August 31st, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"The Upside-Down Values of God's Table" (Luke 14:1,7-14)

Lectionary Readings — Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost — August 31, 2025

Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1,10-16; Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16; Luke 14:1,7-14

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Call to Worship (based on Luke 14:1,7-14)

Leader: We come to worship the God whose kingdom turns the world upside down,

People: Where the humble are exalted and the proud are brought low.

Leader: In a world that scrambles for places of honor,

People: We choose to take the lowest seat and trust God to lift us up.

Leader: While others invite those who can repay them,

People: We open our hearts to the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

Leader: At God's table, there are no forgotten people,

People: No outcasts, no unwelcome guests, no second-class citizens.

Leader: The Lord blesses those who serve without expectation,

People: Who love without counting the cost, who give without seeking return.

Leader: Though the world may not reward our kingdom living,

People: We will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Leader: Come, let us humble ourselves before the Most High,

People: That He may exalt us in due time.

Leader: Come, let us worship with hearts wide open,

People: Ready to serve as Christ has served us.

Leader: Let us gather at the table of grace,

People: Where all are welcomed, all are loved, and all find their place in God's family.

Leader: Praise be to God, who invites us to His eternal banquet!

People: Let us worship the One who makes the last first and the servant greatest of all!

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Opening Prayer (based on Jeremiah 2:4-13)

Let us pray:

Faithful and loving God, we come before You this morning as people who have experienced Your goodness throughout our lives. Like the people of Israel, You have led us through our own wilderness seasons. You have brought us out of bondage to sin and death. You have guided us, protected us, and provided for us in ways we often fail to recognize or remember.

Yet we confess, O Lord, that too often we are like Your ancient people who forgot Your faithfulness. We have wandered far from You, pursuing things that cannot satisfy, chasing after broken promises and empty pursuits. We have exchanged Your glory for worthless idols – the idols of success, security, comfort, and approval.

Forgive us, Father, for the times we have forsaken You, the fountain of living water, and have tried to dig our own cisterns – cracked and broken vessels that cannot hold the life-giving water our souls desperately need. We have sought satisfaction in careers, relationships, possessions, and achievements, only to find them lacking when we needed them most.

This morning, we ask You to draw our hearts back to Yourself. Help us to remember all the ways You have been good to us. Open our eyes to see the futility of chasing after things that cannot truly satisfy. Create in us a thirst that can only be quenched by You.

Lord, we pray for our community, our nation, and our world. We see so many people running after broken cisterns – seeking meaning in materialism, hope in politics, peace in substances, and love in all the wrong places. Help us to be living testimonies of Your sufficiency, pointing others to the fountain of living water that never runs dry.

Refresh us today with Your presence. Fill us with Your Spirit. Satisfy our deepest longings with Yourself. Help us to worship You not just with our words, but with our whole lives – turning away from the worthless pursuits that compete for our affection and turning toward You, our true source and satisfaction.

As we worship together, may our hearts be reminded that You are better than anything this world offers. You are more faithful than our closest friends, more secure than our greatest achievements, more satisfying than our deepest pleasures. You are the fountain of living water, and in You we find everything our souls truly need.

We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus, who promised that whoever drinks of the water He gives will never thirst again, and from whose heart flows rivers of living water.

Amen.

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Sermon Outline: [NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon].

[Note: All Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.]

Sermon Outline: "THE UPSIDE-DOWN VALUES OF GOD’S TABLE"

Based on Luke 14:1,7-14

INTRODUCTION:

What Jesus teaches at this dinner party challenges everything we think we know about success, status, and service. It's a lesson that still makes us uncomfortable today because it strikes at the heart of our pride, our prejudices, and our priorities.

I. HUMILITY - The Posture of Kingdom Citizens (vv. 7-11)

1. The Observation: "When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor"

2. The Parable: "When you are invited to a wedding banquet" (vv. 8-10)

   • The Warning: "Do not sit down at the place of honor"

   • The Wisdom: "Go and sit down at the lowest place"

3. The Principle: "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (v. 11)

II. HOSPITALITY - The Practice of Kingdom Values (vv. 12-13)

1. The Revolutionary Instruction: "When you give a luncheon or a dinner"

2. The Conventional Approach: "Do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors" (v. 12)

3. The Reason: "In case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid"

4. The Kingdom Alternative: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind" (v. 13)

III. HONOR - The Promise of Kingdom Reward (v. 14a)

1. The Blessing: "And you will be blessed"

2. The Reason: "Because they cannot repay you"

3. The Nature of True Honor:

IV. HEAVEN - The Perspective of Kingdom Eternity (v. 14b)

1. The Ultimate Recompense: "For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous"

2. The Eternal Perspective:

3. The Resurrection Context:

4. Living with Eternal Perspective:

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Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers