Because the Kingdom of God is always an invitation! TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Message from Nate ...... 04 About Setting the Table ...... 06 How to Engage ...... 10 The Journey of a Giver ...... 12
Sermon Series Guide ...... 15
Week One ...... 16 Week Two ...... 34 Week Three ...... 50 Week Four ...... 70 Week Five ...... 86 Week Six ...... 102
The devotionals in this guide were written by Nate Ross, Neal Windham, and Brian Combs. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, 2011 (Zondervan) WELCOME to Setting the Table!
We all know that feeling of walking into a school, work or crowded event and not for bringing the Good News of His invitation to the world. God set the table for seeing an available seat. And there’s nothing like it when someone calls your name us, and He’s asking us to set the table for soul’s that are hungry in this world. because they have a seat for you. This is what this six week journey is all about. God has invited us to His Table to feast with Him, so we can find our identify, purpose, WE GET TO SIT AT GOD’S TABLE & hope, calling and new life through His Son, Jesus. WE GET TO SET THE TABLE FOR OTHERS.
The Table is a place of belonging, feasting, conversation, and celebration. Jesus did In January 2020, Northside turns 50! From starting in a basement to many some of His best ministry around a table and He still does it today through His relocations, our story is simply of men and women responding to God’s invitation. Church. And by responding to God’s invitation today, we get to help shape the next 50 years of Northside. What. An. Honor! When a Church loses their purpose it’s because they’re sitting at the wrong table. The Kingdom of God is an invitation to those of us who are at a wrong table or Our best days are ahead as long as we keep taking a seat at His Table. haven’t found a seat yet. So let’s take a seat, together. He (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who where far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of HIS household. Ephesians 2:17 Nate Ross | Lead Pastor Jesus is inviting people who are far away and those who are near Him to feast on His peace. With all invitations, you have to respond. Even not responding is a response. Jesus has invited us to His Table and the Christian life is simply about learning to daily respond to His invitation.
It won’t take long after sitting at God’s Table before you’ll want to start inviting others to taste and see the goodness of God. God has chosen the Church to be His vehicle
4 5 GOD IS
OUR PRIMARY GOAL WITH SETTING CALLING THE TABLE is that 100% of the people in our church would engage in this generosity initiative to experience a life-changing encounter with God. US TO OUR SECONDARY GOAL is to raise $28M over the next two years in order to accomplish these SET THE three initiatives… TABLE SETTING THE TABLE FOR MISSION • $15M Northside’s mission is to connect unconnected people to Jesus Christ. For this, we are setting a financial goal for normal weekly operations at ONE MISSION. $15M over the next two years. These resources will help our ministries continue to lead more people to grow in their relationship with Jesus, 1 connect in authentic relationships, and impact the world. ONE FUND.
A traditional capital campaign focuses mostly on people who are already giving. These people are asked to continue giving what they currently are, as well as to start giving toward something else ... like a building or special project. We aren’t doing that through Setting the Table. Instead, Setting the Table will be a “one fund” initiative, SETTING THE TABLE TO MAKE ROOM • $10M meaning ALL of our giving goes toward ALL three table-setting initiatives over the God has continually grown and blessed Northside again and again over next two years. It’s all one mission, so it’s all one budget. the past 50 years. We now find ourselves in a place where we need to make more room for more people to join us at the table. We need to Through a “one fund” initiative we will more successfully maximize the use of current space on our campus, plan to increase room invite everyone into raising the temperature of their generosity, for children by over 60%, add 500 seats to the auditorium, and expand regardless of IF they currently give, or WHAT they currently give. the lobby and “next steps” areas. The goal of this portion of the initiative 2 is to cover all construction costs associated with the expansion. Also, God has called Northside on one mission of connecting the unconnected. Our general operating budget is a HUGE part of this mission. Our expanded facility will be a HUGE part of this mission. A traditional capital campaign can easily divide our focus into two missions: 1) connecting the unconnected and 2) the building. That can’t happen. It’s all one mission, so it’s all one budget.
SETTING THE TABLE FOR MULTIPLICATION • $3M The Setting the Table initiative will last for two years. In those two years, everything We know that God’s work with Northside doesn’t end with a building given will go to set the table for more people to join God. project and while we may not know exactly what that next calling will be, we want to make sure we are fully ready to respond as we seek His guidance. In order to do this, we want to eliminate all debt from our current “mortgage” and be able to quickly focus all of our resources on 3 His next calling. 9 TWO-YEAR GIFT CHART As you pray and discern how God would ask you to give during this time, use this gift chart as a discipleship tool—let it be something that inspires and challenges you towards greater generosity for Christ’s Kingdom as we seek to give it all for Him.
Gifts Two-Year Annual Monthly Gift Level 4 WAYS TO ENGAGE Needed Gift Level Gift of Gift of Total
1 2,500,000 1,250,000 104,167 2,500,000 IN SETTING THE TABLE 1 1,500,000 750,000 62,500 1,500,000 2 1,000,000 500,000 41,667 2,000,000
TWO-YEAR 3 500,000 250,000 20,833 1,500,000 GIFT CHART 4 250,000 125,000 10,417 1,000,000 SETTING 1. PRAY CONTINUALLY 7 150,000 75,000 6,250 1,050,000 As you pray about how God 10 125,000 62,500 5,208 1,250,000 theTABLE Pray for the hearts of the people at Northside to join God as they follow Him with 12 100,000 50,000 4,167 1,200,000 generosity and obedience. would ask you to give during 18 75,000 37,500 3,125 1,350,000 this time, use this gift chart as 25 65,000 32,500 2,708 1,625,000 2. COMMIT FULLY a tool. Allow it to inspire and 45 50,000 25,000 2,083 2,250,000 COMMITMENT CARD 60 35,000 17,500 1,458 2,100,000
God has continually grown and blessed Northside again and again over the past 50 challenge you towards greater 70 25,000 12,500 1,042 1,750,000 years. We now find ourselves in a place where we need to make more room for more generosity as we embark on 95 15,000 7,500 625 1,425,000 people to join us at the table. We need to maximize the use of current space on our Setting the Table together. 145 10,000 5,000 417 1,450,000 225 7,500 3,750 313 1,687,500 campus and plan to increase room for children by over 60%, add 500 seats to the 250 5,000 2,500 208 1,250,000 auditorium, and expand the lobby and “next steps” areas. The goal of this portion of Many 2,500 1,250 104 1,112,500 the initiative is to cover all construction costs associated with the expansion. Total Gift Goal $28,000,000 3. CELEBRATE JOYFULLY COMMITMENT WEEKEND: FEBRUARY 29 & MARCH 1 God has, is and will continue to do amazing things at Northside and in your life, share your story with others as God works through you to invite others to His Table. Use this Commitment Card sample below to help you prayerfully consider what level of generosity God is calling you to during 4. GIVE GENEROUSLY Setting the Table. You’ll get a fresh, new card to fill out on Commitment Weekend. Live and give in a way that stretches you to take yourBECOME faith to a whole A TABLE new level SETTER of SET THE TABLE trust and generosity. WHAT I/WE WOULD NORMALLY GIVE IN A YEAR $ PRIMARY GOAL: 100% ENGAGEMENT (REGULAR GIVING, SPECIAL PROJECTS, MISSIONS, ETC.)
