(Click HERE to find the FBL video of this service – starts at 8:00, sermon begins at 19:30)
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Mark Wheeler
Matthew 22:1-14
08/01/2021
“Kingdom of God … Save the Date!”
Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church
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Welcome everyone!
I wanna start with a few announcements today – we’ll repeat them at the end, but I wanna make sure I don’t forget to say something:
Save the Date! Next Sunday, August 8, worship will be at Sharpley-Harmon Park in north Hillyard – 10am, with several churches providing leadership, including LPC’s own “Praise Band” leading a couple songs and a short testimonial! Other churches will include several different denominations and national/ethnic origins – two from different countries in Africa, one from the Marshall Islands, and maybe another from an Asian nation. And, it can’t possibly be any hotter than what we are experiencing in our own sanctuary this Summer!! Save the Date!! You are invited!!
We welcome you to this worship!
Our state and our city and this congregation is doing well with our COVID-recovery, but with the Delta Variant still so persistently present, we are holding on to some caution.
Here’s our current policy regarding masks and seating:
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Things are so much better than they have been for much of the last year,,, but you may have seen than Spokane is spiking again with new cases,,,, so ,,, while ,,, we have removed the pew-separators for folks who are fully vaccinated – please politely ask before sitting near someone to make sure everyone is as comfortable as we can all be with seating arrangements!
For now we are again asking people to listen to the newest CDC guidelines, which recommend that we:
“Wear a mask while inside the building.”
No one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, about their masking or unmasking, so continue to be gentle with each other.
“If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.” Philippians 2:1-4
We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.
CAMERA
Let’s take a second to greet each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, “The mercy of God is in you!”
Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.
Join in our Call to Worship led by Pastor Kathy Saundusky – listen for God’s call and our response.
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Our opening song of praise and devotion – Behold, Bless Ye the Lord –
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Through the Written Word,
And the spoken word,
May we know Your Living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today’s parable in this series on Jesus’ stories comes from Matthew 22. We heard Luke’s version of this parable a few months ago – but since it is included in different Gospels, maybe it’s worth hearing again. Jesus sees that even His own people had started to move away from Him, to reject Him. It is a symbolic story, but the invitation at the center is very real! And this story tells us that the invitation is addressed to you (and me)! Listen, and then Save the Date!
The Word of God, from Matthew 22:1-14 —- ….
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1 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.’
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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I read a story this week, that I’m going to share this morning, from a book called Heaven by Randy Alcorn. This is a true story about a woman named Ruthanna Metzgar. Listen as she tells it:
“As a professional singer, it was not unusual to be asked to sing for a wedding, but it was a bit unusual to sing for the wedding of a millionaire. I knew the wedding would be picture-perfect and was pleased to be able to participate, but when the invitation to the reception arrived, I knew it would be something exceptional. The reception was held on the top two floors of Seattle’s Columbia Tower, the Northwest’s tallest skyscraper, and it was even more beautiful than I imagined. Waiters were wearing snappy black tuxedos who offered luscious hors d’ oeuvres [appetizers] and exotic beverages for the most discriminating tastes. The atmosphere was one of grace and sophistication. After about an hour of merriment, the bride and groom approached a beautiful glass and brass staircase that led to the top floor. A satin ribbon draped across the bottom of the stairs, was cut and the announcement made that the wedding feast was about to begin. The bride and groom ascended the stairs, and the guests followed. What a lavish event of which to be a part.
A gentleman with a beautifully bound book greeted us as we reached the top of the stairs. “May I have your name please?” “I am Ruthanna Metzgar, and this is my husband, Roy Metzgar,” I replied. The gentleman searched the Ms. “I’m not finding it. Would you spell it please?” I spelled it slowly and clearly. After searching throughout the book, the gentleman looked up and said, “I’m sorry, but your name is not here. Without your name in this book, you cannot attend this banquet.” “Oh, there must be some mistake,” I replied. “I am the singer. I sang for this wedding!” The gentleman calmly answered, “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you did, without your name in the book you cannot attend this banquet.” As I looked around the room, I thought briefly of running to the groom and trying to plead my case, but with a hundred guests on the stairs behind us and every place at the tables assigned according to the thoughtful choices of the bride and groom, I stood silent. The gentleman with the book motioned to a waiter and said; “Show these people to the service elevator please.” We followed the waiter past beautifully decorated tables laden with shrimp, whole smoked salmon, even gracefully carved ice sculptures. And adjacent to the banquet area was an orchestra, its members all dressed in dazzling white tuxedos, preparing to fill the room with glorious music.
