Message Series: More Than Enough
Week 3
Scripture: Luke 14:1-26
Bottom Line: All are welcomed to Jesus' Table
Other Scripture References:
Isaiah 25:6-8 - For a culture that is starving in exile- this was one of the most extravagant images of abundant hope they could muster!
Luke 11:52 - The key to knowledge = The Gospel; Have we kept other people from entering the door? Of knowing the Gospel?
Group Check in:
How is it with your soul?
Prayer Request? Praises?
How has God shown up in your life this week?
Icebreaker:
Do you enjoy hosting parties?
Share your favorite memory from a party/banquet you have attended? What made it so special?
Overview:
Meals are important moments of connection in people's lives.
The story is about an invitation that is relentless in nature. It’s an invitation that doesn’t know boundaries. It’s an invitation that God has been extending for thousands of years to all who would come into the house- read- accept their identity has children of God and trust their lives to the one who issued the invitation
Foundational images of Hope: Isaiah 25:6. God gives the people of Isaiah HOPE. God provides a feast of rich food and well-aged wine on the mountain for all people. God took away the pain and disgrace that fell on these people. (Resurrection of righteous)
If you think you are unworthy of God’s invitation, you are wrong. God is inviting you to the banquet table to rest, to eat & to get full and to be in His presence.
We are God’s guests, we are His servants. We are called to leave and go out into the world and find people who have not yet been invited to God’s table. It is our job, our commission, to invite others to God’s table. We are to tell and encourage His people, no matter what they have done, who they are, or where they come from, that God has a seat at His table for everyone.
This parable takes us from being the center of the story, to aiming us to focus on others. Jesus is telling us we are not the most important in the world. We should be focused on the people in the room, not ourselves. Don’t do things for other people, just so they will do things back for you.
Discussion Questions:
What instructions does Jesus give to his host (the Pharisee) about whom he should be inviting to dinners and banquets and for what reason?
What types of excuses do people use to put off the invitation by Christ? What excuses do Christians use to justify not spending time with Christ?
In what ways do you allow the-day to-day busyness of life to keep you from Jesus? Do you make up random reasons like the people in this parable?
What instructions did Jesus give his host (vs 12-13)? Why should we invite those who cannot repay us (vs 14)?
What hope of reward does Jesus give? Why is faith in the resurrection so important for our lives in this world?
What does this parable teach us about the heart that we should have for others?
Who is one person who is seemingly "on the outside" that you can show love to this week and possibly invite them to God's table?
In Luke 11:52, we learn that the key to knowledge is the Gospel. Have we kept other people from entering the door/knowing the Gospel?
What can you do for the people around you? How can you serve others without expecting anything in return?
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