Have you ever noticed how much emphasis the Bible puts on eating together? It was the last activity Jesus took part in with the apostles before his betrayal and crucifixion (Matthew 26:17-30, Luke 22:7-23, Mark 14:12-26), and it was one of the first activities believers of the early church participated in after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 2:42-47). Matthew 22 (Jesus’ “Parable of the Great Feast”) even illustrates Heaven as “the story of a king preparing a great wedding feast for his son.” As a matter of fact, the word “feast,” is used 103 times in the Bible (NASB), and the word “eat” is used 471 times. There are so many instances in the Bible where food and fellowship go hand-in-hand, and that’s one of the reasons it brought me great joy when I was asked by staff at Grace Klein Community to host an Agape Feast for families of my community in my home. So you may be asking, what is an Agape Feast? Well, maybe my story can help to answer that, or at least illustrate the values behind it.
So on the evening of the feast, six people arrived at my apartment. The group consisted of different ages, different interests, and different walks of life. One was a teacher at Samford University, two were children being homeschooled, and we even had a couple that was preparing for a mission trip. Each had their own life story, and their own unique testimony, but we all shared one important thing in common, we were brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is what we were there to celebrate!
We first celebrated our unity in Christ in the meal we shared. Each of us contributed a piece to the meal, from chocolate cakes to casseroles, from fruit plates to Chick-Fil-A nuggets. The result of each family’s generosity and hard work was a delicious and plentiful meal that left no guest unsatisfied. When the body of Christ works together for His glory, wonderful things happen, and that was reflected in a delicious and balanced meal that night. Also, our consumption of the meal together gave us a unique opportunity of fellowship and discipleship.
During and after our meal, we went around the table, sharing how God had worked in us in the past week. The children shared about their school, and the unique recreational opportunities they enjoyed throughout the week, the teacher about his students and work, and a friend about his perseverance from drug addiction. Then, the couple preparing for their first mission trip shared. They are headed to Kwathu Children’s Home in Zambia, Africa, and shared some of their anxieties, particularly about flight with the group. This gave many of us an opportunity to speak into their lives, as most of the rest of the group had experience with international travel! We encouraged them, shared our stories, and the conversations went deeper. By the end of the night, we had each spoken into each other’s life in some way, providing a window into each of our walks with Christ, and discipling each other in our spiritual strengths and weaknesses.
Prayer also filled this night, as we prayed for one another, for our community, and for events around the world, as the attacks in Paris had just occurred the day before. We gave thanks to the Lord for our food and for His love, and celebrated Him in the growth of our friendships and spiritual walks. When everyone left that night, I reflected on what God had just done. Each of the people present at that meal contributed to this experience, whether it was a plate of food or a well thought-out story, and each seemed to come out with a closer relationship to the others present, and to the Lord. Grace Klein Community’s website describes the intentions of an Agape Feast like this:
“We are planning the Agape Feasts to emulate the examples of the early church where they came together for fellowship, prayer, to share food with glad and generous hearts, to celebrate their unity in Christ, and to anticipate His return. The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
After all of my hard work and preparation in hosting, the joy and generosity of my guests, and the amazing time of food, fellowship, prayer, and discipleship we experienced, I would say that our time together reflected that, and if you ever get the chance to be a guest or even a host, of an Agape Feast, I highly recommend it! You may at first think it’s just eating together, but as Jesus showed us before the crucifixion, and the Apostles showed us after the Ascension, sometimes eating together is the most Biblical and God-glorifying thing you can do.
Have you ever noticed how much emphasis the Bible puts on eating together? It was the last activity Jesus took part in with the apostles before his betrayal and crucifixion (Matthew 26:17-30, Luke 22:7-23, Mark 14:12-26), and it was one of the first activities believers of the early church participated in after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 2:42-47). Matthew 22 (Jesus’ “Parable of the Great Feast”) even illustrates Heaven as “the story of a king preparing a great wedding feast for his son.” As a matter of fact, the word “feast,” is used 103 times in the Bible (NASB), and the word “eat” is used 471 times. There are so many instances in the Bible where food and fellowship go hand-in-hand, and that’s one of the reasons it brought me great joy when I was asked by staff at Grace Klein Community to host an Agape Feast for families of my community in my home. So you may be asking, what is an Agape Feast? Well, maybe my story can help to answer that, or at least illustrate the values behind it.