MY/OUR EXPANDED ANNUAL GENEROSITY AS A PART + $ We want every single person to take his or her next step OF THE SETTING THE TABLE INITIATIVE HOW TO MAKE YOURin discipleship and grow in generosity. SETTING THE TABLE COMMITMENT = $ X 2 YEARS SECONDARY GOAL: $28 MILLION OVER TWO YEARS At the end of our Setting the Table sermon series, we’ll have a commitment weekend $ on February 29th and March 1st. This is the culmination ofSetting the Table, when To Set the Table in 3 Kingdom-building waves: GIFTS FROM MY/OUR STORED RESOURCES + $ we will make our 2-year commitments together as a church. You may have already received a Commitment Card. You can fill that card out and bringSETTING it THE TABLEwith FORyou MISSION or fill out a new card on Commitment Weekend. Until then, prayerfully$15 million for ourconsider continuing what mission of MY/OUR TOTAL 2-YEAR SETTING THE TABLE COMMITMENT connecting unconnected people to Jesus Christ steps of faith and generosity God may be calling you to take.(two years of our annual operating budget) $ SETTING THE TABLE TO MAKE ROOM 10 April 2020 – April 2022 11 $10 million for recapturing existing space and expanding our campus to make room for more people at the Northside table NAME(S) SETTING THE TABLE FOR MULTIPLICATION $3 million for eliminating debt and setting ADDRESS Northside up for what God is calling us to next PHONE EMAIL
And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. (2 Corinthians 8:5) THE JOURNEY 3. THE INTENTIONAL GIVER OF A GIVER This type of giver begins asking the question, “Why am I giving more to my cell phone bill than I am giving to God? Should I be giving to God more than I give for my mortgage?” This giver starts to make their giving an intentional choice that reflects how they prioritize and spend their money. This may also be the point of intentionality when someone begins to tithe, reflecting that they are being intentional about a certain amount/percentage that they want This tool is designed to help a person move from money being their “god” to to give to God. money being a tool for God’s Kingdom. The Journey of a Giver focuses on behaviors and attitudes of our hearts rather than on amounts or percentages, further transforming us into the likeness of Christ. Each step of the journey represents growth in a lifestyle of generosity and sacrifice. These are not steps you ascend to get to God, but simply a way to evaluate your growth in 4. THE SACRIFICAL GIVER generosity. Scripture encourages us to grow in every facet of our walk with This type of giver begins to ask the question, “Am I giving in a way that changes Christ, including the grace of giving. (2 Corinthians 8:7) me? Am I giving in a way that causes my lifestyle to be different to reflect the transformation Christ is making in me?” A Sacrificial Giver’s commitment to giving actually informs the rest of his/her lifestyle. A Sacrificial Giver has a giving commitment that takes priority in their spending so that they have to 1. THE FIRST-TIME GIVER adjust some of their other expenditures to meet that commitment. This type of giver is someone who decides to give for the first time; someone who decides to give something and trust God and the leaders of the Church with this gift. 5. THE LEGACY GIVER A Legacy Giver is no longer asking the question, “God, how much are you asking me to give?” A Legacy Giver is asking the question, “God, how much 2. THE CONSISTENT GIVER are you asking me to keep?” They ask this so that they can release the rest into This type of giver is someone who decides to give something and to give it on growing God’s Kingdom. Much like a Sacrificial Giver makes a commitment a consistent basis. This often requires planning, and sometimes this might be that will govern his/her monthly and annual decisions, a Legacy Giver makes a reason for someone to set up recurring gifts online or to become disciplined a lifetime or longer-term giving commitment that governs his/her larger with giving through regular envelopes or checks. decisions like homes, cars, and investments.
12 13 SERMON SERIES GUIDE SERMON NOTES, GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS & DAILY DEVOTIONALS
14 15 SERMON NOTES WEEK 1: TABLE MAGNITUDE
16 17 WEEK ONE Table Magnitude
“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ Luke 14:23-24 NIV “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I A SEAT AT THE TABLE must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being so I can’t come.’ “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master his way. Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say. that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this Luke 14:1-24 NIV parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will ONE REALLY BIG TABLE: have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so LIFE GROUP MEDITATION & QUESTIONS that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves These days we’re hearing that the sun is only one of millions of stars in the Milky Way will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Galaxy and that our galaxy is but one of more than 150 billion of its kind! Reminds me of Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider your heavens, … what is mankind that you are mindful of them, Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your human beings that you care for them?” In fact, in light of the sheer breadth of creation, we friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may might want to ask, “Does God really have a seat at the Table for me? Just what in the world invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the am I doing here?” crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” I love the way Henri Nouwen responds affirmatively to questions like these in his book,
18 19 Life of the Beloved: “I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I we hit the really hard questions, and we’ll be doing that with some challenging texts this am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you out of the depths week. of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. ... Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your Once we’ve said Yes, it’s time to take our places in setting the Table. Sure enough, God’s hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. ... You belong to me. I am your father.” hosting, but He’s always involved His people in making room for others. Ever wondered what the Great Banquet will be like? You’ve probably envisioned what might be on the As Nouwen’s words suggest, God really cares about people, made as we are in His own menu and how many courses there will be–I have too–but what’s your role in preparing for amazing image. He’s been called the “Hound of Heaven.” So it shouldn’t surprise us that the Table right now? His Table is spacious. Lots of elbow and leg room, a Table with size. Do you remember this part of God’s promise to Abraham way back in Genesis 12: “All peoples on earth will be Catherine of Siena once compared God to a “Mad Lover”–not angry, just crazy with blessed through you”? Not just some, but all. love for us. Sort of like the Old Testament prophet Hosea, who went after his unfaithful bride, Gomer, with everything he had. In setting the Table, that’s how it’s to be with us, There’s also a stunning picture of the sheer magnitude of God’s Kingdom in the Book Northside. This is our ethos, our life’s blood. We’re here “to connect the unconnected” to of Revelation, chapter 21, where we read about the New Jerusalem coming down out of Jesus. It’s what called us into existence in the first place, and now, more than ever, the needs heaven from God. It’s a city whose length and breadth and height (that’s right–height) of Southern Indiana–indeed, the world!–beg our very best efforts in getting them to the measures 1,400 miles in every direction you can think of, a giant cube the size of Alaska, Table too. as tall as it is wide and long! How many people could actually inhabit a city like that? How large a Table would it take to host them? How fast an elevator? How many stories would there be? Can’t picture it? Me neither. But grace is always roomy, beyond anything we can GROUP QUESTIONS FOR imagine. Heaven will no doubt be very full! REFLECTION & ACTION Leif Enger captures it so well in his novel, Peace Like a River. Near the end of the book he pictures a father and son making their way to the heavenly city: “Dad pointed to the plains below, at movement I took at first to be rivers–winding, flowing, light coming off them. They came from all directions, streaming toward the city, and dust rose in places along their 1. What is the most humbling truth about Jesus inviting you to “His Table” to feast in banks. ‘They’re people,’ Dad said. And looking again, looking harder, I could see them on the Him? Have you taken your seat at the Table? What was your struggle to accept His march, pouring forth from vast distances: People like I’d seen everywhere and others like invitation? I’d not seen, whole tributaries of people….”
“Whole tributaries of people” flowing into a mighty River of God on their way to Glory! 2. How has feasting at Jesus’ Table changed your appetite for life? Gives you goose pimples, doesn’t it? How large a Table is the God of all these tributaries building today? The God of 150 galaxies? As our text says, he’s invited many guests, including the poor, crippled, blind and lame, and there is still room. God wants his house full! 3. Take a moment to meditate on the great feast that awaits us all in glory in God. Try to picture the crowd gathered. Who’s sitting beside you? Who else do you wish were So. there? How will you help them feel welcome at the Table?
Let’s pause and catch our breath. This week we’re talking about saying Yes to Jesus and taking our own seats, about sitting at the Table. If we’re going to invite others - and Northside has always been about inviting others; after all, someone invited us! - it’s important to be sure we’re all in, a team united in purpose, love, and mission. This means we’ll have to look at our own priorities and attitudes, our commitments and values. Sounds easy enough until
20 21 DAILY Devotions
DAY 1: TABLE MAGNITUDE APPLY How has competition for a “chief seat at the Table” hurt my effectiveness as a servant of Jesus? How can this tendency hurt our effectiveness as a church? Luke 14:7-11 NIV When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” What seemingly small tasks - might Jesus be calling you to today in Setting the Table?
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought?
PRAY Write a prayer to God related to this Scripture and devotion.
22 23 DAILY Devotions
DAY 2: TABLE MAGNITUDE APPLY Who among us are the “poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind”?
Luke 14:12-14 NIV Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Invitation is the way of God. When is inviting people to follow Jesus and gather at church a struggle for you? Why is that? The Kingdom of God comes by invitation only. But here’s the thing. The guest list privileges people you wouldn’t think get the best seats in the house. This is what Jesus means when He talks about inviting “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Or maybe the addict, the unwed mom, and the widow whose kids just moved to California. For one thing, these people can’t afford the best seats. And maybe more importantly, they might have a whole lot of trouble even getting to the Table in the first place (shame, fear, insecurity, etc.). Nor will they be able to return the favor, but Jesus came for people who can’t return the favor. How were you invited to the Table? And how am I helping to invite? (Hint: that would be all of us.)
