Summer of Hospitality

Beginning the first weekend in June and ending with our Annual Family Reunion (VFR.06), we'll focus our attention on contemporary expressions of the ancient practice of Christian hospitality. Through teaching, devotions, and celebrations we'll be exploring hospitality as a way of inviting the Holy Spirit to expand our sense of radical relationship as a fellowship of believers.

Summer of Hospitality #12 - Be a Humble Guest

In the culture of the Middle East at that time, when a family hosted a great banquet or a wedding feast, they would have the servants set up round tables for the meal. Cushions were set up in a U-shape around three sides of the table so that three people could recline at each table. The place of honor was in the center of each U-shape, the next highest to the left, and the last to the right. So in any given feast the host might have as many places of honor as tables set up. Everyone knew what seat was the place of honor among the three seats. Normally all the guests would...

Summer of Hospitality #11 - Unselfish Hospitality

John Piper, author and theologian, said, *The physical force of gravity pulls everything to the center of the earth. In order to break free from earth-centered life, thousands and thousands of pounds of energy have to push the space shuttle away from the center. In like manner, there is also a psychological force of gravity that constantly pulls our thoughts and affections and physical actions inward toward...

Summer of Hospitality #10 - Home-spun Hospitality

Elisha worked in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in a time when people were far away from God. He traveled from town to town doing the Lords work. He would have to rely on the Lord to feed him and the Lord would cause somebody to show him hospitality...

Summer of Hospitality #9 - Hospitality? How do I begin?

Ours is a world that desperately needs hospitality. It is a world where people everywhere experience broken relationships, mistrust, hostility, anxiety and hopelessness. Technological advances bring their benefits, but often at the expense of family togetherness and stability, trusting relationships, and enduring friendships...

Summer of Hospitality #8 - Love for Strangers

In the dictionary, the word *hospitality* is wedged between *hospital*, a place of healing, and *hospice*, a place of shelter. The root of all 3 words is the Latin word translated *guests*. Our homes are meant to be places of shelter and healing, havens of rest.

Summer of Hospitality #7 - Practice Hospitality

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 -- meaning the willingness to welcome people into your home...

Summer of Hospitality #6 - Friendship and Food

In order to understand what hospitality is and what it*s not, we need only look to Luke 10 and observe two women who welcomed Jesus into their home -- Mary and Martha. Here we learn about priorities...

Summer of Hospitality #4 - Fervent Love and Hospitality

Some people work best under the pressure of a deadline. I*m one of them. There's a special urgency when you know you only have a limited time to produce. It seems to sharpen the focus of my mind and help my concentration level. I'm definitely more committed to the task at hand. How would our perspective change if God told us that 2006 was going to be it for us? Time is precious and our perspective towards time helps to determine our priorities.

Summer of Hospitality #3 - Hospitality's True Reward

At first it can be hard to understand why Ruth was so grateful to Boaz. After all, it seems he*s done nothing more than allow her to gather leftover grain from his fields during the harvest. That hardly seems like good hospitality by any standards! But there are at least two things that make this Old Testament story simply amazing.

Summer of Hospitality #2 - The Bread, The Wine, and The Blessing

Scripture is loaded with powerful demonstrations of hospitality, but few images are more vivid and potent than this. A patriarchal battle hero receives a blessing from a mysterious priest-king who actually prefigures the future messiah, Jesus Christ himself.

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