Last Judgment Devo

 March 26th, 2023

Devotional

“Last Judgement” - Matthew 25:31-46

Monday: “Comes in Glory” - Matthew 25: 31-33

Sometimes we can be in such a rush to get to the sheep and the goats part of this parable that we miss the hope that Jesus begins his teaching with. Christ will come again. Christ paints a picture of the Son of Man (ie. Himself - Jesus - the Messiah) coming to reign in all of his glory. He finds himself sitting on the throne that belongs to him alone as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

And all of the nations, every tribe and tongue, will gather around that throne. In Revelation we find John sharing that all of those gathered were praising Christ and singing of his holiness. Even the celestial beings join in. 

It is at that time that the final judgment will take place. In Revelation we find this referred to as the time when Christ will unseal the Book of Life to see whose names are written in it. But here, we find a different account of the judgment - a sorting of the righteous from the unrighteous.

We cannot get to the judgment without first beholding the splendor of Jesus. Let us not move so quickly through this passage that skip allowing our hope to be firmly grounded in the truth that we proclaim every time we celebrate holy communion. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. 

How does Christ’s coming again offer us hope as his disciples?

Prayer: God the Healer, we thank you that you promise in Christ you will heal the brokenness of this world when the final judgement comes. We thank you that your love sustains us until that time and does not let us go. Let our hope be firmly planed in you, and you alone. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Take Your Inheritance” - Matthew 25: 34-39

When we read Scripture we can do so with tunnel vision. We can get so intent on studying a singular piece for its blessing that we forget that the parts are interconnected. Just as this parable’s beginning reminded me of Revelation, Jesus’s call to the sheep to come and take their inheritance takes me back to a different parable found in the Gospel of Luke.

The parable of the prodigal son. 

In that particular story, the youngest son demanded his inheritance early and squandered it away. He wanted what he thought he deserved and he wanted it now.

How different from this parable where the sheep didn’t even know that they had an inheritance coming! As Jesus shares with them that they will be part of this eternal blessing, they are quite frankly confused. Jesus is claiming that they did all of these good works for him, but they do not recollect doing so. 

I wonder about us. Do we find ourselves more like the son in the parable of the prodigal, demanding our inheritance from God, or are we like the sheep in this parable, surprised by the generosity of Christ?

  How would you react if Jesus spoke the words in these verses over you?

Prayer:  Lord, we confess that sometimes we act as if we are ungrateful. Or we begrudgingly serve, but only because of what we think we will earn. Forgive us, O Lord, and reshape our hearts to be like the sheep in this scripture before us, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Did for the Least” - Matthew 25: 40

  We learn a lot about the righteous from this single verse. The righteous didn’t realize that they were serving Christ. They saw people in need and responded, but did not do it for their own end gain or reward. They probably didn’t even consider themselves to be righteous, yet they responded in a way that reflected their heart. 

How about us? Do our actions reflect our heart? Or are we constantly worried about who will repay us in return. One of the greatest philosophical arguments is around if a person can be truly altruistic - yet, here we see that it is possible! 

Why do you serve others and how do you bring Christ into the midst of your service? 

  Are your heart and mind focused on Christ when you serve? Why or why not?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we are our own worst enemies. We can get so caught up in what we will gain or how we will be rewarded that we forget what motivates our actions in the first place - your sacrificial love. Teach us to love for your sake, not for ours. Amen. 

Thursday: “When?” - Matthew 25: 41-44

I struggle to believe that anyone would intentionally walk past all of these folks who were in need and not notice or respond. Yet, maybe that is exactly the point Jesus is trying to make. 

When we think too highly of ourselves, we tend to not act with a heart guided by righteousness and humility. Instead, we may even slip into a heart of judgement - does this person deserve my help? Will they really use what I give them as I intend? A fundamental lack of trust can actually lead us to inaction.

John Wesley was known for talking about sins of commission and sins of omission. Commission are those which we commit through our actions. But omission? Those are the sins that come from our inaction.

Here we see what sins of omission look like and receive a challenge to examine our own hearts. 

Tell of a sin of omission in your own life. How are you being invited to repent?

Prayer: Lord, help us to not just avoid the sin that comes forth from our actions. Also, allow our hearts to be so aligned with yours that we cannot help but act to lift high the glory of your name - not leaving your work undone. Amen. 

Friday: “Eternal” - Matthew 25: 45-46

  It’s hard for our human minds to warp around the idea of eternity. I once had a pastor who drew a small dot on a really long line and said that dot represented our lives right here, on earth, today. But the length of the line represented eternity. 

