The Table

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Let's just kind of stay where we are for just a just a moment, church, before we get into the rest of our service.

You know, as I as I think about the magnitude of the words that we're singing out right now, this idea of knowing that this is where we're meant to be.

You know, as I've been more recently been looking in scripture and just finding those what I would refer to as divine appointments, those moments where people have what they're living their seemingly regular lives, but then they intersects with Jesus.

Just just people minding their own business, but then Jesus passes in and there's a radical shift that happens as a result of it.

It's amazing how we could just be doing something that's regular to us, but on that given day, on that given day, it could be a day where it could be a miraculous breakthrough.

I'm gonna I want to share a passage of scripture that's very familiar and common to us if we've been around church for any period of time, and it's it's the passage that talks about the woman at the well.

It's a it's a powerful passage because it breaks down all kinds of social constructs, but the thing that's so powerful about it is that this was not her first time at the well.

That what many believe is that she had a set time that she would go every single day to go and retrieve the water, and so but on that day, on that day, Jesus was there with her and it changed everything.

I think that sometimes we can we can stop doing the things that we know that God is discipling and leading us to do because we're saying, Well, I tried that last week, I tried that last month and it and it didn't work.

But but what I love about this song is it's letting us know that that today is the day, that today is the day that Jesus is meeting us exactly where we are, and I don't know where you are right now, and maybe for some of us we were saying to ourselves that I I've I've done the church thing before and I didn't get the results, I've I've done that prayer before and I didn't get the breakthrough.

I've I've done the giving thing before and I didn't see what the preacher was talking about, and so a lot of times in those moments we can shrink back.

But I'm also a believer that we don't have coincidences.

I believe that we are exactly where we need to be for such a time as this.

So I'm not sure who I'm talking to right now, but I'm talking to the person that feels a little bit tired of doing the same thing over and over again, and you may not be seeing the results, but today I believe you're exactly where God wants you to be at.

I believe that today is a day that could potentially be the day where Jesus meets you where you are and it can change the rest of your life.

Let me pray for you right where you are.

God, I thank you.

I thank you, God, that we are exactly where we need to be, that it's that it's us and you, that it's not necessarily being distracted or consumed with anything else except for the fact that you are here with us today.

Father, I pray for everyone that's amongst us, God, those who are watching online, those who are listening later on our podcast on demand, and those who are sitting in this venue with us right now, God.

You know where we are, and you know the silent prayers of our hearts, the things that we've been feeling and saying, God.

We've we've been doing this every single day, and I don't see the results.

But Father, I'm praying that today could be the day of a divine interaction that has the ability to transform all of our lives.

So, Father, we give you this space, we call it sacred.

We ask that you that you meet us here, and it's in Jesus' name that we humbly pray, amen, amen, and amen.

Can we give it up for God, believing that He truly is here with us today?

God bless you guys.

You can go ahead and grab your seats while you're doing that.

Go ahead and welcome somebody in a very safe, socially distant way.

Um, but go ahead and grab your seats.

We're so, so glad that you're here with us today.

I'm believing that it's gonna be such an incredible service for us today.

As you can see, that the team is setting up a table behind us to kind of set the scene for for today's uh service and message.

And I want to unpack a little bit about what that's gonna look like for us today.

You know, I know that many of us that we're we're entering into this holiday season and we're preparing to sit at some tables.

Maybe this Thursday you're gonna be sitting at some tables or you're gonna be making your rounds, and then for some of us it may look a little bit differently.

But what I wanted to do is I want to spend some time today just talking about the power of us sitting at the table together.

We're gonna unpack a couple of ideas and share some traditions and have some fun, but but I think it's an opportunity for us to be encouraged and be inspired by the power of what happens when we sit at the table together.

Here's what I would define the significance of the table being.

I believe that the table is really just this it's the relational touch point with us and God and each other.

It's an opportunity for us to have a relational, transformative touch point with us and God, but also with one another.

So I want to invite you into let's call this my living room, and everybody is invited.

We have a huge living room, and everybody is invited to come and just sit at the table with us as we have some incredible discussion.

So I want to I want to shift over here and and and introduce everybody to my esteemed family.

As you can see, we're a very diverse, blended family here at Celebration Orlando.

It's the only way that we would know to function.

But but I'm here surrounded by some amazing people that I would consider to be my my family, many in a very literal sense and others in a very relational um spiritual sense.

So so I got my beautiful bride, Megan, here, um, who needs no introduction, just radiant girl.

You're just looking good this morning.

Just look at you.

Just look at you.

Yes, I know.

Um we have Pastor Becca here, who's just been doing an incredible job for us here at Celebration.

Orlando, just love you in your heart.

Then I have the wonderful Paul family, Melissa and Dave Paul.

You guys know I love you guys so much.

