7 PM "Five Star Church" Pastor Reginald W. Sharpe Jr., Tuesday, June 23, 2026

22:05 surely the presence of the Lord is in this place and I thank the Lord for God's presence on a Tuesday I thank the Lord for his anointing In this atmosphere I thank God for a praying church Come on, come on I thank God for prayer intercessors I thank God for our prayer team Come on, now listen And every now and then God will show you your prayers are not in vain The effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous availeth much when I was younger I didn't know what availeth means but I started studying the Greek and I looked up availeth you know what it means in the Greek it means it gets stuff done so let's just remix it one more time the effectual fervent prayers of the righteous get stuff done it'll run a demon out your house it'll break a generational curse it'll heal a body that the doctors said couldn't be healed alright let me leave y'all alone cause I'm alright alright I'm just trying to tell you don't stop praying don't stop praising don't stop believing I don't care how bad it gets you hold on hold on latch on and he'll lean in praise the lord praise the lord happy tuesday y'all happy tuesday i feel mighty good tonight i feel mighty good tonight i'm glad god brought us i want to thank god for our kids on i want to thank god for our wave youth ministry give all of our children and youth a big big hand we're going to go ahead and dismiss potty train three to fifth grade you can hit it this way our youth wave ministry who are just having fun this summer

24:13 enjoying themselves excited about God and church and I'm excited about youth who are on fire for God I'm excited about children who love God so our wave youth ministry sixth through twelfth grade and on this weekend is wave ministries youth weekend come on y'all clap it up for our youth They're going to have a wonderful time Wonderful time, wonderful time This Friday, Saturday and Sunday Middle school, high school students Are invited to take off on Wave Airlines Flight 2026 Destination focus The last day to register is today So if you have young people Between the ages of middle school And high school Please go to fellowshipchicago.com To reserve their spot for Youth Weekend For all the activities It's going to be lit. It's going to be fun. And I don't want you to miss out. Today is our founder's heavenly birthday. Reverend Clay Evans would have been 101 years old.

25:15 Can we pause and thank God for the foundation we still stand on? We thank God for the blessed, sacred memory of the Reverend Clay Evans. Come on, help me thank God for him and the Evans family. I see you Deacon Michael I see you some of the Evan family members who are in the room today I see you Michelle God bless you sending love to you all on this day and so so grateful to stand on his shoulders I just talked to Pastor Jenkins on my way in the church help me celebrate our Pastor Meredith come on come on make some noise for him what a legacy we have and I wouldn't have it any other way do me this favor real real quick we're gonna I'm going to get you out around 8.05 tonight, no matter what. Amen? 8.05 tonight, no matter what. I said around, 8.05. I just said around, but I'm going to do my best.

26:10 That's my limit tonight. So somebody wave at me. Wave at me. Wave at me at 8.05. All right? And I may keep going, but just wave. You do your part, and the Holy Spirit is going to do the Holy Spirit's part. Can you take your phone out if you have not been a part of our mass text? I really, really, it's very important. After we lost electricity two Sundays ago, it became very important for us as staff, as leaders, to make sure we can get information to you ASAP. So if you do me a favor, there is a graphic coming up on the screen. Thank you, media team. I want you to text in your text, Fellowship Chicago, one word, to the number 55949. Wave your hand and be honest if you haven't done it already. be honest be honest if you haven't done please take out your phone and do it because if we are ever in that kind of jam again or anything happens we want to be able to quickly effectively uh swiftly expeditiously get information to the entire church so take your phone out even those of you watching online it doesn't matter your virtual ship or just a friend of the ship sign up too you need to know what's going on too and so text one word make sure it connects don't put Put a space.

27:24 Fellowship Chicago needs to touch. One word, Fellowship Chicago. It doesn't matter if you capitalize it, lowercase it, just put Fellowship Chicago in the message, like you write in the message, and then where you put the number, put 55949. And help me thank God again for a team that's trying to be effective and handle business in an excellent way. And I thank you, staff, and I thank all of our leaders for what they do. Help me celebrate my executive assistant. She's been working her whole face off. I just want to celebrate Minister Deborah Earl, who's a blessing to me and Bree. Can y'all get real loud and stop being bougie and celebrate her? She does so much. I love you for real. Our inside joke is whenever she does something for me, I said, oh, you almost a professional. So she'll do something real, real kind and it'll all be all together.

