![]() As the host, and even as the guest, we can allow God to use us in our position to show Himself to someone who needs guidance, encouragement, or a listening ear. Each meal brought new opportunities to bring Jesus up in conversation, new ways to see Jesus in our fellowship, and new moments to praise Him for His grace and His generous provisions.īy keeping Jesus at the center of these meals, and sharing with glad and sincere hearts, Jesus was able to use them for His glory, bringing deeper relationships between His followers, and growing our numbers through new commitments to Christ. ![]() Some days, I would have the opportunity to spiritually guide someone, others I was spiritually guided. ![]() During one meal I would learn how to help and pray for a person in deep pain, and during another, I would share great laughter and joy with a friend celebrating an accomplishment. One night I could see the side of a friend that I had never seen before, another I could receive advice that would help me in my daily walk. Each invitation I was given, and each dinner I planned led to something new and different. They have come in the form of eating dinner at the table at a Monday Prayer Night and a Taco Wednesday. They have come in the form of inviting friends who were in town for a short time to dinner, and through sharing board game nights with friends while we snack on food from the GKC Trade Market. My “Come to the Table” experiences have come in many ways through this month, and even some before the challenge was issued. The goal was simply to provide our community with opportunities to give grace, show generous hearts, share in our joys and pains, and lead us all to Jesus in praise and thankfulness for the bread being broken and the life being shared. Your guest could be a stranger you want to become a new friend, a family member, or even a person with which you have a conflict to resolve. ![]() Your guests could be your neighbor down the street, a friend who just arrived in town, or that family that never gets invited to events because their kids are loud. The challenge was simple: Using food provided by the Grace Klein Community trade market, invite a guest over for a meal, put down your phones, listen and share. How can we recognize the importance of a meal shared with friends and fellow believers?ĭuring the month of January 2018, Grace Klein Community issued the “Come to The Table Challenge,” a challenge that would strive to bring community together to recognize the importance of, and recapture the joy in inviting a guest to our homes to share a meal. Yet in today’s American (and Western) culture, even among Christians, coming to the table, and sharing meals has been gradually replaced by grabbing a quick bite while you continue to work, or eating a meal while distracted by our phones, our laptops, or our televisions. To the early Christians, coming to each other’s tables, sharing meals in each other’s homes was an essential tenant of their Christian walk. It was put alongside selling all of their possessions, and meeting together in the temple, or church. “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God,” (Acts 2:46-47 NIV) was included alongside devoting themselves to the apostles’ teachings, fellowship, the Lord’s supper and prayer. The ways their lives changed were so dramatic that Luke found it important to write for future Christ followers. “Translating from the original Hellenistic Greek to English that means, “breaking moreover from house to house, bread they partook of food with gladness and sincerity of heart.” Three thousand people were baptized when the Holy Spirit came to the apostles during the Pentecost in Acts. “Klôntes te kat oikon arton metelembanon trophēs en agallesei kai aphelotēti kardias.” – Acts 2:46
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |