This past Sunday, Pastor Steve continued with his series with the parable of the wedding banquet, found in Matthew 22:1-13.
The under-valued were important to Christ. God invited them into His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God offers abundance, celebration & community to those who come. In this parable, we find that the Son is the center stage of the banquet. Those who do not come are rejecting the Son.
What can we learn from this parable?
- God calls us, invites us to participate in His work
- There is no kingdom without Jesus. He must be at the center of it all
- The King, God, will send repeated invites. He is not willing for any to perish
- Rejection signifies that we have our own agenda that we consider more important
- It is most important for the the work of the Kingdom to continue
- God initiates the call to the Kingdom
- The invite is to “whosoever will”
- We are clothed with the righteousness of Christ
- God is constantly chasing us
Regarding the poem, The Hounds of Heaven, it was written:
The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is so bold, so new, so fearless. It does not attract, rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood. As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and impertubed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit.
The Neuman Press “Book of Verse”, 1988.
Pastor Steve challenged us to, “Be caught”.
You may hear this message in its entirety here .
