So That God's House Will Be Full

Today's Reading: Luke 14:15-24

It looks like we are entering the homestretch for the completion of our building renovation and Launch Day on September 9. This past week our new logo was unveiled. You'll soon see a new website design. On Curb Appeal Day we completed many projects to clean and beautify parts of our building and campus that are not being affected by the renovation. Sunday, Jeff passed out business card-sized invitations for you to share with your friends and neighbors to invite them to The Story. Tuesday night, several of us attended a block party in a neighborhood just a few miles from the building and handed out even more invitations.

We are ramping up for the big day! Isn't it exciting? Won't it be wonderful to see who God brings to hear His Story?

In Luke 14, Jesus tells the story of a man who prepared a great banquet and invited many people to attend. When the servant went to tell the invitees that everything was prepared for them to come, one by one, they all started backing out. Oh, they had reasons, or excuses. And none of them came.

So the man tells his servant to go out into the street and invite anyone and everyone he saw, including the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. The servant did so and there was still more room. So the master said, "Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full."

The master in Jesus' story didn't hold the servant responsible for those who chose not to come. He just told the servant to go invite more people in. We don't know who might accept the invitations that we put out for The Story. But that part isn't really our responsibility. Our job is just to offer the invitation to as many people as we can so that come September 9 God's house will be full.

If you didn't get the chance to get some invitations this past week, let me invite you to pick up a few this week. Someone out there is just waiting for you to invite them.

- Holly Barrett