"May I please be excused?" This is what parents teach their children to say when they'd like to leave the dinner table. It's a polite expression. In Luke 14:1–24 we find a similar expression but the motive is more sinister. Some who are invited to a great banquet will at first accept the initiation but then at the last moment offer some reason they need to decline after all. But the host of this feast is determined to fill his house with eating and fellowship and laughter. Which is why Christ invites us to the table. How have you responded? Who will you bring?

We pick up right where we left off last week with a warning to Jesus that there are those out there seeking to kill him. Jesus in response appears unfazed as he has been given a task and he will not be deterred. He finishes his discourse with a song of grief over a city that marks the end of his course. But is there more behind Jesus' words than just a mere response to a petty king accompanied by words of sadness? What is Jesus' purpose behind the words he gives to the political powers of the day and the city associated with the people covenanted with God? Is there hope behind such language?

This week we come to a passage that begins by Luke reminding us that Jesus is "journeying towards Jerusalem." His time is getting short. The cross is almost here and it's time to answer some important questions. Jesus is asked such a question, a question he chooses not to answer. Instead, he tells a parable of a master's house and the people wanting in that will not be allowed entry. This group is unknown to the master, and they are many. Jesus does not leave the audience without hope, providing a better answer to the question that was asked of him in how someone will be known to the master.

There's a window of opportunity and it is closing. Jesus spoke plainly: "unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." But in Luke 12:54–13:12 Jesus said more than this. He offers an outline of why some never respond to that call. It has to do with storms and fig trees, with healings and hypocrisy, with mustard seeds and with bread. Listen and ponder repentance and the time we have left.

It's hard to stay awake. We all know the feeling. Our bodies run out of energy and soon we're fast asleep. It's natural, even if we wish we could stay up. But we know how to stay awake when it counts. No one takes a nap when company is expected at the door. No one falls asleep to the sound of a stranger playing with the lock on your front door. We know how to stay awake when it counts. In Luke 12:35–53, Jesus calls us to wakefulness for his coming and makes the case that it counts. No one enters the kingdom of God asleep.

Covetousness is the subject of the tenth commandment, a command against an inner desire and a real problem for us all. In Luke 12:13–34, Jesus addresses this sin with the medicine of barns and birds, God's kingdom and God's pleasure. God's kingdom is better than ours. Which one are you seeking?

Jesus has been inviting two opposite responses. Some are enraged, plotting his destruction. Alternatively, crowds of raving fans are growing to the point that they are dangerous. This combination of polarization and popularity presents Jesus' disciples with a subtle temptation common to us all: to be less than candid about our identification with Jesus. What we do in response to this hesitation may well decide whether we deny Jesus before men. In Luke 12:1–12, Jesus breaks down the process of apostasy and points the way forward—literally: final judgment keeps us faithful to Jesus.

What gets you riled up? That will tell us something about you. What gets Jesus riled up? That will tell us something about him—what he cares about, what concerns him, and what it means to hear and keep his Word. In Luke 11:37–54 we find ourselves around the dinner table with Jesus. He rants and raves against his hosts and teaches us all a lesson about the danger and hypocrisy of legalism.

Jesus models perfect service, humility, sacrifice, and availability—and we are to follow His example. God graciously places faithful leaders within the local church for us to learn from and to follow, especially as we seek to grow in Christlikeness. In this Women's Retreat talk, Erin Wheeler teaches from Philippians 3:16–17 and 1 Thessalonians 1:2–10, showing us that imitation is a vital part of discipleship. As women, our primary places of investment are the home and the church. We must be intentional and consistent in this work, praying for willing hearts to seek out those we can disciple or be discipled by.

God is always glorifying Himself through a people, and we join in this work by making disciples. Colossians 1:28–29 shows us that the purpose of discipleship is maturity in Christ and the power behind it is Christ's strength, not our own. In this Women's Retreat talk, Erin Wheeler shares five practical ways we can engage in discipleship. We equip others with the Word and integrate with prayer. We are to cheer others on as we see the gospel at work in their lives, treating them as people to love, not projects to manage. This kind of investment often requires courage and emotional generosity—spending from our "emotional wallets" to faithfully steward what God has given us for His kingdom and His glory.