Won't You Be My Neighbor? | Persistent Hospitality | Luke 14:15-24 - Gayle Parker

In a world marked by division, isolation, and loneliness, we are a people in desperate need of radical love and connection in the ordinary parts of our lives and world. Join us at Midtown for our new teaching series entitled Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: Radically Ordinary Hospitality, as we go on a spiritual journey of exploration, mining the riches of Jesus’ life and teaching to explore the radical practice of neighboring and examining the ways that this ancient and timeless practice can get us caught up in the present work of the Kingdom of God in our own time. Together we’ll challenge the prevalent culture of division by emphasizing the importance of building authentic relationships across societal boundaries, provide practical guidance on fostering a sense of community in our homes and world, examine how to break down walls of hostility that isolate and divide, and ultimately combat the epidemic of loneliness through intentional acts of kindness and inclusion, that all people might come to a knowledge of their identities as beloved children of God and might experience His love and grace in their own lives. Listen as Gayle Parker explores Jesus' story of the Kingdom dinner in Luke 14, and how it teaches us to ask three important questions: -What's Your Excuse? -What's Your Motivation? -Will You Persist? Sermon Resources: 1. "We make our friends; we make our enemies, but God makes our next door neighbor." -G.K. Chesterton 2. "You were meant to house the fullness of God." - John of Kronstadt 3. Scene from "A Man Called Otto:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgtPf9ci_JM