On a Mission from God.  Pt 1

Come to the Party..

This Sunday, Simon Lace  brings us the talk in the latest of our EBC services. We encourage you to reflect on the bible text and join us in the prayer that follows below.

 
Here are some questions to consider:

Readings
Matthew 16:13-19 (NLT)
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.  Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.  And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Luke 14: 15-24 (NLT)
Parable of the Great Feast
Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’  But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’  Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’  Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’  After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’  So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.  For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

Prayer
Loving God, thank you that you invite us to your table, your feast, your banquet of heavenly delights. Thank you that you invite us to share in your vision of an eternal church, and that you have given us a mission of our own, to go and make disciples. Father, help us to be strong and courageous in playing our part. For your word says that you have not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. And so we come to you mighty God, boldly to ask you – build your kingdom here,
Build your church Lord in this place. Build EBC in numbers, build us in faith, build us in confidence to fulfil everything you have already marked out for us. Thank you for those who have gone before, thank you for everyone here and elsewhere in our church family, and thank you for those yet to join us – because you will build your church, and they will come. We claim it all in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Questions to Consider

1. What was the best banquet, or party, you have ever been to?
2. Who invited you?
3. What do you enjoy about being part of a church community?
4. Who invited you to EBC (or how else did you first come)?
5. What are your impressions of EBC’s buildings and grounds?
6. Is there anything you could do, perhaps little and often, to contribute to the way EBC appears?
7. When new people come to EBC, what could you personally do to make them feel welcome? Try to think of as many things as you can that you could say or do.
8. Who could you chat to about church? (Christians often say they only know other Christians, but this is clearly false – how about people at the checkout, the hairdressers, work, school, your neighbourhood?)
9. What would stop you from inviting someone to church – whether for a special occasion, a coffee morning, bacon butty club, or a Sunday service? Why let it stop you?
10. “Would you like to come to church with me on Sunday?” What version of this would you feel able to say to people, habitually?