Kids Blog-Come to the Great Banquet!
Last week, kids learned that God has invited us to come to the Great Banquet in the kingdom of God!
Bible Story: The Parable of the Great Banquet Luke 14:15-24
Bible verse: At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' Luke 14:17
In this parable, Jesus told a story of a certain man that was preparing a great banquet. He sent his servant to tell those who had been invited. But they all began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' Another said, "I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.' The servant did what his master told him to do. Then the master told his servant to go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that his house will be full.
In this story, when the master was preparing a great banquet, he was probably excited and imagined a room full of people enjoying delicious food and having a great time of celebration. But the invited guests declined his invitation and they all made excuses not to come. In the same way, God invites us to come to the Great Banquet He has prepared in His kingdom. He invited us to come to Him through putting our faith in Jesus and receive salvation. Through Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we receive eternal life to be with God forever in His kingdom!
What are some excuses that we make when God continues to knock on our door to invite us to His banquet? We can become so busy and distracted doing many things like watching youtube videos, chatting with friends, playing video games, sports, and many other things. Or there may be times we feel ashamed and guilty about what we have done that we think we do not deserve to come to the Great Banquet. All these things are tactics of the enemy to stop us from accepting God's invitation and cherishing amazing gifts God has prepared for us. Let us pray that God will open our hearts to come to Him through believing in Jesus who washed away our sins. God desires us to come, receive His grace and forgiveness and experience eternal life with Him. He also desires us to love and follow Him for the rest of our lives. We can have Quiet Time with Him by reading our Bible and praying daily, we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us obey God's Word, we can also share God's invitation with others by sharing the Good News that Jesus died for their sins and rose again to save them! Come to the Great Banquet!
Image: www.lambsongs.co.nz.