Meals as Enacted Grace | Luke 5 – DFBC

Meals as Enacted Grace | Luke 5

Dr. Miguel Lopez

March 8, 2026

Play Video

Barriers are sometimes meant to protect and sometimes meant to exclude and isolate. Barriers, by definition though, separate. How can we breach the gap of sin and alienation to have community with God and with each other? In this passage, Jesus invite those who are not his yet to experience his life-changing fellowship by removing the temporary protective walls of dietary law with his sin-forgiving, gracious hospitality able to turn sinners into saints.

What difference does it make?

In a world of human alienation, the gospel of Jesus Christ invites despised, alienated sinners to receive meaning, healing, and acceptance through forgiveness in table hospitality, becoming devoted, hospitable servants and saints

I. Meeting sinners where they are: Loosening the iron fist grip of sin and alienation (Luke 5:1-28).
a. Fisherman’s failure.
b. Lepper’s slow death.
c. Paralytic’s powerlessness.
d. Tax Collector’s alienation.
Ap. – Don’t let the fear of your failures and shortcomings keep you from experiencing the power of Jesus to transform your failures into his victories.

II. Turning sinners into servants and saints: dining forgiveness with Jesus (Luke 5:27-35).
a. From despised to devoted.
b. From alienated to hospitable.
Ap. – Never underestimate the power of Jesus through table-hospitality to feed strangers into friends.

Through repentance and forgiveness in table-hospitality
Jesus turns foes into friends, curses into blessings,
self-centered alienated sinners into self-giving servants and saints.
Allow Jesus to turn your meals into opportunities
to receive and share the grace of his forgiveness.

1. What are the impossible challenges in your life that keep you away from experiencing God’s presence and power? Ask Christ to draw you closer to him and loosen the grip of alienation from sin that seeks to paralyze and deprive you of what God wants for you.
2. The menu at Jesus’ table is forgiveness through repentance. Are you ready to surrender the guilt and shame of your sin to him? He is willing to forgive us; are we willing to receive his forgiveness and then forgive others and ourselves?

Latest Messages

Made To Grow – A Series on Sabbath’s Provision

Jesus’ Sabbath Invitation to Come | Matthew 11:25-30

August 16, 2026by Dr. Jim Adams

In our fallen ways, we often think rest is what we earn after working hard. In God’s plan, however, rest cannot be earned, but can be given and received. Even though God gave Israel the Sabbath to create a culture of people dependent of his grace, they constantly turned down his invitation in the pride of their hearts. Jesus came to invite us to back to the source of all grace. For he made us and our heart is restless until our it rests in him.

Made To Grow – A Series on Sabbath’s Provision

What Difference Does it Make? | Exodus 20:8-11

August 9, 2026by Dr. Miguel Lopez

Sabbath is God’s sacred rhythm reminding his redeemed creatures of his gracious generous provision. God wanted to create a whole culture different from the fallen nations of the world; a culture that would wholeheartedly receive his grace and whole heartedly surrender to him. Theirs was to be a culture where one’s life is a constant rhythm of receiving from God to offer back as willing, living sacrifices. No longer would they worship empty idols out of fear and lack but worship would be a reply to the One who made them and redeemed them to bless him, blessing others as…

Made To Grow – A Series on Sabbath’s Provision

Sabbath’s Provision in Redemption | Exodus 15-16

August 2, 2026by Dr. Miguel Lopez

In Egypt, the people of Israel had learned to survive as slaves. Their life was cheap and they were expendable. Everyone had to pull their weight. For many years they knew nothing but toil and pain. But God heard their cry and rescued them. gave them a new life. In this new life, he gave them the Sabbath as a lesson to learn to depend not on their own effort but on God’s grace. To live as the redeemed, free people of God would now mean to learn to depend, not on their own efforts, but on his generous grace.

Message Archive

Repetition and review are two great tools for absorbing new information and making it part of our lives. For this purpose, we have made some of our past messages available here. If you missed one, this is also a great way to catch up.

SEE ALL MESSAGES