The Great Banquet
August 13, 2023 Speaker: Kevin Bennett Series: The Parables of Jesus
Topic: UPCC Passage: Luke 14:12-24
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Sermon Outline
Invitations to The Banquet
Do Not Invite:
• Friends
• Brothers
• Relatives
• Rich Neighbors
Those who can invite you in return and you be repaid.
They don’t know their need.
Do Invite:
• Poor
• Crippled
• Lame
• Blind
Those who cannot repay you and bless you in return.
They know they have needs.
3 Reasons Given
For Not Attending the Banquet
• Bought a field
• Bought some oxen
• Married a wife
For Not Following Christ Fully
• Bought a house
• Bought work equipment
• Focused on relationship
Sower and the Seeds
Soils (Luke 8:4-8)
• On the Path
• On the Rocks
• On the Thorns
Fruits (Luke 8:9-15)
• Hardened Heart
• Shallow Heart
• Crowded Heart
Who's Who?
Parable's Characters
• The Master
• The Servant
• The Attendees
Resembled Reality
• God
• Believers
• Seekers
Our Part - His Servants
• Hedges
“...at his gate laid a poor man named Lazarus covered
with sores, who desired to be fed.” Luke 16:19-20 ESV
• Compel
“...utmost zeal and moral urgency should be used by
Christians to induce sinners to enter the Kingdom of
God.” – George Henry Trever
Look and See...
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
annointed me to...”
• Proclaim the good news to the POOR
• Proclaim liberty to the CAPTIVES
• Recovering sight to the BLIND
• Set at liberty those who are OPPRESSED
• Proclaim the year of the Lord’s FAVOR
- Luke 4:18-19
...What Jesus Does
• The BLIND receive their sight
• The LAME walk
• The LEPERS are cleansed
• The DEAF hear
• The DEAD are raised up
• The POOR have good news preached to them
- Matthew 11:4-5
What Can I Do?
• Believe God can do these things (He did it for you!)
• Pray that God gives you eyes to see those who know their need
• Compel them to come to the Banquet and taste the Bread of Life
• Ask God to open the eyes of their darkened heart, so they may repent, believe and follow Jesus fully
• Watch God work in amazing ways in and through you
• Celebrate God’s work in your own life and those around you
- How often do you reflect on your own lostness and God’s rescuing?
- How amazed are you that God would show you never-ending mercy?
More in The Parables of Jesus
August 20, 2023
Rest for our SoulsAugust 6, 2023
The Cost of DiscipleshipJuly 30, 2023
Until I Come