Listen: Outside Service Celebration | 9.13.26 | Selinsgrove Church Of The Nazarene

The BLESS pattern is not a script to memorize or a sales pitch to close. It is a mindset for living as a blessing, showing off and bragging about God the way somebody naturally talks about what matters most. Prayer comes first, listening comes next, and eating becomes a real, simple way of making room for people.

The table carries more weight than a quick conversation in passing. Christmas Eve crab legs are not only good because of the food, but because of who is sitting there. The shared meal slows people down, puts something between them that they are sharing, and makes space for people to actually be known. Jesus could have stayed on the move, turned rocks into bread, and never stopped for a meal, but the Gospels keep showing Him at tables.

Jesus also lets people feed Him. The God who once made bread fall from the sky accepts invitations, receives hospitality, and serves people by allowing them to serve Him. The dinner table becomes a place where His ministry is not rushed or pre-programmed, but personal.

Luke 5 shows Jesus calling Levi, the tax collector later known as Matthew. Jesus sees a man everybody else has walked past, written off, and judged, yet Christ sees what the Lord can do in him and through him. Levi responds by leaving everything, then immediately throws a banquet and gathers the people closest to him. The hope Levi sees in Jesus becomes something he wants his friends to see too.

The Pharisees stand on the outside and ask why Jesus and His disciples eat with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus answers with the picture of a doctor: healthy people do not need a doctor, sick people do. Christ does not come for people who think they already have all the answers, look good, or make religious people comfortable. Christ comes for people who know they need help, know they are sinners, and know repentance is not an insult but a rescue.

The table at Levi’s house reveals that Jesus does not sit down for what He can get from people, but for who He can be with. The call is to make time for a table, not to bring a pocket cheat sheet or force a high-pressure conversation. The life of Christ in His people is a hope that begs explanation. Jesus welcomes sinners to His table, and baptism becomes a public yes from those who have found that welcome.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Eating creates room for real connection. The table does something a rushed conversation usually cannot do. Shared food, shared time, and face-to-face presence make room for people to be heard and known. Jesus repeatedly chose that kind of space, even though He had every reason to stay busy. [27:57]
• 2. Jesus receives hospitality to serve people. Christ did not need anyone to feed Him, yet He allowed people to invite Him in and care for Him. His humility made the meal meaningful for the host, because receiving can also be a way of serving. The table reveals a King who does not hold people at a distance. [29:55]
• 3. Christ sees more than a person’s past. Levi was known as a tax collector, a thief, and somebody his community had written off. Jesus saw Matthew, an apostle, and the man through whom God would write a Gospel that would last through generations. Christ sees not merely what a person has done, but what He can do in that person. [32:40]
• 4. The sick know why they need Jesus. Jesus’ words about the doctor expose religious comfort that only welcomes people who already look put together. Repentance lands differently on those who know their need than on those trying to protect their image. Christ comes close to sinners because He is the only One who can heal what sin has broken. [37:16]
• 5. Hope should naturally beg explanation. Faithfulness does not require a polished sales pitch or a pressure-filled invitation. Love for Jesus can come out as naturally as talking about a spouse, children, or anything else deeply valued. A shared table gives people the chance to know both the believer and the Christ who has changed that believer. [42:34]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [24:03] - BLESS Is a Mindset, Not a Script
• [25:12] - Why a Favorite Meal Matters
• [26:38] - Jesus Loved People by Eating With Them
• [27:57] - Making Time for the Table
• [29:35] - Jesus Let Others Feed Him
• [30:52] - Jesus Calls Levi
• [33:35] - Levi Throws a Banquet
• [34:52] - A Hope That Begs Explanation
• [35:34] - Tax Collectors and Rejection
• [36:38] - The Doctor and the Sick
• [39:44] - Christ Comes for Those Who Need Him
• [42:13] - Eating Without a Sales Pitch
• [43:51] - Baptism and Welcome at Jesus’ Table

Bible Reading

Luke 5:27-32
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” [30:52]
And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. [33:35]
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?” [36:38]
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.”

Mark 2:15-17
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 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.”

Observation questions

1. What does Levi do immediately after Jesus calls him, and who does he gather around his table? [33:35]
2. What words do the Pharisees use to describe the people Jesus is eating with, and what does their question reveal about where they are standing in relation to the meal?
3. In Jesus’ response, who is compared to a doctor, who is compared to sick people, and what does Jesus say He came to call? [37:16]
4. What details show that a shared meal is more than simply grabbing food quickly—both in Levi’s banquet and in the picture of people sitting across from one another at a table? [27:57]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might Levi’s first response to following Jesus be to host a great feast for the people already closest to him, rather than keeping his encounter with Jesus private? [34:06]
2. Jesus does not avoid people known for sin, rejection, or a damaged reputation. What does His choice to sit at Levi’s table show about the kind of welcome He offers?
3. Jesus says He came to call sinners to repentance. Why is repentance good news and rescue for someone who knows they need help, rather than merely an insult or accusation? [41:22]
4. Matthew includes Jesus’ words, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” How does mercy challenge the tendency to only make room for people who already look put together or make Christians feel comfortable? [39:57]

Application questions

1. Who is one person, family, coworker, neighbor, or classmate with whom God may be inviting you to make more room? What could a simple shared meal, coffee, dessert, or invitation into your home look like in the next few weeks? [42:50]
2. Busy schedules can replace tables with drive-through meals, car rides, screens, or rushed conversations. What is one realistic change you could make to protect a meal where people can slow down, listen, and be known? [28:49]
3. Jesus let others serve Him by receiving their hospitality. Is it easier for you to invite people in or to accept an invitation from them? What might humility look like in allowing someone else to welcome and care for you? [29:40]
4. Think about people you may be tempted to walk past, write off, or quietly judge because of their past, beliefs, reputation, or choices. How does Jesus’ call of Levi challenge the way you see them? [32:40]
5. The hope Jesus gives His people naturally begs explanation. When people spend time with you, what parts of your life might show the difference Jesus has made? Where might fear or pressure be keeping you from speaking naturally about Him? [34:46]
6. A table is not a place for a high-pressure sales pitch; it is a place to know people and let them know you. How could you prepare to listen well and be genuinely present during your next meal with someone outside your usual Christian circle? [42:13]
7. Jesus welcomes sinners who know they need Him. Is there an area of sin, hurt, shame, or need where you have been acting as though you must get yourself together before coming close to Jesus? What would it look like to receive His welcome and turn toward Him in repentance? [44:14]