(sound issues)

How did Jesus actually spend His time?

When you look closely at the Gospels, nearly half of Jesus’ life unfolds around tables and meals. Not sermons. Not stages. Tables.

In this message from Luke 14, we explore Jesus’ most uncomfortable dinner party and His radical vision for hospitality. As Jesus eats with Pharisees, heals on the Sabbath, confronts pride, and tells the parable of the Great Banquet, He exposes how easily faith becomes safe, transactional, and exclusive.

This sermon challenges the way we think about status, humility, and who belongs at the table. Jesus doesn’t just describe God’s kingdom as a feast, He invites outsiders in and calls His followers to do the same.

If your guest list looks comfortable, familiar, or strategic, Luke 14 asks a hard question: does it look anything like God’s?

Key themes include:

• Jesus and table fellowship

• Luke 14 explained

• Biblical hospitality

• The Parable of the Great Banquet

• Pride, humility, and social status

• Who Jesus invites and why

• Faith, busyness, and misplaced priorities

• Making room for the overlooked

God’s table will be filled. The question is simple: will you fill yours?

Pull up a chair.

When was the last time you prayed a bold prayer?

Not "God, bless this food." But something risky. Something that would actually hurt if God didn't come through.

If you're honest, it's been a while. Because you've been burned before. You've hoped, prayed, believed—and nothing happened. The marriage didn't heal. The prodigal didn't come home. The diagnosis didn't change. And now you're done making lists with God because hope without proof is just a setup for disappointment.

But here's the question: What if the problem wasn't that God didn't show up? What if you were hoping in the wrong thing?

In this message, we dive into the stories of Abraham and Jeremiah—two men who had nothing external to convince them to hope. Abraham's body was dead. Sarah's womb was dead. Jeremiah was imprisoned while his nation collapsed. And yet, they hoped. Not because their circumstances improved. But because they knew the character of the God who spoke.

We'll unpack:

• Why faith is only as good as what you put it in
• What Viktor Frankl discovered about hope in Auschwitz
• Why the empty tomb changes everything about how we hope
• A simple daily practice to rebuild hope when it feels dead (Remember and Watch)

If you're out of hope, this message is for you. Because your hope doesn't hold because you believe hard enough. Your hope holds because God is faithful.

Key Scriptures: Romans 4:17-19, Jeremiah 33:14-15, Psalm 130:5-6

Sermon Series: Advent 2024

What would happen if we didn't forget the Sabbath?