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Last updated 9.20am Sunday 17 May 2026 (BAF).
Sunday 17 May 2026
Weekly Sheet
The weekly sheet is available to download (20260517.pdf - revised, revised) as are the sermon notes.
Link: Kirsty's sponsored walk 16 May for Mentally Fit York
A huge thank you to all those who have sponsored me - I have raised £252 so far!
If you still want to sponsor me, the link above will remain open until midnight 23 May. Please contact me if you cannot access it.
The walk was in aid of Mentally Fit York, which promotes good mental health on a local, national and international scale. Your support will be used to fund on the ground initiatives and the latest groundbreaking research.
Kirsty
Zoom
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The Church Environment
We do now have a working heater in the church so you should receive a physically warm welcome as well as a metaphorically warm one.
Although some electrical issues still need to be resolved, the heating in the front rooms and the wifi in church should now be operational.
Sermon Notes
The Parables of Jesus - The Salvation Parables
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
Matthew 22:1-14
Learning at the Feet of Jesus
A Salvation Parable = How to enter the Kingdom
Jesus’ audience = the chief priests and Pharisees
The big picture = the rising conflict between the religious leaders and Jesus in Jerusalem as his earthly ministry comes to its climax
‘And again, Jesus spoke to them in parables …’ (22:1) – points to the events recorded in chapter 21, Jesus:
· Enters Jerusalem
· Cleanses the temple
· Curses the fig tree
· Has his authority questioned
· Tells the parable of the two sons – ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you’ (Matthew 21:31)
· Tells the parable of the tenants – ‘Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits’ (Matthew 21:43)
‘the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them’ (Matthew 21:45)
The Parable of the Wedding Feast has 2 main acts which are set around the time of:
1. Jesus’ crucifixion/resurrection to AD70 and focuses on the religious leaders in Jerusalem
2. AD70 to the Christ’s return and the final judgment and focuses on the Church and her call – the Great Commission, ‘Go, …’
And concludes with a summary statement: ‘For many are called, but few are chosen’ (Matthew 22:14)
The parable has an extensive cast:
Act 1
· The King = God – the only character to speak
· The son = Jesus
· The servants = those who offer the gospel invitation – prophets, apostles and their successors – servants are mentioned 5 times
· Those who are invited – Israel generally, religious leaders specifically
· The troops – Roman soldiers who destroy Jerusalem in AD70
Act 2
· The attendants – likely angels!
· The guests – the church
The setting for both acts is a wedding feast – specifically the messianic wedding feast. The marriage supper of the Lamb and his bride.
Each act follows the same pattern:
· Invitation
· Response
· Judgement
Act 1:
· Invitation – Israel had already received the invitation to attend the messianic wedding feast, and what a feast! God had sent his servants to inform them that the feast was now ready
· Response – profoundly insulting way to respond to an invitation from a king! In fact, downright rebellious! Some are indifferent, others violently indignant – the religious leaders
· Judgement – ‘The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city’ (Matthew 22:7) – note how the King has extended grace and patience before his holy wrath punished those who rejected his invitation.
What was their crime? They rejected the Messiah, they didn’t believe. They didn’t accept the kingdom he was proclaiming.
Act 2:
· Invitation – ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good’ (Matthew 22:8-10) - widespread and without preconditions, those beyond the original guest list – the Gentiles
· Response – ‘the wedding hall was filled with guests’ (Matthew 22:10)
· Judgement – an apparent happy ending but now comes the twist in the tail! ‘When the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 22:11-13) – there are no preconditions to entering the kingdom, none can earn an invitation, but there are conditions for life in the kingdom! A righteous and fruitful life. Kingdom life is demanding. The man in the wrong attire, had rejected the robe of righteousness offered to him by Jesus, he had chosen not to live the life required of those in the kingdom.
The closing scene: ‘For many are called, but few are chosen’ (Matthew 22:14)
· Called - in the context of the parable = to accept the invitation to the wedding feast
· Chosen – persevering to the end – ‘personal responsibility comes face-to-face with divine sovereignty’ – Jesus is both Lord and Saviour
The Christian life is lived between:
The parable of the wedding feast asks us to consider: are we wearing the right attire? Are we living the righteous and fruitful life required of those who are to remain in the kingdom?
Tuesday 12 May 2026
Jim Harries - Mid-May News
In Jim's latest news he outlines his plans to return to Kima International School of Theology (KIST - now Treliss International Training College -titc.co.ke). Also, Jim plans to come to the UK next month and to South Africa in July.
Sunday 12 April 2026
The Marriage of Tom Ibbott and Poppy McCarthy
Yesterday, Saturday 11 April 2026 1pm
