The Gospel Comes with a House Key
The Daily Grind (1|3)
The Basics of Hospitality
• January 1, 2017, Durham, North Carolina
• Ordinary Hospitality Cares about the Things That Neighbors Care About
Pages 161-166
TOGETHER read the book (END READING AT: It means making yourself trustworthy enough to bear burdens of real life and real problems.) and discuss the content below.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out (try to keep it brief).
Philippians 2:3-5 (NIV) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NIV) I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
Hospitality is not just moral posturing. Hospitality is loving your neighbor at every opportunity and at every cost.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
Christian hospitality cares for the things that our neighbors care about. Esteeming others more highly than ourselves means nothing less. It means starting where you are and looking around for who needs you.
What is your response to that statement?
In what sphere are you most likely to avoid helping people because your interests don’t line up?
How can you start serving people in the things they care about?
When in the middle of crisis and sure what to do Rosaria Butterfield called her friend Kristen who she called “one of the best bridge people I know”. Kristen paid for the vet bill. Kristen’s mom Paula took all the kids out to breakfast so Rosaria and Kristen could take the dying cat to the vet and paid for everyone’s breakfast. Paula took the kids back home so Rosaria and Kristen could have a little time to decompress. They prayed, they laughed, they cried, and they lamented about why they always bond over emergency ministry efforts.
Who is someone you could call “the best bridge person you know” and what cues can you take from their life?
What are your strengths and interests from which you can launch radically ordinary hospitality?
Pause and Pray - if you have a “bridge person” in you life - the person you contact when crisis hit - thank God for that person and pray a blessing over them. If you do not have a “bridge person” in your life ask God to provide that person.
EXTRA READING:
For most of his adult life, Gandhi read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount every morning, convinced that “it contained a truth more powerful than the empire that occupied India or the enmity that divides Hindus and Muslims.” Through “experiments in truth”, he sought to put Jesus’ teachings into practice for the sake of peace.
“Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.”
- Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)