What sort of people should we welcome to church?

In Old Testament days, the emphasis was on spiritual purity, and so the people of Israel were called to separation.

Jews were to be separate from Gentiles. No Gentiles were allowed in the temple.

Men were to be separate from women. You can still see this at the “wailing wall” in Jerusalem today.

People who in any way were not ritually pure were to temporarily stay away from worshiping congregation

All this changed in Jesus Christ. Jesus welcomes everyone, in spite of all our sins and imperfections, to experience God’s grace; and Jesus would unite us all with one another.

In Christ all barriers fall! As the Scripture says, “Christ is our peace, who makes us one, having broken down the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:14)

So we are not only to welcome all sorts of people into church; we are to “go into all the world” (Mark 16:15) to share the good news and love of God with all humanity.

Sunday’s Scripture Reading:
Acts 8:26–39

About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.