How long, Dave, how long have you guys been a part of our church?

I don't know.

You don't know?

Okay, okay, that's okay.

That means that he's so invested that he stopped taking count.

That's what I'm talking about.

He just rooted, he's just here.

And then, of course, we got Pastor Mike who preached an incredible message last week.

Let's give it up.

Let's give it up for Pastor Mike.

Yes, so so we are we're here together, and we're just gonna spend some time around the table just having some some good old discussions.

Now, now here's here's what we know.

We know that that this year it looks a little bit differently as it relates to to holidays than it may look for for others and for for times past.

Like, I mean, we're we're still in the middle of this of this pandemic, and we see the cases spiking, and so we're all trying to do our best to be mindful of where we go, how we function, and how we operate, while still wanting to have um some touch points.

A couple of weeks ago, Megan and I had an opportunity to go and and see my parents.

Um and and and it was the first time that it hit me because we hadn't seen them since all this started, which we may see them a couple of times a year, but um, but it really hit home like when I walked into my parents' house and they got their masks on.

And of course, we're traveling, and it just it just kind of hit differently where you're like, well, yeah, that's right, we have this thing.

We gotta be we gotta be careful.

So I'm aware that that this holiday season may look a little bit different for some of us, and and I want to say this to everyone that's here with us today.

Um, I I realize that as a result of that, that that there may be some among us who may, maybe for the first time ever or in a long time, that we may not be able to gather with our loved ones.

We may have traditions and things that we typically do that we're not able to lean into as a result of this.

And and I want to let you know that it's it's part of my daily prayer to pray for you.

I also want to let you know that as a church, we would love to come alongside you and and serve you and help you in any way possible.

But please know that that this is not something that we take lightly.

I know that many of us are fueled by being around family.

And so I realize that this is a difficult season, but just know that you have a community of people that are praying alongside you.

And again, if there's anything we can do, just text care to 25101 and we'll do everything as a church to come alongside you.

Pastor Mike will bring you some food.

He may, I don't know, Mike.

I just put you out on Front Street.

They might, I want Mike to come over anyway.

So, Mike, I'm I hope you got some, don't got anything planned on Thursday.

Um, but but we'll we'll have some some ways that we would love to come and and hang and and and and and just be with you guys.

But with that being said, I I do want to talk a little bit about traditions.

I think it's a you know, I I grew up, we grew up, I didn't have a whole lot of traditions, like you know, like survival was the tradition.

Like that was that was the tradition.

So like we didn't really have a ton of traditions, but I imagine for some of us that we we do have some traditions.

So I want to hear like what are some of your your Thanksgiving traditions that all you guys have?

Like when you guys gather at the table, what does what does Thanksgiving typically look like with you and some of your traditions?

Are you talking non-food traditions?

Because I feel like that is one of the biggest traditions in my house.

Well, yeah, like let's let's let's put food all on the side for right now.

Yeah.

Um so there was one tradition in my my home growing up that I decided, okay, we're for sure doing this uh in our house now that we have a a baby.

But one of them is we would always go around the table and say something that we're thankful for, which is pretty, you know, traditional for Thanksgiving, but uh something that we would always do afterwards from the time we were little is then we would go, thank you, Lord, all together as a family.

And as cheesy as it was, and we would all giggle like I have a house full of girls, so we would all giggle at it, you know, afterwards, but it just really taught us.

My parents were so intentional, it taught us that the things that we're thankful for are gifts from the Lord.

And so that's something that is a tradition that we're gonna continue in our home.

That is strong.

Do you guys have one?

That is good.

Well, shortly after as as quickly after Thanksgiving as possible, I'm in for putting up the tree.

And so what our and our tree is a collection of eclectic ornaments, both handmade and including some that we each made as children, and pictures of the kids, and a lot, a lot of um very random Christmas ornaments that all come together.

It is not a unified theme.

It is very diverse.

My favorite part is when we put up the tree, this guy sits as like the grand poop of the Christmas tree, and the kids bring him the ornament and remember the time or the travel or the place that we went and got that ornament.

So we kind of relive all of those moments as we're putting up the tree, and it's really fun.

Drinking hot chocolate and eggnog and cider at the same time.

Oh my gosh.

I would not expect anything differently from you, David.

I wouldn't expect anything different from you.

That's awesome.

Yeah, I mean, I start drinking eggnog right when I see it in the store, so that's not like really a tradition.

It's just whenever I Yeah, when it's available, I'm drinking it.

It's very healthy.

It's got egg in it.

Eggs, protein, protein, yes.

We're trying to get muscles, you know.

That's how you get that.

Listen, that's how if you want a good beach body, just eggnog, I'm telling you.

Every time you heard it here first, look at the team.

You know?

Hey, that's hey, gym life.

And so uh, so one of the traditions that I've what we've always done is just kind of going around the table, sharing what we're most thankful for.

Um it's kind of one of those things that you know it's coming.

Um, so you think about it, like, oh, what am I gonna share that I'm most thankful for?

And um usually you prep as you always, any of us prep anytime.

We always like, oh yeah, this is what I'm gonna say.

And then when you're on the spot, you're like, that's not what I want to say.

And it's probably because somebody said something way better than what you were gonna say, and you're like, man, if I say that, it's gonna sound super selfish.

It's Thanksgiving, it can't sound selfish, but it never fails that there's always something to be thankful for.

So it's like, I mean, you can literally just pull it right out of the hat, but it's just so incredible to kind of share around the table and really see like what we each are thankful for because you can, whether you live in the same house, whether you've done a lot of the same things, everybody has something completely different that they are thankful for.

And we probably all can do that, and uh, that's always something very special.

I I love Mike how you refer to like how you somebody else may have said something that's way better.

There's nothing like competitive Thanksgiving moments where you're like, okay, well they said this, and so it's always a person like, oh, I'm thankful for the clothing, and then you have somebody else who's like, I'm thankful for Jesus.

Like it's just it's always like that, okay, like we're gonna go to spiritual.

Oh, I get competitive with my plate too.

Like my plate has to be a mountain, and if your plate is dismal, then you didn't do it right, and your food selectively needs to touch.

So I judge if your food is touching the wrong way.

Sorry, that's what it is.

Now y'all know a little bit more about me.

Ashley, your your fiance, you heard this.

I hope you're getting ready for for this.

Megan, Megan, real quick, what are you thankful for?

Um I'm thankful for my family.

Like, um, I think we would have also accepted you're thankful for your husband, but go on.

Hot mess.

Um I'm thankful for my family.

I think one of the things that um we do as a tradition is um we always have a matriarch of our family say the prayer.

And it's always like my I come from a um, you know, all of my family have been raised in the church, and there's always someone there that everyone at the collectively at the table like respects, and we nominate that person to do the prayer, and it's always powerful when we can do that together.

We hold hands, and and there's something about when you hold hands um and you go to God in prayer of what you're thankful for.

And so, yes, I'm thankful for my family, um, I'm thankful for breath and my lungs, all that kind of stuff, and that's what we celebrate every year.

That's good.

That's a good answer.

It's nothing like a good old matriarch prayer.

Like it just kind of feels weighty when you have that.

You know what I what I love about what I love about this season is it it allows us an opportunity to kind of really lean into this idea of of hospitality.

Like hospitality, it's it's a it's a it's a huge thing, and I think when you consider like the the significance of it, like this is what this season really is all about.

And it's meant to be a a great reminder of what that looks like.

I was reading this article, in fact, I I came across it again just this morning, but it was this article about um this this grandmother who had sent a text to what she thought was her grandson inviting him over for for Thanksgiving dinner um several years ago.

Turns out she sent the text to the wrong person.

And so the guy on the receiving end was like, hey, you got the wrong number, but I still sure would love to come over and and have and have some of the Thanksgiving food.

And and she allowed it.

So it literally created this tradition of him coming over to her house every single year and like partaking of Thanksgiving dinner together.

Like it created this real radical tradition of hospitality.

Now, now, real talk.

I'm gonna tell I'm gonna tell the truth in church.

Like, I I look at moments like that and I wish that I had the spiritual strength that if somebody's like, hey, wrong number, but I still would love to come over, that I would lean into that moment and be like, man, come on over.

I'm like, nah, bro, that one for you.

And I would just, I would just, I would just move right on.

I would just text the person that I was trying to get to, but like leaning into those moments where you can clearly see that this is an opportunity and this literally a tradition that they've been doing for years, like even so much so that this this gentleman that he's engaged now and now it's become a part of their family where they they come over and they spend time together.

It's it's just a beautiful display of hospitality.

And and I think that's that's kind of like what we see in this season.

I want to give us a definition of hospitality because I think this is really powerful.

That hospitality is simply this it's the generous and gracious treatment to others.

The generous and gracious treatment to others.

And when you look at it through that lens, you begin to see in the Bible that it is littered with instructions and even commands on how we're supposed to treat one another.

It tells us how we're supposed to treat the foreigner, how we're supposed to treat our family members, but also how we're supposed to treat our enemies.

So I I saw this, Mike, and I for hospitality.

The word that is often associated with it is foreigner, it's often dealing with family friends, but it also is the word enemy as well.

So let's take that definition and put it together.

It's the generous and gracious treatment of family, foreigners, friends, and enemies.

Now, now we're getting comfortable.

What it's saying is that God has an expectation that when we're sitting at the table of people, that even if they're on the opposite side of issues with us, we're supposed to treat them as if they're family.