Jesus said that the judgment being rendered is for eternity - that amount of time that is impossible for to comprehend. As difficult as imaging eternity may be, it seems even more difficult to comprehend that what we do today, with this life we have been gifted, has eternal consequences. 

How do you think of eternity and how does it guide your actions?

Prayer: God, we may not be able to fully understand everything, but you have gifted us to understand some things. Reveal to us more about the power and length of eternity in a way that guides our steps in the present. Amen. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 25:31-46

From the Sermon:

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for _________________ of these brothers and sisters, you did for me”

To all of the _________, he will call for them to come and take part in their inheritance.

The opposite is true for the _______ - they didn’t attend to the needs of the least and Christ states that whatever they did not do for the least they did not do for him.

We are _____________________.

Actions (or praxis) flow out of our ___________________.

Reflection Questions:

Why do we love as followers of Christ? 

What does this passage of scripture say to you about discipleship?

Would you describe yourself as someone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness? What does this look like?

Prayer:

Lord, let me not live out of fear, but out of faith in you that is expressed in my actions. Amen. 

Bridesmaids Devotional

 March 19th, 2023

Devotional

“Bridesmaids” - Matthew 25: 1-13

Monday: “Foolish vs. Wise” - Matthew 25: 1-4

Jesus is, once again, telling a parable that incorporated that which people could understand in order to reveal a truth about the Kingdom of God. This parable’s truth seems to be that you need to make sure that you are prepared. 

This point came across by comparing and contrasting two groups in the stories - the wise and the foolish bridesmaids. In many ways these two groups are similar, with one striking difference - the wise bridesmaids brought extra oil along with them for their lamps, as they did not know how long they would be waiting for the bridegroom. 

Some people seem to be good at being prepared for some things, but no one can be prepared for everything. Jesus is inviting us to ask the powerful question to examine our hearts - are you truly prepared for the Kingdom of God?

Which group of the bridesmaids do you identify with the most and why?

Prayer: Loving God, we confess that we like to think that we are a people who are prepared, but we do not always live as such. Forgive us, O Lord, we pray, and lead us on the path of truth that leads us to be prepared for you and your Kingdom. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Delayed” - Matthew 25: 5-6

  We can pretend that we don’t identify with either the prepared or unprepared bridesmaids, but it is hard to pretend that we do not react the word “delayed.” We understand what it means to be delayed in the world we live in. Maybe your heart begins to beat a little faster every time you think of being delayed at the bank, grocery store, or doctors. 

I once had a congregation member in her 90s who told her doctor in no uncertain terms that she needed to be called when she should arrive at the doctors because she did not have enough time to just sit there and wait when the doctor was delayed. She had life to live.

We, too, have life to live. Yet, if we see the bridegroom as being Jesus in this parable, we realize that a delay is not actually a delay. Instead, it is Christ coming again in his perfect timing. And as we wait upon him, he intercedes to God on our behalf. There is a holy purpose in his timing. 

How do you wait for Jesus’s perfect timing in your life?

Prayer:  Lord, we thank you that your ways are not our ways. We confess that, if it was up to us, we would like the world to move as quickly as possible in order to be convient to us. But your return is not about convince, O Lord, but about creating the new heaven and new earth. Let us wait upon your perfect and holy timing. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Trimmed Their Lamps” - Matthew 25: 7-9

When the bridegroom did return from whatever had delayed him, all of the bridesmaids found themselves asleep. All of them. So unlike Paul’s writings that focus on being awake when Christ comes again, we instead find that isn’t the issue Jesus is lifting up in this parable. Instead, it is not the fact that bridesmaids that were asleep that proves problematic, but the fact that half of them were unprepared. They did not have enough oil to trim their lamps to greet the bridegroom’s arrival. 

Of course, those who were unprepared wanted to take some of the oil from those who had it - but even those who were prepared only had enough for themselves and not to sustain others. As much as I wish that this parable would have been about the wise bridesmaids being able to help out the foolish ones, the turret is that we can only be accountable for our own preparedness at the time of Christ’s return.

Now, does that mean that we dismiss or forget about other people? By no means. We are still called to be attentive to proclaiming the Kingdom of God until Christ comes again - but when that day comes, we cannot be accountable for other people’s spiritual state of preparedness. 

How do you feel called to be prepared for the Kingdom of God?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for you call to attentively care for others as we wait while reminding us that that their relationship with you comes not through us but through the working of the Holy Spirit. Teach us how to hold this truth in tension as we wait for you to come again. Amen. 

