The Table QC: Recent Episodes
The Table
The Table is a church in Davenport, IA, where people are moving from greed toward generosity, from violence to peacemaking, from isolation toward neighborliness, and from fear to faith. Join Pastor Rob and guest speaker Tom Parker as they discuss the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
What are the things we do and say to convince others that we are serious, that we can be trusted, that we should be believed? In this easily overlooked teaching, Jesus instructs us to discard our attempts to win people over, to persuade someone to trust you, and simply be true and good, letting your life speak for itself. Can you commit to simply being trustworthy, regardless of whether any particular person recognizes your integrity?
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The OTHER parable of the sower! The the sower learns weeds are growing amidst his crops, but chooses not to try and pull them out, for fear the crop will be destroyed in the process. Are you able to tolerate the presence of a person or idea that is causing trouble in your space, when you know that trying to eliminate it will hurt more than help? www.thetableqc.com
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Why could the disciples in this story not recognize Jesus or comprehend the resurrection? We can hypothesize a list of reasons, but let's start with accepting the basic fact that often human beings simply don't understand things that should be understandable. We wish this wasn't this wasn't the case, but it is a true thing about people. So then the question becomes - What might lead a person from a state of incomprehension, to a full and rich understanding of what God wants us to know? Learn more about The Table at www.thetableqc.com
Did Thomas doubt? What was the nature of his doubt? In this message we'll look at Thomas' example as a person of faith, finding more admire and emulate than what tradition may have led us to expect.
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In our scripture reading for today, the Apostle Paul counsels his dear friends to embrace and attend to goodness, and compassion and faith, in a time when he cannot promise that they will have homes or money or safety or any of the things that a person would want to have, for a stable and comfortable life. Because they can always hold on to things that are true, and honourable and just and commendable. Goodwill, kindness, dignity and integrity - these things can remain, even when other things pass away.
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What is it like to be underwater? Take your best shot at explaining it, but the real way to know what it’s like is to experience it for yourself.
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What makes something unbelievable? What makes it seem an idle tale?
With bad stuff, we’re capable of believing – catastrophe always seems plausible, but we don’t want it to be true. So we deny it. We refuse to believe.
When it’s good stuff, we want to believe, but we don’t think we can.
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We all have both generosity and greed inside of us, of course we do. We have both devotion and corruption, both truth and deceit, and we are always being called upon to decide which kind of disciple we’re going to be, in this moment and the next.
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Palm Sunday is a celebration. It’s our remembrance of this moment of glory, laud and honour, as the classic hymn describes it. But is this a moment of triumph, as it is so often described? Luke portrays sadness and lament in the midst of the praise. Let's take a look.
Abundant life if found in doing good, not looking good.
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Sometimes, the things we believe will free us, actually imprison us.
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Why would Jesus speak so differently to a grieving mother one day and a distraught father on another?
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When you think of all the people who came to Jesus in faith, why did he say that he’d never seen faith like the faith of the centurion?
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Luke 4:38-40
When Simon Peter's mother-in-law is healed, she responds in a way that is different from how most people react to miracles in the gospels.
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It is hard to maintain your focus on what is truly important, when you are being taunted and tested and scoffed at and tempted and trolled, by an adversary. It’s hard to persevere through hardship, when there’s this voice reminding you how it easy it is to cash out, if you’ll just abandon your principles.
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What kinds of encouragement and permission is it better for us to reject?
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When Jesus was baptized by John, he received the same water, the same words, and the same grace as everybody else.
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In Bethlehem long ago, God arrived small, without spectacle or acclaim. The baby grew up, and over some years gained stature and wisdom, until he was a man, who learned and taught the fierceness of humility, the strength of gentleness and the fire of compassion. The mystery he embodied to the end, was there from the very beginning, in the manger, in the swaddling cloths. It’s the mystery that grace and peace enter softly, and they grow delicately as they recreate the world.
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There’s a tension in the Christmas story, between feeling surrounding by love and support, and feeling anxious and alone. Today we explore the community that was there for Mary and Joseph when their baby was born. It wasn’t the community most us would expect or hope for, but nevertheless, there were people there for the holy family in their time of need.
Merry Christmas!
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Mary is an inspiration to anyone who seeks courage and wonder in the midst of chaos and confusion.