That's this that's the standard that that God sets up.

This is why when Jesus is talking to his disciples and he's saying, like, hey, if you're kind to one another, even even the pagans do that.

Even people who aren't followers of Jesus, that's not impressive.

What's impressive is when you can actually extend that same generosity and hospitality to people who think differently than you.

People who look differently than you.

Let's go even further, with people who vote differently than you.

Megan, I I remember last year when when you and I went to Zimbabwe, we saw like this radical hospitality that was displayed to us that wasn't that wasn't dependent on wealth.

It wasn't dependent on what they had, it was just this this attitude of generosity.

Can you can you unpack a little bit of what we experienced and saw while we were there?

What was very welcoming.

Um, first of all, they were so excited because um you know typically typically people don't visit, come and visit them.

So it was an excitement for them.

Like I I felt so honored.

I'm like, you want me to be here?

And um and so they had chairs and their chairs weren't in the best conditions or anything like that.

And let me tell you something, they made sure they wiped it off like with their hands.

They was like, please sit down, like this is a seat for you, like you are welcomed here.

And I think more than anything, I I I said, Man, am I doing this?

Like when people come into my home, like am I taking the time out to like make sure that I'm I'm presenting everything that I have, all that I have, uh, to someone else to make them let them know that you are loved and you are welcomed in my home.

And so I took so much away from that that they give they have given their all to me as I have stepped into their home.

So let me let me ask the table what does what does hospitality look like for you guys?

How have you extended it?

How have you received it?

How do you put it in practice?

What does that look like on a day-to-day basis for you guys?

You know, um, when I think of the holidays, so for my family, I didn't grow up in a Christian household, and so uh the holidays were always hard.

Uh my mother uh would have a breakdown, so she's not watching this, so I can actually be real.

Uh we would the the norm was the turkey would be in, everything was getting ready to get out, and and it would be Thanksgiving would be canceled literally in the middle of somehow it would implode, and we were dating at the time, and uh and it was always messy, and literally her family would pivot, invite me and my brother into this thing.

So for us, it has always been uh we've just decided in our marriage, uh nice good food, but but we're okay with messy.

We're okay with inviting someone we don't even know.

We're uh we're we're okay with the the family that uh so for us hospitality just means we our default is yes.

And uh and it's messy and odd, you know, two off people, and the the kids are trying to figure out your rituals and it's all those things, it can be a lot more fun.

Okay, like I need your credit score, I need to run a background check on you, I need to um you know, it's kind of like the the model that we have is is one of Jesus to really just, you know, can people feel welcome that just sitting, that just being in your presence, you know, just just in the kitchen and then sitting at the feet, and which one is more?

And the thing is, you know, I struggle with that oftentimes because man, just sitting at the feet.

The question is, can we be on the other side of Jesus and be like, even if you don't have anything all together in the kitchen, I don't care about that.

I'm I'm carrying hospitality enough to where just sit at my feet.

Just sit with me.

And you see that time and time again with Jesus, no matter where he went, where people just want to sit and be around him.

Um it didn't need to be, you know, nestled with the holidays.

It didn't need to be nestled with all the glitz and the glam, but just hospitable enough to go, yeah, if you're a friend of me, if you're if you're a true enemy, much so that I never danger, but they're not allowed in your house.

They are hey, you know, there's some sacred spaces, you know.

Okay, I think for me, the number the presence of God in my home, um, and the peace of of God, but that when I'm going to other people's, I'm taking his presence with me.

That that peace is coming with me.

That whenever I'm uh with me into somebody else's home, yeah.

That is that is strong.

I I love that.

It reminds me, Megan.

Remember when we when we built our house, how we um we themed every room with the scripture, and these are the the themes for it.

And then in our gathering spaces that when people come in, they'll feel welcomed and experiencing that.

So I I love that and I'm my hope is that it's exactly there's something that that kind of sets us apart.

The thing that I love that you said earlier, Dave, is like that you're okay with messy.

That sometimes like the pressure of us gathering, the the idea of trying to be perfect and have everything laid out, and by all means, I love things to be as specific as possible, but but it's okay with being messy because that actually shows and exhibits the character of Christ.

This how how often were things messy around him, but yet he still was able to extend like this this generosity and invitation into it.

Here, here's what I wrote down that I think is is powerful about what happens when we have these moments where we can extend hospitality, like the benefits of it.

Ultimately, what hospitality breaks down into practically is that it's a it's a place where people feel welcome.

It's an invitation for people to experience rest.

Like imagine that that it's an invitation when we see it in scripture that people are invited in and to a place where they actually can experience rest.

It's an opportunity for them to get cleaned up.

It talks about in in Genesis 18 where they were able to come in and get cleaned.

