Hey, happy Friday, everyone!

We had the privilege on Sunday of celebrating the opening of LCC’s fourth Hospitality House, which is right behind me. This one is in partnership with Tabor Lutheran Church.

As I stood there, I was reminded that sometimes the Gospel becomes very tangible. Sometimes it looks like a meal. Sometimes it may look like someone sitting beside a person who’s hurting. And sometimes it looks like a house.

Jesus says in Matthew 25:35, “I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.” And when those listening asked Him when they had ever done that, Jesus answered, “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

So think about that.

Jesus places Himself right there with the person in need. When we welcome the stranger, we welcome Jesus.

And that’s really what our hospitality House ministry is all about.

It begins with something very practical. A congregation looks at a property it already has — a parsonage, an apartment, another unused space — and asks a kingdom question, a mission question: “Lord, how could You use what we have, what You’ve already placed in our hands, to be a blessing to someone else?”

And suddenly, an unused building becomes something more.

It becomes a safe place for a family facing a crisis.
It becomes a place where someone can sleep without wondering where they will be tomorrow.
It becomes a place where a congregation then can give more than just a roof over the head.

They can surround this family with the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ.

But the real ministry isn’t just the house. The house simply opens the door.

The ministry happens when God’s people walk through that door, in journey with the people He has placed in front of them.

That is Christian hospitality.

And it makes me wonder if there is a question here for each of us this weekend.

What has God already placed in your hands that He might want to use for someone else?

Maybe it isn’t a house.
Maybe it’s your time.
Your experience.
Your resources.
Your ability to listen.
Or maybe an invitation to sit at the table.
Or simply your willingness to notice someone who feels like a stranger.

Because Jesus reminds us that these moments are far more significant than we sometimes realize.

When we welcome them, we welcome Him.

So as we head into the weekend, keep your eyes open. You never know who God may be placing in front of you — and you never know when opening a door for someone else might actually become an opportunity to welcome Jesus.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You so much that You welcomed us when we were strangers, and You now invite us to do the same. And when we welcome strangers, help us remember that we’re welcoming You. And would you continue to open our eyes and our hearts to those people that You put in front of us that we might serve and love them, just as You served and loved us first? We pray this in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Final Thought
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