Böcker av Cecil Sherman

If we are serious about following Jesus, we will be people of open hearts, open hands, and open homes. In other words, as followers of Jesus we will practice the fine art of hospitality. In this unit, we will study five facets of Christian hospitality. As we do so, we will be reminded that hospitality is "missional." That is, simply by being hospitable, we will be on mission for Christ. In the first session, we reflect on a passage from Job, where Job proclaims his lifelong practice of showing hospitality to strangers. This first session highlights hospitality as a central virtue in both the Old and New Testaments. The second session specifically addresses hospitality to the poor. Our spotlighted passage is from the book of Ruth, where Boaz practically and kindly reaches out to Ruth in her poverty. The third session focuses on hospitality to sinners. We study the episode in John's Gospel where Jesus forgives the woman caught in the act of adultery and use that passage to consider our own response to sinful people. The fourth session focuses on hospitality to newcomers, specifically newcomers in our church. The passage we use in this session is from 1 Corinthians 14, where the apostle Paul encourages the Corinthians to consider the needs of others in their times of worship. We wrap up our study of Christian hospitality by reminding ourselves that all of our hospitality is really hospitality to Christ. The final session in our study focuses on the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, where Jesus says all of our hospitality is actually done to, and for, him. The good news about hospitality is that it doesn't require us to have money, education, brilliance, fame, or power. It only requires that we open our hearts, our hands, and our homes to the people around us.

It was July 3, 2002. I reclined in a chair on the beach of St. George Island, Florida, reading Numbers: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, by Dennis Olson. I would be willing to bet I was the only person on that beach-okay, any beach-reading that wonderful book. Two college-aged students meandered between the Gulf waters and me. One glanced at the cover of my book and remarked to her friend, "You've got to be pretty bored to read a math book at the beach." Hearing her comment, I replied, "Actually, it's not a math book. It's a Bible commentary." "I rest my case," she retorted and walked away. We rarely read this fourth book of the Old Testament. We use it even less frequently as a source for missions theology. Why? Maybe it's the name. Numbers is not a very exciting title. The name is derived from the Latin Numeri, which is a translation of the Greek title Arithmoi. This title was used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament because a census is taken twice in the book-the people are numbered. In the Hebrew Bible, however, the title of this book is bemidbar, which means "in the wilderness." This is much more provocative and descriptive of the book's contents. In the wilderness, the community of faith-the Israelites-encountered facets of God's character that would define and direct them for generations to come. They would come face to face with the mobility of God, the reputation of God, the mercy of God, and the promises of God. These elements of God's nature kept the mission of Israel alive. These same elements keep the mission alive in the community of faith today. Too often we are tempted to let "numbers" drive missions. How many churches have we built? How many dollars have we raised? How many bodies have we baptized? The book of Numbers reminds us that missions is motivated by something deeper. Missions reflects the heart and nature of God. If we can just get past the math, we can see God's nature clearly in the book of Numbers. . . in the wilderness.

Every Christian is a priest, a minister, and a representative of God on earth. Each of us is an extension of the very life and ministry of Christ in a world that deserves to see his love expressed in the gathered community we call church. More than an institution, the church is a living, vibrant organism whose purpose is defined by God as the place where the divine chooses to manifest the work of grace. The church is the place where, in Christ, the love of God is received, shared, and contemplated in both worship and mission.The sessions in this study reflect on the work of the church in light of the cross, challenging church members to consider how priorities in worship and ministry witness to the wisdom of God, which is Jesus Christ crucified. In his letters to the Corinthians, Paul calls the church to unity of mind and purpose. Yet, perhaps surprising to some, the Apostle's concept of the mind has far less to do with agreement on right doctrine and far more to do with a way of right living in the world. Paul's succinct but profound insight-one that the church has yet to contemplate fully-is this: If God chose to reveal divine love in the cross of the Son, then surely the community gathered in his name would do well to show that same love, both to each other and to the world.What common purpose unifies the church? What strengthens the church? What weakens the church? What are the building blocks upon which our church is built? These are the central questions for the following study that reflect on our call to build a unified church that is resolute in its understanding of the wisdom of God that humbles the great and lifts up the lowly. We long for the kingdom to come where we are one in Christ Jesus, but in the meantime, we also work in the present to make the kingdom happen through our memory of the cross and its message of redemptive love.These sessions challenge the church to make the wisdom of God, which is Jesus Christ crucified, a priority in living. The call is to allow the cross to embrace the church so that each of us can understand anew the heart of God and see all that is aflame with Christ's presence in the world. In the process, we are to be both transformed and transforming through the power of divine love.

NextSunday Resources offers Bible studies designed to help adults studyScripture seriously within the context of the larger Christian tradition and, through that process, find their faith renewed, challenged, and strengthened.We study the Scriptures because we believe they affect our currentlives in important ways. Inside, you'll find a Study Guide and a Commentaryfor each Lesson. For more small group Bible studies like this one, visitnextsunday.com/nextsunday-studies

When we hear the word "mission," we immediately think about crossing the globe to spread the Word of God, and we feel helpless. We find ourselves trapped in lives and schedules and commitments that are difficult to change, so we leave the "mission work" for those who do it vocationally. But what does it actually mean to be "missional"? The term "mission" comes from the Latin mitto, which means "to send." God is a sending God, the One who sends all Christians to live in praise and glory of God. Ephesians 1:8b-12 describes our calling this way: "With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of this glory." Many have tried to define the sacred task of being a missionary. Carl Braaten, a Lutheran Theologian, for example, wrote, "Mission is understood as the function of the Kingdom of God in the world's history." W. O. Carver wrote that "Missions mean the extensive realization of God's redemptive purpose in Christ by means of human messengers." These claims certainly encompass what it is to be a "missional" Christian, but my favorite definition is one by friend and former professor of Christian Mission, Dr. Isam E. Ballenger: "Mission is participation in the Trinity. Thus, it cannot be 'defined, ' for definitions will be insufficient; mission breaks the bounds of any limitation. Mission is thus not a program of the church but is fundamental to the nature of the church. It is the life of the church. It begins with doxology and flows from blessings received." According to Dr. Ballenger, we are all capable of missions at all points in our lives, wherever we may live. When we are in Christ, missions is not something we go somewhere else to do; it becomes a part of who we are. Whether we are doctors, lawyers, teachers, storekeepers, fast food workers, stay-at-home caregivers, retired, or unemployed, being "mission-minded" is foundational to the Christian life. In this way, we are all missionaries.