It's also a place for people to be able to get provision, have their needs met.

It's a place for them to have security.

Just those ideas alone, when we think about hospitality and practice, am I living a life?

Am I inviting people in to a place where even if they're messy, they can come here and get cleaned up?

That even if things are a little bit chaotic, that there's peace here, that there's an opportunity for them to get washed up, that there's food and provision for them, that there's a place of safety.

And my hope is that even as we're going into this holiday season and whatever table we may find ourselves sitting at, whether we're hosting or we're just showing up, that we're actually exhibiting some of these characteristics.

Now, one of the things that I know about hospitality, especially depending on where you're from, where your upbringing is, I know with you, Mike, that you kind of you kind of lean heavily into being like this this southern gentleman.

Like you lean heavily into it.

Mike, Mike really being leap strong in the way.

He says that properly southern.

And here's the thing like I'm I'm not I'm not from the South, okay?

I got my I got my Eagles Cup right over there.

I sh I should have brought it out here with me.

Like you guys know where I stand at, but I'm but I'm here.

But but but watch this.

One of the things that I had to try to learn with being here in the South is that if someone invites you over, you're like, hey man, like, so what do you what do you want me to bring?

Oh, nothing.

Don't bring anything.

I'm from the north, so I'm like, you said nothing, so I'm bringing nothing.

Apparently, the southern way is that you're still supposed to show up with something, even if, even if you say show up with nothing.

Let me this just from a northerner, just say what you mean and mean what you say.

If you if you said don't bring anything, then I'm believing that my presence is enough.

So so so let me let me ask this question.

Let's say I'm inviting everybody over to my house tonight, and I'm saying, hey, I want you guys to bring something.

In fact, I want you to bring your signature thing, like the thing that your family says, like that's your signature dish.

I want to know what are you bringing to the table?

What is your what is your thing that you're bringing?

My mac and cheese.

Everyone cannot make mac and cheese.

Let me just tell you that.

Um, my mom taught me how to make mac and cheese, and it's just the little things that she showed me in between.

I won't tell y'all my secrets because then you won't want any more of my mac and cheese.

Um, but that is a thing that I bring to the table.

I feel like I would honestly lose friends if I stopped making chocolate chip cookies.

Yes.

So I have a recommendation.

I think your chocolate chip cookies, and then that that pecan, pecan, whichever way we're going with, that pecan pie that you made the other day, look here.

Just hearing it from me, you could bring the cookies, but make sure you bring that pie too.

Okay, okay.

What about you got Melissa?

I'm bringing a pie.

Bringing a pie.

I'm bringing a pie.

It could be apple, it could be cherry, it could be pecan.

I'm bringing a pie.

Blueberry.

Oh, yeah.

Cobbler.

Cobbler.

Okay.

Yes.

The cobbler.

Okay.

I'm bringing whatever she's making.

Um, wow.

Eat right, man.

Man, you really didn't hit me for a doozy.

Um, I would actually bring my collar greens, because that is the one thing.

I mean, I put my foot all up.

Yeah, listen, y'all.

I put my foot all up in those greens, okay?

Like, no, no, I mean, like, just for those who may not understand ebonics, let them know you don't mean literally putting your foot in those greens.

Yeah, I just want to make sure it's a mixture of the dirty South and the proper South.

So it's like, I'm all confused.

I'm like, yeah, give me Popeyes, but I wear Brooks Brothers.

You know what I'm saying?

It's like, it's like, it's like I'm coming to the country closing for God help us.

You know, it's it's interesting because when you when you grow up and you don't have traditions and then you're desperate for them, and I know you've been around, I I want I want to claim everything as a tradition.

And so one area where we bring something to the table as a tradition is really whenever anybody has a baby, uh, we have a tradition, and maybe you can share about that.

Moms are up in the middle of the night, and they need something to eat in the middle of the night.

And so we make single-size portions of banana pudding with the little bananas in it, and then the pudding, and then the grandpacker on top, like single portion.

If there's a mama that's having a baby in our circle, that's what we're doing.

We're bringing individual banana pudding for middle of the night mom snacks.

That's impressive.

Y'all think don't be claiming anybody's pregnant when you're not having a baby.

I just want to know, like, okay, like I consider myself to be in that circle.

I mean, we don't have any babies.

I mean, I just want to know.

I just want to know, like, we're just saying y'all can make me some.

I feel like I'm pregnant with purpose, so I'm coming to y'all's house to get me some banana pudding.

Only you, Mike.

Only you.

So, so so here's the thing.

Let's let's let's pivot and turn this into a spiritual moment.

Let me look deeply into this camera.

Okay, so so here's the point.

The idea is that when you're like we're learning the the southern way, or maybe we can just say the Christian way, is that that when you're invited in, the idea is that that even though we're okay with messy, is that you don't show up empty-handed.