28:20 And I look at her and I say, almost. And then sometimes she looks back at me and says, almost. That's our little inside joke. But she's more than a professional. She's been a blessing. She picked up the baton from the late Deacon Linda Denard. And she is carrying that torch with class, grace. And I thank you. I thank you so much. And I want to say it out loud. We wait too late to say thank you. So do it while you got a chance. Amen. Amen. That's all I want to say tonight. You all have a pop quiz. All right. All right. You got a pop quiz. Y'all know what this is. Y'all know what it is. Y'all got a pop. I kind of low key told you last week. Do y'all know I love y'all? Do y'all know that? Do you know how excited I am to be back in Refuel? I love Refuel. And so ministers are not on star till I say goes.

29:15 So put all your notes up. there's not an open book test tonight it's not open don't cheat yeah pass it down if they passed it to you pass it all the way down if you need a pen raise your hand and listen and i and i want to break i want to break that spirit where you just sit there and don't take the test uh-huh because i got some members don't do nothing they just sit there even if it's your first night do your best do your best even if it's your first night do your best don't nobody just sit there and do nothing who needs a pen who needs a pen you need you didn't get a quiz you didn't get a quiz okay this whole row raise your hand if you didn't get a quiz i know it's not okay we missed a whole row it's okay they're coming they're gonna come they're gonna come you y'all don't have a quiz oh okay this whole section right here doesn't have a quiz whole section and they don't want one either they don't want one you don't have one either okay okay all right are we are we out are we short miss tracy why you the only one got all the quizzes come on let me have some i appreciate you give me a whole slew uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh thank y'all okay yeah raise your hand if you don't have one thank you and don't tell no story now all right we need some more over here on this side thank you all right who has a pen she got you if you need a pen ask the person beside you okay no we got pens right here anybody over here need a pen all right check this side over here y'all split up and one person go over here with pens come on around come on around because there's some people over here that need pens now next Sunday next Tuesday now next Tuesday this gonna be smoother than this

31:25 it's gonna be smoother than this next Tuesday all right we got a pen who else needs a pen you need a pen right here who else still needs a quiz uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh and don't y'all be cheating while we waiting put it down put it down don't talk to anybody bring bring me down willie because i've this music giving them a cheating spirit they sit up here already seeing if they can look at somebody else's paper. All right. All right. We good? Okay, let's begin. Let's begin. It doesn't take long. We're going to take about three minutes. Go ahead. Everybody has a pen. If you don't have a pen, raise your hand and I'll get one to you. Okay.

32:18 Amen. Keep your eyes on your own paper. I think everybody's covered now. Mr. Goodwill, I met your son today at Chick-fil-A. Yeah. Brian, tell him I said what's up.

32:43 Nice young man. Yeah. All right. Somebody said they done Okay I'm going to grade yours personally This really is easy. Y'all can thank Minister Debra for this easy quiz. Hallelujah. Who needs a little help? You need me to come see you?

33:39 I'll walk over. You need some help? Okay. All right. What's going on? Which one? you you want the answer to the bonus one oh you need the answer to be yeah yeah yeah a few people do that's the another hand Am I wearing the right shirt? I hate you. All right, about one minute and a half. Chicago was beautiful today, wasn't it? Y'all know it's raining tomorrow.

34:38 Y'all are right over here. he's he talking to his neighbor right in my face just just asking to fail are you making sure she wasn't cheating okay you got to protect your test yeah flip it over there you go do y'all know each other oh lord it's it it it's your son i ain't getting in your house now The mama cheating on the son's Pray for the Lord Alright one more minute One more minute.

35:20 You should not be referring to any notes. You should be taking this off of memory. Because you all are studious Bible scholars. All right. 30 seconds. who needs more time y'all good everybody all right why y'all look so defeated All right, five, four, three, two, one. All right, pens down as far as taking your quiz.

36:20 And you can use your pen to grade, but please don't. We on the honor system. Please don't mark something correct that you know was not correct. Please, please refrain from... uh Flowing, lacking veracity. We want veracity to be in proximity of the sanctuary. All right. All right. All right. All right. So here we are. Number one, Pastor Sharp said our five-star focus areas are? who put a let me see your hand you're incorrect the answer is g all of i mean proud to all of the above now y'all good y'all good it's all right g g g xeno is xenophobia or xenophobic is what? Fear of the foreign or different. B, fear. Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Correct. Be hospitable to one another without a complaining is correct.

