15 Bible Verses About Hospitality: Plus Creative Ideas
Most people think of hosting guests for meals or overnight visits when they hear the word hospitality. Yet hospitality is much more than opening our homes. We can offer hospitality anywhere by opening our hearts to others. Today, we’ll look at 15 Bible verses about hospitality.
Then, we’ll explore eight creative and low-key ways to extend the gift of hospitality. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you carry God’s love wherever you go.
Let’s start with seeing what God’s Word says about hospitality.
15 Bible Verses About Hospitality
Here are 15 Bible verses about being hospitable.
Bible Verses About Hospitality
1. Matthew 6:1-3 ESV
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
2. Hebrews 13:1
Let brotherly love continue.
3. Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
4. Romans 12:13
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
5. Leviticus 19:34
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
6. 1 Peter 4:9
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
7. Matthew 25:37-40
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
8. Titus 1:8
But hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
9. Luke 14:12-14
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
10. 1 Timothy 3:2
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.
11. 1 Timothy 5:10
And having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.
12. Mark 9:49
For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
13. Isaiah 58:7
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
14. 3 John 1:5-8
Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
15. Galatians 6:10
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Let’s now apply these Bible verses about hospitality by exploring eight practical ways to offer hospitality.
Practical Applications of These Bible Verses About Hospitality
1. Invite friends over for coffee.
The rules are simple: Invite your friends over with their kids or grandkids.
Make a pot of coffee and make it your goal to catch up.
This is low-key and low-stress!
2. Gather over a shared interest.
Call up some friends and meet for a bike ride.
Join a running club, start a baking club, or meet to discuss your favorite natural health remedies.
Find something you love to do and then share it with others.
3. Enjoy dessert and inspiration.
Our friends used to host a weekly Saturday night gathering called “Pie and Piper.”
It was simple. They invited friends to their house, ate pie, and watched an inspirational John Piper video every week.
Choose your inspirational teacher, download some videos, whip up a dessert, and you’re all set.
4. Host a DIY event.
Make your own soap, Father’s Day cards, Christmas ornaments, Thanksgiving decorations, or whatever you choose.
Pick something you’ll actually enjoy creating, and chances are, your friends will enjoy it too!
5. Visit an elderly neighbor or relative and offer the gift of opening your heart.
Extend hospitality outside the home by visiting someone who might be lonely.
Elderly people are often eager for a visit.
6. Start a team or join a league.
Find a local softball or volleyball league and gather some friends to make a team and join the league.
Not up for a league?
Meet weekly in your backyard for volleyball, bad mitten, corn hole, or horseshoes.
7. Mentor someone who is a little younger.
Look around your sphere of influence, and you’ll probably find someone with fewer years of life experience.
Invite this younger friend to meet for brunch, coffee, ice cream, or a walk.
You never know how much of a difference you might be able to make.
8. Deliver hospitality.
Deliver cookies or zucchini bread to the neighbors or cold drinks to road crews working on a hot day.
Remember that hospitality can happen anywhere.
Open your heart and create a space where people know they belong. This is the heart of hospitality, and it can happen anywhere!
Open your heart and create a space where people know they belong. This is the heart of hospitality, and it can happen anywhere! #Christianhospitality #openhearts #hospitalityideas Share on XCalling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
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