It's that you're is that you're showing up and that you're bringing something to the table, so to speak.

So all of us kind of share what our what our varying gifts are and what we probably feel like we could bring to the table that can make such a big difference.

But but I think even when we look at the the person of Jesus, that that Jesus never showed up anywhere empty-handed, ever.

In fact, and so it's an invitation for us.

That's why when we come into church and we're leading us in worship, it's the idea of saying, like, hey, we're in the house of God.

Let's not show up empty-handed, let's actually offer up our worship to God in his house.

Let's make sure we offer up offering to God in his house.

It's making sure that we have a mentality that we're not showing up empty-handed and it's an opportunity.

But what I love about Jesus is that he never showed up anywhere empty-handed.

He never showed up everywhere he went, he always brought something to the table.

And my hope is that I want to share a couple of thoughts with us that as we're going into our varying corners of the world over this season, I would say, inclusive of now, all the way through the end of the year, the varying tables you may go to, if we can extract just a couple of the things that Jesus brought with him everywhere he went, I think that it can have the ability to change the atmosphere everywhere that we go.

So here's a couple of things that Jesus always showed up with when he came to the table.

I want you to write these down.

The thing that I think that we have an opportunity to bring to the table, that Jesus brings to the table, is joy.

Everywhere Jesus went, He brought joy to the table.

So much so that he wanted to send a message to us that his very first miracle that he does is sitting at the table, turning water into wine.

Come on, man.

Jesus said, let's keep the party going.

But but but but honestly, it's it's it's Jesus sitting at this wedding and he's bringing it.

But here's the thing that's so some symbolic about that is that is that wine is symbolic of joy.

So I want us to imagine for a moment.

They're sitting at this wedding.

It's it's a chaotic endeavor, as you can imagine.

And they're sitting there, and then Jesus' mother turns to him and says, Jesus, there's no more wine.

But let's transpose that with what we know.

Jesus, there's no more joy.

We're sitting at a table right now, and there's no more joy.

And I suspect for some of us that we may be sitting at tables this upcoming week, that it may seem like there's a deficit of joy.

And wherever there's a deficit of joy, there's there's an abundance of frustration, there's an abundance of disappointment, there's an abundance of tension and arguments.

And so Jesus is sitting at this table, this chaotic moment where running out of wine would have been something that would have just been so like it just it would have been a cultural no-no.

They're sitting at this table and they're saying there's no there's no more wine, there's no more joy.

And for some of us right now, when we look at what 2020 has produced for us, we may feel, man, Jesus, there's no more joy.

I got I got nothing left to give.

But what I love that Jesus does in this moment is he says, Okay, give me a vessel that is filled with the water, and someone who's obedient, we are filled with the water, which is the Spirit of God.

And then somehow, through our obedience, God is able to turn our overflow or our output the fruit of the Spirit.

That you may find yourself in a place where you're sitting at a table and you're not even necessarily happy to be there.

Happiness is circumstantial, but joy is rooted in something.

The Spirit is on the inside of me, and through my obedience, as I pour it out, that Jesus is going to turn it into joy.

It's an opportunity for us to bring joy to the table.

Here's another thing that I think that we have an opportunity.

Let's bring joy to the table, but let's also bring acceptance to the table.

Let's let's think about this for a moment.

For Jesus, everywhere he went, he accepted people.

He didn't he didn't accept them because he wanted them to be like something else.

He accepted them as they were and where they were.

So much so that everywhere he went, people were like, hey man, like Jesus, do you know you're around this person?

Like, you know they got some some skeletons in their closets.

And Jesus' response would be like, Man, I I didn't come here to make those like the great physician.

I'm not here to make those who are healed better.

I'm member at different times when I would think about sitting at the table with with family members or friends, and we all have those family members that that just they just can't seem to turn, make that turn.

That's that fail.

And so when they show up at the table, we're just prepared to critique and tell them what they should have done differently, or at least that commentary is running in the back of our mind.

But but what if we began to know of that to be the thing that can nudge them closer to being in fellowship with him?

I I one of the many narratives that that Jesus kind of shows us in this where he recognized that I can't see Jesus in the position that I'm in.

So he made a decision to separate himself from the crowd to get a different perspective.

Come on, Mike, that's a whole different message.

He couldn't, but maybe you can't see Jesus because there's some people that's blocking the way.

They end up in his home.

And it's this moment while he's in his home, that's when he repents.

He doesn't he doesn't repent when they're out in the street, or if I've done anything wrong, forgive me of it.

In fact, I'll pay everybody back.

I just I'm just I'm just honored that you would accept me at the table with you.

I think that sometimes we're so busy trying to get people to repent before we actually extend acceptance.

