We live in a community in which the so-called “hospitality industry” is by far the largest factor in our local economy. Because we live in such a special place, many of us through the years have played host to family and friends who have visited us here. Today we shall examine the biblical roots of the concept of hospitality. Therefore, let us with open hearts and minds, worship God.
Pastoral Prayer
We gather to praise Thee, our Creator and our God, for the gift of life, and for all that life has meant to us through the years. We thank Thee for family and friends who have added richness and texture to our existence. We thank Thee also for strangers who came into our lives, and by that connection, soon became fast friends. We confess before Thee, our Creator, that all of us have become who we are in large part because of all the people we have known and the ways in which we came to know them. We thank Thee for the tapestry that each of our lives has become because of all the threads of all the tapestries of other lives in our life.
We acknowledge our dependence on Thee, even when we seek to be utterly independent. We suppose that we have made ourselves to be who we are, conveniently overlooking the fact that we exist only because it is ultimately Thou who hast given us existence. Forgive us for trying to think of ourselves as being autonomous when instead we should perceives ourselves always to be subordinate to and subject to Thee. Convince us both of our potential and of our limitations, so that we always remain in Thy thrall and open to Thy direction.
We pray for those who are sick and dying, for people who have too little food or shelter, for the millions of people whose lives have been turned upside down by wars or natural disasters or famines. Bless those whose vocation it is to assist people in dire need. Give them the strength and tenacity required for their vocations, and keep their spirits strong in the face of monumental obstacles. Undergird the faith of all of us by the imputation of Thy love. These things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Now we pray together as he taught us, saying, Our Father….