Matthew 28 gives the chorus. The commission speaks in the imperative, as you go, make disciples, baptizing and teaching, with the risen Jesus promising, I am with you always. The text refuses to be background music. It asks ordinary lives in ordinary places to turn up the volume.

An invitation carries the tune. The call is simple enough to remember and brave enough to pray: come and see. The force of that call is not about me. Convincing and convicting belong to the Spirit. Evangelism, as Darrell Johnson frames it, enters a conversation the Spirit is already having with someone. So prayer sets the key, and sharing becomes a light touch that trusts the Spirit’s lead.

Scripture keeps putting the invitation in everyday hands. Jesus strolls beside the lake and recruits fishermen, not the top students, with a reversal that stuns. He does not wait to be asked. He says, come follow me, and makes them fishers of people. Acts notes the courage of unschooled, ordinary men. The mark that matters is that they had been with Jesus. The Samaritan woman at the well becomes the greatest evangelist in the gospels with three words. Come and see sends a whole town to meet the Savior of the world. She does not tidy her history first. She simply names the One who told her everything she ever did and still gave living water.

Courage moves the story forward. Fear locked the first disciples in a room, but something greater than their fear passed through the door. A living Savior turned their whisper into witness. Loyalty makes invitation visible. Four friends climb a roof, tear it open, and lower their paralyzed mate to Jesus. That is what love looks like when it refuses to come back next Sunday. The forgiven man walks out carrying more than a mat. He carries a future.

The movement grows through small yeses. Pray, invite, bring. Celebrate the invitation, not the response. Let the gospel stop being background music a few sing and become the song every voice learns to carry. Albert McMakin’s truckload of friends and one reluctant driver named Billy shows what God can do with a simple come and see offered at the right time.

Key Takeaways

1. Invitation joins the Spirit’s work The Spirit goes first, and the church follows. Convincing is not a human project, so anxiety can rest and courage can rise. Prayer tunes a person’s ear to what the Spirit is already saying, then the simple invite gives that whisper a door to walk through. [54:20]
2. Come and see is enough God often entrusts the gospel to three humble words. The Samaritan woman does not polish a testimony; she names the One who met her in truth and mercy. Come and see carries both honesty and hope, and it creates space for people to hear Jesus for themselves. [61:02]
3. Ordinary people carry extraordinary news Fishermen, prisoners, cyclists, and farmers are Jesus’ first picks. The credential that counts is time with Him, not a perfect record or polished speech. God delights to send unschooled, ordinary people whose lives say, He found me and He can find you. [60:15]
4. Courage moves through locked doors Fear does not disqualify; it becomes a doorway when Jesus steps into the room. Courage is not swagger but a steady yes that outlasts the tremor. That is why the call stays simple and repeatable: pray, invite, bring, and let love outlast the excuses. [64:05]
5. Loyal friendship lowers roofs When a friend cannot move toward Jesus, love carries the stretcher. Creative, persistent loyalty opens crowded houses and crowded hearts. Every costly step says, you matter, and every yes creates conditions for forgiveness and healing to meet a name and a face. [66:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:29] - Sound of Music opening
[43:04] - Congregation sing-along
[44:04] - Power of an invitation
[45:54] - Great Commission as you go
[47:08] - Three words: Come and see
[48:26] - Sherry’s prison Alpha story
[51:26] - Pray, invite, bring; celebrate invitation
[53:54] - The Spirit leads evangelism
[58:15] - Fishermen called, ordinary people sent
[61:02] - Samaritan woman: greatest evangelist
[64:05] - From locked doors to courage
[65:22] - Loyal friends lower the roof
[69:08] - Albert McMakin and Billy Graham
[75:59] - Closing prayer: Come Holy Spirit

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 4:28-30, 39-42 (NIV)
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him… Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony… They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

Mark 2:3-5 (NIV)
Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Observation questions

In Matthew 28:19-20, what specific actions does Jesus command his followers to prioritize as they “go”?
How did the Samaritan woman respond after her encounter with Jesus, and what immediate impact did her words have on her community?
What bold action did the paralyzed man’s friends take to bring him to Jesus, and what does this reveal about their priorities?
According to the sermon, what is the role of “ordinary people” in sharing the gospel, and how does Scripture support this? [01:00:15]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Jesus chose to commission ordinary people (like fishermen or a Samaritan woman) rather than religious or cultural elites to spread his message?
The Samaritan woman’s invitation was simple: “Come and see.” Why might this approach be more effective than a polished or rehearsed testimony?
In Mark 2:5, Jesus forgives the paralyzed man’s sins before healing him. How does this moment redefine what it means to bring someone to Jesus?
The sermon emphasizes that “courage is not the absence of fear but a steady yes that outlasts the tremor.” How does this idea challenge common assumptions about sharing faith? [01:04:05]

