Transcript (Auto-generated)

This transcript has been automatically generated, and therefore may not be 100% accurate.

Helen, thank you so much. Well, please do keep your bibles open. We're going to be starting in one Peter four, I think, and then we'll head to Luke, chapter ten. Now, not long after I first moved to Linfield, I attended my first children's birthday party for one of my boys at the school. And it was down at the King Edward hall, and it was entertainment by someone called Tom Foolery.

Tom Foolery is the premium children's entertainer in mid Sussex. So that in itself was a treat. But as I arrived, I was greeted, not my child, but me, was greeted with a glass of prosecco and a choice of canapes.

And I thought, gosh, everything I'd read about Linfield was absolutely true, wasn't it?

Is this the level of hospitality that I will have to aspire to? Is this the benchmark for children's parties? How will I possibly fit in? Is Linfield just a one long show of. Have you seen that show?

Come dine with me, where you have them round for dinner and you try and impress, and then you give a score at the end.

And it's just exhausting thinking about how life might go on. But as it happened, it peaked quite early on and I think all the other parents realised it was far too much hassle and we didn't bother with any of that. But it can be quite intimidating, can't it, when we talk about hospitality. Perhaps we're already thinking about hospitality faux pas when the cooking's not done right, or just that anxiety of just wanting to get things right for guests. We might think, I can't cook, the house is a mess and my husband hates small talk.

And that's just what my wife said this week.

Now, we're in the middle of a short series called being Church Family, and we're taking a quick look at three short verses from one Peter, chapter four. Peter is writing to christian churches and he wants them to help them live out their faith, practically, even when it's really hard. And in these short verses in one Peter four. Last week we saw the call to love one another. This week the call to show hospitality to one another.

And next week we're going to think about using your gifts to serve one another. But this morning we're looking at verse nine in particular. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Now, hospitality in the Bible is really important for at least two reasons. It's important for lots more reasons, but here's at least two really important reasons.

Firstly, hospitality is important because it is given as a trait, a requirement, for church leaders. You know, in the New Testament, there's a few lists of qualifications for elders, qualifications for church leaders, and in two of those lists, in one Timothy, chapter three, and in Titus, chapter one, in both cases it says, the elder, the overseer, must be hospitable. Hospitable. Now, interestingly, it doesn't say do hospitality, it says, be hospitable. The point there is that it's a character trait.

It's not something you just do, but it's a character that you exude. Be hospitable. This is the way that churches are led, through leaders showing and modelling hospitality. It's a requirement. But the second reason it's really important in the Bible is that it is a picture of God's goodness to his people.

Indeed, more than that, it's a picture of God's salvation. There's wonderful pictures in the book of Isaiah, God preparing a mountaintop feast for his people, an invitation to the hungry and thirsty to come and eat, to come and sit at God's table. Of course, there's those famous words from Psalm 23, the picture of God preparing a table for his people. Hospitality is a picture of how God is to his people, his goodness, his kindness, his rescue, his invitation to join him at his table. Now, hospitality might feel a little bit like the love that we thought about last week.

It seems obvious, doesn't it? We all know what it is. Shouldn't we just get on and do it? Well, perhaps, but there's a reason that Peter writes it here. There's a reason why he wants to remind the christians, to encourage them, to put it as a priority, because it's really important and it may not always be easy.

You see here, in just seven words, it's only five words. In the Greek, Peter gives two descriptions about this kind of hospitality. Firstly, he says it's hospitality to one another. To one another. Now, the Bible has different ways of thinking about hospitality, but given the context of one Peter, chapter four and the phrase to one another, he's evidently referring here to the hospitality shown within a church community among fellow believers.

Of course, there's a place for hospitality in the broader sense, that hospitality that reaches out to foreigners and strangers, to those who don't believe. The Bible has lots to say on that. But that's not what Peter has in view here. He's speaking about the hospitality to one another within the church community. Second thing he says about it is he commands it without grumbling.

