November 7, 2012
HOST MENTALITY
3 John 1–15
Dave Kimball
Central Truth
God commends and encourages believers who show love and hospitality to others.
Key Verse | 3 John 5–6
Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. (3 John 5-6)
3 John 1–15
Greeting
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers 1 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated brothers) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Support and Opposition
5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.
Final Greetings
13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.
Footnotes
[1] 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10Dive Deeper | 3 John 1–15
This is definitely the smallest, and probably the most personal, of all the books in the New Testament. It is a letter from one friend to another. John commends Gaius for showing great hospitality to the many followers who came through the area and encourages Gaius to stay the course and not turn away as some people around him have.
It's interesting. You almost feel wrong for reading such a personal letter. Then you realize that the Holy Spirit had a reason for this letter: to show us how to be good hosts.
Over the last few years, I have had the privilege to travel overseas to Ethiopia, Africa. Our team has gone with a heart to serve and tell others about Christ, and we have always been blown away by the people that we meet and the way that they serve us. We arrive with our fancy dry fit shirts and zip off pants, but are always humbled that these people would be willing to give us the shirts off their back. They are willing to invite us into the hut they call home, allow us to sit on the bed they might share with their entire family, and give us their food -- all while brewing us coffee with beans they have roasted themselves over the fire. Why do they do this? Because we are fellow Christians there to share Christ with their people. It's amazing how similar they are to Gaius.
At Watermark, our leadership encourages us to have a host mentality. I see this mentality permeate the church. It is the reason you see smiling faces as you pull into the parking lot and walk through the doors. It is also the reason you feel like the stranger sitting next to you actually cares about what you have to say during that awkward meet-and-greet time.
How can you be a host today?
Discussion Questions
1. When was the last time you thought of yourself as having a host mentality?
2. Would you be willing to let someone into your house and give them all that you have?
3. How did Jesus display a host mentality during His time on earth?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
November 5-9 (1 John 5 – Revelation 1)
Read Revelation 1.
• Look up the word revelation in the dictionary.
According to verse 1 who is this revelation from? Who received the revelation? Who is the revelation for? (The seven churches, and it's also for us.)
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What does Jesus say about Himself in verse 8? Read Hebrews 13:8 also.
How does that make you feel about Jesus?
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Who did John see standing with the lampstands?
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How many lampstands are there? How many stars was Jesus holding?
• Who did He say the lampstands and stars represent?
The Book of Revelation was written to show us the full identity of Christ and to give warning and hope to believers. It is not an easy book, but as verse 3 says, God blesses those who read it, listen to it, and obey it.
Activity: Reread verses 11-20 together. Draw and color a picture of what John saw. Be sure to label the lampstands with the seven churches. We will dive more into the seven churches next week!