Bible Study – We Are Invited
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
In this season after Pentecost, we hear stories of Jesus’ ministry in the world and our call to engage in that mission. This season is also known as Ordinary Time coming from the word “ordinal” which means counted time. This time is not ordinary as in common or regular, but it is the time of counted weeks between Pentecost and Advent. The color for this season is green and it is often referred to as the green growing time as we hear stories of what God is calling us to do in the world, we join in that call, and we grow in our faith
The wedding banquet is still ready, so the king (God) tells the slaves to go and gather all who are in the streets, good and bad, to the banquet. They come, ready for the banquet – all except one, who is singled out and taken away. This final piece is said to be not about a physically being ready, but about leaving behind the old and being ready for the feast, being ready for God, presenting yourself to God in such a way as to say, I have prepared myself and am here. It is also good to note that in Jesus’ culture, when one was invited to a wedding, there were robes given to the guests to wear and this man chose not to – he chose to keep his own clothes, thus not giving himself fully to God and to the feast.
This is a difficult parable that has been used to exclude people and bully people into being a certain way to get into the feast. This is really about God inviting us to come, choosing to come, and welcoming us to be ready when we are invited. Jesus is urging us to come to the feast when we are invited and to put on the “clothes” that God has provided for us. We are all invited into the kingdom of heaven, it is our choice to accept and prepare ourselves or not.
Opening Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for helping us to hear and understand your will for our lives. Be with us as we prepare for you to come into our lives. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Matthew 22:1-14 and read or read the scriptures below.
Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Questions:
- Why do you think no one came to the feast?
- Why do you think the king got so angry?
- What do you think the strangers on the street thought when they were invited to a wedding feast?
- What do you think this might tell us about God’s invitations to us?
Click here for the young learner’s lesson
Videos (Click on url)
Discover Jesus: The Parable of Jesus - The Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ePUAU_m120
The Parable of the Great Banquet – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEbwiQvo5k4
Activities:
The parable that we heard today can be a really hard one for us to understand. There is so much going on and most of what we hear is unfamiliar. This is a parable that is a cautionary tale for the religious authorities of Jesus time, reminding them that God is inviting us to the kingdom of heaven and they need to be ready when God comes. They need to not be too busy to take the call. They need to put on the robes that God gives them and celebrate their new life in God. We, as people of God, are to prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God, to get ready for the feast, because we are all welcome.
Prepare and Partake in a Feast: Because God has invited us all to the banquet or the kingdom of heaven, spend today, having your own feast and celebrating God in your life.
Plan the Party:
- Draw a picture about what you will prepare for God’s party
- Write a prayer to be said before you partake of the feast
- Decorate the room or decorate cookies or snacks to share with everyone
- Draw a picture or write on a heart shaped piece of paper what you are giving to God at the feast to symbolize that you are giving your heart to God.
- You can set up your feast area with plates, decorations, etc. for the occasion.
- Write the names of the people you would like to invite to the banquet.
- Make invitations to the kingdom of heaven to give to others. Click on the example: https://biblecraftsforyourkiddos.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/parable-of-the-feast-matthew-221-14/
Other special snack for the feast are: special muffins or coffee cake, donuts, fruit salad, banana bread with frosting (like wedding cakes have frosting), etc. Throw a feast! Enjoy the feast God has invited all to join.
Book Marker: Cut out letters R- S – V – P and glue them onto another piece of paper in the shape and size of a book marker. Then write 2 GOD and Matthew 22:1-3 with a marker on the book marker. Punch a hole at the top and put a ribbon in the top of the book marker.
The Wedding Banquet Maze: https://sermons4kids.com/parable_wedding_banquet_maze.htm
The Wedding Banquet Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/parable_wedding_banquet_wordsearch.htm
The Wedding Banquet Word Shape: https://sermons4kids.com/parable_wedding_banquet_wordshape.htm
The Wedding Banquet Decoder: https://sermons4kids.com/parable_wedding_banquet_decoder.htm
Prayer: Gracious God, We thank you for our time with you today. Thank you for the feast that reminds us that we are all invited and all welcome at the table. Help us to remember to always be preparing our hearts and souls for you to come into our lives in new and amazing ways. Amen.
