Wide Open, Week 17: Tourist or Pilgrim?
Hebrews 11:8-16 (NIV)
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Discussion Questions
Pastor Dave described the moment he realized he was moving through life like a tourist — consuming experiences, going faster, packing more in. Where in your own life do you recognize that posture most clearly right now?
The Greek word for pilgrim — parepidemos — means not just to "dwell among" but to "be present with." What would it look like for you to be genuinely present with the people and places in your ordinary daily life this week?
Barbara Brown Taylor wrote that reverence is the recognition of something greater than the self — something that reminds us we are not gods. What tends to create that sense of reverence in you, and how often do you make space for it?
Pastor Dave admitted he arrived on the Camino completely unprepared for the terrain and quickly realized he had packed far too much. What are you carrying in your own life right now — ambitions, worries, expectations, regrets — that you might need to shed to make it through the journey ahead?
He shared honestly about the grief he had been carrying from the past few years of denominational conflict and church transition — grief he hadn't made space for until he stopped. Is there something you've been moving too fast to grieve? What would it look like to finally make space for it?
Joyce Rupp's book noted that pilgrims expect the road to be difficult and even embrace adversity as necessary for transformation. How do you typically respond when things don't go as planned — with a tourist's disappointment or a pilgrim's acceptance?
Pastor Dave described struggling with entitlement at various points during his sabbatical — wanting an apology or a refund when something didn't deliver. Where does entitlement show up most quietly in your own heart, and what does gratitude look like as its antidote?
The closing quote described fellow travelers on the Bright Angel Trail not as tourists but as pilgrims — people who had come to a holy place hoping to stand in the presence of something greater than themselves. Where in your life right now are you standing in the presence of something greater — and are you taking the time to notice?
Pastor Dave closed with a blessing: travel lightly, embrace adversity, stay present, give thanks, and trust that God goes before you. Which part of that blessing do you most need to receive right now — and what would it look like to actually live it this week?
Stay Connected Each weekday, we share a brief reflection rooted in Scripture and designed to help you connect what we talk about on Sunday to the modern world we navigate every day. Whether we are walking through a specific book of the Gospel or exploring themes from our current sermon series, our goal is to provide a moment of peace, perspective, and prayer to start your day.
Visit our Daily Devotions page to subscribe or read the current series.