Build a Bigger Table

BUILD A BIGGER TABLE

Sermon Series

Hello, friends,

Through Speed The Light we help others hear the good news of the Gospel. As the Spirit draws their hearts to receive that good news, he also invites them to sit at the table—in communion and in community with the Godhead and the people of God. Once we are seated at that table and we “taste and see that God is good,” we gain a passion to see others seated at the table. We are on a mission to “build a bigger table,” making room for the nations. .

Use the following outlines as a catalyst for messages to share with your students as we build toward a special one-night offering for Speed The Light (STL). Edit them, add, take away—make it yours! These outlines need your stories and humor to bring them to life! We will also give you some generic slides to use and edit for presentations.

Week 1 (Oct. 26): THE TABLEIN THE PALACE2 Samuel 9:1-16

Week 2 (Nov. 2): THE TABLE IN THE VALLEYPsalm 23

Week 3 (Nov. 9): THE TABLE IN THE UPPER ROOMLuke 22:14-20

Week 4 (Nov.16): THE TABLE IN THE END Revelation 19:6-9

Thanks for what you do as a leader. When I was a youth pastor my group’s care for the mission of God expressed through support of Speed The Light did not gain traction until I took ownership of the opportunity. I would kindly encourage you to do the same—keep the need, the opportunity and the right heart motivation in front of your students. Together let’s build a bigger table.

Thanks,

David Hertweck

NY Youth Ministries Director

WEEK ONE

The Table in the Palace

The Takeoff

Share a story about a time in your life when you were certain you were going to be in trouble, but you were let off the hook.

Share a story that illustrates the concept of karma – “What goes around, comes around.” Here are some real life examples: (Filter the content on this website for appropriateness as I didn’t look through them all)

The Tension

Sometimes in life it seems like we get exactly what we deserve. Other times it seems like things are better than we deserve or worst than we deserve.

Some people think they deserve an easy life or a bright future or a healthy family – but why? What do we really deserve?
Do we even want what we deserve?In other words: Is getting what you deserve a good thing?
Is hoping in karma the best way to live life?

Tonight we are going to look at a story wherean outcastdidn’t get what he deserved – and it was really good news for him. And it actually reminds us of good news for you and me.

The Text

Don’t read this entire text to your students – it is WAY too long. I would suggest telling the story in your own words and mixing the reading of key verses like 8 or 6-10.

One day David asked, “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive—anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 He summoned a man named Ziba, who had been one of Saul’s servants. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked.“Yes sir, I am,” Ziba replied.3 The king then asked him, “Is anyone still alive from Saul’s family? If so, I want to show God’s kindness to them.”Ziba replied, “Yes, one of Jonathan’s sons is still alive. He is crippled in both feet.”4 “Where is he?” the king asked.“In Lo-debar,” Ziba told him, “at the home of Makir son of Ammiel.”5 So David sent for him and brought him from Makir’s home. 6 His name was Mephibosheth; he was Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low to the ground in deep respect. David said, “Greetings, Mephibosheth.”Mephibosheth replied, “I am your servant.”

7 “Don’t be afraid!” David said. “I intend to show kindness to you because of my promise to your father, Jonathan. I will give you all the property that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will eat here with me at the king’s table!”8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who is your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”9 Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba and said, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 You and your sons and servants are to farm the land for him to produce food for your master’s household. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will eat here at my table.” (Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)11 Ziba replied, “Yes, my lord the king; I am your servant, and I will do all that you have commanded.” And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table, like one of the king’s own sons.12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica. From then on, all the members of Ziba’s household were Mephibosheth’s servants. 13 And Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.

2 Samuel 9 (NLT)

Background Points:

Saul was the first and former king of Israel. His son was Jonathan and Jonathan’s son was Mephibosheth. It would be normal for the new king to kill any male offspring of the former king.
Saul was also David’s greatest enemy. He tried to kill David on multiple occasions. It would also be normal for a new king to kill anyone related to an enemy.
This story takes place 18 years after Saul and his sons were killed in battle and David became king.
David made a promise to Jonathan in 1 Samuel 2 that he would look out for his descendants.

The Teaching

Teaching Points:

David has every right to hunt down Saul’s descendants and kill them. Mephibosheth almost certainly thinks he is dead when he hears that King David is looking for him.

