Well, hey everybody, I'm Adam Schell, the pastor of Melbourne Heights, and welcome to our sermon podcast. And I just want to start out by thanking you for spending part of your day with us. And if you're blessed during our time together today, let me invite you to come and worship with us live on Sunday mornings at 10.30 a.m. Eastern Time.
You can worship with us live on our church website at mhbclouisville.com slash live. Or if you're in the Louisville, Kentucky area, we would love to have you come and join us in person. With that, let's get right into this episode's sermon. When I was a kid, one of my favorite stories was the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Now, by show fans, how many of you remember that story? Very good. Since just about all of you remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, you won't mind helping me retell the story just a little bit in the sermon this morning. And since we all know how every good story starts, we'll jump in right there.
So, once, that's right, that's the part where you say upon a time, so let's try it again just so we're all ready to go with it. Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks who spent her morning out wandering through a forest. And as she was walking through the forest, she stumbled upon a cute little cottage. And Goldilocks was a curious kind of kid.
So when she saw the cottage, she couldn't help but walk a little bit closer to it. And as she walked closer to it, she saw that the door to the cottage was opened up. And as a curious kid, Goldilocks just couldn't help but peek inside. And when she looked inside of the cottage, she saw that there were three bowls of porridge sitting on the kitchen table in the cottage.
And so that moment that Goldilocks realized she'd spent her whole morning wandering through a forest and she was starting to get a little bit hungry. So she decided to go inside and have a little bit of breakfast. So she grabbed a big spoonful from the first bowl of porridge, a great big bowl of porridge, and she took a bite out of that great big bowl of porridge, but it was too hot. So she moved on to the next bowl of porridge.
It was a medium-sized bowl of porridge, and she grabbed a spoonful of that and took a bite of it, but it was too... So she moved on to the last bowl of porridge, which was a little bitty bowl of porridge. And she grabbed a spoonful of it, she took a bite, and it was just right. So she ate it all.
And after she finished eating all of the porridge, she realized that she was getting a little tired from spending her day out in the woods, so she decided she was going to continue to explore this cozy little cottage in the woods. And she walked into the living room, she saw three chairs sitting in the living room. There was a great big chair, a medium-sized chair, and a little bitty chair. She decided this was a perfect chance for her to sit down and have a little rest.
So she climbs up into the great big chair, but it was too hard. And then she climbs up into the medium-sized chair, but it was too soft. So she climbs into the 80-bitty chair, she plops herself down, and it was just right. But she plopped down so hard into that 80-bitty chair that she broke it into a bunch of different pieces.
And as Goldilocks was picking herself up off the floor, she realized just how tired she really was. So she decided she was going to go upstairs into the cottage and see if there was a bed where she could take a nap. And when Goldilocks gets upstairs to the cottage, she finds three beds up. There were a great big bed, a medium-sized bed, and a little bitty bed.
Well, she decides to try out that great big bed, so she climbs up into it, but that great big bed is too firm. It was firm this time. So you probably all knew the right answer, all right. So she climbs out of that bed, she climbs up into the medium-sized bed, but that one was too smushy.
We're going to go with lumpy for this one. That was too lumpy. So she decides to try the 80-bitty bed. And she climbs up into the gitty-bitty bed, and it was just right.
So Goldilocks falls asleep. But while Goldilocks is snapping, the inhabitants of this cottage come back home. The inhabitants are three bears, Puddle Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear. And it doesn't take long after the three bears arrive at the cottage that they realize that something's not quite right in their house.
As a matter of fact, when they sit down at the table, Puddle Bear automatically realizes that he says, Someone's been eating my porridge. And then Mama Bear looks at her bowl, and she says, Someone's been eating my porridge. Mama's a little stuttered. And then Baby Bear looks at his bowl of porridge, and he says, Someone's been eating my porridge.
And they ate it all. And you know how the story progresses from there. Eventually, the three bears go upstairs, where they find Goldilocks sleeping, and Baby Bear's bed. And when they wake her up, to no one's surprise, Goldilocks is scared to death, because there's three bears looking at her.
So she jumps up and goes running down the stairs, through the doors of the cottage, and disappears into the woods. That's the story of Goldilocks and the three bears. And like I said, as a kid, I love this story. But as an adult, I realize just how problematic it is for us to tell kids a story about somebody breaking and entering just so that they can have a little breakfast and a snack.
