Worship and Bulletin Info October 15, 2023

Sunday, October 15, 2023- 20^th Sunday after Pentecost

The bulletin for this week may be found by looking under "downloads" at the bottom of this post. 

Overview-

Expensive Wedding. Expensive Grace.

On a recent reality TV show entitled Wedding Wars, engaged couples competed for a complete wedding wardrobe. The winning couple received the bride’s dress and the groom’s tuxedo as well as proper attire for their entire wedding party. The estimated cash value was $30,000. Getting married is not cheap.

In today’s gospel Jesus tells a parable about a wedding invitation, a banquet, and God’s grace. Jesus teaches about a king who ultimately invites all people to a wedding banquet. At first this parable seems to portray a wide open and gracious invitation to a wedding celebration. However, by the end it is hard not to feel sorry for the poor guy who gets a last-minute invitation but gets thrown out for not wearing the correct wedding duds! He apparently wasn’t a winner on that era’s counterpart of that reality TV show! Again, getting married is not cheap—but neither is grace.

Jesus tells this parable as a way of teaching us that receiving God’s grace changes people. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught, God’s grace is not cheap, it comes at a great cost upon the cross. Once we receive this costly grace, our lives are never the same. This grace compels us to act and calls us to bear fruit with our lives. Ultimately, we are led to share this grace with others. To continue to live in the same way after receiving this gracious invitation is not an option. So, what are we to do? We simply receive the gracious invitation to the banquet and find a changing room—it’s time to live a new life.

How to watch via livestream or on demand:
Join us Sunday mornings at 10am as we broadcast live directly on our website: clcathens.org/live. (Note: If you don’t hear audio, make sure that it is not muted.)  Sign into the chat and participate with others who are watching. 

If you miss the livestream or want to watch something again, you can find the video on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/clcathens and on our Facebook page (facebook.com/clcathens).

Thank you for joining our worship today and thank you for your generosity.  Please know that your financial support for the ministry of Christ Lutheran is greatly appreciated. Consider giving in one of the following ways:

• Mail your Sunday offerings to: Christ Lutheran Church, Attn Wanda Weinberg, 69 Mill St., Athens, OH 45701
• Donate on our website, click on "Give" on the top right and follow through the prompts.