Be Hospitable to One Another | Retreat session 1
Be Hospitable
1 Peter 4:9-10 – “Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a
special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
1 Timothy 3:2 – “An overseer, then, must be…hospitable…”
Titus 1:7-8 – “For the overseer must be…hospitable…”
Matthew 25:31-46, esp. vss 35-36
Greek “philoxenos”: “friend of, fond of, lover of…” “…strangers, guests, foreigners”
Tyndale (1534): “harborous” (from Old English: military refuge, fortified town)
Harbor: “to give shelter or refuge to; a place of security and comfort.”
KJV and subsequent: “hospitable” (from Latin: host, of a guest, “hospital” = “guest room”)
Hospitable –
“given to generous and cordial reception of guests”
“offering a pleasant or sustaining environment”
Cordial –
“of or relating to the heart”
“tending to revive, cheer, or invigorate”
“warmly and genially affable”
Synonyms related to cordial: generally, “markedly pleasant and easy in social intercourse”
Gracious – implies courtesy and kindly consideration
Cordial – stresses warmth and heartiness
Affable – implies easy approachability and readiness to respond pleasantly to conversation or requests or
proposals
Genial – stresses cheerfulness and even joviality
Sociable – suggests a genuine liking for the companionship of others
“Hospitality” relates to your character (“be hospitable”)
- Use of your home to show hospitality is one expression of this character quality.
- To be hospitable involves interaction with other people.
- It involves a spirit that initiates and genuinely welcomes:
“How are you doing?” “How can I minister to you in a way that is meaningful?”
- It is an essential quality for an elder or other leader in the church.
- It is a significant outward expression of inward heart condition.
Questions:
- What kind of person or people do you most like to be with? Why? Characteristics?
- What aspect(s) of Jesus’ character most draws you to Him? How was He hospitable?
- How do you feel about this priority of being hospitable or exercising hospitality toward one another?
- What might it look like for you?
- In which aspect(s) of being hospitable described above do you most want to grow?
- What obstacles do you face?