This week we talk about hospitality. Showing kindness to others in our home! Feeding them, fellowshiping with them. We have a beautiful example of the widow who put all on the line to feed Prophet Elijah! So often we are afraid to invite people to our own houses because they don’t look nice, or we don’t have special food, or some other insecurity. But people are craving connection, it doesn’t matter what our homes look like or even what we serve for lunch, if we are warm and loving, that’s what people will rememberThis week we hear from one mom and grandma who has learned that there may not be much to eat, it may not be fancy, your home might not be ideal for hosting, but all is overlooked when seeing the joy that people feel in being included. The fellowship with one another, makes up for everything that might be lacking. You will want to get a pen/paper to write down some tips that will be shared to make hospitality easier.

This week we talk about hospitality. Showing kindness to others in our home! Feeding them, fellowshiping with them. We have a beautiful example of the widow who put all on the line to feed Prophet Elijah! So often we are afraid to invite people to our own houses because they don’t look nice, or we don’t have special food, or some other insecurity. But people are craving connection, it doesn’t matter what our homes look like or even what we serve for lunch, if we are warm and loving, that’s what people will rememberThis week we hear from one mom and grandma who has learned that there may not be much to eat, it may not be fancy, your home might not be ideal for hosting, but all is overlooked when seeing the joy that people feel in being included. The fellowship with one another, makes up for everything that might be lacking. You will want to get a pen/paper to write down some tips that will be shared to make hospitality easier.