They find him in Lo Debar. Lo Debar is known as the howling wilderness, the most run down busted slum of all the Samaritan slums. It was a place where the rejects of society went to live and where the outlaws hid.(You can make a joke about some place in America that you don’t like being the modern equivalent of Lo Debar)

The defining characteristic of Mephibosheth is that he’s crippled. That is how he is referenced repeatedly. It’s like he has no identity apart from his limitations. (Sometime we are like that – maybe give examples)
This physical handicap was the result of an injury that happened when he was a baby – his nurse was running with him on the day his dad and grandfather were killed in battle and he was dropped.
Imagine his other issues: he is an orphan and has no family. He is probably mocked as the former prince who now lives in Lo Debar. He basically has no family. He has no future. And he doesn’t really “deserve” either in the eyes of many.
What do we have in common with Mephibosheth? (Give examples)
David flips the script. He does three amazing things.
1) He calls Mephiboshethby name. This established his identity and his worth. The king wouldn’t be expected to know or use his name.
2) He gives him back land. Land was wealth in this culture. He basically loaded up his bank account.
3) He invites him to take all his meals at the table in the palace. This table was reserved for royalty and special honored guests. This is basically David adopting him in as one of his own sons.
He does the exact opposite of what would have been expected!
This reminds of other times in the Scriptures when God looked at someone undeserving and unqualified and loved them and gave them worth and purpose. (Reference some other OT characters and their shortcomings)
Maybe God isn’t looking for people who are perfect. Maybe he’s looking for people who realize they have no hope outside of Him! That they deserve to be “a dead dog” but they are now seated at the king’s table. (Make applications to your own life or your teenagers’ lives)
The last line of the story says that Mephibosheth took all his meals at the king’s table. But then it ends by saying again: “He was lame in both feet.” Why would that fact need to be included in this story again? I wonder if it reminds the reader that Mephibosheth still was broken and imperfect, but it didn’t stop him from being at the table in the palace. He was there not because he was good but because David was good toward him.

The Thread

Gospel Points:

We tend to try and deal with our imperfections by either hiding or fixing. Some of you are hiders. Some are fixers. (You can give examples and flesh this out)
How do we get free from the exhausting cycle of hiding and fixing?
Think back to our story: David, at personal expense, welcomed in the grandson of his greatest enemy. He provided for his every physical need and allowed him to eat at his table forever.
Year later Jesus came to earth to welcome in all of God’s enemies. The Bible says in Romans 5:8-10 that we were God’s enemies when Jesus died for us.
Jesus also provides for our every spiritual need and invites us to His table – forever. To sit at God’s table and become one of His children.
And at what cost? Not just some. Not just shekels or extra food at the dinner table. Jesus took sinners in at infinite cost to himself, at the cost of separation from His Father, the cost of absorbing our sin and shame, God’s wrath….it was the cost of his life. Jesus was cast out so we could be brought in. The son of God was abandoned so we could be adopted.
If we know we are seated where we don’t belong because of what someone else did FOR us then it makes us humble and thankful. It also frees us from hiding because it’s not our perfection that earned us a seat at the table And it frees us from fixing because we know that Jesus came to fix something we could never fix – our hearts. And what he did is enough!

The Takeaway

Once our hearts believe that we are accepted and welcomed at the table of God because of the grace of God, it frees us to live for others. It motivates us to want to find other people who are like Mephibosheth- broken, lost, rejected…
One of the ways that we are building a bigger table this month is by giving money to our missionaries in our country and around the world who are chasing down “Mephibosheths”
Some are rescuing girls from sex slavery and giving them hope of a new life. Some are helping communities learn how to get clean water. Some are running sports and education programs for children. Some are teaching in Bible schools, preaching in churches, driving into jungles, building houses…
We get to help them through our giving. We will take a special Speed The Light offering in 3 weeks. Please pray tonight and set a goal. How much can you raise this month to help build a bigger table? (Ask students to set a goal and maybe ask them to share their goal with someone else)

WEEK TWO

The Table in the Valley

The Takeoff

Share a story about a difficult time in your life. A time when you or someone you love was in a valley. (This is an opportunity to use the “bookend technique” and tell half the story at the start of the message and the other half of the story at the end of the message)

If you want to be less serious, share about a bad day you had once that is now funny in hindsight.

OR
Share an example from culture or pop culture about how people deal with really bad times.

The Tension

All of us will have bad days. There is no avoiding that.

What gets us through the worst days of our lives?
Are there right ways and wrong ways to get through bad times?
Where do you turn for peace and comfort during a really bad day? Does it work?
How can we sit and rest when we are in the valley?

