May 5, 2024   

The Nature of the King & the Kingdom (The Scandalous and Annoying Generosity of God)

Matthew 19:22-20:16

“Labourers in the Vineyard”

We all know that we must be willing to make sacrifices in life. And usually we’re satisfied so long as we feel that our contribution is recognized and appreciated.

Many of us sacrifice much for Christ’s kingdom; we give our financial resources, our time, our abilities. We give more deeply in our lives too; making life choices around what we value, what’s right and wrong, how we will orient and organize our lives… and how we measure “success” or “failure” in life. It’s all part of that question, “what must we do to have eternal life?” 

We trust that God will be fair and just with us; that it will all be worthwhile, and that he will fulfill all his promises… that he will give us our right reward for a life given to him. 

In this conversation recorded here in Matthew, about all the the disciples have given to follow Jesus he tells the parable of the “Labourers in the Vineyard”. But when Jesus talks this way we start to wonder if our notions of “fair and just”, “worthwhile”, and “right reward” are at all similar to God’s idea. 

This week we’ll go out and work in the vineyard with the other labourers. We’ll look for ourselves in the story, and see what understanding we can harvest. 

But we’ll may end up asking ourselves, “so, how do we feel about this?”

Please join us at 9:30 - coffee will be ready! Bring a mug :)