The Risen Host (Part 3): Hosting & Hosted

TO START: Today we continue our series The Risen Host, celebrating the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. In this series, we explore what it means that Jesus is alive and that His Spirit is still at work resurrecting faith and joy in those who desire to host and encounter Him.

In this third message, we look at a story of two very different heart postures toward hosting Jesus in their midst. As we consider His response to the woman in Luke 7, we gain insight into how Jesus loves our hospitality of giving Him gratitude, brokenness, and vulnerability.

TO READ: Luke 7:36-48

TO DISCUSS:

(1.) When have you experienced a situation where hosting or being hosted didn’t go well?

(2.) What differences do you notice in the heart posture of the Pharisee and the woman in Luke 7, and how do those differences shape the way each of them approaches Jesus?

(3.) When you come to church to collectively commune with the Lord on Sundays, which feels most natural for you to bring among gratitude, brokenness, and vulnerability, and which feels most difficult?

(4.) What do you believe helps keep a heart from becoming like the one Jesus describes in Luke 7:47, “The one who is forgiven little loves little”?

(5.) When was the last time you were gathered in collective worship and felt invited into the experience described in 2 Corinthians 3:18, beholding and contemplating the Lord’s glory?

TO PRAY:

Leader: Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little. – Luke 7:47” 

Leader: “We welcome you Jesus, the one who forgives much more than we can even understand, as we enter prayer, we feel the invitation to consider this question, “Do I take the weight of forgiveness for granted?” (Pause 1 min) then ask… “Are there any places in my life where unforgiveness is still rooted?” (Pause 1 min) 

Leader: [Discern whether you want to leave space for people to name in prayer what came to the surface and then close with prayer or invite someone else to..] Jesus, thank You for the depth of Your forgiveness—so complete, so undeserved, and so freely given. Where I have fallen short, You offer mercy instead of condemnation, grace instead of distance. Help me not to take that forgiveness lightly, but to receive it and respond from it. Let it soften my heart for others, create in me boldness and a love for others that roots out bitterness and unforgiveness and makes room for your mercy and love to take root.