Hospitality - Romans 12:9-13

Intro

One of the reasons I love the church of Jesus is when people who really have no business being friends become brothers.

I wanna tell you about my friends Nathan and Sarah.

When I was an intern in Missouri, Nathan reached out and invited my wife and I over to his house for food.

It was a snowy day in January of 2015.

Nathan managed a local grocery store bakery. He’s a little over a decade older than me.

Nathan was a hard worker. Sarah was as equally a hardworker, a stay at home mom with a side-gig as a jazzercise instructor.

Again if you know me and Hannah you’d wonder how did we become friends with these guys.

Well they bought an older farm style home and poured their energy into leveraging their space for the kingdom.

They shared an incredible meal, we told stories, laughed and that first night of hospitality lead to a friendship.

Somehow in this odd mix of me, the extroverts extrovert and Nathan and Sarah who were the hosts host.

Hannah and I loved to get as many people together as possible, and the Pierce Family was so happy to collaborate to host.

I can’t tell you how many bond fires, silly themed parties, church retreats, dinners, concerts and more were hosted by this sacrificial family.

Believers and not-yet-believers standing on the patio feeling welcomed and relaxed.

This family valued hospitality so much.

They welcomed missionary teams from Brazil, community groups, and friends of friends to use their home.

They made such a massive impact on Hannah and I.

There is something about good hospitality that resonates with you.

Hospitality can make the difference between a good or great restaurant.

It makes the difference on whether you’ll go back to that person’s home or if you’ll host next time.

Today we are gonna zero in on this idea of hospitality.

We are in the midst of a series called Look What God Has Done.

We are celebrating two churches coming together as one new church, Mission Church.

We are looking at our values as a church.

Mission:

Living on mission for Christ's Kingdom.

Vision:

To see Morganton, Burke County, and beyond transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

MISSION/VISION/VALUES CHART

What happens often is our strategy goes all over the place without values, without a sense of why do we do what we do, this can take us far away from our vision.

Today we are looking at our values, specifically Hospitality.

Here is how we have defined Hospitality:

Hospitality: In unity and love, we cultivate a culture where all find a place, a purpose, and a warm embrace in God’s grace.

Hospitality is a huge deal in the life of the believer.

As far back as you want to go in the history of God's people, one of the God-appointed duties of the righteous was hospitality—by which we simply mean the willingness to welcome people into your home who don't ordinarily belong there.

In the New Testament the duty was reemphasized for the Christian community.

Romans 12:13 says:

Romans 12:13 (ESV)

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Literally it says, "Pursue hospitality."

And the idea is implying continuous action.

So the command in Romans 12:13 is that hospitality not just be a once a year thing at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but a constant attitude and practice.

Our Sunday morning service, our homes should stand constantly ready for gracious hospitality—a readiness to welcome people who don't ordinarily live there.

One way I have heard hospitality explained is the art of making people want to stay without interfering with their departure.

Each of our values focus on the church gathered and scattered.

How it works as we gather together as his people and as we scatter out to love our city.

So let’s jump in first and see this morning:

1. Hospitality Gathered

We define this value as the church gathered saying:

Devoting ourselves to one another as a family by sharing meals, welcoming others as we study God’s word and celebrating his grace.

As we look at our passage in Romans 12, Paul is writing about a new life, one that is a life full of worship, something we will investigate next week.

He is saying this translates into us being a part of a new community and we have new relationships.

We are called into a Kingdom, called to be a part of a church of the living God.

God isn’t just saving individuals to himself but a family, a body of believers who live interdependently for the sake of one another.

So we are committed to a local body of believer and that means we are genuinely and deeply concerned with one another.

We care about each others physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

We are to show a love that is wholehearted and practical.

Last week we mentioned Community Groups being the place where discipleship happens.

I’d point us again to Community Groups.

The purpose of these is not that we’d have a bible study that we can check off a list.

No, instead it’s that we would be a family of disciples that makes disciples.

We would get to know each other, invest in one another and…catch this befriend one another.

I can’t tell you how many people I know as adults who are deeply committed to the church and have no real friendships.