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God about these verses.
24 25 DAILY Devotions
DAY 3: TABLE MAGNITUDE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Luke 14:15-17 NIV When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make Think hard about this. Don’t rush your response. What in your life is more pressing than excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ showing up at the Table at God’s own invitation? Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ The servant came back and reported this to his master.
The great banquet of which Jesus speaks in this parable was one prepared for the Jews of His own day, a deeply broken people who had been waiting for the coming of the Messiah What’s distracting you from undivided attention to the total Lordship of Christ over your for centuries, a people whose day had finally arrived. Sadly, most of them missed the party. life? Name it here and pray for freedom’s sweet release from enslavement to it. Have you ever prepared a feast, invited guests, and had no one show up? We’ve all heard the excuses: “I had business to tend to, work to be done, a need at home.” And so it goes. Always something. More pressing affairs. But more pressing than the Kingdom? Really?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
How will you rearrange your priorities so as to tend to that which matters most?
PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God about these verses.
26 27 DAILY Devotions
DAY 4: TABLE MAGNITUDE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now? Luke 14:18-24 NIV Then the owner of the house became angry & ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind & the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’” Imagine the empty seats. Do the rejections anger you as they do God? If not, why?
Ever known someone who just loved to host, who could never find enough chairs or table space or rooms large enough for the ever-growing crowd? God is like that. Always room for one more. He’s “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Better than a pair of aces and three kings, this “full house” accommodates every imaginable guest willing to show up. Please notice the incredible urgency with which the host invites them. “‘Go out quickly into the streets (open) and alleys (not-so-open)” and bring How does Northside’s sense of urgency about “connecting the unconnected” mirror God’s them in!’” own? How do you share this sense of urgency personally?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God about these verses.
28 29 DAILY Devotions
DAY 5: TABLE MAGNITUDE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Ephesians 2:19-22 NIV You are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which Have you ever felt like an alien among God’s people? How’d you become at home? How God lives by the Spirit. can you help others feel at home especially people new to Northside.
Notice the six bolded words in these verses. Every one of them is an English translation of a Greek word that has the root oik (which means something like “house”) in it (oikei = household, oikodome = building, katoiketerion = dwelling, etc.; you get the picture). Even the Greek word for “aliens” (paroikoi) has an oik. It literally means “alongside the house.” So, you might say, there’s an oik, oik here, and an oik, oik there; here an oik, there an oik. The House is built on the solid footing of the apostles and prophets. How does feasting on Everywhere an oik, oik! (Laugh with me!) God’s word satisfy you?
Paul loaded this text with the language of building to make a point: God is in the construction business. He’s building the church. But this building doesn’t have a roof; it’s not finished yet. Lots of present tense verbs. To shift the metaphor, the Table is still being set, because the House, like the Table, is a work in progress. Always room for another pantry, closet, or bedroom. Paul says we’re being “built together”; how does this reality shape the entire building project when you think about your faith? OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God about these verses.
30 31 SPIRITUAL PRACTICE Visioning
Have you ever “Dreamed the Dreams of God”? I mean, have you ever spent a dedicated YOUR PRAYER IN RESPONSE block of time seeing, or at least attempting to see, what God sees in the faces of people all around you, and longing–dreaming–for them to flourish? Please ponder the prayer below, and then, in response, write your own prayer, a Table prayer, for those whose seats remain empty.
Make dedicated time for silence to reflect on Jesus’ invitation to God’s Table. We can’t be grateful until we slow down and enjoy the invitation and seat we’ve been offered.
Father, I confess I’ve been too self-absorbed to see as You see, to see what You see. Of course, I cannot see all You see, but You have graced me with vision to notice–at times, all too clearly–at least some of the folks who’re missing from the Table. I want to be a source of help and healing to them, God, to be a source of hope. You know their names: ______and ______and ______. So do I. God, what most do You want for them? Help me to see it. Do they need a word of comfort? Have they even heard of Jesus? Is there an untold story they just need to get off their chest? What does their relationship with You look like? How can they be helped to flourish, Lord? What are your dreams for them? How can I be of help in realizing those dreams? I place myself in Your service, Lord, entirely. Do with me as You will. I ask it through Jesus, and in Your Spirit, Father. Amen.
32 33 WEEK 2: TABLE MERCY SERMON NOTES Your Influence
34 35 WEEK TWO Table Mercy
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” and told their master everything that had happened. Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that Matthew 18:21-22 NIV debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be YOUR INFLUENCE: “A SEAT AT THE TABLE” tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35 NIV Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his A SEAT AT THE TABLE: servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was LIFE GROUP MEDITATION & QUESTIONS brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. In his insightful book, From Tablet to Table, Leonard Sweet suggested, “But there is one thing that would dramatically change the world we live in and help return us to our “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will rootedness in Christ: Bring back the table! If we were to make the table the most sacred pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him object of furniture in every home, in every church, in every community, our faith would go. quickly regain its power, and our world would quickly become a better place. The table is the place where identity is born—the place where the story of our lives is retold, re- “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a minded, and relived.” hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. There is something about a table. It represents belonging. It represents family. From the earliest of human history, truth has always been transmitted at a table. One of the hardest “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it parts of setting the Table is the guest list. As you begin a conversation with God about your back .’ guest list, lean into what this passage teaches about who makes the cut.
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay You may not think so, but you have more influence in the people around you than you 36 37 know. The measure of your impact is directly connected with your guest list. Jesus has set the Table by inviting us. He, in turn, has assigned us the mission of joining the invitation team.
This is at the heart of our goal to get 80% of our church in groups. The main dish we serve at this Table is mercy. It seems we have lost our awareness of the eternal value of every human being.
In this text from Matthew 18, this powerful parable is introduced with a tough question. “‘Lord, how many times should I forgive?’” It speaks to the heart of setting our Table. Relationships are messy. Inevitably, the closer we get to other people, the more aware we are of their brokenness. But I suspect the harder part is that relationship also forces us to confront our own brokenness.
The parable sets up an extreme situation where a guy who had a huge debt canceled immediately went out to demand payment from someone who owed him a small amount.
One of the biggest obstacles to table setting is the sense of “you owe me.” The cure for this is mercy. This week sit at the Table of mercy. Feast. Laugh. Share. Invite.
GROUP QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION & ACTION
1. A hard heart can keep us from setting the table for others. Take some time to list who you believe owes you something, what would be required to settle the account, then choose to cancel the debt.
2. Who in your sphere of influence (family, neighbors, co-workers, or others) do you resist inviting to the table? What is keeping you from inviting them? Have you taken the time to pray for them and invite them to a weekend service?
3. Jesus asks us to forgive from being forgiven. Is it hard for you to forgive or be forgiven, and why?
38 39 DAILY Devotions
DAY 1: YOUR INFLUENCE APPLY Matthew 18:21-22 NIV What has been the most surprising words of Jesus so far in your journey with Him? Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy- seven times.”
It’s a question with which we all wrestle. Forgiveness doesn’t come easily. Scripture teaches that we are integrated beings. This means we can’t separate our thoughts from our feelings. Maybe we hear a sermon on forgiveness or read a verse like the one above and think, “I need to do that.” Then we remember. We remember the hurt. We remember the disappointment. Our feelings take over and our hands clinch back around the note of payment due. They owe us! Is there an area of your life you are having a hard time forgiving or receiving forgiveness?
This is at the heart of Peter’s question. It is at the heart of ours. Forgiving isn’t forgetting. It isn’t saying the wrong was no big deal. Instead, it says it was such a big deal that only an act of mercy could repair the breach. What (or who) comes to your mind what you hear, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times”?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
40 41 DAILY Devotions
DAY 2: YOUR INFLUENCE APPLY How has God been immensely patient in you? Matthew 18:23-27 NIV “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. What’s most challenging about being patient with others right now?
Paul told his young friend Timothy, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:16 NIV)
This is the power of the Table. We were shown mercy. Not a little. IMMENSE PATIENCE! To illustrate His point about forgiveness, Jesus told a parable about someone who was forgiven greatly. The truth is, we are the ones who have been forgiven greatly. It is this God has cancelled our debt in Jesus and let us go from sin. How does this help you cancel mercy that pulls our chair to the table. the debt of others?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
42 43 DAILY Devotions
DAY 3: YOUR INFLUENCE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Matthew 18:28-30 NIV “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the What’s one of the most memorable moments when you or someone else acted without debt.” self-awareness? What was the consequences?
