Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)
How do I become hospitable to the stranger?
______________________ the stranger.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:1-5 (NIV)
______________________ the stranger.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
Luke 19:5-7 (NIV)
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
A quick perusal of the newspaper or listening to the news shouts of a world in desperate need of this simple yet profound message. Followers of Jesus have been given this assignment to first, love God and to second, love oneself and one’s neighbor. What if by loving our neighbor, Jesus literally meant the precious people who live in our neighborhoods? What if by loving our neighbors Jesus meant all our neighbors regardless of age, socioeconomics, education or any other potentially divisive status? The cry of our neighbors who do not yet know the love of God in Christ and the gift of Christian community is the last line of the “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” theme song. Our lost, hurting and broken neighbors are desperately crying out:
Won't you please, Won't you please, Please won't you be my neighbor?
Often this cry is disguised as addiction or affluence. Sometimes it’s masqueraded as violence or vitriol, but in the deep recesses of their soul, it’s our neighbors cry to simply be loved. And followers of Jesus are invited to hear their cry and be their neighbors.
Jorge Acevedo loves Jesus Christ and his Church. Touched by the grace of God at seventeen, he was never the same. Rescued from a life of addictions, his greatest delight is connecting people to Jesus and the Church.
Jorge is the Lead Pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site, United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida with three campuses (Cape Coral, Fort Myers Shores, Fort Myers Central). Grace Church is recognized as having one of the largest and most effective recovery ministries in America. From 1992 to 1996, he served as Executive Pastor at Christ Church United Methodist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; from 1988 to 1992, as the Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Kissimmee, Florida; from 1984 to 1988 as Minister of Youth and Children at Trinity Hill United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
Jorge is a 1984 graduate of Asbury College where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Bible. He is also a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity Degree. Jorge was ordained as a Deacon in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in May 1986, and an Elder in May 1990.
Jorge was the 2001 recipient of the Denman Evangelism Award from the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church given to a pastor for excellence in evangelism. In 2007, He was named the Distinguished Alumni of the Year at Asbury Theological Seminary. In 2009, the Foundation for Evangelism named Jorge the 2009 Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church. He was a 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 delegate to the Jurisdictional Conference and a 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 delegate to the General Conference. Jorge serves on the Southeastern Jurisdiction and Florida Conference Episcopal Committees.
Jorge co-authored Sent: Giving the Gift of Hope at Christmas (Abingdon Press, 2015). He also authored Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World (Abingdon Press, 2013) and co-authored The Heart of Youth Ministry (Bristol House, 1989). He has also written for the United Methodist Publishing House, Circuit Rider magazine, Good News magazine and Our Faith Today.
Born in Puerto Rico, Jorge at the age of four months, moved with his family to the United States where he was raised. Jorge is married to Cheryl Montgomery. Their oldest son, Daniel is married to Courtney who gave them four beautiful grandchildren, Mia, Levi, Seth and Zoe. They also have a younger son, Nathan.
"
["amens"]=>
string(5) "0"
["amenurl"]=>
string(328) "Amen"
["customsquareimageoption"]=>
string(0) ""
}
-->
Won't You Be My Neighbor? - Part 3 - CC | Sermons | Grace Church
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)
How do I become hospitable to the stranger?
______________________ the stranger.
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
Luke 19:1-5 (NIV)
______________________ the stranger.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
Luke 19:5-7 (NIV)
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
"
["imageurl"]=>
string(298) "https://cdn.monkplatform.com/image/czoxNjI6Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbSUyRm1vbmtkZXYubW5rLjI2NzIyJTJGdXBsb2FkZWQlMkZ3JTJGMGU5MDQ1OTQ3XzE1NjUyMDY2ODhfd29udC15b3UtYmUtbXktbmVpZ2hib3Itc2VybW9uLmpwZyUzRnMlM0QxZmMyMDQ0M2ZjNDU1Njg2MTYxYTcyM2Q5OWM4OWVmYiI7/wont-you-be-my-neighbor-sermon.jpg"
["imagetmb"]=>
string(417) "
"
["image2"]=>
string(361) "
"
["preacherImg"]=>
string(314) "
"
["preacherimage"]=>
string(274) "https://cdn.monkplatform.com/image/czoxNTE6Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGczMuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbSUyRm1vbmtkZXYubW5rLjI2NzIyJTJGdXBsb2FkZWQlMkZqJTJGMGUxMzI4Mjc3N18xNjM2NDk3NTIwX2pvcmdlLWFjZXZlZG8tMjAyMi5qcGclM0ZzJTNEMDkzNzUwNzg5ODJmOWFhNmZlZTFlNjI5YWVhYjVjZjUiOw==/jorge-acevedo-2022.jpg"
["preachermemberid"]=>
string(5) "52563"
["preacherNum"]=>
string(3) "305"
["category"]=>
string(17) "Cape Coral Campus"
["categoryslug"]=>
string(17) "cape-coral-campus"
["categorylinks"]=>
string(67) "Cape Coral Campus"
["categorytitlelinks"]=>
string(67) "Cape Coral Campus"
["category1"]=>
string(17) "Cape Coral Campus"
["category1slug"]=>
string(17) "cape-coral-campus"
["parentcategory1"]=>
string(17) "Cape Coral Campus"
["parentcategory1slug"]=>
string(17) "cape-coral-campus"
["parentcategory1child1"]=>
string(8) "Saturday"
["parentcategory1child1slug"]=>
string(8) "saturday"
["commentNumber"]=>
string(11) "Comments(0)"
["commentNumberonly"]=>
string(1) "0"
["commentList"]=>
string(1548) "
