WELCOMING
WEEK THREE: TABLES I
Meals were at the heart of Jesus' ministry. The goal for this week is to make your table a place of mission—a place where you can build and deepen relationships with others.
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:29-32
IMAGINE.
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How can your table be a place of mission?
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PRACTICE.
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Share a meal with someone this week. Ideally, open your home. If that doesn't work, invite them to a third space (restaurant, park, etc.).
If you aren't used to having people come over, invite good friends. If you sometimes have people over, invite someone you'd like to know more. If you're comfortable having people over, try to invite someone that you don't know well at all.
You don't have to be a chef. Cook something simple. Use the mealtime as an opportunity to host meaningful conversation. Don't set an agenda. Focus on your guests and what is important to them.
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MORE.
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Read: A Meal with Jesus, Tim Chester
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Eat: Try and share most of your meals this week with others, even if it's just with your family.
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Celebrate: Look for opportunities to host a meal to celebrate something—a birthday, a graduation, an accomplishment, a milestone. This is a great excuse to eat together!
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