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Vol. 67 No. 38 ✥ September 23, 2026

September 27, 2026 ❖ The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lessons: Isaiah 25:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon: "Come to the Feast"

This final parable in our series is yet another hard word from Jesus about what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of God. After reading Matthew’s version of the heavenly banquet, we might be surprised, even a little shocked, about just how harsh this word is. And yet, despite its hyperbolic allegory that teeters on absurdity, perhaps there is a message still yet accessible for us today. Are we coming to the feast we’ve been invited to? How are we coming?

Our Final Summer Sermon Series is “Surprise! Parables from Jesus.” We encounter deep truths when we explore the teachings of Jesus in parables, and we also are often surprised by Jesus’ interpretations. We are exploring these surprising stories in a 6-week series as we end our summer season together.

This is the season after Pentecost in the Christian year. Having celebrated the “birthday of the church” through the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, we enter the Season after Pentecost for 24 weeks, to celebrate the existence of the church and recall her mission in the world. The liturgical color for the season is green, symbolic of the church’s growth and mission.

Anthem:

"Christ Has Broken Down the Wall" - M. Miller

Worship is live on our homepage and YouTube channel at 11:00 a.m.,

but we love having you with us in the sanctuary!

Ministry Involvement Survey

OUTSIDE INTERACTION WAIVER

Our insurance company would like Lakeside to institute a policy to limit outside interactions among church staff, volunteers, and members for activities like babysitting, pet sitting, tutoring, coaching, private lessons, etc. We do not believe it is in the best interest of our church members and participants to require such limits for your interactions outside of regular church activities. Instead, we are asking members and families who may engage in such activities to sign a waiver to assume any risk and release the church from liability should any problems arise as a result of those individual relationships.

A downloadable, printable waiver form is attached for anyone who needs one, or you may sign the form at the church office.

Outside Interaction Waiver

MEAL TRAIN FOR LELA & SHELTON CHESSON

Lela and Shelton Chesson are both back home and recovering. They could use some meals 2-3 days per week. If you would like to sign up for a slot, please do so using the link below.

Meal Train Link for Chessons

MEAL TRAIN FOR ANDREA & COLLINS CUTHRELL

Andrea is home recovering from surgery while the family enjoys new baby Jay. They could use some meals 2-3 days per week. If you would like to sign up for a slot, please do so using the link below.

Meal Train Link for Cuthrells

Please remember the following persons who need our prayers and support:

UNC-Nash, 2460 Curtis Ellis Drive (04)

Connie Griffin, Room 431

Cooper Vuncannon (Linda Graham's mother), Room 557

At Home:

Keith Abbott, 3413 Brookview Drive (04)

Janice Bobbitt (Chuck Taylor's sister), 4204 Whitehurst Drive, Wilmington, NC 28409

Robyn Edwards Chapman (Jeannette Pittman's cousin), 1481 Richardson Road, Apt. C406, Apex, NC 27523

Lela Chesson, 53 Whispering Pines Drive (04)

Jennifer Cobb, 1506 West Haven Blvd. (03)

Andrea Cuthrell, 3517 Mansfield Drive (03)

Doug Edwards, 4699 Moreland Drive, Battleboro, NC 27809

Mike Evans, 1151 Falls Road, Apt. 218 (04)

Michele Costa Foster, 105 Gloucester Court (03)

Charlotte Gilliam, 3794 Loblolly Drive (04)

Leland Goslen (Linda and Cameron Graham's great-nephew), 1021 Oakgate Court, Apex, NC 27502

Katie Hand, 4752 Honeysuckle Lane (04)

Linda Hoyle, 210 Gravely Drive (04)

Bill Jones (Dorrie Wright’s brother)

Brian Lassiter, 104 Killian Court (04)

C. B. Morris, 1930 Northern Boulevard (04)

Howard Phykitt, 106 Whispering Pines Drive (04)

Grady Pittman, 313 Englewood Drive (04)

Jeannette Pittman, 313 Englewood Drive (04)

Billie Stallings, 404 Wildwood Avenue (03)

Kate Thomas (Jaye and James Biggs' granddaughter), 904 Shepard Street, Morehead City, NC 28557

George Ward (Witten and Travis Ward's son), 332 Iron Horse Road (04)

Ziggy Zalzneck, 324 Piedmont Avenue (03)

Our Members at Home:

Keith Abbott, 3413 Brookview Drive (04)

Chuck Daniel (Brenda and Dennis Culpepper's nephew)

Margaret Harper, Cottage #5209-101, Magnolia Glen, 5301 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh, NC 27612

Cody Richardson, 1518 Fountain Branch Road (03)

Give Now

YOUTH NEWS

We will have a regular schedule of youth and children's activities this Sunday night and hope to see all our youth here for a fun time of Bible study, games, and discussion. A complete schedule of upcoming fall activities has been emailed to our families and posted to the youth page of our website. Be sure to mark your calendars and let me know if you have any questions.

