Love Your Church - Week 3 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 — WELCOMING: GRACE-CENTERED HOSPITALITY

We are tempted to show partiality based on appearance, accent, age, affluence, ancestry, affinity, or achievement. The tendencies are deep and mostly invisible to us — we gravitate toward people who look and think and earn like us, and we call it chemistry or comfort. James exposes this plainly: if you pay attention to the one in fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “Sit down at my feet,” you have become “judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:2–4). God outlines four compelling motivations for not discriminating. First, partiality doesn’t reflect God’s grace — God has chosen many of the poor to become “rich in faith.” Second, it doesn’t reflect God’s kingdom, in which everything is turned upside down and a poor custodian may receive more honour than a big-name pastor on the last day. Third, it violates God’s royal law of loving your neighbour as yourself — Jesus taught that neighbours include foreigners and enemies. Fourth, it fails to reflect God’s mercy toward us: cursed are those who show no mercy, for they will not receive it.

Our proper response to the grace shown us in Christ is the extension of grace to others. Think practically about what this looks like at a Sunday gathering. Someone in your church is there for the very first time — perhaps dragged by a friend, perhaps a bit nervous. Who is going to speak to them? Who will make sure they don’t eat their lunch alone? Author Rebecca McLaughlin offers three rules for gatherings: “An alone person in our gathering is an emergency. Friends can wait. Introduce a newcomer to someone else.” Don’t attend corporate worship as a consumer watching a show but as a minister eager to welcome and to bless. The posture of a welcoming church is this: to all who are weary and need rest, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who sin and need a Savior — this church opens wide her doors in the name of Jesus, the friend of sinners.
Paul’s vision of the body in 1 Corinthians 12 is directly relevant here: the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” and the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” The seemingly weaker or less honourable parts of the body are indispensable. We are to treat one another accordingly, showing honour to those who often receive less of it. The most important person to welcome in your church may be the one who least resembles you.

Questions - WELCOMING Read James 2 v 1-13

1. How does James show that favoritism is not just unhelpful but wrong (v 4-7)?

2. Why is it such a serious thing to do (v 8-13)?

3. Why does favoritism dishonor not only other people but God himself? And conversely, why is acting without partiality a reflection of God’s own character and actions?

4. What types of favoritism are particularly tempting in your setting? What are you and your church most likely to discriminate on the basis of?

5. In what ways is your church strong at welcoming outsiders? Where could it improve?

6. How can you personally be a part of that? What might need to change about the way you act or speak, both at church gatherings and during the week?

01/09/2026

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

New to church?

Coming to a new place for the first time can be a bit daunting, and at Grace, we want you to feel welcome and secure when you visit us for the first time. As a church, we seek to be and make disciples of Jesus Christ. We aim to be clear and relevant in all we do so that everyone is welcomed, included and helped.

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service ends. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band. We typically have 2 songs lasting approximately 10 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray or read a small passage from the bible. At this stage, we usually have a short talk specifically for the children, before they go off to Junior Church. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song.

images: Services

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years).
Junior Church (years 1-6)
Sunday Ignite (years 7-11)
Young people (15+ years) Stay in service.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome and songs. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the children's talk, someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Home Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Mission
Youth Work

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Pastor Simon Percy

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