It’s hard to fathom how this guy could receive such a great gift and still demand payment from his debtor. But I suspect there is something in all of us that can’t quite believe that God has really forgiven us. So we, in turn, find ourselves still trying to hold onto the IOU’s we are due.
Corrie ten Boom once wrote, “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the Is there someone who you’ve kept “in prison” in your heart for a long time? What would shackles of selfishness.” it look like to set them free through Jesus?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
44 45 DAILY Devotions
DAY 4: YOUR INFLUENCE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Matthew 18:30-33 NIV “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of Forgiveness has a ripple effect. As we develop a more forgiving heart, the people around yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I us can feel it. The reverse is true as well. How have you seen a lack of mercy impact had on you?’” relationships?
Forgiven people forgive people. Healed people heal people. Loved people love people. But hurt people hurt people. Unforgiven people discover the roots grow deep and turn bitter. Those sour roots flavor all of life. They show up in all other relationships. Jesus wrapped this story in the connection between our ability to give mercy with our ability to receive it. The master assessed the man as a“wicked servant.” Forgiven people forgive people. As you consider how much God has forgiven of you, where OBSERVE What do you see in these verses? is God calling you to let mercy lead today?
Have you seen this principle at work in your relationships or someone you are close to? PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
46 47 DAILY Devotions
DAY 5: YOUR INFLUENCE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Matthew 18:34-35 NIV “In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” God gets mad in this parable. Have you processed His emotion when it comes to injustice? What’s new about this to you? “Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.” – Louis B. Smedes
It seems like an extreme end to the story, but the truth is, forgiveness doesn’t set the offender free, it frees the offended! The chain you are holding isn’t attached to them, it is attached to you. Most of the perceived wrongs I have carried aren’t even remembered by the offender. Jesus connects this story to how our Heavenly Father treats us. How does this expand “The Table” that God has invited you to? When we choose to feast at the Table of Mercy, we are feasting on freedom. The more we condition our appetites for the flavor of the bread of mercy, the sweeter it tastes.
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
48 49 WEEK 3: TABLE MULTIPLICATION SERMON NOTES Your Generosity
50 51 WEEK THREE Table Multiplication
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of Mark 6:41-43 NIV bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
YOUR INFLUENCE: “A SEAT AT THE TABLE” Mark 6:30-44 NIV
“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. MORE THAN IS EXPECTED: Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance LIFE GROUP MEDITATION & QUESTIONS to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” As a novice youth minister, I (Neal) once drove to church on a Sunday morning with a So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them nearly empty gas tank. After services that morning, I mentioned it to Ray Thompson, an leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. elder in our congregation and the president of a small nearby bank. Ray was always typing When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were notes on the backs of our checks (back when checks were actually returned to us in the like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. mail), complaining that we had put too much money in the offering. I never thought of this habit as among the duties of a bank president, but it was a small bank in a small town where By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they people knew each other. said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” That Sunday Ray invited me to drive to his farm, not far from the church, to get some gas before Miriam and I made the trip home. I pulled up to the pump and put in what I thought But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” to be several dollars worth, got out a ten dollar bill, and tried to hand it to Ray. I will never forget the look on his face or the many tears which flowed from his tired old eyes. “No,” he They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend protested, “No. Please, I want to give this to you.” “Please take it,” he went on and on. that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” I often look back to that day as the turning point in my attitude toward generosity, not that “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” I’ve learned all there is to know about the matter or have become the giver I want to be. It’s 52 53 just that as an elder and bank president and brother in Christ, Ray’s awareness of what we Do you hear what our Lord is saying about generosity? When treated shamefully by this gave, coupled with his insistence on helping us out, left no small mark on my let-me-pay- world and asked to do the unthinkable, apprentices of Jesus always offer not the minimum, for-it soul. His tears still speak to me today. but more than is ever expected or anticipated–another cheek, another garment, another mile– and so on. Thomas Keating once observed that some of us, due to wounding as kids, have problems with power and control. It almost goes without saying that people who struggle with power More than anyone expects. Like feeding 5,000. That’s generosityJesus’ way. and control also struggle with generosity. They save (which is okay), but they often hoard (not okay). Better to view money as just one more object in the created universe, used solely to do things like putting clothing on our backs and shelter over our heads. Viewed GROUP QUESTIONS FOR in this way, money loses its seductive power, and we begin to loosen our grip on it. Or, better, it begins to loosen its grip on us. And as we in turn begin to notice others, the way REFLECTION & ACTION of generosity becomes real to us; it becomes a viable option for us.
Mark Moore recently wrote, “Follow the money trail, and you’ll find one’s faith.” Jarringly 1. How do you view money? What is it to you? How does your view of money clear, this wisdom. And true. Have you ever done an audit of your spending habits in order shape the way you use it? to see just where the trail leads. And where it doesn’t?
In Mark 6:36, the disciples tell Jesus to send the hungry crowds away so they can buy 2. Have you ever done an audit of your spending habits in order to see just where something to eat. Reasonable, it seems, but hey, they are talking to Jesus, who in turn the trail leads. And where it doesn’t? What surprised you or scares you about responds, “You give them something to eat.” Actually, it’s better translated,“ Y ’all give them doing this? something to eat.” Nobody’s getting off the hook on this one. Becoming a little testy about money, the disciples retorted, “That’d take a year’s wages” or, paraphrased, “C’mon man, what are you thinking?” And then Jesus says the magic words, “How many loaves do you 3. What effect does Jesus’ teaching about turning the other cheek and going the have? ... Go and see!” So they audited the situation and reported back. And only then did the second mile –the “More” text–have, not only on our giving, but on those for miracle of feeding the 5,000 take place. whom we give? It all reminds me of Jesus’ earlier teaching on generosity. Do you remember when He told the crowds–and the disciples–that if anyone were to slap them on one cheek they should offer the other; that if anyone wanted to sue them, taking their shirt, they should offer up a coat as well; that if someone forced them to go one mile, they should actually go two; and never, ever should they turn away someone who wanted to borrow from them (Matthew 5:38-42)?
That’s an amazing text! The words about slapping someone on one cheek (and then the other) recall a Jewish tradition, no doubt present in Jesus’ day, about shaming someone publicly. Financial compensation came with the first slap and doubled with the second. You just didn’t do this! The part about taking a person’s shirt, and even their coat, has its roots in the Old Testament, where we learn that wealthy people who held coats as collateral had to give them back to their impoverished owners at the end of the day, since they would otherwise freeze. And the plot thickens as we get to the “second mile” teaching, since it’s a clear reference to the Roman practice of forcing someone to carry a soldier’s pack for him, again, not one humiliating mile, but according to Jesus, two! 54 55 DAILY Devotions
DAY 1: YOUR GENEROSITY APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Mark 6:30-31 NIV The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
“All they had done and taught” was quite a lot! Driving out demons, anointing people with Generosity is not solely tied to money. We restrict the word unduly. Are you comfortable, oil, healing them–these and related acts of ministry highlight the work of the disciples, not only with your level of giving, but with your level of service, as well? What would you who had taken nothing but sandals and a staff–no bread, no money, no extra shirt–on a like to change? preaching tour which surely left them exhausted (Mark 6:8-13). Spent, especially in the wake of news of John the Baptist’s beheading, they are finally headed for some much needed rest in a quiet place, alone with Jesus. What could be better?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
Where and when do you retreat to a quiet space to regather your soul? What happens there? This is the beginning of generosity.
