Pull Up a Chair: Practicing Radical Hospitality Around Tables

Devotional

Day 1: A Table From Home, Rattling Chairs and All

The ordinary becomes sacred when we bring our daily lives into God’s work. A dining table disassembled, transported, and rebuilt becomes a symbol of intentional community. Chairs clatter not just in cars but in the messy process of making space for others. This tablecloth has held spills and stories, laughter and loss across years and homes. Hospitality begins not with perfection but with willingness to move what’s familiar into unfamiliar spaces. True connection often starts with the awkward, practical work of showing up. [42:57]

“And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.’”
(Luke 5:29–32, ESV)

Reflection: What “rattling chairs” in your life—awkward efforts or imperfect attempts—might God be using to create space for others? How could your ordinary table become a place of holy encounter?

Day 2: Searching Photos for the Stories Tables Hold

Tables mark time. They hold birthday cakes and funeral casseroles, card games and hard conversations. Scrolling through life’s album reveals tables as silent witnesses to our becoming. Each stain and scratch tells of relationships nourished, conflicts weathered, grace tasted. To remember our tables is to trace God’s faithfulness through seasons of lack and abundance. What stories do your tables tell? [44:09]

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”
(Acts 2:46–47, ESV)

Reflection: Which table memory surfaces when you recall God’s nearness? How might inviting someone to your table today continue that story of connection?

Day 3: Chairs for the Beloved and the Bristling

Hospitality stretches when chairs hold both kindred spirits and those who rub us raw. Jesus’ table included betrayers and believers, the confused and the convinced. To set a place for the T-shirt wearer who offends or the relative who drains us isn’t about agreement—it’s about practicing resurrection in real time. Safety matters, but so does stretching beyond comfort. [51:05]

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
(Romans 12:16–18, ESV)

Reflection: Who comes to mind as your “bristling” guest—someone you’re called to welcome without endorsement? What small step could prepare your heart to pull up their chair?

Day 4: Naming Feelings at the Crowded Table

Emotions multiply when tables expand. A feelings wheel spins with hope and grief, irritation and wonder—all holy data. Jesus felt anger at the temple table and sorrow at the Last Supper. Naming our discomfort at diverse tables doesn’t negate the call—it grounds us in authenticity. What if “judgmental” or “anxious” become starting points rather than stop signs? [47:41]

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
(Psalm 139:23–24, ESV)

Reflection: When expanding your table, which emotion needs naming before God today? How might this honesty create space for deeper transformation?

Day 5: Mega Tables and the Practice of Sitting With

Mega tables emerge when we push individual tables together—awkward seams and all. Jesus didn’t just serve food; he sat in the mess, teaching that presence precedes persuasion. The kingdom table isn’t a buffet line but a shared bench where elbows bump and stories mix. To sit with is to surrender control, trusting that God works through lingering as much as lecturing. [54:12]

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
(Revelation 7:9–10, ESV)

Reflection: Where is God inviting you to “sit with” rather than “fix” this week? What might shift if you prioritize presence over productivity in your relationships?

Sermon Summary

A table from home becomes the visual reminder that ordinary places of eating, laughing, grieving, playing games, and gathering people carry deep meaning. The photos gathered around tables reveal birthdays, weddings, funerals, travel, family, friends, and all the moments that make up a life. The imagined table invites each person to picture the people closest to them, including those nearby, those far away, and those no longer here. The feelings that rise around that table can be happy, hopeful, lonely, sad, or more than one thing at once.

The communion table stretches that familiar picture wider. World Communion Sunday points toward the beauty and challenge of Christ’s church across the globe, including people and groups who may make others bristle. Hospitality raises the hard question: who belongs in the “all” that the church says it welcomes? The extra chairs make room for strangers, new acquaintances, people who have caused irritation, people with different beliefs, lifestyles, politics, personalities, and ways of raising children.

The table does not require unsafe closeness with someone who has caused harm. Boundaries matter, and some people cannot safely sit at a particular table. The table still presses beyond the easier reasons for exclusion, especially when hurt, discomfort, judgment, or annoyance become excuses for refusing another chair. The full table may bring anxiety and frustration, but it may also make room for curiosity, creativity, and hope.

Jesus gives the pattern by sitting with people rather than merely serving them from a distance. Jesus sits with strangers, outcasts, hurting people, hungry people, sick people, rich people, poor people, confused people, and even those who betray him. The chair pulled up for oneself reminds each person that hospitality is not a performance done for others, but a shared practice of presence. The mega table joins beloved people with the people who are hardest to be with. The practice of gathering, sharing nourishment, and making connections becomes a way of extending the table of God’s love within and beyond the faith community.