Without grumbling. The implication, of course, is that this kind of hospitality might cause someone to think about grumbling because it might be costly. Sacrificial inconvenience. In one sense, it's not an easy thing to do. Now, the context of one, Peter, chapter four makes this kind of sacrificial service even more radical.

Do you remember how he began this section one? Peter, chapter four, verse seven, how he begins these introductions of verses, says, the end of all things is at hand, therefore. And he goes on to say, you know, be sober minded, be alert, love one another, show hospitality. Peter says, time is short. History is coming to a close.

Jesus will return. In chapter one, he quoted from Isaiah, chapter 40, those famous words that all people are like grass. He's already reminded them, life is short. It's fragile, it's temporary. It comes and goes.

It feels a long time ago now, but I'm sure you all remember lockdown. Life felt very much like grass, vulnerable, uncertain. And what we did or were forced to do is to look after number one, to take care of me, my household, my family. Shut the doors, stay in, keep safe. Now, Peter's message could have been the same, couldn't it?

He could have said, the end is at hand. History's about to come to a close. Therefore, stay safe, look after you and your family. Protect what's yours. And that would make loads of sense in Peter's context, speaking to scattered, persecuted, inner minority christians.

But that's not what he says, is it? That's not what he says. Rather, he says, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Show hospitality where naturally we want to look inward. Show hospitality when it's costly, maybe even dangerous for christians under persecution.

Opening up your home for worship, for fellowship, for hospitality to other believers would put a target on your house. It puts you at risk.

I wonder if for many of us, we've never quite really come out of lockdown. Everything stopped. We became very insular.

And perhaps even these years on, we need to afresh and again look out from ourselves to open up our lives and our homes to one another. Now, when I think of grumbling and hospitality, my mind goes to the account that we read from Luke, chapter ten. You have to feel a little bit sorry for Martha, don't you? She's become known as the kind of grumpy host. But this story is so instructive, so helpful for us.

Why is Martha grumbling as she hosts? Well, let's look at that again. Luke 1040, it says, but Martha was distracted with much serving, and she went up to Jesus and said, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone. Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her.

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.

Why is Martha grumbling? Well, she is distracted with much serving and Mary is not helping her. Jesus says, you are anxious and troubled.

Martha, I think, is like many of us, really, hospitality can feel stressful. To open up our homes, to open up our lives, is quite literally exposing. It makes us vulnerable. It can make us feel anxious. These are very human emotions.

But Jesus says, martha, and we, when we think like that, you're missing the point. You see, Martha is stressed because she's opening up her home and, well, presumably it's not completely clean. Perhaps the cushions are a bit flat. Perhaps the washing up is still out on the rack. Perhaps they can still smell last night's takeaway.

And to make it worse, Jesus is here. Of all the guests, Jesus is here and Martha is stressed.

Mary's not stressed. Much to Martha's added frustration.

Why is Mary not stressed? Because Jesus is here. Because Jesus is here. Martha's stressed because Jesus is here. Mary's not because Jesus is here.

You see, for Mary, she wasn't so much focused on opening her home as she was to opening her heart.

Martha was focused on her home, but Mary was focused on her guest. It sounds obvious, doesn't it? Perhaps it is obvious, but I think it's worth repeating. Hospitality is not about your hosting, it's about your guests.

It's about being there and loving your guests. For Mary and Martha, it's Jesus. For us, it's one another.

And you might just think, oh, oh, one another. Look around, oh, it's us. As though that were an ordinary, everyday thing. But one another. Us is who Peter has just called us to love.

And in fact, earlier in his letter, he reminded us just who we are. He said that we, the church, are a chosen people. God's special possession. This is who you get to show hospitality to. To show hospitality to one another is to love and serve God's special people.

What a privilege. What a joy. But how can we do it? Well, how can we avoid the grumbling? Here's what I think are some obstacles and some opportunities to doing hospitality.

Well, here's the first one. It's an obstacle. Busyness. Busyness. You see, what makes hospitality hard is being too busy.