So on the evening of the feast, six people arrived at my apartment. The group consisted of different ages, different interests, and different walks of life. One was a teacher at Samford University, two were children being homeschooled, and we even had a couple that was preparing for a mission trip. Each had their own life story, and their own unique testimony, but we all shared one important thing in common, we were brothers and sisters in Christ, and that is what we were there to celebrate!
We first celebrated our unity in Christ in the meal we shared. Each of us contributed a piece to the meal, from chocolate cakes to casseroles, from fruit plates to Chick-Fil-A nuggets. The result of each family’s generosity and hard work was a delicious and plentiful meal that left no guest unsatisfied. When the body of Christ works together for His glory, wonderful things happen, and that was reflected in a delicious and balanced meal that night. Also, our consumption of the meal together gave us a unique opportunity of fellowship and discipleship.
During and after our meal, we went around the table, sharing how God had worked in us in the past week. The children shared about their school, and the unique recreational opportunities they enjoyed throughout the week, the teacher about his students and work, and a friend about his perseverance from drug addiction. Then, the couple preparing for their first mission trip shared. They are headed to Kwathu Children’s Home in Zambia, Africa, and shared some of their anxieties, particularly about flight with the group. This gave many of us an opportunity to speak into their lives, as most of the rest of the group had experience with international travel! We encouraged them, shared our stories, and the conversations went deeper. By the end of the night, we had each spoken into each other’s life in some way, providing a window into each of our walks with Christ, and discipling each other in our spiritual strengths and weaknesses.
Prayer also filled this night, as we prayed for one another, for our community, and for events around the world, as the attacks in Paris had just occurred the day before. We gave thanks to the Lord for our food and for His love, and celebrated Him in the growth of our friendships and spiritual walks. When everyone left that night, I reflected on what God had just done. Each of the people present at that meal contributed to this experience, whether it was a plate of food or a well thought-out story, and each seemed to come out with a closer relationship to the others present, and to the Lord. Grace Klein Community’s website describes the intentions of an Agape Feast like this:
“We are planning the Agape Feasts to emulate the examples of the early church where they came together for fellowship, prayer, to share food with glad and generous hearts, to celebrate their unity in Christ, and to anticipate His return. The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
After all of my hard work and preparation in hosting, the joy and generosity of my guests, and the amazing time of food, fellowship, prayer, and discipleship we experienced, I would say that our time together reflected that, and if you ever get the chance to be a guest or even a host, of an Agape Feast, I highly recommend it! You may at first think it’s just eating together, but as Jesus showed us before the crucifixion, and the Apostles showed us after the Ascension, sometimes eating together is the most Biblical and God-glorifying thing you can do.
Have you ever noticed how much emphasis the Bible puts on eating together? It was the last activity Jesus took part in with the apostles before his betrayal and crucifixion (Matthew 26:17-30, Luke 22:7-23, Mark 14:12-26), and it was one of the first activities believers of the early church participated in after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 2:42-47). Matthew 22 (Jesus’ “Parable of the Great Feast”) even illustrates Heaven as “the story of a king preparing a great wedding feast for his son.” As a matter of fact, the word “feast,” is used 103 times in the Bible (NASB), and the word “eat” is used 471 times. There are so many instances in the Bible where food and fellowship go hand-in-hand, and that’s one of the reasons it brought me great joy when I was asked by staff at Grace Klein Community to host an Agape Feast for families of my community in my home. So you may be asking, what is an Agape Feast? Well, maybe my story can help to answer that, or at least illustrate the values behind it.
During and after our meal, we went around the table, sharing how God had worked in us in the past week. The children shared about their school, and the unique recreational opportunities they enjoyed throughout the week, the teacher about his students and work, and a friend about his perseverance from drug addiction. Then, the couple preparing for their first mission trip shared. They are headed to Kwathu Children’s Home in Zambia, Africa, and shared some of their anxieties, particularly about flight with the group. This gave many of us an opportunity to speak into their lives, as most of the rest of the group had experience with international travel! We encouraged them, shared our stories, and the conversations went deeper. By the end of the night, we had each spoken into each other’s life in some way, providing a window into each of our walks with Christ, and discipling each other in our spiritual strengths and weaknesses.
“We are planning the Agape Feasts to emulate the examples of the early church where they came together for fellowship, prayer, to share food with glad and generous hearts, to celebrate their unity in Christ, and to anticipate His return. The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”