Matthew 10:40-42
Based upon what Jesus told the disciples about persecution they would face the stakes are pretty high for the people who welcome them or receive them.
Vrs 40 So in the midst of a persecuting antagonistic world Jesus reminds them some will welcome you with open arms and they will receive Me
Two issues
1. Jesus is letting us join with Him and taking how people treat them/us personally. Paul on Damascus Acts 9:4
2. Making us beautiful to others Isaiah 52:7
There will be those who for the first time trust Jesus
“feet” Personal salvation ill, my wife
Bob Dylan
Precious angel, under the sun,How was I to know you'd be the oneTo show me I was blinded, to show me I was goneHow weak was the foundation I was standing upon?
Vrs 41 The reward that a prophet and righteous man receives is salvation, Jesus here is saying the people who trust in the message will receive the same reward at the one preaching… salvation
Speaking of rewards… When Fighters fight and win they get rewards
Soul winners crown 1 Thess 2:19 - Phil 4:1 In these two passages Paul calls the believers he witnessed to “his crown”
Vrs 42 The outworking of salvation is good deeds and God rewards good deeds, no matter how small “cup of cold water” The concept here is “hospitality”
“Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even though you wish they were”
There is some truth in that joke because many times hospitality takes sacrifice.
Cathrine Ryan Hyde wrote a book in 1999 called “Pay it Forward” which was released as a movie in 2000
This concept was one that Jesus originated-Gospel
Someone once said “That only people who are basically at home, and at home in themselves, can offer hospitality” The only way you can offer anything about Jesus is to know Him for yourself
Ways we are helping you reach out
Series invite cards 1. You can invite a friend 2. Use this as an opportunity to arm yourself with Biblical truth so you can fight,
Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Christmas Eve Service 5pm & NIB
Ways you can help us extend hospitality
-In NIB
-Greeters for new visitors table
-Small group leaders for 2009
According to a recent study, there is a plague of loneliness sweeping our country today. This outbreak of isolation has infected our closest relationships. The number of people who said they had no one with whom to discuss important matters has doubled, to nearly 25 percent. Another 25 percent are just one person away from nobody and the number of close friends for the average American has gone down from three to two.
Bill Hybels writes: “There is nothing like the local church when it’s working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community…It provides resources for those in need and opens its arms to the forgotten, the downtrodden, and the disillusioned…”
We want offer hospitality to the people that come in.
2 Tim 4:7 Fought the good fight Lets join in the fight and make a difference our community for Jesus lets be Ultimate Fighting Christians
No comments:
Post a Comment