THE FIRST LESSON Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16
THE SECOND LESSON Luke 14:1, 7-14
SERMON "Invitation to the Kingdom of the Lame"
Worship Notes
The central text for this morning comes from the gospel of Luke where Jesus admonishes his followers to not seek places of honor at the wedding banquet, but instead walk a path of humility. He tells the disciples to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind to banquet of God's love. We reflect in our prayers, liturgy, and music this invitation to us.
The Call to Worship comes from the Psalm of the day and highlights the blessing of God for those who are a generous and forgiving; those who act justly; and those who are a light in the darkness. All these images evoke a sense of our humble task of following Jesus commandment to invite those previously excluded. The Opening Hymn certainly captures this sense of welcome as we sing the words: "Gather us in -- the lost and forsaken, gather us in the blind and the lame." The hymn following the sermon is our affirmation of faith that we shall "eat at the welcome table." Our final hymn sends us out into the world to be "In haunts of wretchedness and need, On shadowed thresholds of fraught and fear, From paths where hide the lures of greed, We catch the vision of Thy tears."
Bryan Stone