I remember doing youth ministry and one of my students telling me (I don’t want to grow up) he can’t think of a single person who was a friend to his parents.

His Dad was a deacon in the church and his mom volunteered all over the place.

That’s not good.

Look, here is what images God to a watching world… a group of people who are committed to the kingdom and that translates to a profound love for the people of God.

These are people who have seemingly nothing in common, people who are different in age, race, social class, and gender coming together under the banner of Christ.

We should be the most welcoming and loving people on the planet.

We should be eager to gather on Sundays, to gather together in homes and celebrate grace.

Grace is the hospitality of God to welcome sinners not because of their goodness but because of his glory. (PAUSE)

If God chose not to magnify the glory of his own self-sufficiency, and instead to enrich himself by looking for talented and virtuous housemates, there would be no grace in the world, and no hospitality, and no salvation.

We owe our eternal life to grace, and grace is God's disposition to glorify his freedom and power and wealth by showing hospitality to sinners.

So we show hospitality

Perhaps one of my favorite things about hospitality and displaying grace is sharing a meal.

That’s something that comes to our minds when we think of hospitality, the meal.

Did you know that when you eat you are rehearsing a gospel truth?

The fact that you need something from outside of you to come inside of you and give you life is a grace.

This is why we push eating a meal with Community Groups.

The Bible, over and over again, talks about the holiness of eating together.

Long dinners with good food, good drink, good company, and good conversations that center around our beliefs, hopes, fears—that’s a good dinner.

The Bible says that’s holy.

We’re gonna come back to this idea of eating and how we can leverage that for the kingdom individually as the church scattered.

But I want to say we have a high theology of food at Mission Church.

In a world that increasingly wants quick food and devalues meals together, we fight to enjoy the good gifts of God together.

As we talk about this idea of the church gathered, I want to say that we fight to build a welcoming Culture.

Again if we say hospitality is the willingness to welcome people specifically those who don't ordinarily belong there.

That means we are gonna fight to make people feel welcomed.

That doesn’t just mean people who think like we think and like what we like, but those who are different than us.

So I’d say, if someone new comes in, sit with them.

Here is a pre-pandemic stat the rattles me.

There are over 60,000 people in Burke County who don’t darken the door of a church on a Sunday.

If someone gets the gumption because either they were invited or maybe they googled us, or they just wondered in from the street.

Let’s be hospitable and welcome folks.

That means introduce yourself to someone new.

I want to say this too.

If you don’t someones name, today is a free pass for everyone.

If you don’t know a name you have immunity, when you meet someone today, introduce your name all over again.

This is why we are putting signs everywhere, so people know where to go.

This is why we put a connect table with coffee right by the door.

That way you can get information and a cup of coffee if you want it.

This is why we really put a high emphasis on Mission Kids being a fun and inviting place to learn about Jesus.

This is why we have Kids check-in with safety precautions because we want people to know that not only are their kids having fun and learning about Jesus, but they are safe and secure.

This is why we have connect cards so people can get connected at our church and learn more about this gospel community.

This is why there is deodorant and breathe mints in the bathroom, because we want people to feel welcomed.

We want to say hey we have been welcomed by the king of the ages, we who deserved nothing but wrath have been given mercy.

We have been showered with grace upon grace.

So yeah we buy Little Guatemala coffee instead of bulk folgers, because even in that small way we say our God didn’t cut corners to pursue me, I won’t cut corners to show you His welcome!

So we place gracious hospitality as a high value as his church gathered, but this translates over to us individually as the church scattered.

So lets look at…

2. Hospitality Scattered

We have defined this value as the church scattered:

Living in diverse community, welcoming others into our gatherings, homes and lives.

As God’s people we are called to operate not out of fear, but out of courage.

And when we live courageously, putting our hope in the reality of who he is and what he has already accomplished, it changes everything.

We’re freed up to be the people of God living out the mission of God despite what new and challenging things comes our way.

When we talk about what it means to be courageous and faithful in the age of unbelief, we have to talk about the Great Commission.

That’s our mission.

And though it’s always been true, I think it’s more true than ever to say that evangelism in our post-christian age is going to look like hospitality.

