Let’s be honest - most of us choose what’s easiest most of the time. But when convenience sits on the throne of our lives, it distorts our perspective. This week, we’re asking: What are we missing when we let convenience talk us out of the adventure Jesus is offering?

Discussion

1. Revisit and read Luke 14:16-24. What excuses did the original guests give? Did any of these reasons sound similar to your own life? Why does Jesus frame them as excuses rather than reasons? Are there any excuses in your life playing out as priorities?

2. When we view our world through the lens of convenience, it causes us to see invitations from God as a threat to whatever we already have going on. Do you believe God’s invitations are better than your own - even when they disrupt your plans?

3. Revisit and read Luke 14:12-14.

• When convenience is your king, you chase after what seems better for me now.
• When Jesus is your king, you chase after what is best for others later.

Based on your schedule, energy, pace, what’s below the surface that you’re chasing right now? For example, the schedule might say it’s just baseball practices, but what’s motivating the choice for all those baseball commitments?

4. What invitations from God have been easy no’s recently - maybe because they felt inconvenient, time-consuming, or just easy to avoid? Why do you think your default reaction was “no” to these?

5. Pastor Jesse offered three ways we could start “doing less” with God:

• Sabbath: A day where your only obligation is to enjoy God’s good gifts and give him thanks.
• Solitude: Setting aside time and place to be with God and God alone.
• Silence: Disconnecting from all forms of noise to listen to God’s voice.

Which of these adventures you need right now? What’s excuses (they may even be good things) are going to get in the way or make you resist?

Application

• Start practicing. Text “practice” to 99581 to get a 7-day guide with daily prompts to try spiritual disciplines like Sabbath, silence, and simplicity.