Announcements
📚 Redemption Seekers
Our Bible study group will be meeting for its monthly get together to discuss Revelation: The Throne Room and the Seven Seals.
⏰ Wednesday, February 11th at 4 pm.
📍 Blue’s Brews, Johnson City, TN.
Meeting ID: 831 9134 2410
Passcode: 7Q1q7G
🛡️ Redemption Warriors
If you want to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and others then this is the group for you. If you want to minister then this will aid you in that journey. Here we discuss addiction, support, mental health, coping skills, and more.
⏰ Saturday, February 21st at 5 pm.
📍 Frannie’s Vegan Cafe, Johnson City, TN (prior to church service).
📣 Anniversary Service
We will be celebrating three years in ministry here at Christ’s Redemption Church. Please invite everyone you know to share in this happy day with us.
⏰ Saturday, February 28th at 7 pm.
📍 Frannie’s Vegan Cafe, Johnson City, TN.
🍽️ Shatter Ceremony
Hosted by our small group ministry, Redemption Warriors. We will be writing our hurts and hangups on plates. Then, we will smash them as a symbolic way of letting go of the hold they have on us. We welcome all to this fun and healing event.
⏰ Saturday, March 28th at 5:30 pm.
📍 Frannie’s Vegan Cafe, Johnson City, TN (before church service).
🙏 Prayers and Praises
If you have any prayer requests or praise reports please let us know in the comments or email us directly at RevAlexBurchnell@ChristsRedemptionChurch.com.
✝️ Sermon: Hospitality
As you can see, tonight we will be talking about hospitality. But what does that word even mean? According to the Merrimack Webster Dictionary it is the “hospitable treatment, reception, or disposition” or in other words, the act of receiving strangers in a warm, friendly, or generous way.
“In the ancient Near Eastern world, hospitality was not merely a social nicety but a vital aspect of community life and survival. The cultural context of hospitality in biblical times is deeply rooted in the customs and traditions of the ancient societies in which the biblical narratives unfold. This practice was governed by unwritten codes of conduct that emphasized the protection and care of strangers, reflecting a broader theological and moral framework.” – Blue Letter Bible
It can be hard to warm to people who we don’t truly know. People who are different. But throughout the Bible, God was very much concerned with how we treat others. Especially the stranger. The Old Testament gives us a story that shows both sides to hospitality. How to do it well and not so well. Both have outcomes due to how they treated strangers.
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them and bowed down to the ground. He say, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” -Genesis 18:1-5
How did Abraham respond to the three visitors passing through?
- He greeted them in the extravagant manner of their custom.
- He offered them food and water.
- He offered them the option to wash up.
- He encouraged them to rest.
Abraham was empathetic to how far they must have traveled. They had to be hungry and tired. He cared for them.
Now, what was the outcome? What did the visitors promise Abraham and Sarah? Why did it cause Sarah to laugh?
“The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” -Genesis 18:13
The strangers were reaffirming the covenantal promise that God made with Abraham. It resulted in a blessing. A son!
But what about the other story I mentioned? The one that shows how NOT to treat a stranger? Well, two angels appeared in a city that had been crying out to God. The angels showed themselves as mere mortals but strangers in this city. A man came across them and invited them to stay with him. Because the man knew how the people of the city treated strangers in their land. You have heard of this city before, can you guess its name?
“But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house, and they called to Lot, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them.’” -Genesis 19:4-5
“But they replied, ‘Stand back!’ And they said, ‘This fellow came here as an alien, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.’ Then they pressed hard against the man Lot and came near the door to break it down.” -Genesis 19:9
No, this story is not about gay people. This story is a blatant example of how you DON’T treat strangers. The prophet Ezekiel explains the inhabitants’ sins and what the outcome was because of it:
“This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did abominable things before me, therefore I removed them when I saw it.” -Ezekiel 16:49-50
Both are examples of the theme of hospitality. Both are examples of the treatment of strangers. Hospitality is more than a social obligation It reflects God’s love. God’s character. It is an expression of His grace and salvation to ALL people. Not some. TO ALL. This isn’t just for the Old Covenant. Jesus goes further with the concept.
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.” -Matthew 25:34-36
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me.”
Hospitality. This is the vital expression of Christian love. This is what God requires of us. It is what the Great Commission is based in!
The prophet Micah said it well in chapter 6 verse 8:
“He has told you, o mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”
How do you show that you see Christ Jesus in another person? By treating them like Jesus said to treat them. Welcome the stranger. Leave the judging up to God.
I’ll leave you with a quote from a book that I’ve been studying, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century. It is about monasticism but speaks on topics of hospitality. Because even over 400 years after Jesus they still took it incredibly serious.
“To practice hospitality in our world, it may be necessary to evaluate all the laws and all the promotions and all the invitation lists of corporate and political society from the point of view of the people who never make the lists. Then hospitality may demand that we work to change things.”
Amen.
Further study
What does the Bible say about hospitality?
Author
Pastor Alex