All families received an email with a medical release form, driver permission form, and outside interaction waiver attached. Please return those completed forms as soon as possible, as we must have them on file for your children to participate, especially in any off-campus activities.

Everyone is busy with so many pressures on our time and attention. Giving focus to our spiritual lives is vital to our development as healthy, whole people. Parents, I encourage you to support your child's growing faith by making worship and Sunday night attendance a priority, talking with your kids about issues and questions of faith, and modeling prayer and Bible reading at home. Lakeside's programs for youth and children strive to be a partner in your child's faith development and a support to you as you share that faith that is central to your own life with your children.

Elizabeth

MUSIC NOTES

Our offertory hymn this Sunday will be the African-American spiritual, “I’m Gonna Eat at the Welcome Table.” Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal includes the following brief synopsis of the spiritual, “The image of a great feast showing God’s welcome of all people was part of Jewish tradition (Isaiah 25:6-9) and underlies Jesus’ parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24). Such equality remains as unknown to many people today as it was to the slaves who created this spiritual.”

The excerpts below are from an essay by Shannon Dycus, Bradley Kauffman, and Katie Graber of the Mennonite Church USA’s hymnal committee for its hymnal Voices Together, published in 2020.

“Songs, like verses from Scripture, emerge from specific times and places, and also speak beyond their immediate contexts. Many melodies hold deep yearnings for justice and holy entry into divine unity. Intercultural competence invites us to listen for context, acknowledge social location and power, and humbly engage others toward understanding.

The first known record of this African American spiritual, commonly known as “Welcome Table,” is a 1922 recording by the Florida Normal and Industrial Quartette...As with many songs from African American traditions, these verses proclaim the power and truth of God’s justice.

“Welcome Table” has been sung, recorded, and published in various forms for over a century. The 1930 publication The Negro Sings a New Heaven includes a verse “I’m gonna tell God how you treat me.” During the American (USA) civil rights movement the song took on contemporary potency, confronting white supremacy. One of the more famous adaptations of the song during this period was the verse “I’m gonna sit at the Woolworth counter.” This proclamation confronted the individual and systemic discrimination that were prolonging racial segregation of public spaces and denying access to services and human dignity.”

To read the essay in its entirety, which I highly recommend, click the button below.

Zack

Welcome Table Full Essay

CHILDREN'S CORNER

Last Sunday we had our first full Sunday night program. It was so fun teaching the children about what it means to love and help our neighbors. The children heard the story of the Good Samaritan, learning that God wants us to help not just some, but everyone! God calls us to help everyone no matter what size or shape they are, what gender or nationality they are, who they love, or anything else that might divide us. Mr. Rogers says “if you look for the helpers, you'll know that there's hope." Let us be those helpers for all our neighbors and provide hope to a world that desperately needs it!

Jacob

TOPNOTCHERS NEWS

Join us for a fun fall outing to Hardy's Alpaca Farm in Castalia on Friday, October 2. We'll depart the church parking lot at 10:15 a.m. The trip will include a soap making class at a cost of $15, with lunch at Pauley's Pizza and Black Sheep Grill to follow. Please sign up by clicking the button below by September 28.

Continue the Communion will have lunch at Sal's Pizza, 2820 Sunset Avenue, following worship on October 4. Join us for good food and fellowship!

Sue

Hardy's Alpaca Farm Signup

DOVE NOTES

Dove Notes, Lakeside's ministry to send notes and card to folks in need of encouragement, will meet October 7 at 11:15 a.m. in Godwin Library. Anyone who would like to join us will be welcomed. We are always looking for ways to extend our outreach to those who may not be on our prayer list but who may be in need of a comforting note. Please let us know if you have anyone in mind.

GATEKEEPERS NEEDS YOUR HELP

Each year, Gatekeepers Workcamp uses dozens of plastic containers for paint storage, and we need your help replenishing our supply. Please save your plastic containers with a built-in handle, from items such as coffee, peanuts, pet treats, etc. Containers with lids are preferred. You may bring clean, dry containers by the church office anytime throughout the year. Thank you!