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
56 57 DAILY Devotions
DAY 2: YOUR GENEROSITY APPLY How does this speak to your life right now? Mark 6:32-34 NIV So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
The Sea of Galilee is very conspicuous. Surrounded on all sides by rising hills, there’s hardly If you had planned this retreat in the wake of John’s beheading (John was Jesus’ relative, a place to hide. This lake (it’s not actually a saltwater sea, but a freshwater lake) is only perhaps His cousin), how would you have received the crowds who’d beaten you to the about 8 miles wide and 13 miles long, visible on a clear day from one end to the other. So spot where you planned a retreat? What would you have said to them? What might you when the crowds (5,000 men alone) caught wind of Jesus and the disciples departing by have done for them? boat, they raced ahead of them to the very spot where Jesus had planned to host the retreat. You would think Jesus had to have seen them coming. How does this affect the way you read this passage?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses? A big part of Setting the Table is meeting people at their point of need, and that’s what Jesus did with these people. What do the people of our region need most? Are they “sheep without a shepherd”? Are we meeting that need?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
58 59 DAILY Devotions
DAY 3: YOUR GENEROSITY APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Mark 6:35-38 NIV By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” Why does Jesus say “You give them something to eat” when all along He knows He will be performing the miracle? They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
A hungry crowd of thousands at the end of the day in the middle of nowhere. What to do? What does God need to address in your life to cultivate an attitude of generosity? The disciples’ answer is pretty clear: send them away! Jesus’ challenge is equally clear:You “ give them something to eat.” But isn’t Jesus teasing the disciples? It would take something “out of this world” to feed these people, and that’s exactly what the disciples and crowd got.
We’re seeing there’s more to generosity than money. Where the disciples immediately inventoried the bank, Jesus had something else in mind. “What do you already have?” and Does your giving affect your saving and spending or does your spending and saving affect “Where can we start to take care of their hunger?” seems to be the way He was thinking. your giving? Reminds me of that famous Old Testament text: “Hey Moses, what’s that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). Mark 6 is teaching us that generosity is more than creating accounts. It’s cultivating, maybe even curating, attitude!
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses? PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
60 61 DAILY Devotions
DAY 4: YOUR GENEROSITY APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Mark 6:39-44 NIV Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the The Feeding of the 5,000 is one of only a handful of stories included in all four Gospels. disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men Pretty big deal! Why would the Holy Spirit prompt all four gospel writers to relate this who had eaten was five thousand. specific incident to the early church?
Imagine yourself seated among thousands on a fine spring day, when the grass is lush and green, and the weather is balmy. You’re seated near a large, glistening lake absorbing the sun’s warmth when someone hands you a loaf of bread, and suddenly there is another, and another, and still another. As if out of nowhere, the bread appears and you share it with those around you. And fish! Tilapia. Fresh from the lake. More than anyone could have hoped, How do you think about your role in sharing with others what you have been given? even on the best of days fishing. Haven’t you wondered just how this stunning miracle actually happened? However we envision the details, one thing is certain: God resourced it. He always does. So any and all generosity we render is derived; we are but stewards of His gifts. And the moment we begin to think of ourselves as the givers, we launch a certain, subtle decline into self-praise. To be clear, our job is important. We distribute. We take up the fragments. We manage. But ultimately, the gifts belong to God. He chooses when and What practical steps can Northside take to guard against the tendency to view ourselves where and how they will be given. (rather than God) as the givers of possessions?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
62 63 DAILY Devotions
DAY 5: YOUR GENEROSITY
Matthew 5:38-42 NIV “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Earlier in this booklet, we indicated that this text is all about giving more than anyone expects or imagines, particularly in the company of an enemy. Tall order.
In 1966 Private Milton Olive received the Medal of Honor, the highest honor awarded anyone in this country. I (Neal) was only eleven but remember it well. In a time of paralyzing national indecision, right in the midst of a rebellious drug culture and a shameless sexual How will you and Northside go beyond what anyone expects or imagines when it comes to revolution, this young African-American fighting in the Vietnam war thousands of miles self-sacrificial generosity on behalf of our region and the world? from home, lunged to his death on a live grenade in order to save the lives of his four comrades. President Lyndon Johnson said, “To put others first and self last is the hardest but highest decision any man is caused to make,” and an entire nation stood transfixed.
For a moment we were all forced to ask fundamental questions in a time of complete cultural unraveling: Why are we here? Whom have we come for? What will we do with our lives? What will be said of us when we are gone? Is there any instinct higher than self- PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses. preservation? In those chaotic years defined by so many careless actions that were uncalled for, no one thought Private Olive’s actions were uncalled for.
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
64 65 SUGGESTED SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Time to take stock of your resources. Scan the QR Do a half-day retreat, not a working retreat or a retreat with any kind of agenda 1. code on the right for a helpful resource from Crown. 3. –that’s no retreat–but a real, honest to goodness, season of Scripture, meditation, prayer, and perhaps fasting. How is God tending to your soul in this Sabbath season CROWN.ORG/RESOURCES/NET-WORTH-CALCULATOR of rest and reflection?
Finally, imagine a crowd of 5,000+ today, people from all walks of life, gathered 4. in anticipation of something special, maybe a Picnic on the Patio, sometime in the Spring, when there’s lots of soft, green grass. They’ve come to you with stories of financial hardship and broken homes, medical needs and problems with the kids, and they are literally crying out for help, needing a loan or school supplies or looking for a hug, a prayer, a healing, you name it. More than anything, they just need some really Good News.
Next, do an audit of your generosity. Where and how are you serving in your This happens every Sunday at Northside! You don’t have to imagine it. 2. home? Neighborhood? Place of work? School? Community? Church? Does it seem about right? So how do our Saturday nights and Sunday mornings at Northside mirror the Feeding of the 5,000? What are you saying to them in the lobby? Doing for them in the classrooms? Giving to them on the sidewalks? And how might this scene be replicated from time to time on a Monday or a Tuesday in our community?
66 67 PRE-COMMITMENT PRAYERS
You’re aware by now that the goal of Setting the Table has always been larger, fuller, and deeper to be utterly faithful to our assigned tasks - strength, health, vitality, grace, and purpose. than making a financial commitment, important and necessary as that commitment is. Setting the Table is a statement about who we Northsiders are, what we believe, and how we choose to Prepare us today, Lord, to establish enduring commitments of hope and love in this good work, live. There really are no fractions in the Kingdom of Heaven. When Jesus says,“Follow me,” He’s to search our own hearts completely, with vision and honesty, to withhold nothing that might be inviting us to a whole new way of living and relating to people in community, one characterized used of You to make another seat available. God helping us, we will do our best. by love, joy, and peace, as well as an unflinching will to do our part in making this world a place where God’s Name is revered and Jesus’ call to love God, neighbor, self, and–yes–even our Amen. enemies, is not just something we talk about. It has become our deepest commitment, our ongoing gift to the people of Southern Indiana, indeed the people of the world! All because we EVENING PRAYER believe in our bones God has a seat at the Table for everyone. He hasn’t given up on anyone. Father, as the twilight falls we are settling in for the night, our resolve firm and our minds at rest. And neither have we! By Your grace we have lived and breathed grace all this good day. Thank You. Help us now to recollect the day’s treasures, as well as its frustrations, honestly and openly. In light of this commitment, you are invited today to offer the following prayers, morning and evening, as we band together as one in bringing them all to the Table. As you pray, ask the We pray with joy for the people You’ve placed in our paths, for deep conversation, for words of Father for help in making the right financial commitment as we Set the Table at Northside, encouragement, for opportunities to demonstrate Your love. We thank You for assisting us in doing because the matters we’re praying about today require extensive resourcing. good things we really didn’t care to embrace, for the Spirit’s gentle promptings to enter into the MORNING PRAYER pain of others, for a vision larger than our own small version of the world’s need. In all this, we sense You’re still very much here–Emmanuel–God with us! Dear Lord, as night yields to day and, with it, darkness to light, we pray with one voice and purpose: Your Kingdom come; Your will be done! May the long night of despair and frustration But Lord, we are also painfully aware of our shortcomings, neglect, and uncaring. Moments patiently wait for dawn’s first rays of hope in those who’re searching for their seat at the Table. We of boredom. Occasions of apathy. Instances of resisting the Spirit’s strong promptings. And we see them every day. Lord, save our children, sons and daughters who have wandered into distant, confess our complete need for Your healing of our own lives. As we labor at the Table, we godless places. Save those who’re fighting crippling addictions, people who are wracked by the recognize not only the needs of others but also our own need for renewed hope. Help us not to pain of broken marriages, and the ones who have lost the will to live. Build in us an army of love despair. We can take a little defeat here and there, but, dear God, don’t allow us to let it sink in. and opportunity on their behalf. Help us to notice, receive, and cherish the widow and orphan, the We freely accept Your forgiveness and mercy for ourselves as well as those You’ve called us to love worker who has lost her job, the grandparent who has but days to live, and the child whose life is in Jesus’ Name. cut short by disease. And please, God, save those who in their own self-sufficiency have lost sight of their deep need forYou, people who are going about their paces, building little empires, with no Help us once more to search our hearts thoroughly and well as we envision our commitment to awareness that they too are blind, poor, naked, and lost. Setting the Table. As You have not held back anything we really need, may we in turn open our hands freely, honestly, and generously as agents of Your love on earth. We confess to You our own shortsightedness, our distracting preoccupations, our tendency to set our minds on the things of this world rather than things above, and inordinate spending on things God, grant us rest–deep, full, and cleansing–renewing rest. Tomorrow awaits. We want to resume that don’t count for much. God, help us to see as You see, to see what You see, to love as You love, our place at the Table ready for its challenge and opportunity! to be like You. We are under no delusions about our role in Setting the Table. It is Your Table. We are merely its waiters and busers, dishwashers, and placesetters. Please give us everything we need Amen. 68 69 WEEK 4: TABLE TALK SERMON NOTES Your Lifestyle
70 71 WEEK FOUR Table Talk
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20 NIV “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your YOUR LIFESTYLE brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food was lost and is found.’” to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say Luke 15:11-32 NIV to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. A HUNGER FOR OTHERS: LIFE GROUP MEDITATION & QUESTIONS “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “Everybody wants to change the world but nobody wants to help mom with the dishes.” P.J. O’Rourke “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ Every home has three layers. You may not technically have these rooms, but the metaphor works the same. The first room is the foyer. This is the entry where visitors are greeted and “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring welcomed. In the foyer polite conversation may happen, but nothing more. You merely 72 73 make an acquaintance in the foyer. If invited in further, the next room is the living room. This is where guests are entertained and relationships are built. If you are a guest more than once or twice, you are invited into the living room. This is where you become friends.