You heard me right.

As we walk courageously in our cultural climate, evangelism will look like showing hospitality.

Don’t hear me say that hospitality is the sum total of courage or evangelism.

But don’t miss me saying that living courageously will involve living hospitably.

Hospitality might sound unexciting or initially feel confusing.

But when the Bible speaks of hospitality, it almost always ties it to aliens and strangers—people who aren’t like us.

Again we come back to the idea that gracious hospitality means to give loving welcome to those outside your normal circle of friends.

It’s opening your life and your house to those who believe differently than you do.

Hospitality is all over the Bible.

In fact, it’s so important to God that when Paul lists out the traits necessary for a man to be qualified for the office of elder in a local congregation, here us what we find:

1 Timothy 3:2 (ESV)

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

So we ask…

To be an elder, a man has to be able to open his life and show kindness to those who believe differently than he does?

He has to open up his world to those outside of what he believes and what he senses?

Yes.

This is serious. It really is.

Hospitality is a test for godliness because those who are selfish do not like strangers (especially needy ones) to intrude upon their private lives. They prefer their own friends who share their life-style. Only the humble have the necessary resources to give of themselves to those who could never give of themselves in return.

Erwin W. Lutzer

Now why would the Bible be so serious about hospitality?

Again, it’s because God has been hospitable to us.

Even when we were living as his enemies, God came and saved us.

Ephesians 2:13 (ESV)

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

He opened the door and invited us into his presence.

We demonstrate that we truly appreciate the divine hospitality we have received as we extend our own hospitality to those around us.

I’m not suggesting that biblical hospitality is the silver bullet for making evangelism work in the 21st century

(news flash: there is no silver bullet).

But might it not be, in our cynical, polarizing, critical, dumpster-fire culture, that a warm dose of welcoming gracious hospitality will take some folks by surprise and open up the door for opportunities to make disciples of Jesus Christ?

The following differentiation between “hospitality” and “entertaining” was made by Karen Mains:

Entertaining says, “I want to impress you with my home, my clever decorating, my cooking.”

Hospitality, seeking to showcase Christ, says, “This home is a gift from my Master. I use it as He desires.”

Hospitality aims to serve.

Entertaining puts things before people.

“As soon as I get the house finished, the living room decorated, my housecleaning done—then I will start inviting people.

Hospitality puts people first. “No furniture—we’ll eat on the floor!”

“The decorating may never get done—you come anyway.”

“The house is a mess—but you are friends—come home with us.”

Entertaining subtly declares, “This home is mine, an expression of my personality. Look, please, and admire.”

Hospitality whispers, “What is mine is yours.”

So I want to bring up four quick ways we can show hospitality

Welcome Everyone You Meet

I think the best thing to do is literally greet everyone you see.

That’s an easy thing to do if you’re wired like me—I’m a grade-A extrovert.

That’s hard if you’re an introvert, and right now you’re thinking, Can we just go to number two, please?

But often the best things to do are the hardest things to do.

UPS store - Hannah vs me. Sammy’s Dad?!

But in our cold world of division we can showcase mercy just by being kind hearted in this.

Pray for grace, ask for strength and, well…greet people.

Engage People

Remember that everyone you meet is eternal.

Imago Dei

You’ve never met a mere mortal, and you have never met someone who doesn’t bear God’s image.

So care about and take an interest in those you run across.

I don’t think this is overly difficult.

Engage: We simply need to ask open-ended questions and let our inner curiosity out.

You may think this is all obvious—but so often we hold back from doing it.

You need to get to know people, take an interest in them, and listen to them rather than just trying to think about how you can say something memorable or hilarious.

Make Meals a priority

This means we regularly eat meals with others, as a splay of the love, provision, and acceptance of God.

We overcome idols like

selfishness (giving up family time and extra costs to feed others)

Perfection (the house is a mess)

Safety (they’re not like me)

Control (when folks just show up)

We lay down our lives and invite people in followers of Jesus or not and generously share good food and drink with them.

Something very significant happens at a meal.

Again as I said earlier think about this.

We are hungry.

We are in need.

