Christian Beliefs God’s Invitation © Martin Downes, 2016, CC BY NC. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. You are free to use, share and adapt this work. Not for commercial use.

Today’s Learning Intentions I can use Christian texts to explain beliefs about what God is like What are our success criteria?

You’ve been given a budget of £10,000 to plan a party. Class Discussion You’ve been given a budget of £10,000 to plan a party. You get to pick what happens at the party, and who you invite. What do you do?

How do we decide who we invite to parties? Class Discussion How do we decide who we invite to parties? Are there good and bad reasons for inviting certain people?

We’re going to listen to and read today’s story in two parts. It is about a wealthy person who wanted to arrange a great banquet. In Jesus day, meals like this were important ways of showing your status in society. The host of the party carefully picks who they want to invite, because they want to impress them. Images used with permission from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Banquet_set_up_-_Novotel_Century_Hong_Kong_Hotel.jpg

Read Jesus was at a table with people having a meal. One of the guests said to Jesus: “how happy are those who will sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God!” Jesus said to him, “There was once a man who was giving a great feast to which he invited many people. When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell his guests ‘Come, everything is ready!’ … Images used with permission from FreeBibleimages.org

Read … But they all began, one after another, to make excuses. The first one told the servant, ‘I have bought a field and must go and look after it; please accept my apologies.’ Another one said, ‘I have bought five pairs of oxen and am on my way to try them out; please accept my apologies.’ Another one said, ‘I have just gotten married, and for that reason I cannot come.’ Images used with permission from FreeBibleimages.org

STOP! Discuss in Pairs Write We have stopped before the end of the story. Discuss these questions in pairs, then write your own answers. 1) Why does the host want people to come to his meal? The host wants people to come to his meal because… 2) How convincing are the excuses the people make? I think the excuses are good/bad because… 3) How would you have felt if you were the host? If I were the host I would have felt…

What do you think happens next? Class Discussion What do you think happens next?

Read The servant went back and told all this to his master. The mater was furious and said to his servant, ‘Hurry out to the streets and alleys of the town, and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ Soon the servant said, ‘Your order has been carried out, sir, but there is room for more.’ So the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you all that none of those who were invited will taste my dinner!’” Images used with permission from FreeBibleimages.org

Are you surprised by the ending? Why? Class Discussion Are you surprised by the ending? Why?

Discuss Class Discussion Jesus was known for spending his time and eating meals with surprising people. He didn’t spend most of his time with the rich and powerful, instead he spent it with the poor, the outcasts and those that were ignored. Eating meals together is also a common theme in the Bible. Question: If the host in this story is supposed to represent God, what is God like?

Task Read Discuss in Pairs On your handout you will find text from two other parts of the bible which mention a great feast. Discuss in pairs: What do these texts tell us about what God is like for Christians? Do they reinforce the point made in today’s story? Do they add any new information?

Write Today’s learning intention is to describe something about what God is like using text from the Bible. Write an extended answer to the question below. Try to use at least two of three texts we have looked at today to answer the question. Question: Based on these texts, what is God like for Christians? Here is a structure you could use for your answer: Based on the parable of the great feast, God is like… This is because the parable says… < Isiah 25:6,9 / Luke 13:29-30 > also support this because… Images used with permission: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Test_of_Shibi.jpg/800px-Test_of_Shibi.jpg

Did we achieve our learning intentions? I can use Christian texts to explain beliefs about what God is like

Read Think Class Discussion Discuss in Pairs Write Discuss in Groups Group Work Video Listen