Welcome
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | June 28, 2026
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Read Matthew 10:40 – 42 (NIV)
Our text for today is a relatively short passage but contained in these three short verses we find some rather instructive words on how the Lord expects us to treat one another.
In various versions of the Bible, the key word in the first two verses of the text are translated as “receives” or “accepts” or as we find in the New International Version – welcomes.
“He who receives you receives me…”
“Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you…”
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me…”
Receives, accepts, welcomes…
Now, as I started thinking about that word “WELCOME,” a number of thoughts came to mind.
When you try to call someone who has a Verizon cellphone… if the call does not go through, you get a recorded message that says something to the effect of, “WELCOME to Verizon Wireless, the person you are calling is either out of the area or has a cellphone number that is no longer in service.”
In other words, we are so sorry you can’t reach your desired party, but we are really glad you stumbled onto our network.
When I boot up my computer and enter the correct password… the screen says “WELCOME” while the little circles spin until the desktop comes into view. It’s as if there is some little gatekeeper inside my laptop that says, “Ah, she knows the secret code we can let her into our world.”
When you visit a friend at their home, you may find a “WELCOME” mat outside of their door. Or if you visit certain businesses, you may find a sign that says “WELCOME” when you come across the threshold. It’s as if what they are really saying is… we are so very glad you stopped by, come on in and stay a while.
When we travel from city to city or drive across state lines or perhaps go from one country to another… we are likely to see a sign saying “WELCOME to” whatever the new place is where we have ventured.
And not only are there WELCOME signs… many of those destinations will also have a designated “WELCOME center” where you can find out about that location’s history as well as some of their more interesting attractions.
When you sign up for a new benefits program or switch to a new insurance carrier… you will likely receive a “WELCOME” packet filled with all kinds of information about the provider and the services that you are eligible to receive.
And when we attend a program, play or even a worship service… we are frequently greeted with words of WELCOME from someone who expresses their appreciation to everyone for coming out to that particular place at that particular time for that particular purpose.
And… if at some point in time we find ourselves uttering the words, “Thank you,” to someone for something… the standard response we are likely to receive in return is… “You’re WELCOME.”
Now, I did do a little research and found that Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “WELCOME” as a transitive verb which means “to greet hospitably and with courtesy or cordiality” or “to accept with pleasure, the occurrence or presence of something.”
As a noun, the word “WELCOME” is defined as “a greeting or reception usually upon arrival.” While as an adjective, the word “WELCOME” is defined as “1) received gladly into one's presence or companionship; 2) giving pleasure; received with gladness or delight especially in response to a need; or 3) willingly permitted or admitted.” (see WELCOME Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster)
Now, to be fully transparent, I chose the New Testament lesson and the title and theme for today’s sermon… WELCOME… at the beginning of last week… several days before two Supreme Court decisions were announced that will potentially leave hundreds of thousands of people who are already in our country… as well as countless others trying to seek asylum in the country… feeling anything but WELCOME.
And that is why it feels even more important that we explore this passage from Matthew’s Gospel which provides us with encouragement and enlightenment regarding how we, as believers, ought to be responding to others…
Because, as we think about the word WELCOME… it ought to suggest a sense of warmth, friendliness and happiness. And isn’t that how we want to be received and accepted into the places where we go… with warmth, friendliness and happiness?
Isn’t that how Jesus ought to be received and accepted into our hearts and into our lives… with warmth, friendliness and happiness… because we want Him to feel WELCOME?
And isn’t that how we are called to receive and accept others who we encounter… with warmth, friendliness and happiness… with a goal of making them feel WELCOME as well?
There is a contemporary Christian song entitled “Welcome into this Place” that has been recorded by a number of artists. The lyrics simply say:
Welcome into this place
Welcome into this broken vessel
You desire to abide in the praises of your people
So, We lift our hands
As, We lift our hearts
As, We offer up this praise unto your name
(Gary Oliver - Welcome Into This Place Lyrics & Meaning Gary Oliver - Welcome Into This Place Lyrics & Meaning)
Think about it for just a moment…
Imagine you walk into a church where you have never been before… you hear these words being sung… welcome into this place, welcome into this broken vessel…
It might cause you to stop and wonder, have I just walked into… a broken vessel?
You look around and everything looks like it has been done up very nicely… the flowers around the alter are beautiful… the pews look clean, the fans are blowing, the candles are burning… why would they be singing about a broken vessel?
