A Sermon on Presence | Luke 10 | The Bridge Church

Devotional

Day 1: The danger of busyness as a status symbol.

Our culture often equates being busy with being important, creating a sense of status and worth from a full calendar. This constant rushing can lead to a state of "hurry sickness," characterized by anxiety and a perpetual sense of urgency. This disordered pace leaves our souls feeling pulled apart and dragged away from what truly matters. It is a rhythm wildly out of step with the one we were designed for. [02:45]

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42 NLT)

Reflection: When you find yourself describing your life as "crazy busy," what underlying need for significance or importance might that busyness be attempting to fulfill?

Day 2: Serving can become a distraction from presence.

It is possible to be so consumed with the work of serving, even with good and noble intentions, that we miss the presence of the one we are serving. Our activity, however honorable, can distract our hearts from the connection we were made for. We risk doing things for God without actually doing them with Him, leaving our souls feeling out of order. [12:03]

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one." (Luke 10:41-42a NIV)

Reflection: What is one area of your service—perhaps even in your family, church, or community—where you have noticed your focus shifting from being with Jesus to just getting the task done?

Day 3: The compassionate invitation to reorder our lives.

The call to a life of presence is not a scolding reprimand but a compassionate plea from a loving friend. It is an invitation to untangle our worried and upset hearts from the many things that pull us apart. This reordering begins by sitting at the feet of Jesus to listen and learn, making this our first and most important activity. [15:54]

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV)

Reflection: Where in your life do you most need to hear Jesus speaking your name with compassion, inviting you to set down your burdens and simply be with Him?

Day 4: Mission is fueled by time in Jesus’ presence.

We cannot give what we have not first received. Our going for God must be preceded by coming to God. Our service and mission in the world are fueled by the intimacy and connection forged in time spent at the feet of our Rabbi. Beginning with presence ensures our work flows from a place of rest and relationship, not hurry and performance. [19:14]

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 ESV)

Reflection: How might creating intentional space to abide with Jesus at the start of your day change the motivation and quality of your work for Him throughout it?

Day 5: Creating spaces of hospitality, not just service.

True hospitality moves beyond the black and white of technical service into the color of human connection. It is about making people feel seen, welcomed, and that they belong, which requires presence and a willingness to listen. This stands in contrast to entertaining, which is often about performance and impressing others. [26:23]

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12:13 NIV)

Reflection: Think of an upcoming meal or interaction with someone. What is one practical way you can shift your focus from performing a duty to genuinely helping that person feel seen and welcomed?

Sermon Summary

Modern culture elevates motion into meaning: frantic mornings, performative productivity, and the new status symbol of being “busy” shape souls toward distraction rather than devotion. Drawing from Luke 10 and the well-known encounter in Bethany, the narrative contrasts two common responses to Christ’s presence — Martha’s anxious serving and Mary’s undistracted sitting at Jesus’ feet — to expose a deeper disorder in contemporary faith: doing good things without being with God. Serving and hospitality are affirmed as essential practices, but the point is made that service must flow out of presence; otherwise good work becomes a barrier to communion. Jesus’ quiet rebuke, “Martha, Martha,” is tender and diagnostic: she is not condemned for labor but for being pulled apart, allowing worry to displace intimacy with the Savior.

Hospitality is reinterpreted away from performance and toward human connection: making people feel seen, welcomed, and safe to encounter the gospel. A modern anecdote from a high-end restaurateur — a rushed hot dog delivered with attention and care — illustrates that technical excellence can miss the heart of welcome; real hospitality happens when someone slows down enough to listen and respond. The practical antidote offered is simple and repeatable: begin each day with presence before God, and begin each week present with God’s people. This ordering — presence first, mission second — is presented as the cure for hurry-sickness, the remedy for distracted souls, and the prerequisite for a table that changes the world. The call is not to abandon work but to reorder life so that priorities align with the Creator’s design: a life inhabited by listening to Jesus, not merely by accomplishing tasks. For those whose buttons are already out of order, the pathway home involves unbuttoning, reprioritizing, and returning to the feet of Jesus so that service becomes fruitful and hospitality becomes colored by presence rather than performance.