Thursday: “Bridegroom Came” - Matthew 25: 10-11

This left the foolish bridegrooms with only one option - what they should have done in the first place - go and buy more oil for their lamps. But while they were out (I wonder how far they had to travel to find someone to sell them oil?) the bridegroom came. The celebration began. And the door was shut. 

We do not know if this was the tradition of wedding celebrations of the time, especially celebrations that last for days on end, but we do know that Jesus was clear in his telling - the bridesmaids who left were not getting in after the door was shut. 

This can seem harsh to us, much like the parable we heard proclaimed last week, because we do not like to think about the judgment of the Lord. Yet, we are told that when he comes again he will judge as he sees fit.

How do you react to the door being closed in this parable?

Prayer: Lord, you give us opportunity after opportunity to come to you and find your saving love. And after you give us the gift of life that comes through accepting your salvation, you offer us opportunity after opportunity to be obedient. May we learn how to respond to you for the sake of your Kingdom. Amen. 

Friday: “Know Neither” - Matthew 25: 12-13

Since the days of the early church, people have been impatient for the coming again of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Sometimes this impatience has expressed itself in trying to guess or predict the day and the time of his coming. Yet, Christ clearly tells us at the end of this parable, and other places in the Gospels, that that is not ours to know. We do not know the day nor the hour, so live each as if you were living for Christ and waiting for him.

Which leads to the question of what such living looks like? What does it mean to live in anticipation while waiting? Or to act for God in the present while waiting for the future to come? This is the call of the parable to us as well. For those who are prepared, are you living into that preparedness in such a way that it reflects the light of the Kingdom of God to others and helps you grow closer to your Lord?

  What does waiting on the Lord look like for you?

Prayer: God, help us to wait in eager anticipation that calls us to action to make your name known. Amen. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 25: 1-13

From the Sermon:

_________ is part of life.

By ______  - only 20 years after Christ’s resurrection, the early church also had folks in it that were tired of waiting for Jesus’s return. 

Jesus knows that God’s view of ______ (what is call kairos - ________) is different from our earthly view of time in terms of days and hours and minutes (called - _____________).

Two things happen while the groom is delayed:

1.

2.

Our waiting is an __________________________.

Reflection Questions:

What does investing in God’s Kingdom look like today?

How can we help each other stay vigilant and prepared in this time of waiting?

How can we be faithful followers of Jesus Christ until he comes again, even if we do not know the day or the time?

Prayer:

Lord, teach us what it means to actively wait in anticipation of your triumphant return. Amen.

Wedding Banquet Devotional

 March 12th, 2023

Devotional

“Wedding Banquet” - Matthew 22: 1-14

Monday: “Would Not Come” - Matthew 22: 1-3

Perhaps what makes this parable difficult is that we cannot imagine not attending a wedding banquet that you were invited to. But is that really case? Imagine that you were asked to attend a wedding for someone who you did not know personally, is the decision still as easy? Or invited to a wedding feast when it meant you would need to give up a day of what you enjoy?

Jesus is speaking in parables, once again starting with a topic that everyone hearing could understand - wedding banquets. But when the invitation came from the king, people were not as eager to respond. We aren’t told what their reasoning was - simply that they would not come. 

Jesus was, of course, speaking more than about a wedding banquet. He was trying to call attention to the prophets who had been sent out as servants of God, but who were rejected by the people. He was speaking, chiefly, to the religious leaders. Those who knew the words of the prophets, but probably would have rejected them as so many others did, if they heard their message.

If we start out from a position of assuming that there isn’t a reason that anyone would fail to attend this banquet, we miss the greater point that many had rejected the message of God across time. 

What are some of the reasons you can think of that people will not come to God today?

Prayer: Loving God, we confess that often we read this parable from a place of superiority instead of compassion, forgetting the time when we too were far from you. As we sit with this parable this week, soften our hearts to both hear from you and to respond. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Enraged” - Matthew 22: 4-7

  When the king failed to have people respect his invitation the second time, we see flashes of anger and judgment upon the people. If this parable is trying to explain the Kingdom of Heaven, it is not the same image that many of us hold in our minds. 

Which causes us to ask - what caused the king to be enraged? Was it just that he wasn’t listened to or was it more than that? 

It could be that the king’s invitation was disregarded. But it could also be why it was disregarded in the first place, because it wasn’t treated as worth much, which was a reflection of the level of respect that people had for their king.

We might accept the invitation to be part of the Kingdom, but we aren’t always great about accepting Christ’s call to pick up our cross and follow him every day. What does this say about our level of respect for our Savior and King?