Finally, you reach the third room. This is the kitchen. This is the room where life is shared. You eat. You laugh. You study. You work. You contribute.
Sadly in the church, many settle for no further than the living room and some even prefer the foyer, staying only casual acquaintances. When we sit at the Table and share in the feast, it stirs in our hearts a sense of belonging. The Gospel doesn’t just change our past. It changes our presence by filling it with purpose.
As we dig in this week, our prayer is that you will hear God calling you to surrender not just your past, but your present. GROUP QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION & ACTION
1. Which brother reflects more of your life story and where do you identify with them?
2. What stands out to you about the father Jesus describes in this story? How have you experienced God in this way or seen Him act this way in the lives of others?
3. Celebrating what was dead is alive and what was lost is found is a discipline of God’s. How does that change your view of who God is, and where does celebration need to become a better discipline for you?
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DAY 1: YOUR LIFESTYLE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Luke 15:11-13 NIV In what way is leaving home (or rather, God) “a denial of the spiritual reality that I belong Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, to God with every part of my being” (Henri Nouwen)? give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”
These lines are so well known, so often preached, that we may well gloss right over the The most needed spiritual work often requires radical surgery. Think of a time when you interior conversation this kid was having. I suspect it went something like this: “I just wish “left home” emotionally, spiritually, or even physically. How did it affect you? How did it I could get out of town, have some fun, live life on my own terms–without all the rules hurt others? What did it do to your relationship with God? and gossip and high expectations, without all those familiar eyes glaring at me–and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.” And, of course, that is exactly what the prodigal son did. Biblical scholar Ken Bailey says that among contemporary Middle Easterners, the words “Father, give me my share of the estate” could mean only one thing: “I want you dead!” Unthinkable. Home had become a prison of this man’s own making because he wanted to live life on his own terms, not his father’s. The shame he brought on this ancient We don’t want you to walk away from this devotion, or any devotion in this booklet, without Middle Eastern family is absolutely incomprehensible! an abiding sense of God’s deep, forgiving love for you! Sometimes this requires confession and repentance. Is there anything you need to do to come clean with your Maker today? OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
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Luke 15:14-19 NIV After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, Which of the “Empty P’s” do you struggle with most? and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
We hear so much about the “false self” these days, but just what is it? Albert Haase has identified the false self as forever hung up on things like praise, power, prestige, position, popularity, people, productivity, possessions, and perfection (the “Empty P’s,” he calls How can we make Northside a safe place for prodigals to come home? them)1. The false self has an inflated ego (“Easing God Out,” to use Haase’s own words), is forever obsessively acquiring power, esteem, security, and/or unhealthy identification with a group (say, the Neo-Nazis), and is, at the same time, obsessively avoiding pain, blame, criticism, and the like. It was some aspect (or aspects) of this false self that led the deluded prodigal into a world totally foreign to his own true self (a son of the Father, beloved, and cared for). And when he bottomed out in that hog pen, it was thememory of this true self that began to put him back onto the path home, a path marked by faith. Following are some of the most memorable words I’ve ever encountered. Please take them to heart PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses. today: “Faith is the radical trust that home has always been there and always will be.”2 No matter the depths of our sin, there is always room for a homecoming.
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
1. Albert Haase, Coming Home to Your True Self (Downer’s Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 2. Henri Nouwen, Return of the Prodigal: a Story of Homecoming (New York: Doubleday, 1994), page 39 78 79 DAILY Devotions
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Luke 15:20-24 NIV “So he got up and went to his father. APPLY How does this speak to your life right now? “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. How has Northside demonstrated the love of the Father for His prodigal kids? “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” Is ours a church where Harry would feel welcome? What about Agnes? Write out words that describe this type of love and attention. There’s a pastor named Tony Campolo who once threw a birthday party for a 39 year-old prostitute in Honolulu. Hang with me! Very early in the morning, around 3:30am, after a group of prostitutes had finished their night’s work and gathered in a diner, Campolo chanced to overhear one of them, Agnes, telling the others, “Tomorrow is my birthday.” Everyone seemed dismissive except Campolo, who, without her knowing it, suggested the diner throw a surprise party for Agnes the next day. The husband and wife running the What needs to change in your heart to be someone who would love like this? place loved the idea. Agnes was completely shocked when she arrived around 2:30am the next morning. No one had ever thrown a birthday party for her. When it came time to cut the cake, she balked and asked if it was okay for her to hang on to it, all in one piece, for awhile. While she was taking the cake back to her apartment, Campolo invited the others to pray with him. “Hey,” chortled Harry, who was tending the place, “you never told me you were a preacher. ... What kind of church do you belong to?” And in a Spirit-fired moment of wisdom Campolo replied, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses. for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.” “No you don’t,” Harry responded. “There ain’t no church like that. If there were, I’d join it.”
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
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Luke 15:25-32 NIV “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has APPLY How does this speak to your life right now? come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ Whose wisdom has most influenced you for good in God’s Kingdom? “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ How has your own unfair treatment seasoned you, helped you gain a larger perspective, “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to and, perhaps most importantly, made you want to help the “little guy” get a better shake celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and in life? is found.’”
You gotta love this dad. He knows his boys and their temperaments and meets their respective needs right where they live. Isn’t that just like God? He meets people right where they are and helps them get to where they need to go. This older son had a really long way What do you think the conversation between the brothers became over time? How should to go, too. An unhealthy, bitter perfectionist, he was seething with anger over the big bash it have gone? for little brother. So, in the father’s wisdom, there is a reasoned, loving response to the older son’s complaint–“You are always with me, and everything I have is yours”–but there is also an outrageous “We-just-had-to-do-something-special!” celebration, also initiated by the father, over the younger boy’s repentance. We’re reminded again here that God is the Lord of the unexpected. The younger always seems to get more than s/he’s due in the Bible: Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Rachel over Leah, Joseph over ten older brothers, and the PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses. prodigal son over the dutiful son. “Unfair,” we cry with the older brother, but since when is everything in life fair? James says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” And in God’s economy grace always bests wrath. I don’t ever hear anyone complaining about that, do you?
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
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DAY 5: YOUR LIFESTYLE APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
Luke 15:29 NIV “All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.”
