The Simplest Way to Change the World

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to change the world? I have.

Alan from Colorado, Free Coffee Friday… “The coffee is mediocre, but the connections run deep by the end of the school year.”

The simplest way to change the world is through hospitality.

Hospitality is a major theme in the Bible.

Psalm 68:5–6 NIV

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. 6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Deuteronomy 10:18–19 NIV

18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.

Isaiah 58:6–7 NIV

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Proverbs 25:21 NIV

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

Romans 12:13 NIV

13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Hebrews 13:2 NIV

2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

1 Timothy 3:2 NIV

2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

1 Thessalonians 2:7–8 NIV

7 Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.

Three Questions: (1) What is hospitality? (2) How does hospitality change the world? (3) How can we start practicing hospitality realistically?

Body

What is hospitality?

Explanation

It’s not really hosting great dinner parties (though some people are so great at doing just that).

It’s not even necessarily inviting people into your house.

Hospitality is inviting someone into your life in Christ. It’s sharing your life in Jesus with another person.

Examples

Jesus didn’t invite anyone into his home—Jesus didn’t have a home! He invited himself into other people’s homes! But in doing so, he invited them into his life.

A hospitable person, “My goal is for people to feel welcomed into our home and to feel loved and cared for. I only use the food as a tool to accomplish my goal.”

How does hospitality change the world?

People have never been more isolated than they are right now (https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/03/new-surgeon-general-advisory-raises-alarm-about-devastating-impact-epidemic-loneliness-isolation-united-states.html).

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, says that loneliness, isolation, and a lack of connection is a public health crisis. More than half of U.S. adults report experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.

Isolation and a lack of friendships contribute to a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, a 50% increased risk of developing dementia, and a 60% increased risk of premature death.

The dangerous thing is that we don’t always feel lonely because we are “connected” by our devices. But our devices are literally killing us through isolation. We’re a society of people dying from relational malnutrition, but we don’t feel hungry for friendship because we just ate a bag of social media Skittles.

“The world learns about God not by watching Christian movies but by watching Christians” (Phil Vischer, quoted in The Simplest Way to Change the World).

Do the people in your life know you are a Christian?

What does your current lifestyle communicate about God’s character?

We have today perhaps the greatest opportunity of the last 200 years to change people’s lives by sharing the love of Christ. Change the world one life at a time.

How can we start practicing hospitality realistically?

Be willing to initiate.

Song by Matthew West

Understand that small changes add up to big differences.

If you lose 1 lb per week for 30 weeks, you’ll have lost 30 lbs.

“One of the most countercultural things we can do is have an entire conversation with someone without checking our phone” (The Simplest Way to Change the World).

Practice the “Always Say Hi Rule”

Start with the people sitting around you right now.

Conclusion/Response

Go and introduce yourself to someone new right now.

Share something you’re thankful for.

Share a favorite holiday tradition.

Invite them to lunch… Isn’t it weird to do that? No! It should be normal to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know at church and invite them to lunch. It should be weird NOT to do that.