Dinner with Jesus | Week 2 | Pastor Kevin Kringel
Dinner with Jesus
Week 2
Who Is at Your Table?
Matthew 9:9-13 (Matthew Parties)
Big Idea:
Followers of Jesus don't just attend dinners; they host environments where people can encounter Christ.
Notice: Matthew is writing this account and uses his own name (other gospels call him Levi). He is sitting in the tax collector’s booth, still in the act of sin, and he didn’t leave it. Then Jesus called him. Jesus called him while he was still actively engaged in a sinner’s life.
The other disciples were called to follow Jesus, but Matthew was first grouped as a sinner to repent and follow; he was converted and followed.
Notice how quickly someone can change when their heart is ready. The Spirit must have been working in him already because when Jesus called, there were no questions, no debate, no delay; he followed. No one else may have seen the hidden work of the Spirit beforehand and wouldn’t have thought Matthew was ready, but Jesus knew it.
"When was the last dinner party you attended?"
That's exactly what Matthew did.
He didn't invite people over just for food. He invited them to Jesus.
Matthew essentially threw an evangelistic dinner party.
Matthew didn't know theology. He knew people.
Matthew had less scriptural access.
Jewish tax collectors were considered outcasts. They could not serve as a witness or as a judge (not trusted); they were expelled from the synagogue (fellowship, worship, training in Scripture); their disgrace extended to their families.
Matthew simply thought,
"I know people who need to meet the man who changed me."
Notice who he invited. Not church friends.
Tax collectors, Sinners: well-known “evil people,” those who refused to obey the Mosaic law, adulterers, robbers, Outcasts.
Matthew used his greatest network before Christ as his greatest mission field after Christ.
Matthew understood the power of proximity.
His friends watched Jesus. Listened. Asked questions. Laughed. Shared bread.
Eating with someone was a sign of friendship. The religious leaders were upset Jesus was eating with sinners, not if he was preaching at them. It was the friendship they had a problem with.
I’m sure it was with the same argument some would use today. Eating with sinners seems to approve of their sin and suggests their sin doesn’t matter. Jesus wasn’t approving of sin, but he was being a friend to the sinner. (Matthew 11:19)
“You will never see Jesus compromise who he is or what is right to gain the acceptance of sinners. You cannot change the world if you are like it.”
Let’s see the full circle miracle in Matthew's life. When Jesus came to his house, many people who were not welcomed to church met God. Jesus ate with them before they were cleaned up.
Matthew then becomes an apostle (sometimes the people we think there is no way they would desire God become the greatest stories of grace.) Then the guy who wasn’t allowed into the synagogue is called by God to write the book of Matthew, which would later become Scripture. His book is the most Jewish of all the four gospels; it is written so that the Jews could see Jesus as the new Moses, leading them out of captivity and giving them a new law of the Spirit. His book is deeply theological and intended to save the very community that rejected him.
Isn’t it beautiful that so many times when God changes us, he sends us back to the people that we hurt or hurt us to bring them the love that saved us?
As we stated last week, one of the greatest overlooked themes in Scripture is that God repeatedly works around tables.
Not just in temples.
Not just on mountains.
Not just in synagogues.
Around dinner tables.
Testimonies: God didn’t just change lives at dinners in the New Testament; he does it today.
Let’s expand the idea of the dinner party from just introducing people to Jesus to encountering God in your home around your tables.
Acts 10- Cornelius invites relatives and close friends.
Peter comes. The Gospel is shared. The Holy Spirit falls. Gentiles receive the Spirit.
Entire household baptized.
Acts 16 -Philippian jailer.
Entire household believes. Entire household baptized.
Acts 20-Believers gather in a home.
Paul teaches. Eutychus falls asleep. Falls three stories. Raised from the dead.
Then...They go back upstairs...Break bread...Keep talking until dawn.
Even a resurrection happened in the middle of a house gathering.
In homes...around tables
People were forgiven.
People repented.
People worshiped.
People learned Scripture.
People were healed.
People received the Holy Spirit.
People were baptized.
People were delivered.
People were raised from the dead.
Churches were planted.
Revival spread.
Maybe...We've underestimated dinner.
THE THREE TABLE CHALLENGE
Table One-Eat with your family.
No phones.
Read one Scripture.
Pray together.
Ask one spiritual question.
Build disciples at home.
Table Two-Invite another believer.
Strengthen Christian friendships.
Encourage someone.
Share testimony. Talk about what you learned in the Scriptures this week.
Pray together.
Acts 2 community.
Table Three-Invite someone far from God.
Neighbor.
Coworker.
Coach.
Teacher.
Single mom.
Widow.
Someone new.
Don't make it awkward.
Don't preach.
Just love them.
Listen.
Ask questions about their journey, family, needs.
Let Jesus work.
Closing Vision
Imagine a year from now...
Instead of saying,
"We had another church event..."
We hear stories like:
The gospel spread from table to table long before it spread through cathedrals. The early church understood that homes were not merely places to retreat from ministry; they were places where ministry happened. Every dining room could become a sanctuary. Every meal could become a mission.
Alter Call:
1. God, help me be aware of those you are working in and offer an invitation to my table.
2. Jesus, I hear your voice saying, " Follow me, " and I am ready to follow.
Week 2
Who Is at Your Table?
