Key passages are Luke 1:15, Luke 1:46-53, and Luke 7:24-35.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1. Food is for everyone. What is the biblical principal we can take from this truth? How should our lives be marked by this truth?
2. In Jesus’ day, someone in the middle seat was the guest of honor as if to say “You’re mine. You belong to me.” Jesus was in the middle seat with sinners, which bothered the Pharisees. What lesson do we learn from Jesus’ example? How can you take steps to be more like Jesus this week?
3. All people have the right to be Jesus’ friend and he communicated this by dining with all kinds of people. Jesus invites believers into a meal each time they participate in communion. What hope does communion offer you each week?
4. “God goes belonging to every riven (broken/torn) thing he’s made.” - Christian Wiman Consider this truth. Is it difficult for you to believe that God is proactive and moving toward you? If so why? What encouragement can you find in the book of Luke? How can your community help you believe this truth?
5. Consider how exclusivity and hospitality are at odds with one another. How do you see this play out in our culture? How do you see this play out in your own life? Confess to one another ways you’ve loved exclusive practices and rejected inclusive practices. How can you participate in inclusive hospitality this week?
6. In all the meals we see Jesus participate in, he does not recognize stigmas. (A behavior, attribute, or reputation that causes someone to be undesirable and socially shunned.) How can we protect against and prevent the recognition of stigmas in our own hearts and lives? Discuss Truth that speaks to this and meditate on it.
7. The book of Luke shines a light on patterns in our lives that we may not know or see. What do you need to unlearn and relearn? How can your community help you?
8. There’s no stigma you can put on yourself that would make Jesus not want to sit next to you and share a meal. You belong to him, just as you are. Spend some time considering this and speaking this Truth over one another.