We’ll see you after kids church. Bye-bye. Gotta love that. All right. Well, we are in a series on being the body, which is all about what it means to be the church.

What is that? What is it that Jesus had in mind when he said, “I will build my church.” And what did Jesus have in his blueprint for what it means to be the body? You know, we have a couple of burgeoning readers in our Smith household right now. Which means that we’re into Dr.

Seuss books, of course. And one of our favorites is the foot book. You know, there’s all kinds of feet you meet in this world. There’s a diverse variety of feet you learn about. There are slow feet, quick feet, trick feet, and even sick feet.

And as we were reading that, I I was reminded of the diversity that God designed for the body of Christ. And and he uses this image of the body because it’s so it’s such a perfect metaphor because every member of the body has a role and there’s this common goal working together to accomplish what God has for us. And in 1 Corinthians 12, there’s even that statement where Paul says, you know, that the eye can’t say to the hand, I have no need of you. You know, get lost hand. And and the head can’t see to the feet, I have no need of you.

No, we all need one another. Every member of the body has that role. And it’s a perfect image in many ways when you think of something. Let me give a simple example like a baseball player hitting a home run. Now, my parents are here and, you can say hi to them afterwards, but they they raised me to be Seattle Mariner fans.

To be a Salem Mariner fan and and yes and they’re doing really well this year and Cal Raleigh is set a record for the most home runs by a catcher in a season. Pretty awesome. But when you watch someone hit a home run, you notice all the different parts of the body that are working together, right? The eye has to watch that ball. It only takes 4/10en of a second for that ball to get to the batter.

You have to have that quick eye. The brain has to time everything. The legs have to have the right stance. All the power for home runs comes from the legs and then the arms have to swing the bat. Everything has to work in this coordinated fashion to have that goal of hitting the home run.

And in a very similar way, this is why Jesus chose the image of the body because it’s in that one common goal. We’re all to to lift up Jesus, to live for Jesus, and to reach the world for Jesus. That common goal is what unites believers as one body. And one of those roles that we have as the body, which we’re going to talk about this morning, is the role of hospitality, practicing hospitality. And you know, this is a topic that I think is often we forget about, but it’s talked about all through scripture.

And I would say it’s one of those core components to a healthy body of Christ. It’s one of those vital signs you want to look for to say, “This is a healthy body.” Because look at the hospitality that you see in this church. And so, here’s the big idea this morning. God calls us to practice hospitality as a way of showing the love of Jesus to a lost and lonely world.

We live in a very lost and lonely world, don’t we? So, hospitality has an important role. So, if you would and you’re able to, please stand for the reading of God’s holy and perfect word. First Peter chapter 4 is where we’re going to be. By the way, we stand as a way of saying we’re we’re here to listen to you, God.

God, we’re coming under the authority of you, God. My feelings and my personal opinions are not the authority in my life. The word of God is the authority. It has the authority to correct, encourage, comfort, and convict. So, here’s 1 Peter 4:7.

The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God. Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Thank you.

You may be seated. Now notice Peter says that we’re to serve with the strength that God supplies in order that all glory goes to God through Jesus Christ. And one of the ways we serve, says Peter, is showing hospitality to one another. And he says, “Do this though without grumbling.” Without grumbling.

It’s funny that he puts it that way because it’s almost as if he can hear our excuses for why we we might not want to show hospitality. You know, I I’m too busy. I don’t have time. My house is a mess. You know, I don’t I don’t even maybe have a house that that really works well for hospitality.

All those kinds of things. Peter would say, “No, no, no. You’re called to show hospitality without grumbling. Don’t come up with excuses. Just look at what you can do.”

And I want to I want us to see that this word hospitality is very important. It comes from the Greek word phloania, which means love of the stranger. Love of the stranger. Hospitality runs all through the Bible. Even back to Genesis.

You remember the story of Abraham. He shows hospitality to those three strangers that visit him. And I believe hospitality is central to what we’re called to do as as the body of Christ. Not only for one another, but also for the lost out there. The world needs our hospitality.

Now, one immediate takeaway from this statement about not grumbling is that this comes from a place of joy. We’re we’re called to show hospitality as an expression of our joy, our gratitude of what God has done for us. He has shown us immeasurable grace and that should fill us to the point of we want to share that love with others. We want to share that joy with others. Now, let me encourage you as believers in Jesus Christ, never get used to the idea of grace.

Never get too comfortable with grace. Because when you think about it, it is astonishing. We sing Amazing Grace and do we really mean it when we sing this? It is astonishing. The Bible says we were enemies of God.