Well the truth of the matter is… the lyrics do say welcome into this place… and as a visitor in that space… you should start to feel welcome… but the song is really about welcoming God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit into “this place” into “this broken vessel” …in other words… into us… into our hearts and our spirits.
Because the fact of the matter is that each of us has been broken inside in some small… or perhaps not so small way… at some point in time. Each of us bears the cracks and chips of a lifetime of stress and strife… of heartaches and heartbreaks… of difficulties and disappointments.
None of us has come through the battles of this life without a few scarred places.
And yet, God desires to come into our broken and fractured places… to reside in our hearts and abide in our praises… the praises of His people.
And when we are willing to WELCOME in one another… flaws and all…we are actually welcoming in the Christ who dwells inside the broken places in each one of us.
Which means we can ill-afford to turn away someone who appears to be less than perfect… because, in reality, that would mean we were turning away the Christ who abides inside of them.
When we fail to WELCOME, receive and accept anyone… regardless of temporary protected status, immigration status, or any other status… we fail to WELCOME, receive and accept Jesus.
It is in Matthew 25 beginning at verse 34 that we read these words of Jesus:
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
This takes us back to our text for the morning where verse 40 reads, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
The text goes on to say in verse 41, “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;”
But I want to invite us to listen to those two verses again as they appear in the Message Paraphrase:
To put this into context for us today… when I think about what it means for us to open our doors and our hearts to WELCOME in those who would come to be a part of the band of believers here at Ledgewood Christian Church… I am encouraged by these words of Christ:We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small.
“This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small.”
It was through the Prophet Zechariah that the Lord posed the question, “Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?” (Zech 4:10, MSG)
Simply put, it is perfectly okay when things start small so that we will not become overwhelmed by the work God has called us to do.
But perhaps someone is wondering, “What would that work be exactly?”
Well, according to the Great Commission, it would be to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that [Jesus has] commanded” (Matt 28:19-20)
All nations? Teach them to obey everything? Wait a minute that sounds like a whole lot of work… and we are relatively few in number…
Exactly. That is why we need to be encouraged that it’s okay to start small. When we open our doors and our hearts and WELCOME people in as we would WELCOME Christ… we are already headed in the right direction.
But once they have come… what are we supposed to do? Should we host grand banquets and throw ticker tape parades?
Not exactly. The last verse of our text says, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
The Contemporary English Version says it like this, “And anyone who gives one of my most humble followers a cup of cool water, just because that person is my follower, will be rewarded.”
It doesn’t take grandiose actions to receive the reward Christ has for us. It’s the little things that count and that identify us as followers of Christ… as true disciples.
As followers and disciples of Christ… we are called to do what Jesus would do… which means we are called to love and serve one another just as Jesus loves and serves us… in the big things and the seemingly insignificant.
For example, after Jesus washed the feet of the Disciples on the night of His betrayal, He told them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:14-15).
In biblical days, washing someone’s feet was one of the ways a guest was welcomed into the home of their host. After a somewhat long and tiresome journey across dirt roads on foot, often only in sandals… an arriving guest’s feet would be pretty grimy to say the least.
As a way of showing hospitality, the host would provide water for the guests to wash their feet or perhaps provide a servant to wash their feet for them… or in some instances, the host would wash the guests’ feet himself, just as Jesus did.
So, as you can imagine, washing someone’s feet can be a very intimate and loving act of kindness.
But washing the feet of someone you know will betray you… you know, someone like Judas… let’s just say that is the ultimate example of the unconditional love Christ has for all of us.
Now, when we show genuine hospitality to others… we are actually showing hospitality to our Lord. When we open our hearts and extend our hands to the strangers who arrive in our midst… we are literally taking and shaking the hand of Christ.
It is in the closing chapter of the book of Hebrews that we read:
We have been called to show kindness and compassion to others… including strangers…Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering (Hebrews 13:1 – 3).
In his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul wrote:
We were designed to be people that are welcoming of all… without regard for any differences that may exist between us… because at the end of the day… in spite of whatever differences there may be… there is only one Christ.Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:11 – 12)
And it is that one Christ who went to a cross at Calvary… so that we would all be WELCOME into God’s kingdom.
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians:
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
And so today, I want to encourage us to invite the Lord to have His own way with us as we pray for welcoming spirits that align with the will of God… to love God with all of who we are… heart, soul, mind, and strength… and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (see Mark 12:29 – 31).
May the Lord use us to WELCOME all of our neighbors as we would WELCOME Christ.
And if that is truly your prayer today, I want to invite you to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Have Thine Own Way, Lord! #588. Back
