Hope Takes a Seat at the Welcome Table
- edenmunciepastor
- 8 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Encounter: Read and reflect on our 730 Challenge scriptures - If possible, sit at a table and think about how these passages speak of how God welcomes us to the table of fellowship and love and then asks us to welcome others to God’s table - Zechariah 9–14, Colossians 1–3, Ezra 6:14–22, Esther 1–5
There is something about the beginning of Advent that feels like taking a deep breath. We are turning toward the coming of Christ once again—toward hope that breaks into dark places and reminds us that God is not finished with us.
“The Welcome Table — Called to Witness” is a five-week Advent and Christmas journey rooted in the conviction that God is building a community where every person is welcomed, known, and invited to share their story. Throughout Scripture, God prepares a table for His people—places of provision, presence, remembrance, and mission. Jesus Himself ate at tables with friends, strangers, sinners, and seekers, revealing that the Kingdom grows through hospitality and witness.
This Advent, the table becomes the center image of our worship space—a living symbol of God’s invitation. Each week, an object is added to the table to be a symbol of our calling as witnesses. As a BLESS community focusing this year on Share Your Story, we gather to remember God’s story, celebrate our place within it, and practice extending that welcome to others.
Each week explores Scripture from both Old and New Testaments, revealing how God forms His people and calls them to witness in an often troubled world—through hope, peace, joy, love, and invitation.
This week at the Welcome Table, we place a Christmas blanket at the center. A blanket wraps, covers, comforts, and protects. In many ways, that is what Advent hope does: it wraps us in the steady reminder that God has not abandoned His people—He is drawing near.
Colossians 1 tells us that Christ is “before all things” and “in Him all things hold together.” When hope feels thin, when the world feels unpredictable, when our own hearts feel stretched, Christ is the One who holds the pieces.
In Ezra 6, the people rebuild the temple after years of setback and opposition. Their hope was not in perfect circumstances, but in the God who moves hearts, opens doors, and makes a way.
And in Esther, God is moving in hidden ways, arranging a story of rescue long before His people can see it. Hope is often quiet like that—working behind the scenes.
This week, take a blanket in your hands at home. Wrap it around your shoulders for just a moment. Let it be a reminder that God wraps you in hope, and that He is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine. This Advent, may hope rise in you as Christ draws near.
And remember: someone in your life needs hope too. Share your story. Invite someone to the table. As we gather on Sunday, we are encouraging one another to bring our 2026 Ministry Plan commitment cards to The Welcome Table as well—our promises to invest in God’s mission. This offering is an act of hope.
We are believing God will use our gifts to welcome people who have not yet experienced the grace we ourselves have found.
We are offering ourselves to God’s future. We are preparing a table wide enough, long enough, generous enough to welcome all to God’s feast of grace. Hope isn’t passive — it gets ready. It rebuilds. It sets a place for someone else. Hope grows when it is given away.
Bringing Hope to the Welcome Table,
Pastor T
Reflect:
Where do you see God “rebuilding” something in your life right now?
How does hope shape the way we prepare for Christ’s coming?
Esther and Ezra show God working through ordinary people — how is God inviting you to witness this season?
Spiritual Practice for the Week
Wrap yourself in a blanket one evening. Sit quietly for three minutes. Pray: “Lord, wrap me in Your hope.”
Gather:
Discuss w
hat does your personal “Welcome Table” look like? Who might God be calling you to make room for?
Talk about what does offering your commitment card mean to you spiritually?
Close in prayer: each person names one hope for the season.
BLESS – Share Your Story Moment
Share a short story of when God gave you hope in a difficult situation.