Sermon Detail

So clear your calendar, fire up your grill, get on the phone and invite someone into your life so they can begin their journey to Jesus.
When we invite neighbors into our lives we mimic the open arms of Jesus and become the living, breathing proof of the credibility of the gospel of the Kingdom
When we love well…when we practice hospirlaity we personify Jesus. We put flesh and bones on the God of the universe.
This is what the practice of love does…this is what the practice of hospitality does…it creates the space for openness to the truth of the gospel of God.
They became family and the result lent great credibility to the gospel…how could they not pay attention to it and respond?
· Vs. 11 – that love was paternal – encouraging and comforting
· Vs 7 – that love was maternal – gentle and caring
· you were dear to us Vs. 8 – genuine affection
· we shared our (souls) Vs. 8
Amazingly tender words from a man many think was Type A
We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
He loved them and shared his life with them. (Note again Vs 8)
Don’t miss this…Vs 13 – they received the word of God…they accepted it…because Paul gave it credibility. How did he do that?
when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. And we also thank God continually because, ¹³ encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. ¹² For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹¹ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. ¹⁰ Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. ⁹ . ⁸ We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children⁷ We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, ⁶ You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness. ⁵ On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. ⁴ For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. ³ We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. ² You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. ¹

Setting: Paul had visited Thessalonica roughly around 50 AD on one of his missionary journeys where he stayed for a number of months. Later he wrote this letter…probably the earliest Christian writing. In this letter he reflects on what happened in his first stay there…

1 Thessalonians 2:8

2. If you want to invite your neighbors into your life then practice love

Eugene Peterson, the Pastor
Jesus didn’t drop pearls for people as clues to find their way to God. He ate meals with them. And you can do just what Jesus did.
As we live and give witness to Jesus we are handing out seeds, not pearls, and seeds need soil in which to germinate. A meal is soil just like that. It provides a relational context in which everything you say and don’t say, feel or don’t feel, God’s word and snatches of gossip, gets assimilated along with the food. Nothing is abstract or in general when you are eating a meal together.


Reaching Out, Henri J.M. Nouwen ―
“Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines.”

· Hospitality is the key that opens the door to authentic community where our souls can be changed…and where your neighbors can move from loneliness to relationship and from shallowness to maturity.

· Hospitality is a metaphor of the essence of the good news – of welcoming grace and incarnation

When you invite your neighbors into your life you become the living, breathing proof of the credibility of the gospel of the Kingdom.
· Hospitality creates the space for the credibility of the gospel

But we need to recapture the essential first nature of hospitality.

· we have ignored it because who has time for such perceived frivolity
· we have reduced to mere entertaining

That view of hospitality is lost on us.

· Hospitality was a one of the prime ways the gospel spread and it was the practice that launched the first churches.
· Hospitality was a way to administer justice to the marginalized and poor.
· Hospitality was the glue that created a network of human interdependence.
· Hospitality was so important that if you did not offer it your reputation would be on the line.
· Hospitality was a way to pass on respect and value.
· Hospitality was a moral and religious obligation
century there were no hotels or guest houses. If you were travelling or homeless and no one offered you hospitality you then had to be exposed to the elements and criminals. It was literally a matter of life and death.^st · In the 1
Hospitality = caring for strangers
century it was. ^st But what if hospitality was something much more than entertaining? What if were a matter of life and death? In the 1
Ah, and therein lies the problem…if sufficient time is available…well, there isn’t, there never is… not for entertaining.
“Christians view hospitality as a mildly pleasant activity if sufficient time is available” Christine Pohl, Asbury seminary
Hospitality feels feminine and dainty and largely unnecessary.
· Matching napkins and cucumber sandwiches?
· Martha Stewart? Entertaining?
You might be thinking – Hospitality? Seriously?

Apostle John (3 John 1:8) We ought to show hospitality.
Apostle Paul (Romans 12:13) Practice hospitality.
Apostle Peter (1 Peter 4:9) Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1. If you want to invite your neighbors into your life then practice hospitality

There are two key practices that will begin to get your neighbors into your life:

So then, how do we go about inviting neighbors into our lives?

When you invite your neighbors into your life you become the living, breathing proof of the credibility of the gospel of the Kingdom.

· Jesus will remain a mythical being until he is seen through the lives of his followers.
· faith will not make sense in the abstract but will resonate when they see it in action
· people need to be close enough to those who have been redeemed to be able to understand and trust redemption

The only way we’ll be able to bring credibility to the message of Jesus is by inviting our neighbor into our lives.

Let me illustrate…

The result: A credibility free fall in faith and institutional religion

· Add to all this a sharply polarized political culture that has confused and conflated faith and ideology
· Too many Americans would tell you they’ve had bad experiences with the church that have soured them on anything related to faith
o We have become Europe – watered down, shallow spirituality
· Decades of casual, do-it-yourself, personalized religion has caught up with us.
Reasons?

Religion is not credible / The church is not credible / God is not credible

This is especially crucial today more than any time I can remember, because right now, in history, our faith lacks credibility to many, many Americans.

· to get to Jesus they have to go through you
· your neighbors will not experience personal, spiritual transformation if you maintain your distance from them
We must invite our neighbors into our lives.

Last week – We must invite our neighbors to follow Jesus.
Next week – We must invite our neighbors into this church community.
This week – We must invite our neighbors into our lives.

This week we begin to answer the question – how? How will this cultural revolution happen here?

· theirs is a very uncertain eternal future
The future state of our neighbors – Judgment
· more than half of all Americans have no commitment or connection to a church
· believe in a God who keeps a safe distance
· our neighbors believe happiness is more important than holiness
· your average neighbor is an aimless casual “Christian”

The religious state of our neighbors – Aimless
· in this frantic technological world our neighbors are experiencing the stress of continuous partial attention

The mental state of our neighbors – Distracted

· our neighbors crave intimacy but seem to avoid the trouble and pain of it
· our neighbors are experiencing a high rates of relationship formation & dissolution.
The relational state of our neighbors – Isolation
· our neighbors are moving so quickly they don’t have time to process.
· our neighbors are emotionally exhausted
The emotional state of our neighbors - Chronic Anxiety

Week 1 – Why is an invitational culture so crucial today?
Grace Church: Hide or Seek?

It is time for us to transform from people who hide into people who seek.

- An invitational culture is one in which those far from Jesus are invited to follow the one who has revolutionized our lives.
- An invitational culture is one in which the non-churched and under churched find community in our lives and within these walls
- An invitational culture is one in which those on the periphery of our lives come inside
- An invitational culture is one in which strangers are welcomed

“Invitational Culture” = A welcoming, alluring, provocative, enticing, hospitable community

invitational culture.It’s time for some change around here…Significant change. It’s time for the culture of this church to evolve into an