We were rejecting God when Jesus laid down his life for us. We were on a collision course with the holy and just wrath of God, which our sins rightly deserved. And it’s there that God met us with his grace. Totally undeserved. He didn’t have to save us.

He could have condemned all of us. And yet he said, “No, I’m going to show you grace. I’m gonna send my son. He is going to suffer the penalty you deserve so that I can welcome you in.” In your notes, just as Jesus welcomed us into God’s family through the gospel, we also must welcome the stranger into our church.

Now, when Jesus came into this world, let me ask you, did he have a warm welcome? Well, let’s see. There was a few that were ready to welcome him. Joseph, Mary, some shepherds, some magi, but on the whole, not really. I mean, his pregnant mom was turned away at the end.

And then, of course, there’s the early years of his life as a baby. Basically, people are trying to kill him. He has to run to another country. He’s a refugee as a baby. As an Israelite, he has to leave Israel.

And then after his first sermon in Nazareth, the people are ready to throw him off a cliff. Over and over, we see Jesus, he did draw people in, but he also repelled people because he spoke the truth that they didn’t want to hear. And at the end of it all, the crowd shouted for him to be crucified. They said, “No, no, no. We don’t want Jesus.

We’ll take that murderer Barabus over Jesus.” That’s how Jesus was treated. How insane to think that the God who made this world, who gave it life, put breath in our lungs, he came into this world and he met nothing but inhospity and hostility. The very world that Jesus made was inhospitable to him. But in the ultimate irony of providence, in the very act where the world was showing their hatred and rejection of God with Jesus up on the cross, what he was doing was he was opening up wide the doors of heaven.

He was going through something so he could welcome us in to the family. Remember the repentant thief on the cross next to Jesus? I love the story of the repentant thief. You know, Matthew says that the thieves were both hurling insults. Luke says only one.

And here’s what happened. Both of them were initially, but something happened to that one thief and he recognized, wait a second, what are we doing here? What are we doing? How could we do this to Jesus? You know, you and I, he’s talking to the other thief.

We deserve this. We We earned this. But not Jesus. He only did what is right and just. They said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

In his final breaths, he recognized Jesus is king and I’ve missed it up until these final moments in my life. Now I see it. He’s the king. And remember how Jesus responds, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus was welcoming this repentant thief into heaven.

His arms were wide open. Now, this thief had nothing to offer. He’s he’s literally dying on a cross next to Jesus. He He can’t do anything for Jesus, but he showed that faith and Jesus welcomed him in. That’s what Jesus does.

Those words weren’t just for that one repentant thief. This is for every repentant person who comes to Jesus in faith and says, “Nothing in my hands I bring. Only to your cross I cling.” That’s where salvation is found. This is how gracious God is.

Despite knowing how inhospitable and how hostile this world would be, he sent Jesus to die for us and rise again to welcome us in. The Bible says this in Ephesians 2, remember, don’t forget, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel. This is for all of us Gentiles and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now this changes everything. Now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

That’s the grace of the gospel. We don’t deserve it. But Jesus, because he laid down his life, because of his shed blood, were welcomed in. God shows us what hospitality looks like. He welcomes us into heaven.

We saw last week that Jesus went the greatest distance possible from heaven to earth to serve us, to get down on his knees and and wash the feet of those who didn’t deserve it. And again, whatever Jesus calls you to sacrifice, he is willing to sacrifice, too. He He doesn’t send you off to do something he wasn’t willing to do. He modeled it for us. And the early church picked this up immediately because when it first was starting on Pentecost Sunday, there’s 3,000 believers.

3,000 people repent and get baptized. And right away, we see this hospitality abounding in the church. People are are fed. Everybody gets food shared. If you’re needing a home, hey, come on in.

You can stay with us. You can worship with us. Every need is met. That’s how the church got started. It made no worldly sense.

People aren’t getting paid back for this. It’s only because they’ve been transformed by Jesus. Now, Jesus himself when he was on earth, he regularly dined with sinners, right? He even earned that moniker, Jesus, you’re the friend of sinners. Now, it wasn’t meant as a compliment.

They they were saying this Jesus, this upstart rabbi, who does he think he is? He’s he’s eating with the bad guys. And yet Jesus, when he was eating with people, he was showing, I’m not only going to talk to you or preach to you. I’m going to sit down with you. I’m going to share a meal with you.

I’m going to get to know you. I’m showing an interest in you. That’s what hospitality looks like. It’s me investing in you. Me showing an interest in you and inviting you to the table.