Application questions

Who is one person in your life you could invite to “come and see” Jesus through a simple gesture (e.g., sharing a meal, attending an event, or praying together)? What practical step could you take this week to extend that invitation?
Fear often holds people back from sharing their faith. What specific fear do you need to surrender to Jesus to step into courageous invitation? How might trusting the Spirit’s role ease that fear? [54:20]
The paralyzed man’s friends creatively overcame obstacles to bring him to Jesus. Is there a relationship in your life where “loyal friendship” might require persistent or creative effort to help someone encounter Christ? What might that look like?
The Samaritan woman didn’t wait to “tidy her history” before sharing her story. How could your own experiences of brokenness or grace become a bridge for others to explore Jesus?
The sermon encourages celebrating the act of invitation, not just the response. How can you cultivate joy in simply being obedient to invite, even if the outcome isn’t immediate? [51:26]

Sermon Clips

55s

#StepBeyondFear

“But something greater than their fears passed through the locked doors. A living savior promising the hope and the future. And it so moved them that they were willing to step beyond their fears to begin to share the invitation. It makes me wonder, what would it take in our churches across Australia to move beyond our fears, to begin to share good news? What would it take that we would pray, invite, and bring people knowing it's not about me, not about us, but an invitation that we've received and we get to share as we keep in step with the spirit who is opening the harvest season right now.”

40s

#GreatCommission

“But, of course, this is more than a song. This is the historic reality of Jesus stepping into our history to make a way for a destiny of life ahead on earth as it is in heaven. After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned his followers to share this good news of his kingdom reign. In Matthew 28, I'm sure you'll know it, 18. He says, go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, son, and spirit, teaching them to obey everything I've commanded. And surely, am with you always to the end of the age.”

43s

#ComeAndSee

“So I don't have all the right words or the right voice. But what if I were to say to you that it was simply an invitation? And it could be done in three simple words that are easy to remember. Come and see. Come and see. The power of God's invitation that we share is not about us. It's not our ability to convince, convict, or compel someone, which is only something the spirit can do, we are simply on sharing the invitation that we've received.”

36s

#EverydayDiscipleship

“Make disciples. It's written in the imperative mood. So it has a sense that it's as you go about the everyday places of life. In the process of all of our interactions, be making disciples, revealing God's goodness, knowing he is with us as we go. And we have this great commission of sharing this good news, and yet so for many of us, it becomes like background noise to our lives, background music quite often.”

46s

#SmallInviteBigImpact

“And eventually, was able to persuade his friend to come by getting him to drive the truck there to the meeting. And they arrived in this one evening, and Albert's guest decided to go in and listen in rather than sit in the truck, and he was spellbound. said he had he started to have thoughts he never had before. And Albert's friend went back again and again, night after night until one night, he came forward and gave his life to Jesus. And that man, the driver of the truck, Albert's friend was Billy Graham, and the year was 1934.”

42s

#MovementNotBuilding

“This is a movement of family and friends, not a location. And I just simply never want to die wondering in a moment such as we're living in. What would have happened if I would have been praying for my friends? What would have occurred if I would have invited them and said, come and see you? What if I told you God was prepared to move if his people would move with him across our land and our cities? And my fear is that with the gospel, it just becomes background music to our lives.”

36s

#SpiritIsTheLead

“God is already at work in the lives of the people around you. So you don't have to worry, like, is God in this God's in this space. Secondly, the spirit is the lead evangelist. The pressure isn't ultimately on you or me or a pastor or alpha or anything like that. The spirit is a person who is with us along the way. So surely, I'm with you always. Our confidence in the commission is in that bit. And thirdly, we each have a role to play, however small it might seem.”

28s

#SentToTell

“Now we've all come to faith through relationships. I I love what Romans ten fourteen reads. It says, how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? How can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the one who can be trusted? How can they hear if nobody tells him? How is anyone going to tell them unless someone has been sent to do it? Well, God has some someone. It's his church, the body of Christ. Each one of us in our own voice, in our own ways, salt and light in the community.”

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