PREPARE WEEK
RADICAL HOSPITALITY
LEADER PREPARATION
Lesson Summary:
Note: These lessons are designed to be 30 minutes long. If your club time is shorter than this, we encourage you to be prayerful about parts of this lesson to put more or less emphasis on. If limited on time, we urge you to prioritize Tool Time and summarize Dig In, as Tool Time is what prepares you for sharing the Gospel. As always, let the Holy Spirit guide your leadership.
Jesus interacted with people who were neglected, ignored, pushed out, marginalized, and considered an outcast within society. Through the life of Jesus, we can see how He treated others with radical hospitality. This example can show us how we too are called to display hospitality to others.
Main Point
Jesus shows us what it looks like to love others well.
Team Roles
Host: This Student Leader will lead the Start Up section of the lesson, helping create a fun environment, making everyone feel welcome and included.
Speaker: This student leader will guide the group in growing deeper in their faith by reading and reflecting on passages of scripture. They will then connect the content to the group’s daily lives by asking practical questions and leading the conversation.
Other Roles: Promo, Welcome, and Follow Up.
Scripture References
Materials Needed
- Timer
- Invite Cards
- Testimony Guides
(7 minutes)
Welcome everyone and be sure to get the names of any new friends.
Icebreaker Game: Shark Attack
Supplies Needed: Timer
Game Preparation: Move chairs and desks around to create a space for this game. Designate a small area as the “shore” and choose someone to be the lifeguard in today’s game.
Instruct students to spread out around the room. Explain that everyone in the group is stranded in shark-infested waters, and that it is the lifeguard’s job to bring them safely to shore.
Once the timer starts, the lifeguard will run to each student individually and guide them safely to the “shore”. The students “in the water” have the freedom to choose if they want to walk or be dragged back to shore (because they’ve been attacked by the sharks!)
The game concludes once every student has been rescued. Repeat as many times as possible with new lifeguards to see who can rescue the group the fastest.
DIG IN
(5 minutes)
Ask: If you were one of those being rescued, why would you choose to be dragged to shore? Why would you walk? As a lifeguard, why were some people easier to rescue? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: Jesus interacted with people in unexpected ways. He welcomed those that society pushed away, and He spoke to them about God’s love. We read about one example from the story of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus, the tax collector.
Zacchaeus wasn’t an ordinary tax collector but the chief tax collector, and his wealth came from enforcing Rome’s tax law on his fellow Jews. Tax collectors were not viewed positively at this time in history. People generally did not like them. On this day, when the crowds pushed in against Jesus, it was hard for Zacchaeus to see Him. In order to get a glimpse of Him, Zacchaeus had to climb a tree to see over all the people. Luke 19:5-7 explains that:
Read Scripture: 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)
Say: It’s hard to imagine the shock and even disbelief that must have run through the crowd when they heard Jesus call out Zacchaeus’ name. Take a minute to think of the equivalent in today’s culture. Who is someone that most people would be shocked and even angry that God was reaching out to them with love? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Let’s continue reading how Zacchaeus responded to Jesus’ request.
Read Scripture: 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.” (Luke 19:8-10)
Say: Zacchaeus’ response reveals that appearances and even past actions can be deceiving. When confronted with the Messiah, Zacchaeus’ immediate response was of repentance and forgiveness. He was so overcome with being in the presence of Jesus that he pledged to restore everything he had cheated out of others.
Ask: What do you think led to Zacchaeus’ unexpected response? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: I can only imagine how Zacchaeus must have felt when Jesus picked him, of all the people in the crowd, to share a meal with. I bet that for much of Zacchaeus’ adult life, he was treated like an outsider by most people in society. His job as a tax collector made him unlikable by most people.
They didn’t want anything to do with him. So the fact that Jesus specifically chose him must have been quite a shock, not only to Zacchaeus, but to the crowd as well.
Jesus’ example shows us that radical hospitality looks very different from what we think it should be. Radical hospitality looks more like welcoming people whom society may see as unlovable.
These people don’t just include our friends and family, but they include those who are broken, lost, neglected, ashamed, and outcast. And the surprising thing is that these people also include our enemies.
Jesus’ purpose in life was to come to seek out the outcasts in society and to rescue them. We see Him do this when He sought out Zacchaeus and showed him radical hospitality, despite what society thought of him. The very same people that others hated and insisted were unworthy of God’s love are ones whom Jesus pursued and offered God’s radical love, mercy, and forgiveness.
TOOL TIME
(18 Minutes)
Ask: So the big question is SO WHAT? How does Jesus’ example of radical hospitality affect our lives today? How does it help us share God with others? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
Say: It is so easy to make snap judgments based on a single post online or comment with technology being a part of our everyday lives.
We’ve all experienced how easy it is to judge someone without even knowing them. Instead of judging them, we should follow the example of Jesus by moving toward a person with whom we may disagree.
We see an example of radical hospitality in the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. At this time in history, Jews and Samaritans disagreed with one another so much that when Jewish people had to travel through that area of Israel, they would often avoid it and walk a longer route, just so they wouldn’t have to interact with each other. But Jesus shows us a different way of looking at hospitality when He shared about loving our neighbor, even when we disagree with them.
Read Scripture: He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)
Ask: So who is our neighbor? Who is that person with whom you may disagree, be different from, or may even consider your enemy? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
Say: It can be easy to think of extending hospitality to the people with whom we are friends or to those who easily agree with us. But our hospitality only becomes radical and biblical when we treat those who disagree with us as our neighbor and friend.
Ask: How can you display radical hospitality in your classroom, on the field, or in your everyday life? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Let’s take a moment and review our My Faith Story sheet that we have been using this year. It’s likely that we won’t know when or where we are going to share the Gospel, spontaneous conversations happen all the time! So it is always important to be prepared to share your story and God’s truth whenever the opportunity comes.
We always want to make sure that we are ready to show radical hospitality to others because the opportunity might come when we least expect it.
Let’s take a few moments to review and write out our stories using this tool so that we know we are ready. As you are writing out your story, think of someone who may be needing some hospitality right now. (Be sure to allow time for students to work on their stories and have them practice/share with friends or the group.)
Say: Jesus calls us to move toward people rather than away from them. This action will display love and acceptance, like the example Jesus gave.It will often be inconvenient and even cost you money, time, or your reputation, but Jesus is clear: It is in loving God with everything you have and loving your neighbor as yourself that you can be His follower and inherit eternal life.
Ask: How has Jesus’ example changed who you may see as your neighbor? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: Our main point reminds us that Jesus shows us what it looks like to love others well. It helps us to see practical ways that you can love your neighbor. Think about someone whom you might have been quick to judge or even hate and ask God to give you a way that you can love them.
Closing: Pass out invite cards. End your time together with prayer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Say: Remember that next week is INVITE Week, and while we want our friends to be able to come any week, next week we will be sharing the gospel in a clear way and will give everyone an opportunity to make a decision to follow Jesus!