But he didn’t just love them. He called them to repent. He called them to find a new life in him. He said, ‘ It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. It’s often been said that the church is not a museum for saints.

It’s a hospital for sinners. And that word hospital or hospital is is sharing the same root as hospitality. And the reason for that is that in hospitality, what you’re doing is you’re helping people find wellness or wholeness in Christ by inviting them in. As Christians, we understand that the world is a battlefield. We did a whole series on this.

There’s a cosmic war going on between the unseen forces of good and evil, between the spirit and the flesh. There’s that battle that’s real. And hospitality is like this breaking in of hope. It it’s this glimmer of grace in a very hostile world where people are very a lot of politicization, a lot of division going on in our world. But hospitality says, you know what?

We may not think exactly alike. You may not believe everything I believe, but I’m going to invite you in. I’m going to share a meal with you. I’m going to open my home to you just because I love you. Hospitality is one of the most practical ways to put the love of Jesus on display in your neighborhood.

Secondly, in your notes, hospitality is about opening our homes and hearts to both believers and unbelievers. Jesus said this in Luke 14. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed because they can’t repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. You know, when you look at history, it was Christians who first built hospitals, first built universities, schools.

They were the first ones to build these disaster relief centers. Christians were on the front lines and have been on the front lines historically when there was a need for food, water, medicine, shelter, relief. This is a rich heritage that we’ve all been given and and this is something we are called to steward well because if this is what Christians were known for in the past, the question is, is this what Christians are known for today? We’re still called to hospitality. Do we demonstrate the eagerness to open both our hearts and our homes to those who can’t repay us, to the stranger, to love those who maybe are far from God and and right now are not showing any interest in the things of God?

In his book, Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, Philip Howi writes about a little known French mountain village called Le Shambo. And in this village, it was during the Nazi occupation time. In a four-year period, Pastor Andre Troma’s church ministered to Jews. Jews that were trying to escape persecution, trying to escape the Holocaust. They fed these Jews.

They opened their homes to them. They helped them escape. And over that four-year period, they these Christians of Le Shambo rescued 2500 Jews, most of whom were children. Now, that’s just one of the many examples from church history that you could look at and see what a difference hospitality makes. It’s the difference that loving the stranger makes.

Now, in our culture, we live in a time when we’re feeling pretty self-sufficient. Most of our culture feels pretty self-sufficient. There’s not a lot of awareness of their need for Jesus, for the church. A lot of people, they they look at their life, they say, “I’ve got my my smartphone. I’ve got the internet.

I can order just about anything I need with a click of a button. And it’s very easy in that kind of culture to become more private and less visible to your neighbor and to your community. And honestly, for someone who is interested in Christianity, even walking through those doors on a Sunday morning, coming into a church takes a lot of courage because a lot of unbelievers are thinking things like, you know, I wonder how they’ll talk to me. I wonder if they’ll make me say something. I wonder if this is a cult.

Right? That all these questions are going to be swirling in their minds. They don’t know because again, they need to experience that. And so, in many ways, one of the church’s highest goals is to be a welcoming and hospitable place for outsiders. Something Grace Point does really well, by the way.

It’s so important that those who walk through our doors know that no matter what they believe, no matter what they’re where they’re at spiritually, they’re welcome here. They’re invited in. Generally speaking, there are three postures of the gospel- centered church. And our own Keegan Parker did some illustrations for me. He’s a fantastic artist.

The first posture is this. This is the church focused inward. Now, this is an important focus for the church. It’s it’s important that the body looks after the saints, meets the needs of the saints, and cares for the members of the body. Looking inward is important.

You need that. You need to be able to express that love for one another, build one another up. However, if a church becomes too self focused or too inward focused, I should say, what can happen is that, you know, you can have what’s called a holy huddle, right? Where every everything gets a little bit more insular and and people speak Christianes and and it’s all very warm. We we do church really well, but you start to forget the gospel mandate to take this message to the ends of the earth.

And so this this inward focused church needs to also be balanced out. And to keep this from being a problem, the next posture is the church focused upward. Here we remember that we aren’t just gathering for community. Relationships are important, but that’s not all it is. It’s not just human relationships.

We’re here to worship the living God. That’s why we gather together to sing praises to him. That’s why we come under the authority of his word. We need God. And so, the upward focus is also important for the church.

And it’s act as we get our eyes on Jesus that we’re then sent out on mission. And this leads us lastly to the church focused outward. Here is where we recognize the need to proclaim the gospel to a lost world to care for the sick, to help the hurting, the the homeless, the poor. It’s here that hospitality is seen as a true value in the church. Loving our neighbors, loving ourselves certainly, but we’re also called to love those outside the faith.

