“Every true home is an influence of blessing in the community where it stands. Its lights shine out. Its songs ring out. Its spirit breathes out. The neighbors know whether it is hospitable or inhospitable, warm or cold, inviting or repelling. Some homes bless no lives outside their own circle; others are perpetually pouring out sweetness and fragrance. The ideal Christian home is a far reaching benediction. It sets its lamps in its windows, and while they give no less light and cheer to those within, they pour a little beam upon the gloom without, which may brighten some dark path and put a little cheer into the heart of some belated passerby. Its doors stand open to everyone who comes seeking shelter from the storm, or sympathy in sorrow, or help in trial…”

Rev J.R.Miller, Family, 1882

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"Practice hospitality."  Romans 12:13

“The Greek word "dioko" translates “strive for, actively pursue; promote and aspire to hospitality. We are to think about it, prepare for it, pray about it, and seek opportunities to do it… Romans 12 teaches that all Christians are to pursue the practice of hospitality.” 

Alexander Strauch

 “An overseer must be hospitable…”
1 Tim 3:12

 “Let a widow be put on the list...
if she has shown hospitality…”  
 1 Tim 5:10

“My parents knew how important it was for us children to meet Christian men and women from all walks of life, to hear firsthand their stories of the faithfulness of God, and to enjoy the privilege of asking them questions. At our dinner table,we saw and heard what it means to seek first the kingdom of God, to give all to Jesus, to work for gold, silver and precious stones, rather than wood, hay and stubble.”

  Elisabeth Elliot


“Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whateveryou accomplish for the brethren,
and especially when they are strangers...
It was for the sake of the Name that they went out. We ought to show
hospitality to such men so that we may
work together for the truth."

3 John 5-8

“PRACTICE
HOSPITALITY” (Romans 12:13)

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this
some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

  
Hebrews 13:2

"Martin Luther proved that the table is a splendid pulpit from which to teach God's truths and disciple God's people. Luther and his wife, Katie, became legendary for their open home and liberal hospitality. Of their home, one historian writes, '... the great house was always full to the brim.' Luther's Table Talk, written by students and guests, is a wonderful testimony to the power of the home in discipling and teaching."

Alexander Strauch

"When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed because they
cannot repay."

                                         Luke 14:12-14
 

"The presence of Christian friends or even strangers---unless they are very eccentric, self-centered or thoughtless---should brighten the home and enlarge its outlook, as the guests tell how the Lord has led them through the trials of life and of work they are doing for Him. It is a good thing for a family to be jolted out of its routine, and to look beyond the four walls of its own home and the weekly routines of its business, school and church."

Philip Howard

“As far back as you want to go in the
history of God’s people, one of the duties of the righteous was hospitality--
by which I mean the willingness to welcome people into your home who don't
ordinarily belong there."

                                            
                                        John Piper

“Perhaps you want to know what you can do for the Lord, or how to use your spiritual gifts; your home is the ideal place in which to start serving.”

Alexander Strauch

 This office of humanity has… nearly ceased to be properly observed among men; for the ancient hospitality, celebrated in histories, is unbeknownst to us,
and inns now supply the place of

accommodations for strangers.”

John Calvin


“Hospitality is a thrilling adventure and brings wonderful returns. Looking back over my boyhood days, I praise God for the enrichment that came through godly men and women who passed through our home, impressions made in formative
years stand a child in good stead in maturity.”  

Stephen Olford

“The ultimate act of hospitality was when Jesus Christ died for sinners to make everyone who believes a member of the household of God. We are no longer strangers and sojourners. We have come home to God. Everybody who trusts in Jesus finds a home in God… When we practice hospitality, we experience the refreshing joy of becoming conduits of God’s hospitality rather than being  self-decaying cul-de-sacs. The joy of receiving God’s hospitality decays and dies if it doesn’t flourish in our own hospitality to others.”   

John Piper

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” 
Ronald Reagan

"Every Christian home can become a place where people get to taste and see that the Lord is good. All we have to do is stop using our wealth to avoid contact with others and start using it to increase our meaningful contact with them. It's called 'hospitality'... 

If we are in fact ambassadors for Christ, that's not just a metaphor but a reality. That means our home is an embassy of the Kingdom of God. And, if it's an embassy, then it should be a place where people, by means of our hospitality, taste and see the Lord is good in a routine way."  

Gregg Harris

"The whole ordering of the household had in view not only the comfort, but the general spiritual, mental, and physical well being of the many who came there for rest... There, too, the "table talk"was turned to spiritual ends as I have never to the same degree elsewhere known. An ordinary meal became an agape (love meal) more helpful than many a long meeting... A stay there could not but deeply influence the whole aftercourse of a young Christian."

(Reflections on the home of RC Chapman by a young missionary who stayed with him for two months,
Agape Leadership by Peterson and Strauch)

“PRACTICE
HOSPITALITY”

(Romans 12:13)

 "The physical force of gravity pulls everything to the center of the earth. In order to break free from earth-centered life, thousands and thousands of pounds of energy have to push the space shuttle away from the center. There is also a psychological force of gravity that constantly pulls our thoughts and affections and physical actions inward toward the center of our own selves and our own homes.

Therefore the most natural thing in the world is to neglect hospitality. It is the path of least resistance. All we have to do is yield to the natural gravity of our self-centered life, and the result will be a life so full of self that there is no room for hospitality. We will forget about it. And we will neglect it. So the Bible bluntly says, "Stop that!" Build a launching pad. Fill up your boosters. And blast out of your self-oriented routine. Stop neglecting hospitality. Practice hospitality...

When we practice hospitality, we experience the thrill of feeling God's power conquer our fears and our stinginess and all the psychological gravity of our self-centeredness. And there are few joys, if any, greater than the joy of experiencing the liberating power of God's hospitality making us a new and radically different kind of people, who love to reflect the glory of his grace as we extend it to others in all kinds of hospitality."

John Piper

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A Candle in the Window

Our candles in the windows,
Burn softly, not too bright
Illuminating comfort
Throughout each day and night

We share the light with others
That passersby may see
A welcome sign, "No strangers here,"
Of Christian Hospitality.

Quaker Anne

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Celtic Blessing for Hospitality

I saw a stranger yestereen,
I put food in the eating place
Drink in the drinking place
Music in the listening place
And in the sacred name of the Triune
He blessed myself and my house
My cattle and my dear ones
As the lark said in her song ‘Often, often, often
Goes Christ in the stranger’s guise.’