Wide Open, Week 13: Hospitality
Discussion Questions
The dinner party illustration opened the message. Be honest — if you had to grade your church's Sunday morning experience using that same scenario, where would it fall short and where would it shine?
Yvonne asked the congregation to reflect on whether they have a preferred seat, a preferred service time, and preferred people they gravitate toward on Sunday. What came up for you when you sat with those questions?
The message drew a sharp distinction between being friendly and being radically hospitable. In your own words, what's the difference — and which one do you think comes more naturally to you?
Abraham ran out to meet three strangers he didn't know and gave them his very best. What would it look like for your church — or for you personally — to have that same posture of expectancy on a Sunday morning?
Yvonne described the moment she was bagging popcorn and a young man wandered in off the street asking what the building was. She was friendly but not truly welcoming — and said his face haunts her. Have you ever had a moment like that, where you were so focused on a task that you missed a person? What did it teach you?
The message said we don't mean to exclude anyone — we simply aren't being deliberate about including them. Where in your church's culture do you see that gap between intention and reality showing up most clearly?
The sermon described guests arriving with an unspoken question: "Will I fit in here? Will I be accepted?" Think back to a time when you were the newcomer somewhere. What made you feel welcomed — and what made you feel like an outsider?
Yvonne shared that as an introvert she practices having at least one conversation with someone she doesn't know every time she goes to church — almost as a spiritual discipline. Is there a simple, concrete habit like that you could commit to starting next Sunday?
The message closed with a missionary journey invitation — walk across the room, sit somewhere different, make room for someone new. What is one specific thing you could do differently next Sunday that would make a first-time guest feel like they were expected?
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