Week: Hospitality - having open hearts and open homes
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Loving God, You make Your home in our hearts. We are excited to explore more of what it means to open our hearts to the world.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Asaph
Matthew 25:35
Jesus said, ‘I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house.’
Matthew 25:35 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we are REFLECTING on one of the strangest things that the Bible says about hospitality!
Read by Asaph
Hebrews 13:1-2
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Remember to welcome strangers, because some who have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2 (NCV)
Welcoming people – being hospitable towards them – isn’t just a good thing that we can do for other people. Sometimes it can be good for us in unexpected ways too.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said that ‘anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’ What this means is that when we welcome people, when we’re kind to them, when we’re friends with them, it’s like we’re doing this to Jesus too. He’s there whenever we reach out with love for others.
And in today’s Bible verses Paul says something equally extraordinary; that sometimes, when we welcome strangers – when we show kindness to people we don’t know – we’re actually welcoming angels without realising it!
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: If we met an angel, what questions would we ask them?
Jesus was always open hearted towards everyone – that’s what it means to be hospitable. And he invites us to be like him.
Lord Jesus, we ASK You to help us become more like You. Help us to reach out with love towards everyone we meet, and help us to see You in those people.
As we come to the end of this week focusing on hospitality, let’s take a moment to be quiet and invite God to speak to our hearts.
Holy Spirit, we open our hearts to You. We welcome You into every part of our lives. Make us more like Jesus.
Lord Jesus, break our hearts with what breaks yours. Give us eyes to see those who feel unwelcome and unloved, and show us how we can reach out to them.
And Father God, fill our hearts with more and more of Your love for the world. We want to love the world and everything in it like You do.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Hebrews 13:1-2
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Remember to welcome strangers, because some who have done this have welcomed angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, we say YES to living with open hearts towards You and towards everyone we meet.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Matthew 25:35
Jesus said, ‘I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your house.’
Matthew 25:35 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Asaph is 9 years old. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his younger sister Adelina, father and mother. He enjoys riding his bike, camping, reading, playing flag football and watching Bible Project videos. Asaph is kind and smart and loves hanging out with friends!
