Midway Christian Church sermon for September 7, 2025

Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl, Midway Christian, Church, Midway KY

Worship Series: The Welcome TableThe Table is a place of acceptance and belonging, a place where we center ourselves in the presence of God, a place where authentic, meaningful conversations and dialog can happen as we offer up our shared experiences. As Disciples of Christ, our theology and practice surrounding the Table is rooted in the examples Jesus shared during his ministry. He welcomed friends and strangers alike. He engaged in conversation with those who disagreed with him. He broke bread with the one who would betray him, the one who would deny him and the ones who would abandon him. Every time Jesus gathered around the Table, he shared a vision of God’s Beloved Community with one and all.In this worship series, we reclaim this connection to God’s expansive Welcome Table. We will explore the invitation to come to the Table, the challenge to stay at the Table and the call to build a bigger table for all of God’s people. And in doing so, we will begin to cultivate a way of community and connection that embraces God’s love, peace, grace and joy for all of God’s people.

Part 1: “Come to the Table: Hospitality”

Scripture: Romans 12: 9-21

At the Table of Hospitality, there is no host or guest; there is no head of the table or kid’s table. All are together as one. All are seen, heard, appreciated and embraced. Hospitality turns our definition of welcome upside down and draws the circle wider still. The Table of Hospitality invites us to rethink our concept of welcome and expand it. It expands the boundaries with which we are comfortable. Just when we think we have expanded the invitation wide enough, the Table of Hospitality challenges us to draw it wider still.           

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