Matthew 9:9-13 (Matthew Parties)
Big Idea:
Followers of Jesus don't just attend dinners; they host environments where people can encounter Christ.
Notice: Matthew is writing this account and uses his own name (other gospels call him Levi). He is sitting in the tax collector’s booth, still in the act of sin, and he didn’t leave it. Then Jesus called him. Jesus called him while he was still actively engaged in a sinner’s life.
The other disciples were called to follow Jesus, but Matthew was first grouped as a sinner to repent and follow; he was converted and followed.
Notice how quickly someone can change when their heart is ready. The Spirit must have been working in him already because when Jesus called, there were no questions, no debate, no delay; he followed. No one else may have seen the hidden work of the Spirit beforehand and wouldn’t have thought Matthew was ready, but Jesus knew it.
"When was the last dinner party you attended?"
- birthdays
- holidays
- graduation
- football games on TV
- cookouts
- business dinners
That's exactly what Matthew did.
He didn't invite people over just for food. He invited them to Jesus.
Matthew essentially threw an evangelistic dinner party.
Matthew didn't know theology. He knew people.
Matthew had less scriptural access.
Jewish tax collectors were considered outcasts. They could not serve as a witness or as a judge (not trusted); they were expelled from the synagogue (fellowship, worship, training in Scripture); their disgrace extended to their families.
Matthew simply thought,
"I know people who need to meet the man who changed me."
Notice who he invited. Not church friends.
Tax collectors, Sinners: well-known “evil people,” those who refused to obey the Mosaic law, adulterers, robbers, Outcasts.
Matthew used his greatest network before Christ as his greatest mission field after Christ.
Matthew understood the power of proximity.
His friends watched Jesus. Listened. Asked questions. Laughed. Shared bread.
Eating with someone was a sign of friendship. The religious leaders were upset Jesus was eating with sinners, not if he was preaching at them. It was the friendship they had a problem with.
I’m sure it was with the same argument some would use today. Eating with sinners seems to approve of their sin and suggests their sin doesn’t matter. Jesus wasn’t approving of sin, but he was being a friend to the sinner. (Matthew 11:19)
“You will never see Jesus compromise who he is or what is right to gain the acceptance of sinners. You cannot change the world if you are like it.”
Let’s see the full circle miracle in Matthew's life. When Jesus came to his house, many people who were not welcomed to church met God. Jesus ate with them before they were cleaned up.
Matthew then becomes an apostle (sometimes the people we think there is no way they would desire God become the greatest stories of grace.) Then the guy who wasn’t allowed into the synagogue is called by God to write the book of Matthew, which would later become Scripture. His book is the most Jewish of all the four gospels; it is written so that the Jews could see Jesus as the new Moses, leading them out of captivity and giving them a new law of the Spirit. His book is deeply theological and intended to save the very community that rejected him.
Isn’t it beautiful that so many times when God changes us, he sends us back to the people that we hurt or hurt us to bring them the love that saved us?
As we stated last week, one of the greatest overlooked themes in Scripture is that God repeatedly works around tables.
Not just in temples.
Not just on mountains.
Not just in synagogues.
Around dinner tables.
Testimonies: God didn’t just change lives at dinners in the New Testament; he does it today.
Let’s expand the idea of the dinner party from just introducing people to Jesus to encountering God in your home around your tables.
Acts 10- Cornelius invites relatives and close friends.
Peter comes. The Gospel is shared. The Holy Spirit falls. Gentiles receive the Spirit.
Entire household baptized.
Acts 16 -Philippian jailer.
Entire household believes. Entire household baptized.
Acts 20-Believers gather in a home.
Paul teaches. Eutychus falls asleep. Falls three stories. Raised from the dead.
Then...They go back upstairs...Break bread...Keep talking until dawn.
Even a resurrection happened in the middle of a house gathering.
In homes...around tables
People were forgiven.
People repented.
People worshiped.
People learned Scripture.
People were healed.
People received the Holy Spirit.
People were baptized.
People were delivered.
People were raised from the dead.
Churches were planted.
Revival spread.
Maybe...We've underestimated dinner.
THE THREE TABLE CHALLENGE
Table One-Eat with your family.
No phones.
Read one Scripture.
Pray together.
Ask one spiritual question.
Build disciples at home.
Table Two-Invite another believer.
Strengthen Christian friendships.
Encourage someone.
Share testimony. Talk about what you learned in the Scriptures this week.
Pray together.
Acts 2 community.
Table Three-Invite someone far from God.
Neighbor.
Coworker.
Coach.
Teacher.
Single mom.
Widow.
Someone new.
Don't make it awkward.
Don't preach.
Just love them.
Listen.
Ask questions about their journey, family, needs.
Let Jesus work.
Closing Vision
Imagine a year from now...
Instead of saying,
"We had another church event..."
We hear stories like:
The gospel spread from table to table long before it spread through cathedrals. The early church understood that homes were not merely places to retreat from ministry; they were places where ministry happened. Every dining room could become a sanctuary. Every meal could become a mission.
Alter Call:
1. God, help me be aware of those you are working in and offer an invitation to my table.
2. Jesus, I hear your voice saying, " Follow me, " and I am ready to follow.