We were led to the service elevator, stepped in, and the waiter himself pushed “G” for garage. My husband, thoughtfully, did not say a word, nor did I. As Roy drove out of the Columbia Tower garage, we both remained silent. After driving several miles in silence, Roy reached over and gently put his hand on my arm. “Sweetheart, what happened?” And then I remembered: “When the invitation arrived for the reception I was very busy, and I never bothered to return the RSVP. Besides, I was the singer; surely I could go to the reception without returning the RSVP!”
As we drove on, I began to weep. I was not crying because I had just missed the most lavish banquet of my life, but I was weeping because suddenly I knew what it would be like someday for people as they stand before the entrance of heaven: People who were too busy to respond to Christ’s invitation to His heavenly banquet. People who have assumed that the good things they had done, even perfect church attendance or singing in the choir, would be enough to gain entry to heaven. People who will look for their name in the Lamb’s Book of Life and not find it there. People who did not have time to respond to Christ’s gracious invitation to have their sins forgiven and accept Him into their hearts. And then I wept again because I was so grateful that I had, many years earlier, received Christ as my personal Savior and can be confident that my name is written in the most important Book of all: The Lamb’s Book of Life. Is yours?” book of all: The Lamb’s Book of Life. Is Yours?”
Today’s Gospel passage is once more about God’s generous call, this time to a sumptuous feast. And once again, He expects us to accept His invitation. This places on us a real responsibility. Yet it is so easy to take God’s generosity for granted, and we find excuses not to respond, “they made light of it and went away!”
What is God inviting me to at this point in my life? Am I as good at finding excuses not to answer His call? Am I the procrastinator, postponing my response to a more suitable moment? Once more I pray not to be deaf to His call, but ready to respond generously, to the best of my ability.
Jesus summarizes with the line we Presbyterians have turned into a self-incriminating “joke”: “Many are cold, but few are frozen.”
The reality is that God’s mercy is not bounded by our sin or by our background. He “calls” each of us, He “calls” you by name. And in His perfect sovereign omniscience, He “chooses” salvation for you! We live that out in ways that demonstrate His perfect mercy and grace, and we are expected to receive and believe, and be called “children of God”. We cannot earn that right, but we can receive it and believe it.
The only way to ever stand righteous before God is in trusting in God’s righteousness! “Mustard seed faith” is about trusting in God’s righteousness to do the work we need done!
God, you are always looking out for us and inviting us to fill the place that is set precisely for us. Let me pray and work for the good of others so that there my be no gaps at Your wedding banquet, and that I too may be there.
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Prayer Page – We lift up our hands in the sanctuary, and bless, we bless ye the Lord.
We come as guests invited when Jesus bids us dine,
His friends on earth united One bread is ours for sharing,
one single, fruitful vine, our fellowship declaring
renewed in bread and wine–
Come, Holy Spirit, reign. We welcome You!
14-16 We pray this day for … [call out a name or a situation]
17 [Lord’s Prayer] Amen.
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– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE , or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)
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Communion Song – We Come As Guests Invited – Dick McCarter – listen to this beautiful song, and join is as you learn the melody.
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Pastor Kathy leads us in the Communion Prayer and words of institution. – and I invite you to peel back the cellophane wrapper to expose your “bread” so you’re ready when we get there. (If you accidentally peel back the foil wrap, go ahead and drink your grape juice early so it doesn’t spill.
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And so, in this “feast” we proclaim together:
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
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Expedition Song – His Eye Is on the Sparrow – Lilly Haeger – listen to this beautiful song, and join is as you are ready.
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We close with this benediction: As followers of Jesus, , may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ,be filled with the power of Holy Spirit Life, , and give glory to God today and every day! Amen.
31 Announcements
Resources:
Alcorn, Randy; Heaven: a Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says about Our Eternal Home: Ruthanna Metzgar; 2004 (see Keith Thomas website below).
lidgerwoodpresbychurch 