Resentment gets really ugly. Whole generations of people struggle with it. Lovers quarrel over the breaks which don’t come their way. Siblings fight over their parents’ affections. Employees seethe at the promotions of their peers, particularly when they’ve put in more What are the walls of resentment holding you back from releasing your resources for the years than the newbie who just got bumped up. Once again, we’re talking fairness. We Lord’s use? discussed the matter yesterday, but today let’s focus more narrowly on what’s fueling the discontent. This may seem too strong, but it actually sounds like the older brother in this parable hates his father. Like the slow drip in a cave forming calcium-hardened stalagmites, there lies in resentment’s cold heart a defiant, unforgiving spirit which feels every little drop of anger. A word of favor spoken on the younger brother’s behalf here, a celebration there, and now we’ve got a wall a mile high.
What to do? Like a number of stories in ancient literature, and the Bible itself, the parable How will you begin to tear these walls down? ends unresolved. We don’t know what the next day held for this pair or their father. All we know is what we really need most: “This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” If only we had the courage to live in this large awareness, to see the hope before us, the healing.
OBSERVE What do you see in these verses?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
84 85 WEEK 5: TABLE RESTORATION SERMON NOTES Your Legacy
86 87 WEEK FIVE Table Restoration
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said “No,” they answered. this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they “Follow me!” did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed alive until I return, what is that to you?” back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the his testimony is true. disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love John 21:1-25 NIV me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” ABOUT LEAVING A RESTORED LEGACY: Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” LIFE GROUP MEDITATION & QUESTIONS Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” The lives of some people are long remembered, while those of others are quickly forgotten. 88 89 What makes the difference? Could be any one of a number of things. Hank Aaron left Peter left a legacy of faithfulness, but it did not come quickly or easily. Faith never does. a legacy of power at the plate; Eleanor Roosevelt, of dogged determination to do what Growth is messy and comes in spurts. Like all of us, Peter had to be restored–more than once! was right for people whose rights were violated; Yo Yo Ma, of consummate skill and deep The same Christ-follower who professed Jesus as the Messiah was soon thereafter told, understanding of the cello; Anne Frank, of intense longing to pursue her profound gifting “Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me” (Matthew 16:23). The one who during the Holocaust; Albert Einstein, of reasoning beyond the apparently obvious; denied Jesus three times was later asked three times to profess his love for the Lord (John Mother Teresa, of seeing Jesus in the suffering of the poor and dying; Muhammad Ali, 21:15-17). This disciple who returned to fishing (John 21:3) after long ago leaving his of style, quickness, and a desire to be the greatest; and Abraham Lincoln, of unshakable nets (Matthew 4:20) stood up on the Day of Pentecost to proclaim to his audience,“You, resolve to end slavery. Among these, there is no single winning formula. with the help of wicked men, put him [Jesus] to death by nailing him to the cross” (Acts 2:23), knowing full well that the death Jesus had suffered might also await him there outside Nor is any one legacy equally agreeable to all. (In fact, you might be wondering why I chose Jerusalem on account of his bold proclamation of the truth! certain people for mention in the paragraph you just read, and not others.) One person’s legacy is another’s nightmare. Political legacies rarely transcend party lines these days. Legacy. Because memory is one of the very greatest of all God’s gifts. Because we need There are red and blue legacies, for example, tied to decisions and policies which are as heroes. Because we have the opportunity to become heroes. disagreeable to some as they are heroic to others. Sports legacies run extraordinarily deep, linked as they are to geography, family, and, in the case of college athletics, a particular Funny thing is, among all the really great ones I don’t think legacy is what they were after. I university. The same is true of music, with its many artists, styles, and preferences. Again, doubt Esther was thinking about her legacy when she put her life on the line for her fellow there’s no one formula for leaving a legacy. Jews. Nor was Paul thinking about himself when he made his famous appeal to Caesar. And I’m pretty sure Ruth had no intention of eternal notoriety when she pledged her However, wouldn’t you agree with me that the greatest legacies are all about doing what’s faithfulness to Naomi. right when long ago others chose a lesser path? Remember these words? The list could go on. You get the idea. The question is not so much, “Do you want to be By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice ... By faith Enoch was taken great?” No, the real question is, “Will you be faithful?” At a time when so many people are from this life ... By faith Noah in holy fear built an ark to save his family ... lost to their families, their neighbors, and themselves, how will your generosity create a By faith Abraham obeyed and went ... [and] offered Isaac as a sacrifice ... legacy in their needy lives? Like Peter, like all of us, they too need to be restored, and you By faith Moses refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter ... All were commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been just might be in a position to lend a hand! promised from Hebrews 11 GROUP QUESTIONS FOR That’s legacy. Doing what’s right when others chose a lesser path and, therefore,being remembered for it. REFLECTION & ACTION
During a period of powerful persecution in North Africa in the early third century, a woman named Perpetua was arrested and imprisoned for her deep faith in Christ. There 1. Who comes to mind when you think of someone who has been restored and followed court hearings. Perpetua’s father pleaded with her for her life. “Remember your has left a legacy? family, your baby. Perform the sacrifice,” he begged, referring to state-sponsored sacrifices to the Roman gods. Resolute, Perpetua repeated, “I am a Christian,” and for this the 2. What are you intentionally doing right now or wanting to do more of to ensure Roman governor ordered her execution. Author Gerald Sittser put it so well: “She made a that your children or others whom you influence are learning values of love, decision, not between life and death but between Christ and Rome.”1 Legacy is about what forgiveness and generosity? happens in the long term, about what your actions today will mean fifty years from now. Or a hundred. Or 2,000. 3. How does Jesus’ question change or challenge your idea of the legacy He wants Peter and you to leave?
1. Gerald Sittser,Water from a Deep Well (Downer’s Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2007), p. 39. 4. What truth in the daily devotions spoke deepest to you? 90 DAILY Devotions
DAY 1: RESTORATION APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
John 21:1-8 NIV Have you ever failed so miserably you didn’t know what to do? How did you relate to God Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: in these moments? How did you find your way back to the Lord? Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” How has God extended grace when you denied Jesus? What’s your “fish story”? “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. How has God used failure to help build your legacy?
We’ve all heard fish stories–many of us have told them–generally when fishers have been successful. But here it’s failure first, then success. Much like our lives, Peter’s was such a story: a failure followed by a success, followed (again) by more failure, and so on. John doesn’t tell us Peter and the others were wrong to go fishing, They did have to eat, after all. What John does tell us is far more important. Jesus didn’t interrogate, He just told them where to fish, and that’s all they needed, a point of reference, a moment of recognition, and a disciple “whom Jesus loved” who saw exactly what was happening–and Who was behind PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses. it. Naturally, Peter steals the rest of the show. He is so ready to believe it is Jesus.
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DAY 2: RESTORATION APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
John 21:9-14 NIV Remember your baptism? What acts of love led to your own restoration to God? When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Restoration comes amidst the familiar. After breakfast Jesus will ask Peter,“Do you love me?” How does Northside facilitate the kind of love needed for people to be restored to God? three painful times. But for now, He simply shares a meal of fish and bread, both staples in Where is Jesus growing you in love right now? a Middle Eastern diet. Peter’s wound is deep and recent. Like a physician, Jesus will reset the broken bones of Peter’s troubled conscience momentarily, but for now, having fished all night, his needs are more immediate. He needs to regather his strength. So Jesus feeds him. He needs to regather his soul. So Jesus loves him! Soon enough, Peter will have an opportunity to express his love for Jesus, but love always begins with God, with Jesus. He has to invite us to the Table before we can take a seat.
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought? PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God related to this Scripture and devotion.
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DAY 3: RESTORATION OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought?
John 21:15-19 NIV When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” APPLY How has Jesus inquired about the depth of your love for Him? How has it grown Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” over time? Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you What role in feeding His sheep are you being led to play as we Set the Table? know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Restoration is neither quick nor easy. When a craftsman restores a fine wooden table and Will you commit today to follow Him to the very end of your journey on earth? chairs, he has to mend the cracks, strip the old finish, sand, and reupholster, applying generous amounts of elbow grease all along the way (assuming he’s doing it right). It is no different with Peter. Jesus asks him three times for a profession of love, and three times charges him with the duties of an attentive shepherd. And, as if this were not enough, He then offers Peter a terrifying preview of the end of his life. According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down in Rome sometime in the mid-60s. In fact, he’d requested that he not PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God related to this Scripture and devotion. be crucified right side up since that’s how Jesus was executed. Much of this you’ve probably noticed in reading and studying this text before. But be sure not to miss the stinger. The key to Peter’s restoration lies in the verb follow. With a clear sense of mission (“Feed my lambs”). To the very bitter, but glorious, end.“Follow me!” Jesus says.