Loving the stranger is what we’re also called to. And so what I want you to see is that all three postures are essential to a gospel- centered church. You need that inward focus, caring for one another. You need that upward focus, loving and worshiping God. And you need that outward focus, which is where hospitality and love of neighbor comes.

See, if you’re only outward focused and there’s no upward focus, what you then get is the social gospel of works righteousness because you’re not serving God anymore. It’s just about us showing how loving and good we are. If you’re only inward focused, you’re not you’re not outward focused, then you neglect hospitality and love of neighbor. All three are needed. Many studies have shown recently that loneliness is an epidemic in the United States.

It’s just it’s pervasive. People are struggling with loneliness all over. They they’ve even looked at all these side effects. There’s a whole host of side effects that come with loneliness and how how it it damages us physically and emotionally when we’re not connected. And so, no wonder God calls us to practice hospitality.

No wonder he says, “Look for those who are hurting. Look for those who are lonely. Look for those who don’t yet know God and invite them into your life.” I think hospitality is one of the most effective ways to reach unbelievers right now. And again, this isn’t my idea.

This is God’s idea. Hebrews 13 says, “Let brotherly love continue.” Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares, and remember those who are in prison as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated since you also are in the body. So whereas Peter focuses on showing hospitality to fellow Christians, Hebrews 13 talks about showing hospitality to the stranger, to th those outside the faith. So ask yourself, what if God has given me my place of residence, whether it’s a home, an apartment, whatever it is, what if God has given me my house as a place where loneliness will be squashed and love abounds?

What if that’s part of the reason I have the place that I live at. Matthew 25 talks about how at the judgment and that always kind of brings the the seriousness of that message in. Jesus puts the sheep on the right and and the goats on the left and he says to the sheep that they are the ones who fed the hungry, clothed the naked, cared for the poor, visited the prison, welcome welcomed the the stranger. And the amazing thing is that Jesus says, “As much as you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it to me.” You see, when we show hospitality to the stranger, we’re showing hospitality to Jesus.

You’re not just inviting a stranger in. You’re actually inviting Jesus in. You’re showing love for him. Now, hospitality, I think it’s important to say, can take many different forms. It can be as simple as inviting the family next door over for dinner.

But maybe God is calling you to go visit an inmate at Cedar Creek or another prison nearby. Maybe all all that’s needed is one visit for one person, one chance to to share their story even though they’re behind bars. They don’t get to talk to people who are interested all that much. Who knows what a difference you could make in just one visit. Maybe God is calling you to consider adoption.

Maybe you’ve thought about it before and it never made sense before, but maybe you’re getting close to a time in your life where it actually it might make sense to reconsider that. Maybe God is calling you to make a difference in the life of a child that way. And I know there are examples here at Graceoint of this type of thing. People who have welcomed in children, taken children to church, helped single parents with raising their children all so that they can know the gospel. They can know that God loves them.

They’re not alone in this world. There is a God who sees them in their struggle and in their plight. Who knows how many souls you might impact by doing something even small like like taking a gift to a neighbor and saying, “Hey, I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re here.” God knows the difference it can make. Third, in your notes, the devil wants us to fear our unbelieving neighbors instead of inviting them into our lives in love.

So, hospitality is beautiful. We’ve seen examples of that. But what are some reasons people don’t practice hospitality? I think the number one reason that we don’t want to practice hospitality is fear. Fear of others.

Fear of what they might say to us. Fear of what they might think. Fear of how they might mistreat us or fear of them influencing our children negatively. But as followers of the risen king, we aren’t called to walk in fear. We’re called to walk in faith.

The only one that we should be fearing is God. Amen. And that’s a reverential kind of fear. Listen, it’s clear that the Bible calls us to show hospitality. This can take different forms.

It’s not a one thing. It can mean making it a priority to welcome newcomers at the church. Making sure making it your mission to make them feel loved. So glad you’re here. It can mean taking time to get to know your neighbors.

And maybe as you learn their names, you you go on a walk in your neighborhood and you pray for each neighbor by name because you’re learning their names. You’re learning their story. You’re learning what’s going on in their lives because you’ve taken that interest in them. It can mean inviting someone over for a meal and expecting nothing from them as Jesus said. So, it’s clear we’re called to this.

Whatever God calls us to do, he equipss us for by his Holy Spirit. Whatever objections or whatever reasons you might be coming up with in your mind for why this isn’t a good idea for me, Jesus is calling you to this and he will meet you in this. He will help you with this by his Holy Spirit. It is an act of faith. Hospitality is a step outside our comfort zone.