But when I was a kid, I loved this story because I thought that this was a story about somebody who was determined to find her place, to figure out where she fit in, to know what was just right for her, to know where she belonged. And growing up, that was something that really resonated with me, because I'm a military kid, and I grew up in a military community. And when you grow up in a military community, people are constantly moving into your community, and they're constantly moving out of your community. So as a kid, I never knew when one of my friends' parents were going to receive orders that would send them and their entire family to live someplace else.
And that did happen quite a few times for me when I was growing up. I didn't graduate high school with a single person that I went to kindergarten or first grade with. People were constantly moving in and out of the community. So whenever one of my best friends had to move away, it always took me some time to figure out where my place was, to figure out where I fit in, again, to know where it was that I belonged.
And you've all felt that way at some point or another in your life, too. You may have felt that way the first day when you started a brand-new school, because you weren't sure where you were supposed to sit in the cafeteria. Or you may have felt that way when you moved into a new neighborhood, and you wondered if you were going to be able to get along with the people who now live right next door to you. Or you may have felt that way the very first time that you came to our church, and you just weren't certain if you were going to be welcomed when you came into this place.
But we've all felt that way. We've all had this desire, this deep desire to belong someplace, to know where it is that we fit in. Or to put it another way, we all want to find our place at the table. It's a desire that all of us have.
We all want to find our place at the table. And this is something that's not just true for us today. This is something that's been true for people as long as there have been people. We've always wanted to find our place at the table.
This even happened back in biblical times. And we're going to see this desire, this desire to know where you fit in, to know where you belong, to find your place at the table in the scripture passage I want us to take a closer look at today. So if you've got a Bible app on your phone, I'd encourage you to go ahead and open it to Luke chapter 14. Luke chapter 14.
And as you're finding it, let me just point out to you, the book of Luke is basically a biography of Jesus. So when you're reading the book of Luke, you can read about Jesus' birth and his baptism. You can read about his ministry and the miracles that he performed. You can read about Jesus' crucifixion and his resurrection.
But in a story we're going to be taking a closer look at today, we're going to read about a time when Jesus is watching as people are literally trying to find their place at the table. So let's take a look at Luke 14 together and see what happens. We're going to start reading in verse 7. This is what Luke writes.
He tells us, when Jesus noticed how the guests sought out the best seats at the table, he told them a parable. Now, before we listen to the parable that Jesus is going to tell these people, I want to take a second to make sure that you understand what's actually happening in this story. So in this story, Jesus has been invited to some kind of banquet or dinner party. And when he arrives at this banquet, this dinner party, everybody that's there is trying to find the best seat available at this table for this dinner party.
But what did that best seat mean? What was the best seat at the table for the people who had come to this particular dinner party? Well, answering that question, you need to understand that these banquets or dinner parties back in the first century are different than if you get invited to a dinner party today. Because today your understanding of what the best seat at the table is can mean a whole lot of different things.
For you, the best seat at the table may mean that you get to sit at the table close to somebody that you have a little bit of a crush on. Or maybe the best seat at the table for you is the one where you can see the TV so that the conversation around you gets a little bit boring, you at least have something to entertain you. Or for you, the best seat at the table may be the one that's closest to the door so that when the party starts winding down, you can make your way out. But back in the first century, there was a very clear understanding of what the best seat at the table was.
The best seat at the table is the place where the person who was throwing the party sat. And they always sat at the head of the table. So the next best seats were the ones that were closest to the head of the table, closest to the person who was throwing the dinner party. And based on where you sat at the table, your proximity to the person who was throwing the dinner party, well, that impacted your entire experience while you were there.
Because today if we throw a party, we're going to offer the same kind of food to everyone, the same kind of drinks to everyone who comes. But that's not how it worked in the first century. Now, where you sat at the table determined just how good the food or the drinks you received at that dinner party were going to be. So the people who were sitting closest to the head of the table, closest to the one throwing the party, got the best stuff.
And the ones who were further down the table, well, their accommodations weren't quite so good. So if you were way down at the other end of the table from the person who was throwing the party, you might end up getting to eat hamburger during this event. While the people who were closer to the one hosting the party were eating filet mignon. You might get to drink Kool-Aid if you were down at this end of the table, while the people closer to the one throwing the party were drinking Cabernet.