What is something sacred that you have not treated with the respect it deserves from time to time?

Prayer:  Lord, we may not understand those who reject the call of your Kingdom, but when we take time to honestly reflect, we realize that there are times we miss your daily calls in our lives as well. Forgive us, O Lord, as we come to you with a repentant heart and spirit. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Invite Everyone” - Matthew 22: 8-10

When the king sends out the invitation a third time through his servants it becomes scandalously broad. Invite everyone. Good or bad. Everyone you see. 

The grace of God is still scandalously broad in its reach. God does not limit certain people from hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. He does not say that there are certain people who are not worthy to come to the house of God.

The problem is that sometimes we say that as the body of Christ by our words or actions. The church is to be a place where all are welcome to come and hear the Gospel, but we put up barriers of our own making that make the church smaller and smaller in order to be with people we feel are deserving and worthy. 

But that isn’t how this parable works. The king didn’t want the wedding banquet to be sparely attended or be as small as possible. By this third invitation he wanted the wedding hall to be filled. And it was. 

How do we limit who we share the Gospel with, knowingly or unknowingly?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we are not the best representatives of your kingdom. In fact, at times we make the church the opposite of what you express that the kingdom is about in this parable. Forgive us, and renew in us a commitment to your message. Amen. 

Thursday: “Noticed a Man” - Matthew 22: 11-12

We need to be careful to note that there is a distinction between hearing and receiving. We may be the ones who share the message with everyone, but that doesn’t mean that everyone will respond. That, however, is not our work. We cannot make people respond to the Gospel message, as much as we may desire to. We are simply called to be those who share the invention, as the servants in the parable did.

Which brings us to this odd part of the parable where the king notices that someone is present who is not wearing a wedding robe and becomes distressed. Didn’t the king say that everyone could come? 

Yes.

But the king also desires those who come to be prepared.

This parable is about equipping the faithful for the coming days. Thus, in this oddity to the story we find a statement saying pay attention and be prepared. 

What does it mean to be prepared for Jesus?

Prayer: Lord, teach us what it means to be prepared for you. Help us to set aside that which is false and pick up your truth as we trust you more and more in our lives. Amen. 

Friday: “Called/ Chosen” - Matthew 22: 13-14

While this parable may be confusing and even distressing at times, at the end it is the king who determines who is part of the banquet and who is not. The servants do not make that decision - only the king.

Lest we forget, we are not the king. We may be the servants. We may be the guests. But we are not the king. Therefore, the question remains, how will we respond to the unmerited grace that we have received in the invitation? With humility? Gratitude? Obedience?

And let us receive this reminder as word of caution. The setting of this parable is an intense debate between Jesus and the religious elite of the time. Those who may have thought they were closer to the king than others. Let us examine our own hearts to see what this parable has as an invitation for us, here and now today. 

  Who do you identify with in this parable and why?

Prayer: God, help us to go about the work of your kingdom, not ours. Helps us proclaim your message, not our agendas. Put us to work for your purpose alone, mighty God! Amen.

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 22:1-14

From the Sermon:

The king starts sending out his servants into the streets of the land to tell folks that they had been invited to  ___________________.

The third time the servants went out servants went out with a new message - ___________ is invited.

At first the invitation fell on __________ and ___________, so the king continued to the host the banquet just for unexpected guests.

This is the last of three parables that Jesus gives to engage the ____________________. They had been confronting Jesus, day in and day out, about where his authority came from.

It is the king that sees into folks ______________________________, not us.

We are also not to be the ones who _______________________.

Reflection Questions:

Who do you identify with in this parable and why?

How would you have responded to the King’s invitation?

What is the call of the Church that emerges from this parable?

Prayer:

Lord, let me know what is yours and what is mine, as you call me to serve you and your Kingdom. Amen. 

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 20:1-16

From the Sermon:

This parable is only found in ________________________.

Jesus is once again trying to teach folks what the Kingdom of God is like, using something that they understood - ____________.

________________ wanted more than what had been agreed upon when they saw that everyone was getting the same wage as them without putting in the same hours.

While the Gospel of Matthew never uses the word “_________” it is still evident in this parable. 

The grace of God is _______________.

___________________ does not mean the same thing in the Kingdom of God.

In order to accept this gift we need to come apart from the ways of the world that tells us about ____________________________. 

Reflection Questions:

How do you respond to the generosity of God?

What would it take to transform the way you see the world and how would that change the way you live out your faith?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to set aside the envy that comes from the ways of this world and pick up the transformation that comes from grace alone. Amen.