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DAY 4: RESTORATION APPLY What tools has God given us to overcome the struggle with consistency in following Jesus? John 21:20-23 NIV Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, What role does the question “Do you love me more than these?” play in following Jesus what is that to you?” completely? Is there an area that this question convicts you?
You may recall that the last words of yesterday’s reading were “Follow me,” while the first words of today’s reading are “Peter turned.” Will this guy ever get it right? Just why did Peter turn? Was it concern for the disciple whom Jesus loved (John)? Peter, after all, had just been told he would die a horrific death. He may have been thinking, “What about John?” Or was it jealousy? “Will John get off easier that I do?” Just what was bugging Peter? We may never know. The text doesn’t say. Apparently, motive doesn’t matter to Jesus. In fact, How will our legacy of consistent Christian living redefine your idea of legacy? His response to Peter is quite literally, “What’s it to you?” The words shock us. Did Jesus really talk to people like that? Sounds so crass. But in truth he’s just driving home the real point of this passage: “Follow me.” Or, more literally, “Keep on following me!” And that really was Peter’s problem, wasn’t it? Anyone can follow for a while, but like us Peter had big trouble with consistency in his walk with Jesus. If his restoration is to be complete, he will have to get this right. PRAY OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought? Write out a brief prayer back to God related to this Scripture and devotion.
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DAY 5: RESTORATION APPLY How has Setting the Table clarified your role as a servant of Jesus in the Kingdom of God? John 21:24-25 NIV This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Peter was a “feeder of sheep” and John, “the disciple who testifies to these things.” These are their respective legacies. As we end this week in John 21, the roles of these two leaders in the early church challenge us to ask anew the question, “Just what is my role in Setting the Table, my legacy?” Next week we’ll all be making commitments to the campaign. As we have searched the Scriptures diligently, pondered hard questions of ourselves and the church, and taken a much closer look at the resources God has entrusted to us, soon we’ll What legacy will the decisions you make today leave our community, indeed the world, as be signing on to faith at a whole new level to secure a mission and purpose closely tied a setter tomorrow? to the prayer, “Your Kingdom come.” The whole process has led us to deep soul-searching, intense prayer, and a renewed interest in the ongoing work of God at Northside. So much for which to be grateful. We are better people, more effective servants, for having made this journey together. But the question remains, what legacy will the decisions we make today leave in our community, indeed the world, tomorrow?
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought?
PRAY Write out a brief prayer back to God related to this Scripture and devotion.
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Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV Grace be with you all.
CELEBRATION: “A FEAST THAT LASTS FOREVER” 1 Timothy 6:6-21 NIV
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with GROUP QUESTIONS FOR that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a REFLECTION & ACTION root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1. Jesus calls us to a life away from the “rat race,” but He has a new race for us to But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, run. After reading this Scripture, what’s the most freeing and challenging part for endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life you? to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this 2. As you reflect on this six-week journey, how has God led you to “be rich” in life? command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
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DAY 1: CELEBRATION APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
1 Timothy 6:3-5 NIV Paul says we’ve been robbed of the truth when we think godliness is a means to financial If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ gain. As you celebrate being a Table Setter, how has God become more valuable to you and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy than your goods? interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
Ephesus was an important city financially. Much like New York City today, it was the center of much of the economy of the first century world. The acquisition of wealth drove the city. Cash was king! As you reflect on today’s verses, you may be struggling to see the connection between “sound instruction” and “financial gain.” But as we work our way through 1 Timothy 6, we will learn that money isn’t primarily about math. It reveals where we place our hope. What disciplines do you have in place or need to put into practice to guard against ‘unhealthy God want us to celebrate His work more than live with controversies in the church. interests’? Which one listed above tends to be your downfall and why?
When we confuse our relationship with money, we will quickly confuse our relationship with everything else. Money is simply a tool God entrusts to us to redirect our hearts. In Matthew 6:21, Jesus said,“Where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.”
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought?
PRAY Write a prayer to God about these verses.
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DAY 2: CELEBRATION APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
1 Timothy 6:6-8 NIV Think about your complaints over the past month. In which areas of life do you experience But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can the most discontent? When do you find yourself feeling the most discontent? take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Money and stuff can be here today and gone tomorrow. When our worth is determined by what we have, we’re just one job loss, one house fire or one bad decision away from hopelessness. The satisfaction we get from stuff is fleeting. There will always be something newer, trendier and more advanced just around the corner.
True contentment is not fleeting. It is based on Who we know, not what we have. God is well aware of all our needs even before we ask. When our value and identity is based on who we are in Christ, we’ll find that we already have more than we need. We can celebrate the generosity God’s called us to because we celebrate great contentment in Him first. Write out how Jesus is and has become your contentment and thank Him for OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought? what He’s put on your heart to do for Setting the Table.
PRAY Celebrate “Great Gain” by writing a prayer to God, asking for Him to be your contentment or thanking Him for becoming your contentment.
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DAY 3: CELEBRATION As you consider this text today, take some time to allow God to search your heart. In what 1 Timothy 6:9-10 NIV ways have you seen the love of money mess people up? How does this cause us to wander Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful from the faith? desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the many griefs. Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to As a pastor, I have heard a lot of people share some pretty deep struggles. But I can’t recall the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves one person ever stopping by the church to declare they were struggling with greed. It seems over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. Ephesians 4:17-19 to be the one sin that is deeply universal, but also deeply denied.
In the previous verse he suggested that the standard for contentment is to have food and What traps has Jesus delivered you from either financially or mentally when it comes to clothes. But today’s verse reveals there is something going on in our hearts that drives us finances? to always want more. He gives us a difficult warning that we need to heed. He specifies that the problem is for those who want to “get rich.” The instruction he gives us helps clarify.
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought? Has money ever made you wander from the faith? What brought you back, and how did God receive you?
PRAY Write a brief prayer back to God about these verses.
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DAY 4: CELEBRATION
Philippians 4:10-13 NIV I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I APPLY How does this speak to your life right now? know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who How does this list encourage your thought life? gives me strength.
“The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow our minds to dwell upon.” – Dallas Willard
Let me ask you a question. What has your attention? What do you think about most? What you think about most reveals what is most important to you. In this passage, Paul shows that his secret for contentment was that source of his contentment. He declares he hasn’t Ask God to begin to shift your attention to things that are excellent or praiseworthy. Then settled for simply being “happy”. This word comes from the same root word as “happen.” It he says “Whatever ... learned or heard from me or seen in me–put in into practice.” And the is conditioned on what is happening. We realize that Paul isn’t sitting on a beach enjoying promise of a life of perspective and practice is peace! How has God brought you a new a sunset; he is sitting in a jail cell. peace over these weeks in the Setting the Table series?
No, his contentment is not conditioned on circumstance. It is conditioned on Christ! In the verses just before, he shows that the pathway to contentment starts with perspective.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. PRAY Write a brief prayer back to God about these verses. Philippians 4:8-9
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought?
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DAY 5: CELEBRATION APPLY How does this speak to your life right now?
1 Timothy 6:11-12 NIV But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness,faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Our fight and every next step is a spiritual one. And we fight from feasting with God, first. We all live in the tension between the immediate and the eternal. It consumes us. It controls us. It robs us of peace. It robs us of rest. Here is the question we must confront–what am Write out a prayer asking that Jesus help you take this step of generosity and for Northside I fleeing and what am I pursuing? The answer to this question will help you identify what to be fearless as we step into the next fifty years of being the Church. competes for your heart to be fully surrendered to God. And until your heart is fully surrendered to Him you will not have peace.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, immediately following His baptism, Matthew 4:1 tells us, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
The temptations Jesus faced are no accident.
1. The desert of satisfaction –“turn this stone into bread” 2. The desert of safety –“throw yourself off the Temple roof” 3. The desert of significance “All– this I will give you” PRAY Write a brief prayer back to God about these verses.
And all of them are an attempt to achieve these goals without God. The reason I can’t serve both God and money is the faulty belief that enough money will eliminate my need for God. But what we keep learning over and over and over is that there is no such thing as financial security.
OBSERVE What do you see in this text and devotional thought?
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