Dear Saints,
My favorite holiday? Thanksgiving! The food’s awesome, but the best part is it isn’t cluttered by a bunch of things like gifts and events. It’s still a simple holiday – with a great banquet at its center – where we give thanks to God. Of course, we get hungry again, but that’s what leftovers are for.
God’s Word is fill with banquets, food, and drink. However, unlike Thanksgiving where we do all the work, God urges us to come to His feast, where He does all the work! To give us the nourishment He provides. He begs us “COME!” (Isaiah 55:1-5) Come, anyone … to feast on the rich bounty of His Word. He delights in feeding us as often as we’ll give Him our ear to listen.
We can attend God’s banquet to be fed by His Word anytime we like. At worship on Sundays and Wednesdays – at home in our prayers and daily devotions – at work or in the car listening to music and podcasts. Our souls can be nourished by His Word anywhere! Try the many links on our FLC Homepage.
And once nourished, we become “the Bread of Life” for others who are hungering. Like the disciples who were given bread and fish to feed the 5000+, God calls us to use the over abundance of His grace and mercy to feed the hungry masses in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schoolyards.
Fifty-two years ago, a small group in Calvert County heard God say, “Come! Eat!” (See the story here!) They came together – inviting the entire county through a newspaper ad – in a local living room one Sunday. They didn’t worry they didn’t have enough. They trusted God to provide. And He did! That small group, by God’s grace, grew into First Lutheran Church today. They feasted, as we feast, on God’s Word. So, let’s not worry about being stingy with the food God provides. As the disciples found out when they collected the twelve baskets of leftovers, there’s plenty more where that came from. Enjoy the feast! Invite others to “Come!”
In God’s Love,
Pastor Jim