John says, “Permit me to give you a little reminder, dear lady. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
The New Testament word for “hospitality” (Greek philoxenia) comes from a compound of “love” and “stranger.” Hospitality has its origin, literally, in love for outsiders.Īnd now I ask you, dear lady-not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning-that we love one another. How can you demonstrate love by hospitality? We are to demonstrate both in our Christian hospitality. Love and truth appear again and again throughout this small package of a letter. Show God’s love in Christian hospitality (verses 5–6). The first shows God’s love in Christian hospitality, and the second shows God’s truth in Christian hospitality. Transition: This text comes at us from two different angles. The theme of the postcard letter points to a prominent woman in the church who has given her life (and her money, and her table, and her home) to hospitality.
Today, I am giving the second part of a two-part sermon series entitled “Christian Hospitality: Expositions of 2 John.” Three weeks ago, I dealt with a lot of the textual intricacies of this book, but today I am hitting the main theme. If Christians were doing what they were supposed to do, they would not need all those hotels and restaurants. He saw the growing existence of hotels and restaurants as a blight on the church. John Calvin saw the church’s decline in hospitality all the way back in the 16th century. It’s not okay, however, if it dies in our churches. We are more technologically advanced than at any other time in history, yet we are failing in the simple areas. We have more time-saving devices than any other time in history, yet we are busier than ever. This is how the churches in the New Testament built their platform for the gospel.Īs history has progressed in the western hemisphere (America, in particular), it has become more and more individualistic. Steve Childers hit a 21st-century truth that has existed since the 1st century. We have no marketing strategy-only hospitality. We are not planning to build this church through passing out flyers on people’s doorsteps, showing commercials on TV, or posting our pictures on billboards. I want to let this sink deep into your thinking because it is our model for evangelism. On one occasion, he had a group of pastors sitting on the edge of their seat when he asked, “You know what the key to evangelism in the 21st century will be, don’t you?” No one answered, but everyone’s faces showed how eager they were to hear.Īfter letting the anticipation build, he finally said, “Hospitality.” Steve Childers has successfully served as a church planter and now as Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. When I say the word evangelism, what do you think? 1-2-3 _.Īfter this morning, I am hoping when you hear the word evangelism you will think, “hospitality.”
I will say the word and give you some time to think about it, and let’s all say our answers on the count of three. Grass.” She said, “Green.” “Christmas.” She said, “Tree.” “Stud Muffin.” She said, “You, Honey.” (That last one only happened in my dreams.) I will say a word, and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word. The other night, I said, “Let’s play a game. Just a five-minute conversation can help me ground all my exegesis in the reality of everyday life. Now, I don’t bring a pulpit in the living room and sing a couple of congregational hymns, but I do give a come-forward invitation (just kidding!). It helps me to hash-it-out in a community setting before I give it. Sometimes I will talk to her about the text I am preaching on Sunday. When they go to bed, we stay up and talk. Every question was forever closed when He exclaimed, "It is finished.My wife and I try to get our children in bed by a certain time every night.
So complete and so perfect was the work of Christ on the cross, as the substitute for His people, that not the least question as to sin was left unsettled. “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body I on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" ( 1 Peter 2:24 24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
(Hebrews 9:28) 1 John 1:9 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
A full end has been made of all sins confessed by us and borne by Jesus ( Heb. 9:28 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. There “will be no second judgment of the believer's sins.