Welcome to Dinner Church at Treehouse! We are thrilled you are here. Tonight’s worship mirrors a form of worship known by the earliest Christians. If it is new to you, not to worry! We will guide you through everything. Take a moment in prayer to settle yourself and recognize the presence of God already at your table. Then relax and enjoy this night!
6:15 PM – Welcome, Logistics and Explanation of the Evening
Welcoming Litany…
To long-time Lutherans, Christians from every tradition, and people new to the faith.
We welcome you
To all who have no church home, want to follow Christ, have doubts or do not believe.
We welcome you
To people of every age and size, color and culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, and marital status, ability, disability, and challenge.
We welcome you
To believers, non-believers, questioners, and questioning believers.
This is a place where you are welcome to: celebrate and struggle, rejoice and recover.
AMEN
Gathering
The Peace of Christ be with you
And Also With you
Christ the Light
Gathering Prayer
The Lord be with you!
And also with you.
Let us pray…
Opening Song – Come to the Table
Come all proud, come all greedy
Come all liars, come all shamed
Come all wealthy, come receive it
To the table, come today
Come all broken, come all needy
Come all poor, and come all slaves
Come all rulers, come be seated
Come all sinners, come all saints
Come to the table, from near and from far
Come from the shadows, come out of the dark
There’s room at the table, we saved you a seat
Come to the banquet, come join in the feast
Every race, every nation
Come all rebels, come all gay
From the fringes, come to Jesus
To a table full of grace
To the table come and stay
Come to the table, come eat and drink
There’s no inner circle, come dine with the king
Recline at the table, come let down your guard
You’re never a stranger, just come as you are
Prepared is the table, we’re ready to feast
The party is waiting, there’s more still to feed
The harvest is ready, go fill every seat
Go live out the mission as a kingdom of priests
Sharing of the Bread
The greatest promise we have of God’s mercy and forgiveness is found in this meal. Here God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ.
Know that EVERYONE is welcome at this table.
In the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he gathered together with his friends for dinner. And on that night, he took the bread, broke it, and gave it to his friends saying, “Take and eat, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And so tonight, we do the same. We take bread, broken for us, and share it with one another with those sacred words, “The body of Christ given for you.”
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Bread is passed to your neighbor, saying: “The body of Christ given for you.”
Communion Song – Let Us Break Bread Together
Let us break bread together on our knees;
let us break bread together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Post-Bread Blessing
Be strengthened this night by the presence of Christ made known to you in the bread and in one another. Amen.
We’ll spend the first part of our meal in conversation hearing about our week. You are invited to share stories from your highs and lows from the week as well as where you saw Jesus at work in our world.
6:45 PM – The Word
The Lord be with you
and also with you
Prayer
Let us Pray
Gracious God,
By your tender compassion, your word became flesh
and dwelt among us that the world might know your love.
Be present with us now. Turn our hearts in trust toward you
and in love toward you and in love toward one another.
Through Jesus Christ now and forever.
Amen
Reading – Luke 14:1-2, 7-14
On a Sabbath day, Jesus went to the home of a leading Pharisee to eat with him. The people there were all watching him very closely.
Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: “When someone invites you to a wedding, don’t sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, ‘Give this man your seat!’ Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed.
“So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, ‘Friend, move up here to this better place!’ What an honor this will be for you in front of all the other guests. Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.”
Then Jesus said to the Pharisee who had invited him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite only your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. At another time they will pay you back by inviting you to eat with them. Instead, when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, and the blind. Then you will have great blessings, because these people cannot pay you back. They have nothing. But God will reward you at the time when all godly people rise from death.”
Reflection
Jesus tells a parable about choosing the lowest seat at a banquet, encouraging humility. Then He challenges His listeners to invite those who cannot repay them—“the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind”—when they host meals, promising that they’ll be repaid at the resurrection.
7:00 PM – Table Discussion
1. Who do you usually invite to hang out, study, or eat with you? Why do you think you choose those people?
2. Are there people you automatically feel comfortable around, and others you avoid? What shapes that—your background, identity, or past experiences?
How does it feel to think about intentionally welcoming someone you wouldn’t normally “hang out” with?
3. What’s one thing—your time, social energy, privacy, or image—that would be hard to give up to include someone new?
What’s a small, practical way you could practice this kind of hospitality this week—maybe at a meal, a study session, or a social event?
4. How does thinking about hospitality like Jesus challenge ideas of “popularity,” networking, or social status?
Imagine a campus, classroom, or community where everyone tries this kind of radical hospitality. What would it look like?
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Sharing the Cup
When the dinner had ended that night, Jesus took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to all saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this as often as you drink in remembrance of me.”
And so tonight, we take the cup of wine, and we drink together, “The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Wine/Juice is passed to your neighbor, saying: “The blood of Christ shed for you.”
Communion Song
Let us drink wine together on our knees;
let us drink wine together on our knees.
When I fall on my knees,
with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.
Post-Wine Blessing
Now that you have tasted the goodness of God in bread and wine, let us be the body of Christ, blessed and broken for the whole world. Amen.
Sending Song – The Summons (Verses 3 & 5)
“Will you let the blinded see
if I but call your name?
Will you set the pris’ners free
and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean
in you and you in me?
Lord, your summons echoes true
when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
in you and you in me.