Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.  At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled.

-Luke 14:16-23

This week we talked about the parable of The Great Banquet.  Jesus proves to be a challenging dinner guest when he calls his host (and us) to invite all to the table, even those who cannot repay the favor. [hear sermon audio]

This week, take some time to go deeper.  Spend some time in scripture and reflect on how inviting you are to others.

Texts to read:

• Matthew 22:1-14
• Luke 14:1-14

Questions to ponder:

• When have you felt like an outsider and longed to be welcomed?
• When you hesitate to welcome others, what stops you?

Do and share:

• Share a meal with others.  Take a picture and tweet @dpumc with #beyondsunday
• If you took a mana bag last week, share the story of giving that away on our Facebook