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Starting with Jesus

Heather Bennett

Reflect and Renew February 2023

From Wisdom to Foolishness

God Cares for Elijah

Mount Carmel

Elisha Accepts God’s Call

It may not be fancy, our home is small and kid-worn, but all of this is overlooked when seeing the joy that people feel when they are invited and feel included. The fellowship with one another always makes up for everything else that might be lacking. Welcome to Reflect and Renew. Join Heather this week as she reviews the lesson so we can all learn and grow together in our walk with Jesus. We will definitely be encouraged and challenged as we hear from the experiences of others. This week our Bible story is found in 1 Kings chapter 17. It's an incredible story about a woman who had almost nothing. In fact, she was preparing to die with her son, and yet she shares the little that she has with the prophet of God. In that moment, she can't see the future, and she can't see what hope she has. All she has for assurance is the words that Elijah says in verses 13 and 14. Do not fear, go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me. And afterward, make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, the bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall that jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth. This was not a woman of Israel, but an outsider. Yet somehow, someway, she chooses to put her faith in the God of Israel. She chooses to trust that there would be still more flour and oil, even when she uses everything she has for the man of God. God blessed, and His promise stood fast. The Bible tells us the bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which was spoken by Elijah. Did you have a chance to read the Renew devotional this week? You can find it at startingwithjesus.com forward slash renew. We are talking about hospitality today, or to simplify it even more, we could just say sharing with others. Just like the widow showed hospitality to prophet Elijah, have you ever shown hospitality even if you didn't know how you would do it? In our devotional this week, Merle shares with us a story about some unexpected guests who came to lunch. How stressful it was as a hostess, and yet when the guests left her home, they were blessed and kept saying how nice it was to spend Sabbath together in someone's home. Can you relate? Have you ever experienced some last minute guests and didn't feel prepared? This week we hear from a woman who is a mom in a grandma. She's learned that even though there may not be enough to eat, it may not be fancy, and our homes may even be a little messy, all that is often overlooked when we see the joy that people feel when they're included. The fellowship with one another makes up for everything that might be lacking. You might want to get a pen and some paper to write down some tips that she's going to be sharing with us that makes hospitality easier for her. I grew up in a home where hospitality was important. It was not talked about as much as it was just lived. All my life, I witnessed my parents and my grandparents and other extended family share what they had with others. One event as I was growing up made a big impression on me. My parents took me to a prayer meeting each week, and one evening, I was about 12 or 13, and the pastor related that he had received a phone call from a man from another state who said that his nephew was going to be visiting our church the following Sabbath. The nephew was not a churchgoer and was going to try one more time to visit a church. His uncle was afraid that he would never, ever enter a church again if he did not find a friendly church on the following Sabbath. I remember watching for the man's nephew. When I finally saw him, he was already leaving, so I quickly got my mom's attention so she could go after him before he got into his car and drove away. When my mom saw what was happening, she dashed out after the young man and invited him home to eat lunch with us. We had a nice lunch. Praise God, the young man later found a wonderful connection with our pastor and his son, who was about the same age. The nephew became like another son to our pastor, and he went on to become a pastor himself in a large church in the Midwest. Throughout the years, in his sermons, he would occasionally tell the story of the lady who chased after him in the church parking lot and how that changed his life. In our family, it not only was typical to have company over on Sabbath, but through the years, we had several different young people stay with us for various reasons, several months at a time. When I was an adult and got married, I found I enjoyed having people over and wanted the same values that I had experienced in my home growing up. And that has happened in our lives. My husband and I have had many different children and adults live with us through the years. We have also enjoyed hosting countless Sabbath lunches in our home. I have found so many blessings in watching people enjoy a simple Sabbath lunch while making connections and friendships with others in the warmth of a home environment. There may not be too much to eat, it may not be fancy, sometimes paper plates. Our home is small and kid-worn, but all of this is overlooked when seeing the joy that people feel when they are invited and feel included. The fellowship with one another always makes up for everything else that might be lacking. Even with all of the many meals that I've prepared and served, there are still times when I feel insecure about my house or about my food, but God always helps me through it and afterwards I wonder why I ever had self-doubts. Another story that I wanted to share was not long ago when I was talking with a couple after church. They didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave and I ended up telling them that they were welcome to come over and eat canned baked beans and Big Franks with us if they really wanted to. They smiled warmly and agreed to come. I went to get my husband who was talking with another family who was visiting and another lady who was talking with them. My original couple made their way over and joined the conversation. Now I was getting nervous about how to end the conversation as it was getting later and later and I needed to get home to make and serve my baked beans and hot dogs. After quite some time, my husband turned to me in front of everyone and said, could we invite everyone over? What could I say but meekly, sure, we can figure out something. I came home and quickly made something. I think I served spaghetti and salad or something like that. I don't think we started eating until 3 o'clock by the time it was all said and done, but I just laughed and said, have you ever had such a late Sabbath lunch? Everyone knew it was put together at the last minute, but they were all so happy to be able to continue to visit, share their testimonies and get to know each other. I want to share three different types of hosting Sabbath lunches that I have found made it easier for me. One type of hosting, I'll call it last minute invitation. If I'm feeling like I can't plan ahead and I'm not sure if I'm up to having company or not, I buy and make some extra food for Sabbath lunch. Then I go to church and pray and see who God impresses me to invite over. I usually am talking to someone after church and if I feel impressed to have them over, I say, hey, would you and your family like to join us today for lunch? I feel that people don't have high expectations when asked spur of the moment. I find it easier and less stressful ahead of time when I don't know if I'll have company or not. Usually, the guests are so grateful to be asked and sometimes months or years later When talking, they mention how we were the first ones to have them over. Another type of hosting I call the plan ahead invitation. This is sort of an in-reach opportunity where I plan ahead and call up people and invite them. When inviting ahead, I see who the Lord puts on my mind. I like to invite people that I don't know very well or people who have just joined or transferred into our church. Then I like to invite others who I think they might connect with. I've been at our church many years and I know the members fairly well. I really enjoy introducing new people with others in the church that have something in common. It's fun to watch the friendships blossom and the new people get acquainted quicker and become integrated into our church family. Usually people ask if they can bring something. Whenever they do that, I like to take them up on that as it helps them feel a part of the meal. It also is not so overwhelming for me as I prepare for company. I might have them bring a vegetable tray, maybe dessert, salad, or bread. Sometimes I will also see people at church that I will invite last minute along with those I have invited ahead of time. The third type of hosting I call the plan for guests or visitors invitation. I usually will have one or two couples help me plan a meal and bring food to my house. I usually invite guests or if no guests come, I will ask other church members. When visiting a church, it's always nice to have an invitation to someone's house on Sabbath. I have visited other churches and have always been thankful when someone invited us over. I still distinctly remember an invitation to a home in Pocatello, Idaho when we were traveling through. I don't remember much about the meal or the home, but I remember the warmth and love shown to us. One thing I wanted to mention that really makes the Sabbath Fellowship special is the conversation. We have found that it is a real blessing to have someone in the group give their testimony. We usually do this toward the end of lunch and then along into the afternoon. As we raise our children to be involved in hospitality, hopefully we will have the joy of seeing that passed on to the next generation as I have seen with my children. I have found that people everywhere are really looking for connection. Having people over in your home and sharing a simple meal together brings connection and so much happiness while blessing others. I hope this has inspired and encouraged you in your outreach to others. May we be God's hands and feet to make a difference in each of our spheres of influence. What a testimony! Our kids watch how we relate to the unexpected guests in our lives. It impacts them and their future homes. Even if we feel insecure or there are fears on our part, when we step out in faith like that widow woman in the Bible story, we will experience the joy of sweet fellowship with others. People everywhere are looking for connection. Having people over in our homes and sharing a simple meal together brings us such a blessing and so much happiness while blessing others. Our challenge this week is to do something that involves hospitality for someone other than our family or relatives. Let's include our children in this process. Let's teach them about how to be hospitable. Have them help plan the menu and activities that will make the person or people feel welcome in our homes. This can be for someone we know, but it may be more meaningful if the individual is someone we recently met. Maybe it's a visitor that we invite home from church. Does it sound challenging? Maybe even a little scary? We have included the tips that were shared for making hospitality easier in the description box below, so check that out and get ready to be blessed when you are hospitable to others. Don't forget that you can write to us and let us know what it was like to invite people over to your house. If you want to share your experience with us, email us at renew at starting with Jesus dot com. We want to hear your story and share it with others. While you're at it, go ahead and let us know if you'd like that weekly devotional to automatically be sent to your inbox. I'm so glad that you joined me this week. Let's end this beautiful time with prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for the story of the woman who had little but shared anyways. It leaves us in awe to see how you provided for all three of their needs. We're inspired by the trust and the faith that the woman had to follow through with what she was being asked. May we be like that woman and share what we have, even if it's just a little, Lord. Help us to learn that when we're willing to give our all, you can supply for us. We thank you for all you do, even when we're unsure, amen. This podcast is sponsored by Starting With Jesus. To find out more about other programs or to find out the links that were shared in this podcast, just check out the description box below.

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Reflect and Renew February 2023

God Cares for Elijah

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From Wisdom to Foolishness

God Cares for Elijah

Mount Carmel

Elisha Accepts God’s Call

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