37:42 Complaining, complaining, complaining. Help me Holy Ghost. Be hospitable without what? and let's add let's come to church without let's be members without Let's be married without, oh no. Okay.

38:13 Side note Do you know the antidote You know where he was complaining gratitude gratitude whenever you you feel yourself complaining too much intentionally find something to be grateful for and you literally will over time be wired to appreciate something rather than critique something uh-huh let the church say man do number five do not neglect to show hospitality to see strangers is correct people will forget what you did people will forget what you said but people will never forget how you made them feel d as in dog is correct seven hospitality is making your guests feel at home even if you wish they were true and that's the truest statement ever you ever have somebody in your life you I can't wait till you go home.

39:17 Can't wait till you go home. Number eight, Pastor Sharp said, what I believe ought to influence how I behave. Behave. Dress. That's funny. Yeah, that's old school. And there's some truth there too. We need to watch how we spin, how we perform. Number nine, let what? Be genuine. This is not the right. Okay.

39:41 Everybody good? okay i heard the voice of jesus say come unto me and rest it's not me is he's not calling me home is it it's the third floor coming through here all right well y'all be careful on the third floor because uh i thought i was being called home no they say the trumpet gonna sound and stuff i said as long as i'm not the only one that heard it i'm good okay let blank be genuine what is that let love be genuine hate what is evil hold fast to what is good number 10 pastor sharp said hospitality shares the same root word as what b as in boy hospital and host and then for 15 points what is the correct spelling of the word hospitality in greek there were two different spellings that i will accept philo xenos or philo xenia all right you got that and didn't cheat all right we spent some time on that last week come on give yourself a hand give it no matter what you got on your no matter what the grade was give yourself a hand give yourself a hand so give yourself 10 points for everyone you got correct if you got the bonus correct add 15 points to whatever you have all right all right who got a 10. Who got a 10?

41:16 Good job. Good job. Proud of you. Got a 10. You got a 10. 10. No, no, no, no. I'm talking about you got a 10%. Who made a 20? Who made a 20? Who made 30? Who made 30? Don't be ashamed. It's your truth. And I want you to live in your truth. Who made 40%? Who made 50%? Who made 60? You almost passing. Who made 70? Come on, that's passing.

41:51 That's passing. 70. Look at it and proud. who made the 80 who made 80 good job y'all on the road okay who made a 90 who made a 90 who made good job good job who made a 100 100 100 all right all right all right all right all right all right who got more than 100 because of the bonus look at y'all showing out look at y'all showing out okay well what was the highest possible score who got 115 are y'all serious stand up if you got 115 stand up if you got 115 look at god where my basket church candy on me butterscotch and strawberry candy church candy on me butterscotch and strawberry candy god bless you god bless you come on come on come on get you one get you one get you one yeah pass that one over i'll get you two she grabbed two go ahead it don't matter who i pass i'm so sorry i'm so sorry and and listen you get many as you want to get many as you want to amen come on come on here come on come on y'all clap for my 115s i'm so proud all right that's good church candy uh-huh strawberry and butterscotch and it ain't been sitting in here since 1983 it's fresh it's fresh from wherever it come from you got you you got one all right now y'all pass the basket down like chameleon and i'll meet you on the other side pass it down pass if you rest yourself man of god rest yourself you're such a servant and we thank you we thank you we thank you we thank you we thank you we thank you come on here look yeah it's only two options strawberry pass it on down there and don't reach in there for you to get 115.

43:54 Be honest. It's okay. It's all right. It's all right. Ain't God good? Y'all thank Minister Deborah Earl. She created that basket for me. All right. Thank y'all. Y'all get... See, you see how hospitable we are. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I'm so proud of y'all. So proud. So proud. So glad I didn't bring no money for this many people. Ooh. Wouldn't have nothing left. God bless you. Y'all give everybody a big hand, big hand. All right. That was more than I ever expected, but I'm so proud that y'all have been listening and paying attention, paying attention, paying attention. So here's what we're going to do tonight. We're going to jump in this lesson and we're going to get out of here at 805. Is that right? All right, let's do it. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. So tonight we're continuing the demand to be a five-star church excellence in ministry.

44:52 What I want you to do for just two minutes, find your partner beside you and talk about hospitality that healed you. Think of an experience in your head where somebody's hospitality healed you. It may not be church, but just think of a moment in your head and pick somebody beside you and share an experience where hospitality healed you. Somebody welcomed you into their home. Somebody showed up for you in a tough season. Somebody made the low light. They were so kind that you will never forget how kind they were. Just pause and think about it. And share it with the person beside you or in front of you. Just tap them and say, talk to me. And get their name if you don't know them. You might be sitting by an angel. that's your story come on share time of hospital if you're watching on the virtual ship we love you write it in the chat facebook youtube put in chat a time hospitality healed you i'm gonna go back and read after bible study whatever you write but i want to hear a story of when hospitality healed you.

46:04 Hospitality healed you. You want to share? Okay, gotcha. Give me a second. I'm going to call a couple people to the mic. Peacekeepers, y'all be ready to man the mics for a minute. You know, there's a cussing spirit at fellowship. If the other person hadn't started talking, let them go now. Let them talk. Let them talk. Switch. Let the other person talk. Good, good, good. 20 seconds. Did you get to share your story with somebody? Did you?

46:58 You got to share your story? Okay. Alright. She not well over there. She not well. She not well. five four three two one all right come on give that person a hand for sharing their story quickly two folks two folks from this section come to the mic and share what the other person shared come on you can come and two more people from this section come on and don't be shy don't be shy come on come on come on don't take forever 805 you're holding us up all right i need two from this section right here i need one lady one man from this section one lady one man from this section one lady one man from this section one lady one man from this section sit down brother howard henry i know i know but you always get up y'all know come on share your story come on come on come on come on represent represent represent y'all give them a hand because it's not easy getting up in front of folks all right don't give us the long version two solid sentences if i cut you off it's It's only because we're trying to get out of here at 8.05.

48:19 Good evening, Pastor Sharp. You about to call me Dr. Brazier. I did. It's okay. It's an honor. I'm going to tell you why. I was in the hospital. I was very sick in 2013. Dr. Brazier, my former pastor, came to visit me. And that touched my soul and my spirit. So that's all I have to say. It's all right. And know that I'm not offended. I was thinking of Dr. Brazier in my head. I'm not offended at all because I love him too. And any pastor that come to the hospital to see you, that's a life-changing experience. Yes, sir. So let's give your former pastor a hand, and thank you for sharing. And your glasses are fly.

48:59 Mother Susan. Y'all give Mother Susan a hand. Amen. What's your middle name? Penny. Woo! Mother Susan Penny. Oh, I'm going to wear that out. Come on, share your story. Okay, my story is the formal church that I was at before I came here. I had just got out of a horrible marriage. I was divorced and I had four children to raise. And this deacon and his wife, they just started pouring into me. They just started giving me things, money, food. They didn't know what I needed, but they gave me what I needed. And it healed you. Come on, come on. Come on, y'all. Clap it up for that. I feel that. I felt that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. Share your story. Hospitality that healed you. My first therapist helped me with the death of my grandmother. I...

49:53 I had a dream that my granddaughter got lost. And in the dream, she was three years old, but in reality, she was 10. And I'm looking for her, and I'm sitting in the hallway crying. And my grandmother, who had passed away months before, touched me on my shoulder and told me it was going to be okay. And my therapist told me, she was like the little girl in the dream you was looking for wasn't your granddaughter, it was you. So that helped me deal with some childhood trauma and helped me find myself in some ways. Let's give it up for the therapists who are hospitable, patient, and loving. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And if you notice, y'all all shared your own stories. I was trying not to expose you, but listen, when it's a good story, you don't mind telling that story. So I'm proud of the vulnerability of the sharing tonight. Give them a hand for them being vulnerable, and I thank you for that.

50:48 Whether you tell yours or who told your story, I'm open for that too, brother. Actually, here at Fellowship Hospitality here, doing Passover service. I remember we were saying, Hosanna saved me. And I was brought to tears, and there was a woman next to me who put her hand on my shoulder. And it was just the most incredibly comfort thing. And it just shows that God favors Hamptonians. God favors Hamptonians. he you know he started off so strong See, that's shade, because he was at the New Members Fellowship, and I messed with him about Howard versus Hampton, and I'm representing Howard today, because they got some beef. Who's the real H-U? And he feels some kind of way, because he went to Hampton, and they want to be the real H-U, and the Bisons are the real H-U, and you messed up your whole testimony by trying to come for me.

51:47 No, y'all give my brother a hand. He's a new member. isn't that beautiful listen did you hear what he said i was crying in church and she laid her hand on my shoulder and just her presence and touch and attentiveness made him feel the comfort of god A visit to the hospital has one lady calling her new pastor her old pastor's name. Miss Susan barely got through her testimony without crying because somebody loved her through a tough season. You hear what I'm saying?

52:38 A therapist that helped you process what you were going through without judgment made you feel at home in that space and it helped heal you. I can't imagine the stories that you all have heard of each other in this room. And that's why we are focusing on hospitality because that's what the Holy Spirit gave me. It's not on your paper, but write it down. Hospitality heals people.

53:01 It heals people. And the danger is that if you don't share hospitality, the opposite happens. I heard somebody say this and it made sense to me they said proof that the Holy Spirit is in a room is that hospitality is there they judge the holy spirit not by how loud the music is not by if love is shared and shown and experienced if care and compassion and thoughtfulness and patience and all of those fruits of the what because that's it takes all of those fruit of the what spirit to be hospitable and so the fruit of the have to show up. And somebody said, you will know if the Holy Spirit is in a room or a person based off of how much hospitality is in that room.

54:00 If hospitality heals, then the lack of hospitality kills. If hospitality can heal you, the lack of it can harm you. and there are other people in the room i can say tell a story where somebody in church wasn't kind to you and i bet you that'll have you calling names too oh we all got a story y'all gonna y'all gonna act like y'all don't know what i'm talking about let me say it again so i can get some witnesses i said we all have a story of somebody who was not hospitable and it left the same sting if not greater than the experience of somebody being kind. And I'm not the only one that does it. Ambassadors can't be the only one that do it.

54:54 First touch can't be the only one that do it. Deacons can't be the only one that do it. Ministers can't be the only one that do it. Parking lot can't. We all have to say, how do we show up as a more hospitable church? Why am I saying this? Because the people say that this is an area we are not necessarily five-star in. is in me this comes from what the people have said when they raided our church last year in the fall that we need to work in every area on hospitality hospitality is making someone feel at home even if you wish they were that's justine vote the stranger leviticus 1934 can you read this with me one two three read the stranger who sojourns with you shall be to 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 now now i can preach that until jesus comes home god tells if you ever he tells the children of Israel if you ever encounter a stranger treat them like family because when you were in Egypt you were a stranger and I took care of you so really hospitality is reciprocity I can't be nasty to you because too many people been good to me I owe you kindness because too many people been kind to me Miss Mother Susan Penny can't go but so far because she owes it to pay it forward that what others were to her now she turns around and becomes that for somebody else see we love to receive it but Christian maturity says what day do you become it?

56:50 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't, don't, don't. But they were, they were. No, no, no. Who are you? Who do men say that you are? You got to show up as that. And so if some, if God has allowed people to be kind to you, you owe that kindness to others. And when you were in Egypt, you were a stranger and God said, I took care of you. So as you sojourn, don't treat anybody like a stranger. Make them feel like family. now i know i had a lot of critiques last week but one thing i can say about fellowship y'all remind me of my home church my home church the greater travels rest baptist church house hope atlanta decatur where it's greater we grew up we were a family church wasn't the biggest church in atlanta but i wouldn't trade it for the world everybody knew everybody and we looked out for each other we loved each other and we covered each other when i got to fellowship that's what i felt when i got here i thank god that some of you all have the gift to not make people feel like strangers and you ought to thank god for a church that's warm enough kind enough in spite of the culture to make you feel like you belong another scripture jesus says jesus matthew 25 35 he is here and here's the context of this text he's saying one day when we get to the other side god's gonna separate the sheep from the goat the goats are the wild folks that did whatever they wanted to do the sheep are the children of god he's gonna separate the sheep from the goat and somebody's gonna say now i i mean i i don't know why i deserved to even be over here as one of your sheep he said when i was hungry you fed me when i was naked you clothed me when i was in prison you came to visit me and on that list he said and when i was a stranger you welcomed me and then later somebody gonna say when were you naked when were you hungry when were you thirsty when were you a stranger and he's gonna say when you did it to the least of these you did it to me so hospitality is not just watch this reciprocity it's also our responsibility it is our divine oh i'm teaching tonight it's not just reciprocity because somebody's been good to you y'all know

59:00 what reciprocity means right it means i'm gonna return to you what's been given to me it's it's a it's a two-way street but then it's a divine responsibility because every time you're kind to a person you're actually being kind to jesus that goes that hebrews text where you entertain an angel unaware that's why that's that african term namaste namaste means the divinity in me greets the divinity in you i honor you when i was in japan a couple of years ago whenever they would meet each other they bow gently and i came back to america bowing to people and people think i'm being facetious but there's some divinity in you when i was in children's church we used to sing this song the jesus in me loves the jesus in you hey the jesus in me loves the jesus in you so easy y'all ain't grew up singing that so easy to love because you got to see people beyond how they look beyond how they smell beyond their addictions beyond their history beyond their race beyond their sexuality uh-oh beyond their gender and i gotta see jesus in you because it don't matter where you come from west side north side south side don't matter what degree you have no degree all degrees i'm not gonna mistreat you because you are a piece of the sun Thank you.

1:00:25 Every person See that changes the game doesn't it Every person I meet Is a piece of God a masterpiece pieces of the master and I get a chance to be close to God because I got close to you and I don't understand you all the way I don't have to because I'm only command to love you you see and that's why I get in trouble with folks he's over there preaching crazy stuff that's that pastor over there saying that crazy stuff y'all don't look like you ain't had to defend some stuff I've said to your cousin and them. I listen. I ain't crazy. I know. I know. I know. And you tell them, yes, he does say some crazy stuff, but he in that book.

1:01:17 Because when I love people in spite of who they are, I'm not just loving them. I'm loving the God in them. And here's when it get deep, y'all. 805 looking real sketchy right now. Here's when it get deep. Here's when it get deep. Here's when it get deep. Y'all ain't ready for this. It's some people that don't even honor the God in themselves. But I've got to honor the God that's in them even when they don't know it. that's how deep it has to be it could be an atheist that don't even acknowledge God and I still love them because whether they know it or not God is in them he is the air I breathe you ain't even alive without God you call it whatever it's the universe no it's not it's Yahweh but since you want to call it universe call it what you want to call it but I call his name Jesus and whatever you want to call it you can sage it you can put your incense on it you can horoscope it you can do whatever you want to do you can act like it ain't real but greater is he that is in me than he that's in the world you don't have to acknowledge God I see God in you whether you see it or not the heartbeat you didn't pay for that's God that breath you just took that's God You got the activity of your limbs, that's God.

1:02:47 You got paint keeping one car on one side of the road and your car on one side. That paint ain't keeping you safe. An angel did that. that's why I treat everybody with respect that's why I get in trouble and I don't care I'm going to my grave I'm going to my grave loving everybody you hear what I'm saying I'm going to my grave loving everybody I'm going to my grave loving everybody because when I do it to the least of these I've done it to my Savior does that make sense does that really make sense what time is 8 o'clock alright I'm going to give it to you and next week we'll walk through it a little slower okay? Y'all ready?

1:03:53 These are 16 tips to improving your church hospitality matter of fact I'm not even going to try it what's the number 16? What's half of 16? 8? Let me give you the first 8 and then we'll finish it next week number one the first 10 minutes are key some of you are going to understand it without an explanation but i'll explain a little bit more next week from the parking lot to the front door 10 minutes first touch at the door 10 minutes that's why nasty ushers are not allowed because you didn't kill somebody's spirit i'm up here and done worked on the sermon for two weeks and you done killed the opportunity for them to get the word because you at the door talking about This way, sanctuary full. That's not how you talk to nobody. I don't care how full the sanctuary is. I'm so sorry. It's full. Let me look for you a seat. There was one lady who could not walk well.

1:04:46 She had issues and she came in, a visitor. They flew in from Florida. Ain't no seats in the sanctuary. That's not how you talk to anybody. oh i'm about to get in trouble what time is it 801 uh-huh and some of you who got a seat every sunday and sleep through the half the message when you see a visitor a guest you ought to get up give your seat you go downstairs and i'm gonna say this straight up there's coming a day where i'm gonna see those visitors walking in and I'm going to ask members of fellowship, I need five of you to stand, go downstairs and relieve your seat so a guest can sit down. Nobody said deacons got to sit on the front row.