If I'm too busy, then my time feels too precious to share with others.

When I'm too busy, I've not had chance to catch up with friends. And so I come to church thinking, gosh, I've only got to catch up with my friends. Perhaps I don't have time for others because I haven't caught up with them when I'm too busy. I find myself more like Martha. Anxious, tired, more easily irritated by others and distracted, preoccupied.

Hospitality can become more like a chore, something to squeeze into the diary.

What might it look like to slow down, to say no to something so that we can say yes to one another?

I think this will be different for different people at different stages of life. There will be different seasons. Sometimes we are more busy and sometimes we are less busy. That is okay. But it is an attitude, isn't it?

What do we prioritise? What do we say no to? What do we say yes to? Here's another obstacle. We're a big church.

There's lots of us. Even here at 1115, there's a good number of us. But you know, there's three other congregations who are meeting today. It can feel overwhelming. Where do I even begin?

Perhaps you think, I'm not even sure I know most people's names. How can I start? I encourage the 930 congregation to take a risk. I said last week, I stood up front and welcomed the service and said, do you know what? I have a confession to make this morning.

I've already forgotten two people's names, but I forgot their name because I went over and said, I'm really sorry, I've forgotten your name. Can you remind me, please? And then I reminded them, well, I'll try and remember that for next time. But it was a bit awkward, it was a bit embarrassing, certainly for me. But sometimes we need to take a risk, don't we?

Even if we think I really should know their name. They told me last week, there are some little tricks out there. You can get people to say their name without actually asking their name, but just go for it. Take a risk. What's the worst that could happen?

Take a risk. And that's why. That's why we have things like connect groups. To make a big church feel smaller. We get to know a smaller group together.

That's why we join teams to serve. We do something together. I have a strong feeling that the daytime choir know everyone's names within the choir because they see each other every week. They sing together. It's harder to sing together when you don't know people's names.

Join a group. Join a team to serve. Make a big church feel smaller. Here's another obstacle. My group is full.

You might be part of a connect group or a social group, and it feels to you, full, perhaps physically, you think, how could we possibly fit any more people in our front room as we meet together? Or perhaps emotionally? I just can't deal with that many deep relationships. I've only got capacity for this number.

I remember a few months ago, we had a thanksgiving service here for the life of David Coke. David and Margaret, throughout their life and ministry, had run groups. And they were recalling stories of one of their first groups that met together in Skenes Hill. And they were talking about those early days where people came and people sat on the stairs and people sat outside in the hall, and some were in the kitchen and some were in the lounge. And that group was full a long time ago now, humanly speaking, like, if you were there to be sitting on a chair, that group was full.

But it wasn't full because you couldn't possibly say it was full because people wanted to come and be together. They wanted to hear God's word, they wanted to pray together. They wanted to love one another. In practical ways, that group wasn't full because he never said no to someone new coming and joining and receiving the benefits of that fellowship that love people. Hearing God's word was more important than whether everyone had a chair to sit on.

Well, if you're here today and you're a connect group leader or a connect group host, thank you so much. Thank you for the ministry that we share in by inviting people in. But can I encourage you to say that your group is never fully. There's never not room for one more to come and share in your life together. Even when it's costly, even when it feels like we're too big, even when someone has to sit on the floor.

That's okay.

What about some opportunities? Well, here's an opportunity. It might feel like an obstacle as well. We're a big church. It can feel like an obstacle, but it's an opportunity.

A big church means more people to love, more people to welcome, more people to befriend and share life with. And there's lots going on. I sometimes think we don't do very much as a church. And then I looked at all Saints news this week and thought, gosh, there's so much we could be getting involved with. Come to the hospital.

Come to the ascension day service. And even if you think I don't want to come to an ascension day service, come for the tea afterwards. Come and get to know one another. Come and share that time. Well, there's 100 women going on the weekend away.

I hope you have a great time, but I hope you're not there just to be with your friends. There's 100 women up to get to know. One of our mission partners, Wendy Gerst, is coming soon. And there's a little mate saying, would you have a round for tea? She wants some hospitality.