Key Takeaways

1. Presence precedes productive ministry Jesus insists that the primary posture of apprenticeship is listening at his feet; action without that posture risks turning service into distraction. When devotion is treated as a preliminary checkbox rather than the soil for ministry, energy disperses into anxious activity rather than faithful fruitfulness. Reordering begins by valuing being with Christ as the engine that fuels every competent and compassionate service. [11:07]
2. Busyness masquerades as spiritual significance A culture that boasts busyness often confuses motion for meaning and exhaustion for importance, leaving souls fragmented and hollow. Hurry sickness disguises insecurity as status—people prove worth by how little time they have, not by how deeply they are formed. Recognizing this deforming idol is the first step toward cultivating a steady, ordered interior life. [01:22]
3. Hospitality requires presence, not performance True hospitality aims to make people feel seen and known, not impressed or entertained; its heart is relational incision, not theatrical provision. Technical excellence can win awards, but small, attentive gestures often create belonging that transforms a table into a place for gospel conversation. Practiced presence means listening first and tailoring care to the person, not to the show. [24:06]
4. Reorder life: daily and weekly rhythms Spiritual formation happens in rhythms: begin each day by being with God and begin each week by being with God’s people. These simple anchors slow the machine of obligation and align the heart toward the priorities the Creator designed, so mission emerges from intimacy rather than from frantic duty. Small, consistent practices protect against a life that gradually becomes “a season” that never ends. [28:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:37] - Morning-routine satire & hustle culture
[04:37] - Created for presence, not performance
[07:24] - Martha and Mary: Bethany context
[22:23] - Hospitality vs. entertaining
[28:58] - Daily and weekly rhythms to reorder life

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
*Luke 10:38–42 (ESV)*
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

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Observation questions

What two different responses to Jesus’ presence does Luke 10 describe?
According to the passage, what was Martha’s emotional and mental state when she approached Jesus?
What did Jesus say was “necessary” and “the good portion” that Mary had chosen?
In the sermon, what modern cultural behavior was described as a “status symbol” that shapes souls toward distraction rather than devotion? [01:22]

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Interpretation questions

Why do you think Jesus responded to Martha by repeating her name instead of directly addressing her request about Mary?
How does the cultural context—where women weren’t permitted to sit at a rabbi’s feet—deepen the meaning of Mary’s choice and Jesus’ affirmation of her? [09:37]
Jesus said Martha was “anxious and troubled about many things.” What are some “good things” in life that can still pull us away from the “one thing” that is necessary?
The sermon mentioned that “service must flow out of presence.” What happens when service is disconnected from sitting at Jesus’ feet? [11:07]

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Application questions

When someone asks, “How are you?” do you find yourself defaulting to “busy” as a badge of importance? What does that reveal about your heart? [01:35]
What’s one practical way you can intentionally “sit at Jesus’ feet” this week—not as a religious task, but as a place of listening and connection?
Think about the last time you hosted people or served in some way. Were you more focused on performance and impression, or on making others feel seen and welcomed? [22:54]
How can you incorporate a daily rhythm of starting with God’s presence, and a weekly rhythm of gathering with God’s people, to reorder your life around what matters most? [28:58]
Is there an area in your life—family, work, friendship, ministry—where you’ve been “buttoned out of order”? What would it look like to unbutton and start over with presence before productivity? [31:44]
The table that changes the world is hosted by someone who has sat at the feet of Jesus. How can you approach your next meal or gathering with others as an opportunity for gospel intentionality rather than performance? [34:13]

Sermon Clips

She said, the best set table, the best food, the best guest list, none of that makes a table that changes the world. The table that changes the world is the one hosted by someone who has sat at the feet of Jesus. Only then can we really begin to pray, Lord, at this table as it is in heaven? Every table that we sit at, what if we brought good news? [00:34:02] (28 seconds) #TableThatChangesWorld

In restaurants, the food, the service, the design are simply ingredients in the recipe of human connection. That is hospitality. And then he wrote this, service is black and white. Hospitality is color. Service is black and white. Hospitality is color. And I thought, gosh, there's so much truth in our lives. We can do a bunch of good things technically. Like, I I checked the box of my good deed for the day or the week or the month. Hospitality is something different. It's a place of welcome and belonging. [00:25:53] (33 seconds) #HospitalityIsColor

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A Sermon on Presence | Luke 10 | The Bridge Church | Ian Simkins