Advancing the Kingdom Together
Week #4: Ask people home for dinner
Good Question: These lessons have groups talking.
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Big Idea: hospitality is a great way to communicate the message of the gospel. We spend two weeks on this topic because it is central to our strategy.

Luke 5:27 - 32 ⁽¹⁾

OPEN

• Let's each share our name and the best news that has come into your life in the last twelve months.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• By now we should have had our first party. How did it go? Did we get every member invited? ⁽²⁾ Did we get every prospect invited? Do all the details go O.K.? Did everyone have fun? What is our next party? Who wants to help plan it? Who will invite some prospects? Who will take a list of members to invite? ⁽³⁾
• Last week we talked about trying to invite every visitor to this church who is a prospect to this class to a hospitality event. Who wants to sign up this week? ⁽⁴⁾

DIG

1. As we read this passage, look for what got Jesus in trouble this time.
2. What do you know about tax collectors in Jesus' day? What kind of reputation did they have? Who in our society might have a similar reputation?
3. Why did the tax collectors have such a bad reputation. What was the historical situation here?
4. Matthew 9:9 - 13 is another account of this same story. Someone read that for us. What was Levi's other name? ⁽⁵⁾
5. What did this tax collector go on to do for the kingdom? ⁽⁶⁾
6. What price did Levi pay to be a follower of Christ?
7. What price do we pay to be a follower of Christ? ⁽⁷⁾
8. How did Levi go about introducing his friends from the tax office to Jesus?
9. How did the Pharisees feel about this plan?
10. Are there any dangers in spending too much time with people who are far from God? ⁽⁸⁾
11. How did Jesus justify his behavior in spending time with people who are far from God?
12. We often speak of becoming like Jesus. What does that mean in this context?
13. How far do you push this? Is there any limit to how far you would go (or think anyone should go) in spending time with people who are far from God? How would Jesus answer this question?
14. How could we follow Levi's example?
15. What keeps us from following Levi's example?

Romans 12.13 ⁽⁹⁾

1. What is the nature of the language in this verse-is this a proverb or a parable or a prophecy or what? ⁽¹⁰⁾
2. What is the command?
3. Look at the New Living: "Get in the habit of inviting guests home for dinner." How much of our behavior would you estimate is habitual? ⁽¹¹⁾
4. The command is to get in the habit of inviting. What can we expect when we invite? ⁽¹²⁾
5. How do you feel about offering hospitality?
6. What are some forms of hospitality?
7. Someone look up Hebrews 13.2. What is one possible advantage of offering hospitality? ⁽¹³⁾
8. Let's all look up Matthew 25.35. ⁽¹⁴⁾ What did Jesus teach about the importance of taking strangers in?
9. Look up 3 John 8. ⁽¹⁵⁾ What is the nature of this language? ⁽¹⁶⁾
10. Why do you think it says to "work together"? ⁽¹⁷⁾
11. Why do you think hospitality is so important to be emphasized so strongly?
12. How could the practice of hospitality change our lives for the better?
13. What might we have to cut out to make time for hospitality?
14. How could hospitality help us to reach people who are far from God?
15. Let's confess our awareness before God that except that He bless us, our efforts are futile, as well as our strong confidence that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. What else shall we pray about?

1. After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, [28] and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

[29] Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. [30] But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

[31] Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [32] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:27-32 [NIV]

2. Not just announcements. Not just cards. Not just emails. Personal phone call invitation.

3. Sometimes, if you have not been in the habit of inviting guests home for dinner, it is not all that much fun at first. Don't let this discourage you. Sometimes, it takes a little while for people to get to know one another well enough for it to be fun.

4. Note that this is two different kinds of fellowships (The I and the G of the TIGER outline.) We want to have an "all skate" once a month, then do some smaller, more casual events as we have time.

5. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

[10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

[12] On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:9-13 [NIV]

6. Write the book of Matthew.

7. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 [NIV]

8. Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Cor. 15:33 [NIV]

9. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:13b [NIV]

And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner. Romans 12:13b [NLT]

10. I said it last week, but it bears repeating. Our sovereign, holy Lord, boss, God has said it to us in the form of a command: Get in the habit of inviting guests home for dinner.

11. Psychologist say about 90% of our behavior is habitual. This is teaching us to make this the default mode. Make it the normal thing to normally do on a normal Friday night, Sunday lunch, of whenever. It is the normal thing to do on a normal Friday night or it has been a long time sense a guest had their feet under our table.

12. Sometimes they will come and have fun. Sometimes they will turn you down. Sometimes they will say they will come, but they won't come. Sometimes they will come, but you won't have fun. In these cases, remember the verse we looked at last week: "Offer hospitality without grumbling," 1 Peter 4.9

13. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2 [NIV]

14. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, Matthew 25:35 [NIV]

15. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. 3 John 1:8 [NIV]

16. Command.

17. Teachers, as a category are not that much into this kind of stuff. We need to get people who love to party working along side teachers and inreach leaders and outreach leaders to get this done.