Unit 3: The Call of Women
Lydia: Called to Serve | Bible Background • ACTS 16:11-15, 40; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-30 | Printed Text • ACTS 16:11-15, 40; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-30 | Devotional Reading • PSALM 33:1-12
AIM FOR CHANGE
By the end of this lesson, we will CONSIDER how Lydia used her gifts and her place in society to support Paul’s ministry, REPENT of the times we have looked down on others who have not had the same opportunities or advantages, and SERVE others joyfully through whatever means are at our disposal.
IN FOCUS
William lounged on the couch by the window in the Saturday afternoon sun. His wife Betty was off at her book club across town, and he had the house to himself. So quiet, he thought happily. But as he listened more to the ticking of the clock in the kitchen, he grew restless.
They had lived in this house for over thirty years, long enough to have three kids and see them off to homes of their own. William and Betty were certainly enjoying the time to themselves, but now their empty nest just didn’t feel right to him. He almost missed the little feet traipsing loudly upstairs or the chatting teens in the TV room. Dinners at the kitchen table were definitely less lively without the kids and their fiancés. It seemed to William like a waste of space. He wasn’t ready to move to a smaller apartment; he wanted the guest rooms. He wanted to be hospitable. Over dinner, William talked with Betty about the feeling.
“You’re right, dear,” Betty said. “Things are so different now without the kids. In fact, I was just thinking on my drive over there, how far away my book club is. It used to make sense when Billy’s baseball practice was out that way, but that was years ago.”
“I was thinking,” William said. “How about we tell the church office that we’re offering to host something here. Could be a new book club, maybe a small group …”
How can you show God’s love to others through hospitality?