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Joseph chose to say yes to a life with Mary and Jesus as his family. It's a choice he didn't have to make, one he almost didn't make. But God enabled a transformation within Joseph, that enabled him to see is own path in a new way.
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Abraham Lincoln believed that thankfulness would be essential to the healing of the nation after the Civil War. How does gratitude work to restore and unite a people?
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People associate a lot of things with being a Christian. But what is actually essential to this faith and identity? What makes a Christian a Christian?
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When the a parable is confusing or even troubling, the best thing is not to try and smooth out all the issues, but to lean in to the puzzle. In scripture, ambiguity and dilemma call us to deep and beneficial questions about ourselves and life on this earth.
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Our stories are filled with experiences of loss and heartache, that both devastate and transform. Sometimes, it is in the midst of the worst fear and pain that we are most ready to hear from and trust in God.
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To conclude this series, we explore the thorn of disappointment. Can we trust in grace when life does not turn out the way we wanted?
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Can we rely on God's grace, when we have been hurt by someone who will never confess, repent, apologize, or try to make things right? If the person who wronged us will never ask for forgiveness, can we trust in Grace, for them and for ourselves?
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In part 2 of this series we focus on GUILT - how we can trust in grace when we feel a great burden over the mistakes or evil choices we have made in the past.
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There are many things we face in life that are so difficult or painful or overwhelming, we wonder if our faith can persevere, or if WE can persevere. We want to trust God, but sometimes we confront things that cause us to question, “Is God’s grace enough for me, in the face of… this?”
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One challenge Christians often overlook is the need to accept that God's grace extends not only to us and people we love, but also to people we judge, or even despise.
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The second part of our exploration of this parable focuses on Lazarus, and God's unique concern for the struggles and destiny of the poor of this world.
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The rich man and the poor man don't know it, but their lives are inextricably bound, on both sides of the grave.
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Most of the time, what is right and what is fair are the same. But sometimes, what is right and what is fair diverge.
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Take time to grieve today, to process the tragedy we have watched unfold, and to imagine together a path that leads us to peace, while honoring the trauma of war.
We sometimes treat faith community as a place we go to show how decent and put together we are, as if we were supposed to work out all of our stuff BEFORE we can enter holy spaces. But the implication of this approach is that the only people who belong in church are those who don't need God.
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The merchant in Jesus’ parable ceased the project of always trading up, always angling for the next thing. He had found something that caused him to stop fretting about all the other things he could have, all the other pearls that he could find if he kept seeking. Somehow he found the clarity of understanding to say, this is what I want, and I don't have to keep pining for the next thing. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like that.”
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In this parable, Jesus describes God’s kingdom as a present reality that is nonetheless small, at least for now. But the growth that is in store, is not just an increase in size; it is a realization of purpose. Make a gift to The Table: https://thetableqc.churchcenter.com/givingThank You! Read the blog for The Table: https://www.thetableqc.com/blog
Join us for a stunning tale of profound trust and generosity, as we remember Elijah and the Widow at Zerapheth.
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The final words we share with another person are so important. In our scripture today, we read words from Jesus, just before he says goodbye to his friends and goes to heaven.
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How central is the idea of friendship to how you understand faith? How central is joy? In today's scripture, Jesus describes Christianity as a joyful experience of friendship.
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Loss is one of the most powerful forces that shapes our lives, both in how the pain and devastation affects us, and in how it creates new beginnings and fresh possibilities.
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Stories of trauma and triumph, help us to see timeless truths about grace and new life. To make these truths shine, the gospels sometimes tell stories in pairs.
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There are things that we need know in life, which we have access to, things we can grab onto and use, if we trust that we really do have the knowledge, the competency, the wisdom that is called for. But it can be difficult to trust that we really know what we need to know.
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The blessed life is full of striving and dedication and passion. But it is also a life of restraint, remembering to retreat, and say no when the time is right.
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The story of Jesus sleeping in a boat during a great storm, and speaking peace into the waves, is a story of God's awesome power, to be sure. But it's also a reminder of how Christ urges us to engage things we'd like to avoid, and his promise to be with us all the while.
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Some things that happen aren't seen as they happen. They are discovered to have happened, later.
When the Apostle Paul encourages Jesus followers to consider themselves adopted members of God's family, he is making a profound and radical statement about the expansiveness of God's grace and love.