And that need is met only by something outside of our bodies.

How amazing is it that Jesus called himself the bread of life.

We have a deep spiritual hunger that can be met only by Jesus.

When people eat together, the experience is something more than a physical event.

A spiritual event takes place, whether they acknowledge it or not.

God has provided a means to sustain life outside of our own lives, and whenever we eat, we are experiencing God’s care and provision.

The meal creates an experience of unity, of oneness at a table.

This is why most business deals take place during meals and why more conversations happen when people have drinks in their hand or are sitting around a table.

This also is why Jesus was called a friend of sinners because he identified with them over meal.

This is why the Lord Supper is called Communion, because it is a common meal eaten together to remind us of a common provision we share.

We are one in our need and one in taking in God’s provision for our need, so we have communion.

Mission Church listen you’re already eating.

Probably three times a day.

Don’t do it alone. Do it with others and watch Jesus join you at the table and change the meal.

He is well acquainted with joining people at the table.

Invite Jesus and others to dinner and see what he does.

Love the Outsider

In every work environment, every neighborhood, there are people who, for whatever reason, are kind of outliers.

These men and women are all around you—perhaps more so than ever in our globalized world.

Because of the way sin affects us, we tend to run away from differences and from being around people who think differently and look differently than we do

But I want to lay this before you: Jesus Christ would have moved toward those people.

God extends radical gracious hospitality to me and you.

We love the outsider because we were the outsider.

Conclusion

Mission Church would we bring the better wine, we would be a people who showcase the mercy and love of Jesus to a divided and broken world.

As dark and dire as the landscape may appear right now, we know that the battle has already been won—and that means we don’t have to fight.

This age of unbelief looks big and intimidating for the church,

but it’s simply a small subplot in a bigger, better story—the greatest story ever told.

While there are spiritual realities and significant things at work,

we’re called to simple, everyday faithfulness that works itself out in lives marked by hospitality.

In some ways, it’s the big, flashy acts—the kind of stuff we photograph, slap a filter on, and show our “friends” online—that go most noticed and yet require the least of us.

I’m convinced that Christian courage probably looks more like inviting a group of strangers into your home for dinner than the attractive, successful ideas we’ve dreamed up in our minds.

These sorts of things actually require courage, because they force us to rely on the Lord and his strength—and not our own.

When we open up our homes and build friendships with those who don’t look like us, believe like us, or act like us, we open up our lives and make ourselves vulnerable.

We risk getting hurt and making enemies with those who don’t think the way we think or act the way we act.

Yet we can do it because of the hope, strength, and courage we get from the Lord.

Today I don’t want to just say this and leave you feeling motivated for that to fade.

I want to give each of you a tangible task.

We have purchased a gift card for each of you to take someone out for coffee.

Let’s extend radical generosity.

Rather than spending a lot of money on mailers that most people will throw away, hoping that maybe just maybe someone will show up to our service.

We decided instead to invest in you going out to people.

Share a good meal, welcome them into your life, invite them to your home, invite them to this gathering or cgroup.

Let’s showcase the great love of Jesus.

A Chicago businessman called his wife to get her okay for him to bring home a visiting foreigner as a guest for dinner that night.

At the time, the wife had three children in school and one preschooler, so there were plenty of important things to do besides entertaining strangers.

But she consented and the meal came off without a hitch.

The foreigner, an important Spanish official, never forgot that meal.

Years later, some friends of that family went to Spain as missionaries.

Their work was brought to a standstill, however, by government regulations.

When the Spanish official got word that the missionaries were friends of that hospitable Chicago couple, he used his influence to clear away the restrictions.

There is a church today in that province of Spain, due in part to that one meal!

How far can hospitality and kindness go?

We will probably never know the great things God accomplishes through the selfless acts of believers.

Show hospitality—it’s a command not an option—and do it with joy!

1.What does the hospitality of Jesus teach me about love, and how can I show that same kindness to others?

2.How can I use hospitality as a means of showing love and grace to others, especially those who might feel marginalized or overlooked in my community?

3.What are the simple, everyday ways I can be more welcoming to people around me?

4.Who will I take out for coffee?