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God is Doing a New Thing
It’s a new year, a new beginning. And we at The Upper Room feel the excitement Read More
WEN-LING LAI | Read Matthew 22:1-14
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Sign Up TodayWhat exactly does Jesus mean when the king hosting his son’s wedding banquet says, “Many are called, but few are chosen”?
I have struggled with this parable because the king’s violent tendency and angry actions significantly conflict with my understanding of God’s nature. The God I know reflects both patience...
God, who knows and still loves, help us tenaciously seek, courageously sing, and clearly see your invitation to new life. Amen.
In Exodus 33 Moses successfully argues that without Yahweh’s merciful presence Israel is no nation and that Yahweh’s and Moses’ efforts have come to naught. Psalm 99 mentions Yahweh’s royal rule, which brings to mind the human agents of that rule: Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. Each of these leaders facilitated Yahweh’s conversation with the people and Yahweh’s rule over them. The opening lines from First Thessalonians raise a question about the church’s understanding of evangelism. Paul and his coworkers experience a change in themselves because of the Thessalonians, who become a living proclamation of the gospel by virtue of their ready acceptance of it. In the Gospel reading, Jesus answers a question with a question and confuses his “audience” both then and today.
• Read Exodus 33:12-23. When have you most longed for a glimpse of God’s glory? How did God give you the assurance you needed?
• Read Psalm 99. Where in your life is forgiveness needed to restore a loving relationship? How have you experienced “a forgiving God”?
• Read 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10. As your Christian faith has developed, how have you seen it move “from head to heart to hands”?
• Read Matthew 22:15-22. How do you give to God “the things that are God’s”? What are some of those things Jesus wants you to give?
Respond by posting a prayer.
"God doesn’t just save us for heaven in the future. God saves our hearts and souls and bodies in the here and now. God cares about our whole person, just as we are." Read more.
