DailyDevotion Tue. 14/2/2017

LESSON 12                               19/2/2017

THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING CLOTHES

Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 148, 150

Devotional Reading: Lk. 14:15-24

Topic for Adults: Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen.

Topic for Youths: Don’t Refuse God’s Invitation

Topic for Intermediates: Enter Through The Narrow Gate

Scripture Lesson: Matt. 22:1-3; Rev. 21:2,9; Matt. 22:4-8; 23:37; 22:8-13

Memory Verse:           “But when the king came to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment’. And he was speechless (Matt. 22:11-12) NKJV

DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING

Tue. 14/2/2017

Willful Defiance And Eternal Separation

Matt. 22:11-13

The king finds a man at the feast not wearing a wedding garment. This gesture was offensive, a sign that the guest is oblivious to the significance of his invitation. Jesus had said that the kingdom would be taken away from the Jewish leaders and given to a people producing its fruits. The wedding feast is an open invitation, but there is a dress code. Everyone is welcome at the table, but the table changes us. Or, to keep with the imagery of the parable, it changes our clothes. If it does not, then we are not truly guests. It is only to be expected that the king will order the man to be thrown out of the banqueting hall. The way the king puts it brings in another dimension to the parable. “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is not what would literally happen in the world of the story. It is the language of God’s judgment on those excluded from the kingdom of God. It is eternal separation from God.

Point of Emphasis: Everyone is welcome at the table, but the table changes us. Or, to keep with the imagery of the parable, it changes our clothes.

Prayer Point: Oh Lord help me and all my family members to make it to your kingdom in the name of Jesus.