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In the deep quiet of night, Jesus and a Pharisee contend with an invitation to a life that is like the wind, expansive and unconfined, without beginning or end
The gospel says we are the branches of Christ's vine, meant to bear fruit. This week we explore the meaning of fruitfulness in this gospel of John
The final words we share with another person are so important. In our scripture today, we read words from Jesus, just before he says goodbye to his friends and goes to heaven.
Jesus' miracles feature not only his own power to heal, but his power to transform our understanding of who we are, and how we are called to be in the world.
As we trust in God, we relinquish willful blindness and ignorance about the trauma God's family endures. We trade our blindness for the vision of the one who leads us.
What is the power of the Holy Spirit? It is the power to speak; but not just to speak to ourselves or to the circle of people who we relate to and prefer. It is the power to speak in a way that people can understand, across differences of language, culture, and identity.
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Resurrection occurs in the aftermath of trauma. Trauma can never be undone, fixed, or cured. But there are ways that people learn to gather strength to carry on, despite the trauma. This is what enabled the birth of the church in the days after the crucifixion.
And, whenever our tools for halting catastrophe fail, we will yet know that his forgiveness has pierced our hearts, as we weep, in beloved community, with the fellowship of all the saints and the heavenly host, this side of resurrection.
Weekly Message: Divided But Not Enemies On the post-election Sunday, we consider the parable of the 10 bridesmaids.
Weekly Message - Thank You Jesus!
This Thanksgiving holiday will be unlike any in living memory. Tonight we explore a story of healing and gratitude from the Gospel of Luke.
Weekly Message: The Parable of the Talents
How do you respond when a weight of great responsibility is laid upon your shoulders?
Each week in this series, we examine one of these characters in this essential parable from Jesus. this is a story about exceptional, uncompromising, and unexpected grace. special thanks to Jen Johnson for being our conversation partner in this series.
Each week in this series, we examine one of these characters in this essential parable from Jesus. this is a story about exceptional, uncompromising, and unexpected grace. special thanks to Jen Johnson for being our conversation partner in this series.
Each week in this series, we examine one of these characters in this essential parable from Jesus. this is a story about exceptional, uncompromising, and unexpected grace. special thanks to Jen Johnson for being our conversation partner in this series.
Join Pastor Rob and follow along in Luke 4: 16-30, Matthew 8: 5-13, Matthew 26: 47-54, Luke 21: 7-24.
Here is our Sunday Sermon. Salt and Light. So sorry for the technical difficulties we experienced today. Hope everyone understands and has a great rest of their day.
Today's podcast is Ask, Seek, Knock. Join Pastor Rob as he reads from Matthew chapter 7:7-11.
If you want someone to trust you, the most important thing is not being right all the time. The most important thing is to be honest.
The Sermon on the Mount begins not with instruction but blessing. Explore the focus, priorities, and promises Jesus makes in the Beatitudes with Pastor Rob and Ramon Chaparro.
Matthew 5:1-12
The feminine and maternal imagery and concepts for God that the scriptures offer are often overlooked, but if we open ourselves up to them, we open ourselves to a whole new dimension of spiritual nourishment. Pastor Rob and Marci Leveridge discuss motherhood, parenting, healing and self-discovery in this episode.
Happy Easter! Join Pastor Rob and Maya as they discuss the end of the gospel of Mark. How much of your situation can you control? Easter is hopeful and a time to celebrate all the hope and positivity in the world.
Pastors always complain about how Good Friday gets a shift in our culture. Ressurection only comes after death, and it is hard to deal with that. Listen to Pastor Rob's devotional on Good Friday.
Jesus was always a guest. On the night of the Last Supper, he reminded everyone that he was also a host. Overall, he was a friend. Join Pastor Rob on his devotional about Holy Thursday,
Can people really change? What does it mean to say we're all in this together? Pastor Rob and Andrew Olson discuss the Apostle Paul and Galatians chapter 1.
Join Pastor Rob and special guest Christi Elliot as they discuss the Parable of the Good Sower.
Pastor Rob and Tom Parker discuss the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Table is a church in Davenport, IA where people are moving from greed toward generosity, from violence to peacemaking, from isolation toward neighborliness, and from fear to faith.