And if we can actually be people that can accept people for who they are and where they are, that maybe through that love that that somehow could produce a fruit of repentance.

Like you know, the Bible I read says the goodness of God leads us to repentance.

What about the goodness of God's people that could lead them to God, that leads them to repentance?

It's an opportunity for us to really lean into these moments, to for us to bring joy and to bring acceptance.

And then here's the the third and final one that I think we have an opportunity to lean into is that when we show up at the table, let's bring let's bring wholeness to the table.

Now, now let me unpack what that means.

Wholeness simply means is that there's nothing missing, there's nothing lost, there's nothing stolen, that we're actually complete.

And in in scripture, they would call that shalom wholeness.

What that means is that I'm not holding anything back.

So watch this.

That means that when I'm sitting at the table, if I need to extend forgiveness, I'm not gonna hold that back.

If I need to extend love, I'm not gonna hold that back.

It's living a life where I'm deciding that I'm not gonna hold anything back from the people that are sitting at the table with me.

Because unfortunately, we can become, we can, but God wasn't stingy with giving it to us.

We could be stingy with love, but God wasn't stingy with giving it to us.

Like somehow we make other people earn the very thing that God gave us for free.

We could clap.

If we're gonna clap church, let's commit.

Y'all know how I but in all sincerity, it's just getting that perspective.

And so what we see is this idea of us recognizing that I'm sitting at the table and that I've been invited here.

I didn't do anything to earn it, I didn't do anything to deserve it, but yet, but Jesus, who is rich in mercy, he extended these things to us as an opportunity to invite us to the table.

So so what does that look like for me practically?

I don't want to withhold love, I don't want to withhold acceptance, I don't want to withhold forgiveness from anyone, even if they didn't deserve it, is having that mindset of recognizing that Jesus, as he's sitting with his disciples for the Last Supper, the Bible gives this illustration of how he begins to relate to himself as the Passover lamb.

That is so significant because for his audience, they would have they would have known what that meant.

They would have understood that man, it's the I'm being fed by this, but I'm also being freed by it.

I'm I'm I'm being nourished by this generosity, but I'm also being set free from it because that's what the Passover Lamb does and did for them.

I wonder if we could actually begin to nourish people with our love so they can be freed of condemnation.

Nourish people with forgiveness so they can be freed from unforgiveness, that we have an opportunity that as we're sitting at the table with whoever God may have a sitting with, that we have an opportunity to extend wholeness.

This is the invitation that God gives us because He's extended it to us, and the hope is that we can perpetuate that into the lives of other people.

I want to invite the worship team to come back and join me as we prepare to close out.

But but for those who are sitting in here with us, I know that you were given the communion elements.

And as a family, I want us all to take communion together so you can go ahead and get those prepared.

If you're watching us at home, you can go ahead and grab whatever you may have that's available to participate in this moment with us.

We believe it's really um transformative and and powerful.

You know, as Jesus was was sitting with his disciples, he says to them that this is my body that was broken for you.

So if you have the the bread, you can go ahead and grab a hold of that, even us sitting here at the table.

It's it's understanding the significance of what this bread is.

It's understanding that that this body of Jesus was broken so that we can experience wholeness.

That's the power of it.

And the beautiful thing is that it's an invitation for us to be reminded of it, but it's also an opportunity for us to do this in our very own homes.

So I want to challenge every one of us that as you're sitting at home with your families over the course of the holiday season, break bread with them.

Actually participate in communion because communion, I believe, is the consummate reset button to give us perspective.

It reminds us of the work that Jesus has done on the cross for us and that we were able to be recipients of it.

The beautiful thing about us taking communion is that it shows us that the cross turns into a table where we are reconciled to God, but then also to one another.

I love the idea of that with the disciples that were sitting at the table with Jesus, there was a diversity of backgrounds that were there.

You had uh you had a belief system called the zealots that were sitting there with Simon the Zealot.

You had someone who had a Pharisee background, you had people that were part of the Essenes camp.

These are all names that in our current context would literally represent different political ideologies that were radically opposed to one another.

But somehow sitting at the table of Jesus, they were all accepted, they were all loved, they were all cared for, and they were part of this family that was bigger than the governmental structure that they may have had such a passion and burden for.

And my hope is that for all of us as we're sitting at the tables that we may be sitting at over the course of the next couple of weeks, that we're reminded that no matter what your backgrounds may be, no matter where you may stand on different issues, for us to press past that and recognize that the cross of Christ reconciles us to him, but it also reconciles us to one another.

That we're all equal at the foot of the cross, that we're all in need of the same grace and love, and that his broken body is the thing that makes us whole.

So as a family, I want us all to lead as we take this bread, remembering and receiving the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Let's eat.

Okay.

