Lifestyle Adjustments (Luke 14:1-24)
Big Idea: Living on mission involves lifestyle adjustments.
Purpose: To choose a lifestyle of compassion, service, and mission.
Jesus attends a dinner party. He encounters three lifestyle choices that lead the guests to miss out on the mission of Jesus. They completely missed the point because they made three bad lifestyle choices.
Imagine having Jesus over for dinner and completely missing what he is doing!
Jesus uses this as a teaching opportunity. He teaches us that living in mission involves three lifestyle adjustments:
1. Love people (1-6)
Where the Pharisees saw an issue, Jesus saw a person
It’s possible to see people’s issues rather than the people themselves
We encounter people who make lifestyle choices that we disagree with
Sometimes, we let those choices prevent us from establishing a relationship (Pharisees saw some people as unworthy)
Important to see others as people to love rather than issues to debate
WHO do I need to love?
2. Serve others (7-14)
We have a tendency to serve ourselves
We take the best for ourselves
We do things for people who can repay us
We’re not always aware of this tendency
Jesus models a life that serves others
Key question: Who is this for? – church (programs, budget, building) and personally (time, possessions)
HOW can I serve others?
3. Eliminate distractions (15-23)
We all have excuses for not being on mission.
Some of these excuses are lame, and they make us miss out on the very reason we are here
The answer isn’t to stop doing things. It is to keep them from becoming more important than our mission
Continually remind ourselves we we are here
WHAT is distracting me?
Questions: Who do I need to love? How can I become a servant of others? What is distracting me from mission?
Practice a lifestyle of compassion, servanthood, and focus, and you will be on mission
Picture: party host – the party has arrived, join the Kingdom party. We have become party guests and are expected to become party hosts, inviting people at the bottom of the pile to join the party.
Missional Confession
We believe that this church is a community of God’s people, here for a purpose. We have been blessed to be a blessing.
As the Father has sent Jesus into the world, Jesus sends us into the world.
The Holy Spirit enables us to carry out Jesus’ mission. Jesus calls us to be different from the world, yet in relationship with people in our world.
He asks us to make lifestyle adjustments so we can see this happen in our lives. He calls us to love people, serve others, and to eliminate distractions from mission.
