MISSED
OPPORTUNITY
Story of the Great Feast -A story
from Jesus Christ
Luke 14:15-24 -New Living Translation
Hearing
this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What
a privilege it would be to have a share in the Kingdom of God!”
Jesus
replied with this illustration: “A man prepared a great feast
and sent out many invitations. When all was ready, he sent his
servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them
to come. But they all began making excuses. One said he had just
bought a field and wanted to inspect it, so he asked to be excused.
Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to
try them out. Another had just been married, so he said he couldn’t
come.
“The
servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master
was angry and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys
of the city and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the
blind.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘there
is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out
into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you
find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those
I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had
prepared for them.’”
THE
IMPORTANCE OF USING YOUR TALENT AND CREATIVITY
Story of the Ten Servants -A story
from Jesus Christ
Luke 19: 11-27 -New Living Translation
The
crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was
nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that
the Kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, “A nobleman
was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then
return. Before he left, he called together ten servants and gave
them ten pounds of silver£ to invest for him while he was
gone. But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him
to say they did not want him to be their king.
“When he returned, the king called in the servants to whom
he had given the money. He wanted to find out what they had done
with the money and what their profits were. The first servant
reported a tremendous gain—ten times as much as the original
amount! ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are
a trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with the little
I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your
reward.’
“The next servant also reported a good gain—five times
the original amount. ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You
can be governor over five cities.’
“But the third servant brought back only the original amount
of money and said, ‘I hid it and kept it safe. 21I was afraid
because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t
yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
“‘You
wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Hard, am I? If you
knew so much about me and how tough I am, why didn’t you
deposit the money in the bank so I could at least get some interest
on it?’ Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king
ordered, ‘take the money from this servant, and give it to
the one who earned the most.’
“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘that servant has
enough already!’
“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘but to those who
use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from
those who are unfaithful,£ even what little they have will
be taken away. And now about these enemies of mine who didn’t
want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right
here in my presence.’”