Sometimes that's the best way to have hospitality, is ask for it. We have a friend who you know very well. He comes to our evening service and he writes letters to people and says, please take me out for tea. And I'm taking him to Skene's Hill garden Centre for breakfast. Sometimes it's best just to ask for hospitality.

That's the best way sometimes. Lots of opportunities. Sunday strolls, the fellowship, lunch coming up. There's a men's breakfast coming soon. Opportunities to meet, to share life, to give and receive hospitality.

So many opportunities that a bigger church affords. Here's another opportunity. Your life, your home, your time. We'll think more about this next week, about using the gifts that God's given us to share with others. But hospitality really is a whole life thing.

It's an attitude. When Paul wrote to the church in Thessaloniki, he said, we loved sharing not only the gospel with you, but sharing our lives. See, being church family means doing life together. Do you remember how it's described in acts, chapter two? All the believers were together and they had everything in common.

They shared life, they shared stuff. They shared their homes. You see, as I open up my hands and open up my heart to others, I become less protective of what's mine. My home, my family, my time.

And I start asking, well, how can I use these gifts that God has given me to serve others, to love his people, to welcome others in? Now, there might, of course, be things which make it hard for you to open your home. Perhaps you live in a really small house. Perhaps you live far away. Perhaps you live with non christians.

Perhaps you have children or grandchildren who would struggle with having visitors. That's okay.

But here's the final opportunity. Find what works for you.

There might be obstacles, but I can say, well, how can I still be generous with my time? How can I be open with the gifts that God has given me?

Go for a walk together. Can you be a networker? Can you be that person who links other people up? Have you met this person? I've forgotten their name.

Let's find out their name together. Let's link people up. Have you met. Oh, they live in the same street as you. Have you met them yet?

Let's go round to their house for tea. Can you cook a meal for someone else in need? Could you take it round to them? There are all sorts of people who might have a big table but they're not able to cook. Come and take a meal and share it with them.

Be a great guest. Jesus was always the guest, wasn't he? Jesus never hosted the only thing I was thinking, he kind of hosted the last Supper, didn't he? But even then he got his friends to get all the stuff for him. He was the guest.

Be a great guest. Can you give someone a lift? You might not have a table, you might not know how to cook, but you might have a car and you can bring someone else to church. Can you invite someone with you? You might think, oh, the men's breakfast coming up.

I'd love to go. I've got no one to go with. Well, invite someone. Say to someone else, do you want to come with me? Perhaps you've not been before.

Let's sit together.

Can you remember someone's name? I think it's a long way, doesn't it? You have that awkward conversation where you find out what someone's name is and the next week you remember it. That's a great way to show that hospitality, that welcome, that love to one another. I was at a church in north London for a couple of years and they had a bit of a slogan.

They used it a lot. It wasn't quite their vision statement, but something they threw out. And they just said, when we meet, we eat.

And it really was true. And this wasn't kind of, you know, a bit of slightly stale cake after the service with your cup of tea. This was feasts. Now, in this particular part of north London, there's a big greek community and it was part of their culture too, and it was in that sense, embracing the culture of them, but it really was part of their DNA. It wasn't something they said, oh, we've got to do more hospitality, we've got to do more church meals.

And this is just who they were. Whenever we meet, we eat. They took the time, they bought the food so that they could share that time together. I'm sure it was costly, certainly in terms of time, but they did it because it was how they, as a church family, spent time together. And this invitation that we offer one another, come and eat, come and drink, come and rest, come and enjoy life.

When we offer that invitation, we are echoing the call of our saviour, Jesus, because that's how he invites us, like Mary, come and sit, come and enjoy that time. Eat, drink, feast, rest, enjoy. The call of the hospitality to one another is the call of Jesus, our saviour, to each one of us to come to him to find life, to find fulfilment, to find nourishment. So, friends, can I encourage you, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Amen.