SEND FORWARD – 6 …who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well… 3 John 1:6 NKJV
Acts 13:13-52
Every person is either helping to send the Gospel forward or is hindering the cause of Christ.
In the letter of 3 John, John commends Gaius for the hospitality he showed to his brothers in the faith by sending them forward to do the work of the Lord. Every person is either helping to send the Gospel forward or is hindering the cause of Christ. In this case, Gaius was a huge help!
Being hospitable means “receiving or treating guests or strangers warmly and generously.” There’s something special about being around a hospitable person! Feeling welcomed and loved by someone goes a long way.
Our passage for today gives insight into the time Paul and Barnabus spent in Pisidian Antioch. One Sabbath, they shared the message of salvation. The people invited Paul and Barnabus to speak further the next week (v. 42). We read, “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (v. 44), and that “the word of the Lord spread through the whole region” (v. 49). Wow! What an effect an invitation had!
There are so many ways we can show hospitality in order to advance the Gospel. We can invite, host, provide, give, love, welcome, etc. We can be hospitable at home, at church, at the ball field, in a restaurant, or anywhere. As shown in today’s passage, because of the invitation Paul and Barnabus received, the Gospel was spread through an entire region! Does the way you treat people hinder or help the cause of Christ? Remember, there is no telling what the Lord has in store through one step of obedience!
APPLICATION
– Praise God again for the people before you who prepared the way for you to hear the Gospel. Thank Him for those who have shown hospitality to you along the way and have encouraged your walk with the Lord. Ask the Lord to use you in these same ways.
– Pray about the possibility of opening your home to host a Connect Group. If you are willing to host, call the church and let us know. You don’t have to lead in order to open your home.
– Pray that Liberty would be a hospitable church. Ask the Lord to help us always be warm and generous in the way we treat others. Pray that we would be hospitable when people come in our buildings, but also when we are out in the community.
– Pray that many people around Hampton Roads would be drawn to Jesus because of our hospitality. May we help and not hinder, the spread of the Gospel.