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Key Takeaways

1. Hospitality begins with an honest table The imagined table brings real emotions to the surface, including joy, grief, longing, and loneliness. The practice of naming those feelings keeps hospitality from becoming a vague ideal. The table becomes more truthful when both love and loss are allowed to sit there. [48:21]
2. God’s table is wider than comfort The communion table includes people whose beliefs, politics, habits, and personalities may feel difficult to receive. The discomfort does not automatically mean that someone does not belong. The wideness of God’s love challenges the instinct to make belonging depend on sameness. [49:38]
3. Boundaries and welcome belong together The table does not demand unsafe access for people who have caused real harm. The call to hospitality is not a call to ignore wisdom, safety, or the need for distance. The distinction matters because genuine welcome cannot be built on denying injury. [51:05]
4. Jesus sits with difficult people Jesus does more than prepare a place for the stranger and outcast. Jesus sits with them, shares life with them, and remains present even with those who misunderstand or betray him. The chair beside another person becomes a picture of costly, human, Christ-shaped presence.

## [53:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[42:29] - A Table from Home
[43:39] - Photos and Memories Around Tables
[45:02] - Imagining the People at Your Table
[47:02] - Naming the Feelings That Arise
[49:08] - The Wide Table of World Communion
[50:04] - Who Gets Another Chair?
[51:05] - Hospitality Does Not Mean Unsafe Tables
[52:33] - Pulling Up a Chair for Yourself
[53:09] - Jesus Sat With People
[54:12] - Building a Mega Table
[55:15] - Practicing God’s Wide Welcome

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 22:14–23
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this. [53:33]

Matthew 9:10–13
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” [53:33]

Revelation 19:9
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Observation questions

In Luke 22, what does Jesus do with the bread and cup, and what meaning does he give to each of them?
What surprising detail does Jesus name about the people gathered at the Last Supper, even as he shares the meal with them?
In Matthew 9, who is gathered around the table with Jesus, and why do the Pharisees object?
What kinds of people are pictured at the wide table: strangers, people with different beliefs or politics, people who irritate others, and people who have caused hurt? [50:04]

Interpretation questions

Jesus shared the Passover meal knowing that one person at the table would betray him. What does this show about the depth of Jesus’ love and presence, and what does it not require from people who are in danger or have experienced real harm? [51:05]
Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” What might mercy look like when Christians are tempted to judge someone by their lifestyle, opinions, personality, or past?
World Communion points to Christians around the globe who may not look, worship, vote, or understand faith in the same way. Why can this kind of wide belonging feel both beautiful and challenging? [49:08]
Hospitality involves more than preparing a place or offering help from a distance; it includes sitting with people. What difference does shared presence make when someone is lonely, hurting, misunderstood, or unfamiliar? [53:09]

Application questions

Picture a table that holds the people most meaningful to you—those nearby, far away, and no longer living. What feelings come up: joy, gratitude, sadness, loneliness, hope, or several feelings at once? What might it look like to name those feelings honestly before God? [48:21]
Is there someone you have only begun to know—a neighbor, coworker, church attender, or acquaintance—who could be offered a simple “chair” through a conversation, invitation, or act of attention? What is one realistic next step?
Think of a person whose views, politics, habits, parenting, personality, or social-media posts make you bristle. What is the difference between disagreeing with that person and deciding they do not deserve dignity, curiosity, or welcome? [51:36]
Are there relationships in which a safe boundary is needed because someone has caused harm? What would a faithful boundary look like, while still refusing to let everyday irritation or resentment become an excuse for exclusion? [51:05]
Jesus sat with strangers, outcasts, hurting people, rich people, poor people, confused people, and even betrayers. Who is someone you may be willing to serve from a distance but reluctant to truly sit with? What kind of safe, appropriate presence could you offer? [53:33]
When the imagined table becomes crowded with difficult people, what feelings arise in you—anxiety, frustration, judgment, curiosity, creativity, or hope? How could noticing that response help you choose a more Christ-shaped next step? [52:33]
What could it look like for this group to create a “mega table” in the coming weeks—bringing together friends, newcomers, and people who may not naturally connect? [54:08]

Sermon Clips

55s

“He sat with. Sat with the stranger, sat with the outcast, sat with the hurting, sat with the hungry, the sick, the weak, the dying, sat with the rich and the poor, sat with the ones who didn't understand him, sat with the ones who thought they knew more than he did, sat with the ones who would betray him. So who is at your table? Do you have enough chairs? What if we put the tables together and make a mega table? Our loved ones and the ones whom we find it most challenging to be with. Maybe sometimes there is already overlap in those groupings.”

47s

“Hospitality calls us to do more than just set up the table, bring in the chairs, serve the food, and walk away. If we're really following the model of Jesus, that's not typically how he did it. He sat with. Sat with the stranger, sat with the outcast, sat with the hurting, sat with the hungry, the sick, the weak, the dying, sat with the rich and the poor, sat with the ones who didn't understand him, sat with the ones who thought they knew more than he did, sat with the ones who would betray him.”

57s

“Notice that I asked you to assemble the people in your mind at your table and then pull up a chair for yourself. Hospitality calls us to do more than just set up the table, bring in the chairs, serve the food, and walk away. If we're really following the model of Jesus, that's not typically how he did it. He sat with. Sat with the stranger, sat with the outcast, sat with the hurting, sat with the hungry, the sick, the weak, the dying, sat with the rich and the poor, sat with the ones who didn't understand him, sat with the ones who thought they knew more than he did, sat with the ones who would betray him.”

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