This six week sermon series offers a tour of some of the Bible’s best celebrations, some of which are very familiar, and others more obscure. Each scripture teaches us that God delights in our joy and desires our connection to each other. As the series progresses, your congregation can reclaim the spiritual practice of partying!
Week 1: “Let’s Party“
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
Whether or not you begin this series on Pentecost itself, most churchgoers are familiar with the story of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples as a great rushing wind and tongues of fire. Although the scripture doesn’t name it as a party, the event certainly has all the hallmarks of one–surprise, noise, community, and joy! We often think of parties–or partying–as a reward for work well done. But some parties, like weddings and baby showers, are also promises that what is to come will be good. God sends us a Pentecost party out of trust that the church God is building will be good and worthy of celebration.
Week 2: “God’s Guest List”
Scripture: Luke 14:12-24
Jesus loved a dinner party–so much so, that his enemies accused him of being a glutton! In this scripture, Jesus is both attending and dissecting a party. His quarrel is with both guests and hosts whose primary goal is their own glory and privilege. In contrast, he tells a thinly veiled parable about a host who begins in similar fashion, but ends up inviting “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame,” which is a shorthand summation of all those on the edges of Jesus’ society. God’s guest list, Jesus implies, includes those we would rather exclude. This passage calls on us to reconsider who we invite to God’s table.
Week 3: “God’s Invitation”
Scripture: Nehemiah 8:1-18
These verses from Nehemiah are relatively obscure, and yet they are also a beautiful encapsulation of the mission of the church. In Nehemiah, the exiles have just returned to Jerusalem, to rebuild their Temple, and Ezra reads, for the first time in a long, long time, the newly rediscovered Book of the Instruction. Scholars differ on what exactly that entailed, but most agree it was a version of the Laws from Exodus and Deuteronomy. At first, the rules are overwhelming, and the people weep; but then the priests go out into the crowd to help them understand what God is saying, and then Ezra commands that the people throw a festival with the richest of foods, and ensures they send portions to anyone who is hungry. God’s invitation is also fourfold: preach, teach, feed, celebrate. How can we turn weeping to celebration in our own communities?
Week 4: “Why God Parties“
Scripture: Luke 15:13-10 (optionally, extend to verse 32)
These two (or three) parables are among the most famous in scripture. In each, someone throws a party, rejoicing that something or someone lost has been found. And in each, we might raise our eyebrows at the idea that a wayward sheep, or misplaced coin, or difficult son is really worth the expense of a full party. Yet God insists they are. How can your congregation engage the spiritual practice of party-throwing?
Week 5: “God’s Potluck”
Scripture: Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Of all the laws in Deuteronomy, it is easy to miss this scripture, which says, essentially, thou shalt party. The law is ostensibly about the practice of tithing, but contemporary Christians may miss that tithing originally had a communal element. The ancient Israelites to bring a tenth part of their produce to a sort of nationwide potluck. If it’s too far to haul their goods, then they can sell the tenth part where they live, and buy food and beer where the party is. And then everyone is commanded to feast and celebrate, and to invite the Levites, who have no farms, to join them. In addition, every ten years this celebration is to be shifted; instead of enjoying the feast themselves, the landowners are to pile up all the food and drink at the city gates, and leave it to be enjoyed by the immigrants, orphans and widows. God’s parties lead us not to selfishness but to generosity.
Week 6: “Party On”
Scripture: Isaiah 25 + Revelation 19:6-9
The best parties have a sort of otherworldly quality to them–when we are there, we enter a world of joy and connection and beauty. Revelation, drawing on the prophet Isaiah, imagines heaven as one great, unending party–“the wedding feast of the Lamb.” These scriptures make it clear that God has designed and destined us for joy. When we embrace and create joy on earth, we are preparing ourselves for the eternal party of heaven.
Ministry Resources
Let’s Party Liturgy
Let’s Party Graphics (editable Canva templates)
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