You might get to have a Twinkie for dessert if you're way down at the other end of the table, while the ones who were closer to the one hosting the party are enjoying Tierra Masseau. So everyone, when they arrived at the dinner party back in the first century, they wanted to find the best possible seat. They wanted to be as close to the head of the table as they possibly could, because it impacted the entire experience. But you couldn't just claim a seat at the head of the table.
No, you had to earn your place at the head of the table. You had to earn your place at the head of the table. And how did these dinner guests earn their place at the head of the table? Well, it was based on their social standing.
So the wealthiest people, the most famous people, the most powerful people, were the ones who got the seat closest to the person hosting the party. But Jesus has something to say about all of this. So let's turn back to Luke 14 again. Let's see what else happens in the story.
Again, we're going to start reading in verse 7. This is what Luke writes. He tells us. When Jesus noticed how the guests sought out the best seats at the table, he told them a parable.
He said, when someone invites you to a wedding celebration, don't take your seat in a place of honor. Don't take your seat at the head of the table. Someone more highly regarded than you couldn't have been invited by your host. The host who invited both of you will come to you and say, give your seat to this other person.
And embarrassed, you will take your seat in the least important place. Instead, when you receive an invitation, go and sit in the least important place. Then when your host approaches you, he will say, friend, move up here to a better seat. Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.
All who lift themselves up will be brought low. And those who make themselves low will be lifted up. Can you imagine how the guests who gathered at this particular dinner party felt when Jesus told them all this? I mean, for their entire lives, everyone at this party had been told that they had to earn their place at the head of the table.
So they had spent their lives trying to get as wealthy as they possibly could. They had spent their lives trying to become as famous as they possibly could. They had spent their lives trying to become as powerful as they possibly could. Because they were told that if they were rich or if they were popular or if they were powerful, that that would earn them a place at the table.
And the world we live in today hasn't really changed all that much. The world we live in today still tells us the same kinds of things that we have to earn our place at the table. This is the way that the best-selling Christian author Philip Yancey explains it in his book, What's So Amazing About Grace? Philip Yancey writes this.
He says, From nursery school onward, we are taught how to succeed in a world of ungrace. While the early bird gets the worm, no pain, no gain. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Demand your rights.
Get what you pay for. But in this passage, Jesus reminds everyone that is sitting at the table of something different. In this passage, Jesus reminds people that are sitting at the table, no matter how hard they've worked to accumulate wealth or popularity or power, there's always going to be somebody out there that has more money than you do, that is more popular than you are, that is more powerful than you are. So just because you've got a little bit of money and you've got a few friends and you've got a little bit of power, that does not guarantee you are always going to have a place at the table.
And when Jesus finishes telling people that are gathered for this dinner party and all this, I can't help but think, this is the point where everyone there is wondering, well, if I can't earn my position at the table by having more money or having more friends or having more power, then how will I ever know if I actually belong at the table? And Jesus answers that question for them by telling them a parable. So let's pick back up in Luke chapter 14, verse 16, and let's listen to the parable that Jesus teaches. This is what Luke writes for us.
Luke tells us, he says, Jesus replied, A certain man hosted a large dinner and he invited many people. When it was time for the dinner to begin, he sent his servants to tell the invited guests, Come, the dinner is now ready. One by one they all began to make excuses. The first one told him, Well, I bought a farm and I have to go and see it.
Please excuse me. And another said, I bought five teams of oxen and I'm going to check on them. Please excuse me. And another said, I just got married so I can't come.
When he returned, the servant reported these excuses to his master. The master of the house became angry and he said to his servants, Go quickly to the city streets, the busy ones, and the side streets, and bring to the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. The servant said, Master, your instructions have been followed and there's still room. The master said to the servant, Go to the highways of the back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled.
So this parable, Jesus starts out by talking about a man who decides he is going to throw a dinner party of his own. And this man does everything that he's supposed to do. He invites all the right people to come to his party. He invites wealthy people and popular people and powerful people to come to his party.
But none of them can. They all have excuses that are going to keep them away. Now when Jesus reaches this point in the story, what everyone that was at his dinner party would have expected here, is that at that point, the guy who wanted to host his party decided to just cancel the whole thing. I mean, there's no reason whatsoever to host a dinner party if no one important was going to be able to come.
But that's not what happens at all. You see, even though all of those guests at the dinner party that Jesus was at would have canceled their own parties, their own banquets, if no one important was able to show up, the man in this story who represents God does something different. And what he does shows us the kingdom of God is different than the world that we live in. Because when these important people can't come to the party, the party goes on.