Tonight we are going to learn about what it means to rest at the table in the valley.

The Text

1 The Lord is my shepherd;I have all that I need.2 He lets me rest in green meadows;he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,for you are close beside me.Your rod and your staffprotect and comfort me.5 You prepare a feast for mein the presence of my enemies.You honor me by anointing my head with oil.My cup overflows with blessings.6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue meall the days of my life,and I will live in the house of the Lordforever.Psalm 23 (NLT)

Background Points:

The genre is Hebrew poetry. A quick Google search will give you access to more information about that genre.
David is widely accepted to be the author. The same David who your students heard about last week.
David grew up as a shepherd so this imagery was very familiar and personal for him.
This hymn is a psalm of confidence in the Lord’s care. It uses two images: Shepherd (1-4) and Host (5-6). This imagery would have been familiar to the reader and also connected with ancient concepts of deity as a shepherd of his people and host of the meal. (ESV Study Bible notes)
In David’s life he had many dark days and many enemies. He knew the valley well.

The Teaching

Teaching Points:

In choosing the metaphor of shepherd, we have to realize that means we are sheep. This is not a flattering metaphor.
Sheep are dumb. We have blindspots. We don’t see danger coming. We are often the last to know that we are doing something dumb. (Great opportunity to use humor/tell personal stories)
Sheep are directionless. We wander. We get lost. (More story/illustration opportunities with this point.)
Sheep are defenseless. We can’t fight our own battles. We are up against things that are bigger than us. We need help. We need a shepherd. (More story/illustration opportunities with this point.)
Because of all of this we often end up in trouble. We end up in the valley of the shadow of death – the darkest valley.
And sometimes this happens for other reasons. Sometimes it’s other people’s decisions that bring us to the valley. Sometimes it’s just the result of living in a broken messed up world. (Give examples)
Where do we turn in the valley time? Where do others turn? (Give examples)
David says that it is God’s nearness that keeps him from being consumed with fear. Sometimes we can actually sense God’s nearness.
When we can’t we need to look for regular ways to position ourselves to hear: spiritual disciplines and biblical community being two main ways.
Notice all the things that God our Shepherd does for us: He provides our needs, he leads us to rest, he leads us to sustenance, he renews our strength, he guides us, he protects and comforts us. These are things we can’t always do for ourselves. These are things that others can’t always do for us. We need to trust in Him alone for these things—especially in the valley.
Verse 5 tells us something amazing. He sets up a table for us in the valley. Even in the face of our enemies, he builds a table for us to sit at, to rest at and gives us a place to find strength.
The imagery of sitting and enjoying a meal while your enemies are near tells us something about what it means to sit at the table in the valley. It means that our peace and joy are not to be tied to circumstances. I heard Heath Adamson say at Louisville16, “ We are imprisoned not by our circumstances, but by our response.”
There are two requirements for sitting at the table in the valley.
1) We have to actually be in the valley. We don’t like that, but it is in the difficult times that we grow the most. If life was always easy, we wouldn’t grow very much – we wouldn’t need to! (Share a personal example or an example from how athletes prepare for success in sports).
2) We need to trust that God will deal with our enemies. We can’t sit at the table when we are trying to fight our own battles. God provides the table and protects us from our enemies.

The Thread

Gospel Points:

Many years later Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:14). He knew that we were sheep without a shepherd. But what makes him the good shepherd?
First he became a sheep – he became human. He wrapped himself in flesh. He wrapped himself in the human experience. This means that he knows that it is like to feel dumb, directionless and defenseless. He knows what it feels like to be in the valley.
But not only did he become a sheep – he died for us. The OT prophet Isaiah describes Jesus this way: He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:7
Jesus himself predicted this would happen: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. John 10:11
Jesus didn’t just walk through the valley of the shadow of death – he walked right into death. He was rejected and alone in his valley. There was no table—no presence of His Father—in the valley for him. He went through his valley alone so that you and I wouldn’t have to! In the valley, the Good Shepherd died for the sheep. But the story doesn’t end there.
In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, Jesus is called the Lamb 36 times. Here are three amazing verses where we see Jesus as the Lamb:
And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered— to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” Rev 5:21
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Rev. 12:11
For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Rev. 7:17
The Shepherd who became a sheep will again be our shepherd. And like Psalm 23 says – he will lead us to water. He will lead us to green pastures And He will lead us to the table.

The Takeaway