CrossKids Devo | Wedding Feast
Activity – How RU Doing
Draw a line on a sheet of paper. Place a 1 on the left end of the line, a 10 on the right, and a 5 in the middle. As kids arrive, ask them to pencil in their initials on the line.
Say: If your day was so awful you wish you'd slept through it, place your initials by the 1. If it was a great day and you wish you could repeat, put your initials by the 10. Place your initials anywhere on the line that shows how you feel today.
Bible Time – Wedding Feast – Luke 14:16-24 Jesus was a dinner guest at the house of an important leader when he noticed that some of the guests were pushing to sit in the more honored seats, the ones closer to the host. Jesus said a few words about humility, and then he told this story. At that time, like now, it was important to know how many people were coming to a dinner party. That determined how much food was prepared. In this story, people accept the invitation and then, for a variety of reasons, don't show up--even though they get a reminder. This was not only rude, but an actual insult.
The host invites people who don't normally get invitations to banquets: people who are poor, crippled, lame, and blind. They'll never be able to return the invitation, but the food is ready . . . the table set . . . so they're invited in.
Jesus' point is that even people who don't "qualify" get invitations to be with him. They just have to agree to come. Those people, by the way, include us. We're invited to God's party!
Help your kids discover they're invited today, and encourage them to say "Yes!" to Jesus' invitation! Before children arrive, create a rectangle on the floor using masking tape. Make it the size of a generous dining room table. Place the newspapers outside the rectangle.
Tell children they have just eight minutes to get ready for a party--a formal party with four guests--and they have only the newspapers to create both place settings and decorations. They'll place what they create on the masking tape table you've outlined on the floor.
Making place mats will be easy. Tearing out plates and platters--that will be tougher. Utensils will be a major challenge. And decorations and centerpieces? Good luck.
Spend a few quick moments brainstorming together who will do what, and then get busy--time is short!
After the eight frantic minutes, gather kids where they can admire their handiwork. Compliment them--they deserve it!
Say: Bad news: our four guests will be a little late. We sent out invitations, and they responded that they'd come on time--promised they'd come. We even reminded them earlier about coming.
By late I mean: our guests aren't coming. At all. Ever. They all found something more important to do. Ask:
How would you feel--after preparing a party and a feast--if your guests simply chose not to come?
Say: Have a seat around our table here, and as you enjoy an imaginary feast, I'll share with you a story Jesus shared with an audience.
Read: Luke 14:16-24. Then discuss:
How do you think the master felt about the people he'd invited?
What do you think of the master's solution to finding guests?
Where do you think we fit into the story?
Say: When it comes to joining the kingdom of God, we're definitely latecomers. The Jews were God's chosen people, but after many of them refused to walk faithfully with God and with Jesus, non-Jews were invited too.
Most of us aren't Jewish, so we're like those poor people who got to come to the feast too. Good news for us!
But here's the truth: Jesus died for everyone--Jews and non-Jews alike. We're invited to God's party. All we have to do is say "yes" and go! Pray