I found this old sermon saved in the drafts today and thought I would post it. The audio file of the sermon is located here on the PRV website. Blessings.
Passage: Luke 14:1-24
The Story
• Jesus dines at the house of a Pharisees
o While there he heals a man
o Some folks got made because it was on the Sabbath
• Jesus then tells two short parables
o First to the guest of the dinner
o The second to the host
• First one
o Place of honor
* Don’t pick the place of honor
* Let the host bring you up
o Commentary
* Not only is this practical advice on life, it is very important spiritually
* The guests in the room were most likely big time religious leaders who wanted the best seats for themselves
* Jesus is telling them that they are to the humble
• Let God (the host) raise them up
• 2 Peter 5:5b-7 – God cares about, be kind to each other and humble
• James 4:1-10 – submit ourselves to God, be a peacemaker
• Second story
o Part one
* Turning to the host, Jesus tells him not to just throw a party for those who can pay you back
• Invite the folks who can’t repay you
* Again this is very practical as well as spiritual
• Instead of being focused on what we can get out of things, we need to be concerned with others
o Second part
* Things shift a bit more spiritual here
* A man throws a party and invited various people
• Yet when the day of the party comes, the guest back out
• So the host tells his servants to go out into the streets and bring in the poor, crippled, blind and lame
• There is still room, so the travelers on the road and strangers are invited
* Commentary
• The story is talking about salvation
• Those who were invited first were the Jewish religious leaders who had the Law and the Prophets
• Sadly some of them refused to follow God
o Choosing money, land and family first
• Salvation was then extended to those the religious folks typically excluded
o The poor, the cribbed, and the outcasts
o The same folks invited in verse 13
• There was more room, so God sent servants to gather those outside the city
o These are the gentiles
o People way outside the norm
I loved this coloring page but was unable to print it off.
You can find the banquet image here.