It is a wonderful thing to be made to feel welcome. There’s the physical environment and then there’s that precious relational touch. The attention offered, the space given, the sensitivity shown, the manners displayed, the hospitality rendered. The general sense in which it is almost like home from home to be made to feel welcome. […]
Read More Dryden Shorts – You Are Welcome HereHave I told you about my pet peeve about Matthew 25? I know it’s not you, but it’s probably someone else you know. My peeve with it comes when people think that Matthew has Jesus outline three parables. So they refer to the parable of the virgins, the parable of the talents and the parable […]
Read More JJ 24 #22: That’s StrangeWhenever Elisha was in the neighbourhood, she noticed. After a while from noticing, she’d invite him in to have something eat. Then eventually she persuaded her husband to make some renovations to ensure that whenever Elisha was around there was a place for him to rest and be refreshed. She really looked after him. When […]
Read More The Marks: 08 About HospitalityHow do you know when you’re made to feel welcome? What do you look for? Jesus was made to feel welcome whenever he visited a place called Bethany. He knew he would be welcome there because of three people – Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Martha evidently took a leading role in hospitality. She knew that […]
Read More Is He Welcome Here?Here she was. A woman of integrity as well as savvy in business. She would not have established her reputation in the city if it wasn’t for that savvy. It made her notable in the region, but what propelled that reputation was that integrity. That desire to honour God. It was not unusual to see […]
Read More Good News and HospitalityAre you good at making others feel welcome? There’s a song that is sung in churches that talks about welcoming God. I think there probably quite a few songs that talk about welcoming God. It’s interesting hearing this song because it’s sung in a corporate setting and the sentiment is no doubt often sincere and […]
Read More Is He Welcome?She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” […]
Read More Say What You See: Generous HospitalityPoor Lazarus. He and his sisters meet Jesus. Next thing you know he falls ill. His sister wants Jesus to pop over to heal him, after all He has healed before and Jesus loves Lazarus, so it should be a formality. Not only does Jesus not make it in time, Lazarus dies and has been […]
Read More September Sojourn: Where You Feel At HomeComing from a Sabbath-keeping church tradition and then seeing things from a different perspective, it’s sometimes shameful seeing some of the conduct that we maintain in that tradition. One of them that’s particularly shameful is on a typical Sabbath service at the end of the morning study and the moderator/superintendent looks to give a welcome […]
Read More Hospitality: A Challenge
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