King's Table Church Sermons

As the rebuilding of the walls progresses, the mocking turns into fury. Opposition to the work intensifies to plotting and fighting against it. Nehemiah leads the people to pray and station guards – saying to them, “Don’t be afraid. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord.” Each builder strapped a sword around his waist while building – working with a tool in one hand and a sword in the other. J...

The king commissions Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and oversee the rebuilding of the walls – to begin to mend what is broken. But there are those that hear the prosperity of the city is being pursued and are greatly displeased. Nehemiah makes known the gracious provision of the Lord and others are strengthened to join the good work – but in doing so, they are mocked and despised. Nehemiah replie...

Nehemiah weeps when he hears the state of Jerusalem. Israel has been unfaithful – and rightly scattered, exiled from their homes. Nehemiah laments that the glory of the kingdom has been lost – because he delights in revering the name of the Lord. The primary motivation for grieving in exile is the glory of God obscured. This mirrors our story – exile from the Garden, creation in a state of ill-rep...

All of history culminates in a meal – the great marriage supper of the Lamb! The beast and his armies have been defeated; the great prostitute has been judged. The blood of the martyrs has been avenged! And all of heaven rejoices because the church, his bride, is prepared and ready. The marriage of the Lamb has come and he is worthy to rule and reign and receive the glory of all creation! When we...

The Lord’s table is not always used well; it has often been abused from within. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we find two cautionary tales around abusing the table. One is members within the church engaging during the week in the idolatry and then coming to the Lord’s table as if the two could coexist. Paul rebukes strongly. Those who participate in pagan feasts (which often involved prosti...

In Acts 10, the Lord speaks to Peter. He lowers a picnic blanket from heaven with all sorts of animals on it and instructs Peter to kill and eat. Peter is horrified, having rigorously adhered to all the Jewish ceremonial food laws. But the Lord insists telling Peter not to call impure what he has called clean. Jesus is turning Peter’s world upside-down all over again, and he’s still using his tabl...

No issue raised more questions and opposition during Jesus’ life and ministry than how he ate and who he shared a table with. Luke’s gospel in particular seems to highlight this theme which we see pronouncedly in the calling of Levi (Matthew), the tax collector. Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees demanding to know why he would share a table with sinner. And he answers that he has come for the si...

The Psalmist speaks of God’s shepherd-like care for his people – both his presence and his provision. Even when in “the valley of the shadow of death,” he is there. The Psalmist paints a picture of being surrounded by hostility – in the very presence of his enemies. And in the face of great opposition, the Lord prepares and sets a table. The Lord’s table is a picture of peace in the midst of chaos...

The Lord instructs Israel in the law to not glean all the way to the very perimeter of their fields. Instead, the edges were to be left unharvested so that the poor (and foreigners sojourning in the land) could come and gather food. This is more than just teaching Israel the value of charity. This command is followed by an emphatic declaration – “I am the Lord.” Why? Because to violate this comman...

In the wilderness, Israel complains about their lack of food. They even look back fondly on their days of slavery and pots of stewed meat – even considering a return to bondage in Egypt. But the Lord sends quail and bread from heaven (even to the point of providing “all the bread they could want”). He gives clear instructions about the gathering of this bread to ensure that Israel daily depends on...

As the Lord is preparing to intervene to save and rescue his people from slavery and bondage – the act that will become the defining moment in Israel’s history – the first thing that he does is to call them to the table. He initiates a meal. It’s here around the table where God’s provision and protection is displayed and his people are marked off and given instructions for how to properly prepare....

In the very beginning, when God creates, one of the first signs of his presence and care is the provision of food. Every green plant – all the seed-bearing vegetation – is laid out before his creatures. Every tree of the garden (save one) is teeming with fruit and at their disposal. When God creates all things, he rolls the world out like a picnic blanket before his people. This is God’s Story. Al...