The person throwing the party invites the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame, to come and feast with him. And this shows us that God invites people to sit at his table that we would never invite to sit at our table. God invites people to sit at his table that we would never invite to sit at our table. And God does this because none of us ever earn our seat at God's table.
The only reason we have a seat at God's table is because he wants us there. Once again, this is the way that Philip Yancey talks about it in the book, What's So Amazing About Grace. He writes this, he says, And that's what grace is all about. Grace means that even though none of us have earned our place at God's table, God still wants us there.
Even though none of us have earned our place at God's table, God still wants us there. And we see this every time that we look at the community. table. That's, of course, what we've been talking about over the last few weeks here at Melbourne Heights.
We've been working our way through a series of sermons called At the Table, where we've been talking about what happens at this table, the communion table, because our communion table is not just an ordinary piece of furniture. It's not just four legs with a top. Now, this table is a place that challenges us to become more like Jesus. This table is a place that challenges us to become more like the Jesus who loved us so much that he became one of us.
He came into this world for us. See, Jesus didn't just come into this world for people who show up to church on every Sunday morning. Jesus didn't just come into this world for people who always find at least 15 minutes every day to read the Bible. Jesus didn't just come into this world for people who always remember to say a prayer before they start eating a meal.
Jesus didn't just come into this world for people who have gone on a mission trip, or people who have sung in the choir, or people who have led a Bible study. No, Jesus came into this world for all of us. But why? Why did he come for all of us?
Well, there's a story about a man named Karl Barth, who's probably the most influential theologian of the last century, that answers that question better than I ever could. And as the story goes, Dr. Barth was invited to offer a guest lecture at the University of Chicago. And when he finished up his lecture, he turned it over to the students of the faculty that were there to see if they had any questions of him.
And not long after this Q&A session started, one of the students that was there raised their hand, and they asked Dr. Barth. They said to him, Dr. Barth, what is the most profound truth that you have learned in all of your studies?
Now, I want to make this very clear to you. Karl Barth devoted his entire life to studying God and faith and theology. Karl Barth understood everything, and it was influential in the theological realm, talking about everything from salvation to soteriology to just everything that you could possibly think of. So Karl Barth was fully capable when he was asked the question, what's the most profound truth that you've learned in all of your studies, by giving some really complex, elaborate answer that no one in that entire auditorium would have understood.
But that's not what he does. When Karl Barth was asked, what is the most profound truth that you've learned in all of your studies? He responded with this, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. A man who spent more time thinking and studying God than most of us can even imagine, a man who's literally written more books on God than most of us will ever read, said the most profound truth that he has ever learned, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
So as we get ready to gather around our communion table again today, I want you to realize that you have not done anything to earn your place at this table. But that does not mean that you do not belong at this table. This table is just right for you. But it's not because of something that you have done.
It's not because of how much money you have, or how many friends you have, or how much power you have. You have a place at this table because Jesus loves you and wants you to sit at his table with him. So remember, you haven't earned your place here, but Jesus' love gives you that place. Let's pray together.
God, as we come to you in this time of prayer, you know that we live in a world that tells us that we have to earn our place. And we can earn that place in a whole lot of different ways in our world today. We can earn that place based on how much money we have, or the number of friends that we have, or the power that we have in this life. We can earn that place in our world based on our education level, our political affiliation.
We can earn that place by the teams that we root for in so many other ways, God. But God, in your kingdom, none of those things matter. Because none of us earn our place in your kingdom. But that doesn't mean we don't belong.
Because we do. But we belong to you. We belong in your kingdom. We belong at your table.
Because you want us to be there. And you want us to be there because you love us all more than we can even begin to imagine. So thank you, God. Thank you for inviting us to come to your table, even though we haven't earned it.
Thank you for inviting us to your banquet, even though we don't deserve it. Thank you for loving us enough to want us to belong with you and to you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
I just want to thank you for tuning in to this episode of our sermon podcast. And I hope that you've been blessed during our time together. If that's happened, once again, I want to invite you to come and worship with us live on Sunday mornings at 10.30 a.m. Eastern Time.
You can do that by joining us on our website at nhbclouisville.com slash live. Or if you're in the Louisville, Kentucky area, you can also worship with us in person. And that's going to do it for this episode of our sermon podcast. But I want to invite you to come back and join us again when our next episode drops next week.
But until then, I'll be praying for you. I hope that you have a great week, and we'll see you back here soon for another sermon podcast.