Will you be at the table, this Sunday?

I hope you will.

We want to discover how we can invite others to join Jesus at the table. It will be practical, biblical, and encouraging. In the meantime, here are three ways not to invite others to join you (brought to you by my personal experiences!).

1. Don't send a text invite to [Life] Group without first proofreading it. I invited a friend to our group by texting him, "I'll pick you up tonight. Make sure you inflate Jenny (his wife), too". Yeah... awkward and embarrassing.

2. If you invite someone to a meal, make sure you know the menu. Back in college, I invited a friend to a service project with dinner afterwards. We arrive at dinner after delivering care packages to cancer patients at a local hospital. It never crossed my mind to check the menu... pasta bar with copious amounts of garlic bread. My friend is gluten-free. Oops. I took her to get soup and salad afterwards.

3. Don't invite a Michigan fan to a Saturday service at 5:00 p.m. during football season. Undefeated Michigan was playing Wisconsin. My friend, Ryan agreed to come to church with me if he could follow the game on the ESPN app. I told him "sure". Just as the sermon ended, Michigan scored a touchdown, breaking the 7-7 tie to win the game. No joke. I say "amen" and he shouts, "touchdown!". I couldn't have timed it better myself. I'd like to think he said a "thank you, Jesus" prayer later in the service.

Scared, intimidated, or don’t really know how best to invite others to join you at the table? This week’s message is for you. See you Sunday.

Love you more than you know. -pt