You know, we like our our privacy. We like our lives just to ourselves in so many ways. It’s it’s easier. Simpler, but it’s a step of faith that God honors. Self-pity is something else that will hinder hospitality.

You know, the woe is me attitude. And again, it comes back to remembering what God has done for us. Remembering how Jesus has welcomed us and shown extraordinary hospitality to us. We’re living in his world. This is all his.

And he’s welcomed us into heaven. I believe we’re living in a time when God is calling Christ followers to step out boldly in faith and to take that risk to step out and and do things that might be uncomfortable, do things that might might look a little odd sometimes to others. It might be unusual, but if it’s something we’re called to, it will make an impact. We’re called to know him and make him known. The devil would love for us to just hunker down, only meet with other Christians, and just wait for the rapture.

Right? One of the biggest reasons unbelievers say they aren’t interested in Christianity. According to polls, they’re not interested in church is they say they’ve seen too much hypocrisy in the church. Well, I would say this. It’s very hard for you to be accused of hypocrisy if you’re constantly showing love and compassion to them.

It’s going to be very hard for them to think of you as a hypocrite when all they do is they just keep showing an interest in me. They keep loving me. They keep inviting me over. That’s that’s something that will squatchch that idea that Christians are hypocrites. And here’s my encouragement.

When you invite neighbors over for the first time, focus on them, just getting to know them, learning their story, and don’t even think it’s only a win if the gospel comes up. No, it’s a win if you’re showing love to them. If you’re inviting them in. If if you get to hear their story and then you get an opportunity to share your story and the gospel comes up, that’s an awesome thing. But go where the spirit leads.

Don’t bring up politics or problems in society. Those kind of things that are not going to make headway. See, people can argue with your message, but they can’t argue with loving hospitality. It opens doors to gospel conversations that could never happen otherwise. In her book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, Rosaria Butterfield discusses how her family has practiced what she calls radically ordinary hospitality.

Now, Rosaria Butterfield is a homeschool mom and and she’s gone out of her way to get to know her neighbors and learn their stories. And her family makes it a habit of inviting neighbors over for dinner. And she tells the story about how one evening in 2015 they were off away at a church event and their home got robbed and they came home, their dogs were badly injured, their house was completely trashed, TV was taken, valuables, jewelry taken. The worst part was that her engagement ring that was passed down through five generations was stolen. It was heartbreaking.

And so what did the Butterfields do next? Well, the very next day, her husband pulled the grill out to the front of the driveway. They still had the grill and they invited their neighbors over for a meal. And it was out of that time of pain and heartache that they could minister to their neighbors on a level they couldn’t otherwise. You see, their neighbors saw them and they said, “Hey, how are you holding up?”

And it was a golden opportunity for them to talk about the difference Jesus makes. They got to minister to their neighbors from their pain rather than from their plenty. I love that story because it shows what hospitality really is all about. It’s not about having the perfect home. It’s not about having everything neatly perfectly in order.

It’s about opening your heart and home to those around you. Lastly, in your notes, in God’s church, every member is a missionary. When God called you to be his child, when you put your faith in Jesus, gave your life to him, he gave you a mission. You joined the family of God. And that means that you’re now part of the family business, which is reaching the world with the love of Jesus.

Love God, love your neighbor as yourself. That’s what it’s ultimately all about. And that’s both your actual neighbor next door and it’s whomever God puts in your path, that is your neighbor. That’s the story of the good Samaritan. So, I’d encourage you to ask yourself, who is God calling me to show love through hospitality to?

Who Who’s he putting on your heart? Who’s he putting on your mind? There’s somebody that God wants you to reach through hospitality. Who is it? Let me encourage you.

Choose at least one person. Don’t limit yourself, but choose at least one person in your neighborhood or workplace that you’re going to go out of your way to get to know, to pray for, that you’re going to maybe invite to church, maybe invite over, but you’re going to go out of your way to get to know them and show them love through hospitality. Because again, as Peter says, Jesus is glorified when we do this. Will you pray with me? Gracious Father, I thank you for loving us while we were estranged from you.

We were the strangers and you loved us. You welcomed us in through grace. It wasn’t because we had earned it. It wasn’t because we were so great and amazing or good. It was because you’re that gracious.

Thank you, Father, for making us a part of your family, for adopting us and showing us this amazing grace so that we could show it to others. And Lord, I do pray that we would be faithful, myself first and everyone else, that we would be faithful to show hospitality to one another and to the stranger in our midst. That we would put the love of Jesus on display and go out of

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