Then he had the cup, and he said that this represents my blood that is that is shed for you.

It's it's literally the thing that allows her to be the forgiveness and the remission of sins.

It's it's this powerful moment where you recognize that we're all invited to this table, and it's not because of anything that we did in our own strength, because we must remember that the same God that appeared to Moses in the burning bush that said, Take off your shoes, you are standing on holy grounds, is the same one that uttered through the breath of Jesus, it is finished.

Scripture tells us that when Jesus gave up his last breath, that we are now able to come boldly before the throne of grace, that God is not any less sacred as a result of Jesus on the cross.

It just simply means that because of the shed blood, that he sees us through the filter of Jesus' sacrifice instead of through the lens of our own brokenness.

That's what allows us to sit at the table of Christ, and that's what allows us to be able to extend that same love and acceptance to those in our family in our community, remembering I didn't earn my spot at the table, but yet I'm here.

So, how about I start recognizing that for those in my family, you may not have earned your spot, but you're here because of the shed blood of Jesus.

So, as a family, as a community, let us all take and remember that Jesus shed his blood so that we can all be made whole.

Let's pray.

God, I thank you so much that you allow us to enter into these moments where we're able to be reminded of your broken body that makes us whole, God, that for the for the shed blood, God, that gives us access to the throne of grace.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus that even as we partake of communion together as a family, that God, we're reminded that that we're welcome at the table so that we can extend this same welcoming atmosphere in our homes.

We're not gonna show up empty-handed, God.

We're gonna bring peace, we're gonna bring wholeness, we're gonna bring joy, we're gonna bring acceptance in Jesus' name.

What I recognize is that even amongst us right now, that there may be some that that you need to receive what God has extended to us.

Whether you're watching at home or maybe you're sitting in this room with us right now, maybe you're listening six months from now, whatever the context is, there are no coincidences.

But maybe you need to receive the finished weather, or we don't allow you to recognize that you're invited to the table.

But with every invitation, it requires us to respond to it.

Every invitation requires us to provide our RSVP.

My hope is that we recognize that 2,000 years ago, that Jesus sent an invitation for all of mankind, and all we have to do is accept it.

So maybe you're in here with us today, and maybe you know that right now I'm not sitting at the table of Christ.

I'm not sitting in a place of wholeness, I'm not sitting in a place of acceptance.

I actually feel away from him.

But today is the day that we can make it right.

If that's you, with every head bowed and with every eye closed here in this room with us as we're praying alongside of you, and those who are watching us at home, if that's you and you know your next step is to simply accept the seat that Christ has given you an invitation to.

On account of three, I just want you to boldly lift your hand up so we can celebrate with you and that we can pray with you.

One, two, three.

Amen.

God bless you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I'm always blown away at the way that people respond to these moments.

So, church, let's celebrate.

Can we put our hands together for every single person that has made that decision?

At the end of today's service, Pastor Michael's gonna come up and he's gonna give you some instructions and some next steps.

And now that you've made this decision, for us to come alongside you as a church family to support you, to equip you, and to walk alongside you.

But right now we're gonna go back into a brief moment of worship before we leave.

So, would you mind standing on your feet with us as we prepare to go into worship?

I'm gonna do this.

I wanna I want to pray with those who have just given their life to Christ.

It's a simple prayer that I believe has the ability that mixed with our faith and our confession that somehow allows this transfer to take place.

Very similar to the miracle that we spoke about with Jesus turning water into wine.

We don't know at what point that that transfer takes place.

I believe the same thing happens in our hearts.

That somewhere in that process of us accepting Jesus and us walking in obedience, that that transfer takes place and these words become the guiding post that our community helping along those who may be praying it for the very first time.

Repeat after me, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins.

I believe that you died on the cross and that you rose from the dead.

And according to your word, because of that belief, I am saved.

Now fill me with your spirit and order my steps.

In Jesus' name.

Let me pray for the rest of us.

God, I thank you.

I thank you, Lord, that you have invited us to sit at your table.

And God, that this week we have an opportunity to be ambassadors that are carrying your love, your grace to every table, that you may invite us to be a part of.

I pray for our family, I pray for our friendships, I pray for those who are away from their family as a result of the season that we find ourselves in.

I pray that they find comfort in knowing that you are with them.

God, I pray a blessing over every single one of us that if we travel, I pray a blessing over every one of us if we feel isolated.

I pray that our community comes alongside of us.

I pray for strength and unity.

God, I come against the strongholds of division and brokenness, Father.

In the name of Jesus, God, I speak wholeness over our church, over our community, and over our family.

So, in the name of Jesus, as we sing this psalm, ushering in your presence, God, I pray that we recognize that we can run to you because we are welcome at your table.

Come on, church, let's sing together and bring into the presence of God.

Thanks again for listening.

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