Category: Bible Study

Introduction to Hospitality

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Mary Clare Freel is our guest blogger for this series. She is a pastor’s wife in Macon, GA, wife and mother of six, and occasional conference speaker. The series is excerpted from her retreat sessions on hospitality.

by Mary Clare Freel

Think with me for a moment about two little words. These two words may fill your heart with excitement or your mind with anxiety. They may stir up your creative juices or send you scurrying about the house in a cleaning frenzy. The sound of these words may cause your children to skip about the house in delight or have them running for cover. What are these words that elicit such a variety of emotions? Have you guessed? They are “Company’s coming!”. I must confess that I have experienced all of these emotions over the years. Have you?

Over the next three sessions we will delve into the subject of hospitality (not exhaustively). In the first session we will see what God says in His Word concerning hospitality and what He expects of His people. Secondly, we will explore various ways to demonstrate hospitality. In the final session, we will discuss practical ways to simplify hospitality, which will hopefully alleviate some of the apprehension of it.

I should tell you at the onset that my goal is to convince you that all believers are called upon to share in the ministry of hospitality. I hope that you will be persuaded, if you are not already, that it is not only for a gifted few in the church to carry the load. Neither is it only for those with large homes and big pocketbooks. No, it is incumbent upon all of those in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to use their homes for His glory. I hope that you will share this view by the end of the time together if you do not presently do so.

So, there it is, out in the open! No hidden motives!

Furthermore, I hope to convince you that this calling is not a burden. This is not intended to weigh you down with guilt, but to free your mindset to see the delightful opportunities we have as children of God through our homes. This should not be an overwhelming endeavor. There are ways to make hospitality easy and painless.

The Good Part

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Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

We have a lot on our plates. Each day holds a number of legitimate needs, a good portion of them urgent (to someone, at least). Each morning we have to decide how to fit all our responsibilities into the day’s time and energy. The serving we are called to do can be distracting, as it was for Martha the day Jesus came to her house.

Don’t let distractions pull your focus off the “one thing…needed” — to sit at His feet and hear His Word. Drink deeply from that well (John 3:14-15). Sink your roots deep into Scripture each and every day. If need be, let your desperation drive you there; but go, sit and hear.