Invite as Many as You Find

Jesus often used parables or stories to help us understand His heart on something important. Parables make complicated concepts a bit easier to wrap our minds around. One story that I find particularly helpful is the Parable of the Wedding Feast as it is recorded in Matthew 22. In His teaching, Jesus spoke of a man who had prepared a wonderful wedding feast for his son. The text gets pretty specific – the BBQ was on! Fat calves were butchered, the dinner table was set, and the party was ready, but the guests’ responses were quite disappointing. “But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business…” (Matthew 22:5). Some even attacked the messengers who brought the invitation to the party. As Jesus taught this, the original hearers, like us, would have been shocked. How could anyone act so rudely to a kind and generous offer? The table was set, but the people on the guest list chose to reject the invitation. I think that we can relate to this on multiple levels.

I was encouraged by Dean Bracewell’s message this past weekend, which reminded us that our duty as Christ-followers is to share the gospel lavishly, to be willing to share with others and not focus on the results. I believe that Jesus was reminding us that if He was rejected, so will we be rejected. His response, as he told the parable was to, “Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” (Matthew 22:9 NKJV) Interestingly, Jesus is saying stop choosing your guest list, and start asking whomever you meet. 

I love what God is doing in and through our ESL (English as a Second Language) ministry, our Hope Cares Pantry, and our partnerships with other local ministries. I believe that He is using your generosity to help open doors into our community for the sake of the gospel. I have heard that as we anticipate our upcoming “Snow Much Fun” event on February 7, there are many in our community who have accepted our invitation to attend, including some who have recently moved into our community. That is exciting – and we hope that God uses our obedience to invite everyone to have an impact on those who show up!

The beauty of sowing seeds abundantly is that God gets the glory when the invitation is accepted. I want to invite you to consider joining us on February 7 from 6–8 pm, and if you are willing, consider serving at this special event – more than 50 volunteer slots need to be filled! We need our church family to help us make this activity as welcoming as possible. Some examples of what we need help with include supervising the inflatables and bouncers, welcoming guests as they arrive, and cleaning up after the event. Please check out this sign-up document (click here) for more information on volunteering, and visit our website for more details about the event (click here).  

Expectantly,

Shawn