The Gospel Comes with a House Key
The Jesus Paradox (4|5)
The Vitality of Hospitality
• Spiritual Preparations for Radically Ordinary Hospitality
• Radically Ordinary Hospitality
• Spiritual Warfare
Pages 36-41
TOGETHER read the book (END READING AT: ...may sound like a horrific prospect.) and discuss the content below.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out (try to keep it brief).
Psalm 68:6 (NIV) God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Romans 12:21 (NIV) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Radically ordinary hospitality does not simply flow from the day-to-day interests of the household. You must prepare spiritually. The bible calls spiritual preparation warfare. Radically ordinary hospitality is indeed spiritual warfare.
Spiritual warfare is the behind-the-scenes reality of what happens when we share the power of the resurrected Christ with our neighbors. Spiritual warfare is realistic because evil lurks in the world and in the hearts of men. To engage in it is to beckon the reign of Christ to overcome evil as we seek to practice what we believe and thereby “overcome evil with good”.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your notes and pray.
“We are hosts and guests together, and both generous giving and open receiving bless God.” What does it mean to be both a host and a guest?
Rosaria Butterfield makes four statements about spiritual warfare in relation to hospitality. Journal your reaction to each one.
Radically ordinary hospitality reflects that the words you speak reveal that you are owned by Christ.
Practicing radically ordinary hospitality sanctifies us by putting us in a sacrificial posture of service to others. It cautions us to think before we act.
Radically ordinary hospitality is part of our spiritual armor, allowing us to people’s broken hearts, allowing the Spirit of God to work through us in spite of our limitations.
Practicing radically ordinary hospitality gives us heavenly peers - the great cloud of witnesses.
EXTRA READING:
In 1980, Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan were murdered by officers of the Salvadorian military. Missionaries served among the poor during El Salvador’s civil war. these women, known as Ita Ford, said the night before she died, “one who is committed to the poor must risk the same fate as the poor.” Their deaths affected the North American church deeply, galvanizing opposition to US support for the Salvadoran government’s repression of its people.
- Maura Clarke (1931 - 1980, aged 49)
- Ita Ford (1940 - 1980, aged 40)
- Dorothy Kazel (1939 - 1980, aged 41)
- Jean Donovan (1953 - 1980, aged 27)
Ita Ford wrote, “The reasons why so many people are being killed are quite complicated, yet there are some clear, simple strands. One is that people have found a meaning to live, to sacrifice, struggle, and even die. And whether their life spans sixteen years, sixty, or ninety, for them, their life has had a purpose. In many ways, they are fortunate people.”