Sermon Response Guide
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:36-50
Key Points
- If we’re going to serve grace at our tables, we have to see others for who they are becoming in the hands of God, not who they have been in the past.
- If we’re going to serve truth at our tables, we have to be willing to speak the truth in love and surrender to God’s timing.
- If we’re going to serve forgiveness at our tables, we have to offer hope for the future – hope found in mercy.
Memory Verse
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
Questions for Reflection
Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
1: When you think about sharing your table, what feelings surface for you? Why do you think that is?
2: Why do you think Jesus spent so much time sharing his table with others? What is so special about the table?
3: The Pharisees were supposed to be bridges to God, but they became barriers to God. How does that reality resonate with you?
4: We tend to shape much of our identity from what we choose to consume. What are you primarily a consumer of? In other words, what are things in your life you can’t seem to get enough of, and you keep coming back for more?
5: When was the last time you worshiped God without moderation (lavish and undignified)? What prompted your worship?
6: Reflect on the story from today’s sermon in Luke 7:36-50. What is the Holy Spirit particularly impressing upon you from this story? Why do you think God wants you to notice that part of the story today?
7: How are you going to respond to God and all God has shown you today?
Pray
Lord, we confess we often forget how much we have been forgiven. We confess we often forget how much we are forgiven. Thank you for your forgiveness. Teach us to live in your forgiveness. Make us people who are quick to forgive others as well as ourselves. There is no forgiveness without hope. Thank you for your hope. Teach us to live in your hope and to lavishly share your hope with others.
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references
For those interested in further study, our pastors want to share resources that have aided them in their sermon preparation (in conjunction with the Bible and the Holy Spirit):
· B.L.E.S.S. 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World by Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson
· 40 Days of Blessing: Love Your Neighbor. Change the World. PCBC 2021 Lenten Journal
· Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey
· Luke 1:1-9:50 (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) by Darrell L. Bock
· Luke: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (The New American Commentary) by Robert H. Stein
Find more Lenten resources here.