1:05:37 That's why this whole row clear right now because I got sick of people sleeping on the front row. Half engaged, on the phone, sleep, doing everything, just full distraction. One man slept with his mouth open sitting in this chair a month ago. And in the middle of my sermon, I guess he got tired of it, got up and walked out in the middle of my sermon. I said, I got something for that. These are now seats for new members who join. It's too much distraction. So no, no, just clear the whole road. And I'm going to start clearing some other roads. because guests ought to be priority so when the joy team gets established one of the things we're going to establish is the ability for visitors to let us know before they come so we're not struggling to welcome them in they get a pleasant experience from the door so you let us know i'm visiting the church we have your name somebody greets you somebody seats you somebody attends to you and you have a pleasant experience from beginning to end and if you didn't know we you got to do a better job as church family to say if you're visiting we have something on the website for you to sign up and let them know you're coming because pastor got some strawberry candy and butterscotch for you and i want you to get your church candy from the pastor you know i'm being facetious but you know what i'm saying that's where we headed before 2026 ends let the church say man is it 802 let's ride it's 803 we got it see right i get caught up but but am i making sense deacons y'all know what i'm saying y'all know what i'm saying i'm not coming for nobody but i'm saying you you being on the front row don't make you a deacon it's not about where you sit it's where you serve it's where you serve it's where you serve it's where you serve it's not about a seat ain't about a seat ain't about no seat now you put me wherever you want to power gonna follow you not the chair put me in the balcony i set it off on the second row of the balcony

1:07:49 they'll look up and say well fire in the balcony number two your website is where most people will visit first uh-huh just write it down your website is where most people visit first number three making a stranger introduce themselves to a new congregation is more intimidating than welcoming for strangers and i'm gonna explain that next week you know people stand you up where you from you know and i'm not talking about what i do when i say where where you're from literally call out your state. Their churches literally hang you the mic when they realize they're so unaccustomed to visitors. Stand up and tell us what church you remember of, where you're from, and your name, and your family member.

1:08:37 My name is Susan Penny. I'm a member of Fellowship. Look, in the old school, saying, I belongs to. Fellowship Chicago, 4543 South Princeton Avenue, where the Reverend Reginald Wayne Sharp Jr. is my pastor. And I'm here visiting with Lorraine Shropshire and Josephine. you better ran somebody away trying to you just doing look sometimes we do too much some people just want to visit and be comfortable now all of this comes from a catholic church that that that that was teaching their church how to be more hospitable so i i gave credit to it on the back of the page but we'll go deeper later because it's 805 and nobody waved at me you waved Yes I did Yes I did Number four Learn how to talk to your pastor correctly All right.

1:09:44 I'm laid back, but I'll lean up real quick. I'm just playing. Number four, make your nursery, first touch room, et cetera, easy to find, well-marked, clean, and safe. Uh-huh. Fine. Easy to find. That's really the key word. Whatever you got going on. We had new members fellowship and we were told new members didn't know where the fellowship hall was. Why would they know they knew members? Some never been there. So we assumed, you see, and we know what assume means.

1:10:19 Number five, have someone who is easy to find station at a prominent place. stationed at a prominent place to answer questions give literature make recommendations y'all got that number six make sure your bathrooms are well marked clean and easy to find and somebody said and work don't do too much it's 807 number seven signage matters signage matters and then number eight and we're going to stop here. Don't have a million announcements. y'all got that i pray tonight's been helpful i pray that this series doesn't just make you a better church member i hope it makes you a better christian and i pray that you find a way to add hospitality to your life where you work your home your relationships when you invite folk over take pride in taking care of people because hospitality what it heals let's try it again because i kind of messed up the moment all right rewind take pride in being hospitable in your relationships your jobs and your homes because hospitality it heals come on let's give god praise tonight I'm good we we look three minutes after 805 but we good come on and praise God for this lesson let's finish it together next week I want you to stand with me stand with me don't don't don't start putting on your purse and your coats because we got to open doors the church and lift the offering amen amen amen would you stand with me I want you to do something that the lady did to my Hamptonian brother who tried me.

1:12:22 Lay your hands on somebody's shoulder and say namaste. Tell them the divinity in me greets the divinity in you. Say the divinity in me honors the divinity in you. Tell them the Jesus in me honors the Jesus in you and look somebody in the face and be very serious when you say it you are not alone you are not alone God sees you I see you and we getting through every season together come on and give God praise doors of the church are open doors of the church are open doors of the church are open if you're here and you want to accept Christ tonight you want to join this church tonight you can do that tonight you don't have to wait for Sunday you can do it tonight you can do it tonight you can do it tonight you can do it tonight doors of the church are open and they're always open come on to a hospitable church we're not perfect but we're on our way if you want to join tonight come on my sister come on my brother you can join tonight tonight tonight tonight come on one time let's say speak to my heart