El Paso, does this well.  The hospitality of El Paso households is something an army family told me last year was AMAZING about their time in El Paso.  “We felt like we were part of their family,” the wife said as she told me how their neighbors invited them to all their celebrations and frequent cookouts. 

Welcoming people into our homes can become a big part of how people come to know Christ.  Spiritual conversations and prayer together with people outside our family as they spend time in our homes make a strong impact on the faith of everyone involved.

Showing hospitality to people outside our family and friendship circles is a very biblical way of life. (Luke 14:13-14, Hebrews 13:2, Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:8-9)

COVID Restrictions on hospitality challenge this powerful source of spiritual vibrance in our households.  As I mentioned in my sermon this week (watch it here), there have always been situations that endanger, limit, or restrict hospitality (crisis, plague, persecution to name a few).  We are in one of those “out of the ordinary” situations now, and guidelines are being updated week-to-week, region to region. Each of our households will need to consider safety while also considering the deep live-giving value of open doors.  While house parties and other up-close gatherings are not options at the moment, how might we use Skype, Facetime, other internet services, or even speaker phones to bridge some gaps and build relationships with others?

Don Evert’s book, The Spiritually Vibrant Home addresses the topic of barriers to open doors in the section he titles, “Which is Better, A Safe Submarine or a Risky Rescue Ship.” It is Pre-Covid, but still provides helpful guidance. Check it out this week (see the book info down below). Other Barna Research findings about hospitality shared in Evert’s book include:
Finding 1. Hospitality is connected to God’s mission.
Finding 2. Hospitality strengthens faith formation.
Finding 3. Hospitality enlarges the extended household in helpful ways.
Finding 4. Spiritually vibrant homes rely on others.
Finding 5. Some people struggle with hospitality.

Stewardship Challenge:  With at-home hospitality on our radar, what changes in routine or what home upgrades would help you have open doors in the coming year? What would enable safe connections with outsiders during this COVID crisis?  What plans can you make now so that you can start new hospitality once the circumstances of COVID allow your doors to truly open up?

This week’s topic is a big challenge for us to consider engaging in during increased covid restrictions, but God’s people have never just given up just because things are hard!  Keep learning, keep praying, keep loving and always remember the assurances of Romans 8:34-39:

“Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

May the Lord bless your week and fill your household with His Spirit.in Christ’s peace,

Pastor Stephen

Want to dig deep into the research behind our fall series? The basis for our study this fall is The Spiritually Vibrant Home: The Power of Messy Prayers, Loud Tables, and Open Doors by Don Everts.

The Senior VP of Research at Barna Group explains, “The Spiritually Vibrant Home unpacks the research and what it all means for our households. This book provides Christians with a roadmap to developing intentional rhythms that nurture their spirit, honor their heavenly Father, and pass on their faith to the next generation.”

Find this book and related resources developed by the Barna Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries at https://www.lhm.org/households/