Love Comes to the Welcome Table

Encounter: Read, listen to and meditate upon this week's 730 Challenge scriptures: 1 Corinthians 13–14, Nehemiah 6–10, Revelation 10–11, Psalm 46, 115, Proverbs 19

During my years as a homeschool mom, my daughter Meg and I spent countless hours in the kitchen with flour-dusted hands and sticky fingers, kneading dough that would slowly become warm, golden loaves of love. We often tied simple labels onto each loaf—Scripture verses reminding our neighbors that Jesus is the Bread of Life—and shared them with friends and those around us.

It was never rushed work. It was a labor of love that required patience, practice, and trust as we mixed, worked, watched, and waited for the quiet miracle of ordinary ingredients being transformed into something nourishing and beautiful.

I miss those moments with my daughter. So last Saturday night, I pulled out my old bread bowl and stayed up far too late making a simple loaf of bread—one I later served to you at the Lord’s Table. I could tell I was out of practice. The dough didn’t behave quite like it used to. But there was something deeply grounding about the process. Making bread and offering it to people you love has a way of satisfying the soul. It certainly did mine.

Bread-making and bread-sharing offer a powerful picture of the life of following Christ. We hear Jesus teach us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Perhaps He is speaking about more than food alone. Perhaps He is inviting us into the rhythms that shape love itself—patience, practice, trust, waiting, and care given day after day.

This week at The Welcome Table, we place a loaf of bread before us as a symbol of shared love. Bread is meant to be broken, given, and shared. Love is the same.

1 Corinthians 13 gives us the most piercing description of love in Scripture: patient, kind, humble, truthful, enduring. And Paul’s point is clear: without love, every spiritual gift loses its purpose. 

In Nehemiah 6–10, the people renew their covenant together. Love leads to repentance. Repentance leads to renewal. Renewal leads to joyful obedience.

Love is not just the feeling of Christmas—it is the foundation of our witness.

Reflect: 

This week, think about one way love has changed you. Then look around your life. Ask who needs that same love today.

Bread is meant to be shared. So is God’s love. Share your story—someone needs it.

Spiritual Practice: 

This week, we invite you into a simple, holy practice:

Bake a loaf of bread—and share it.

It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be given in love.

As you bake:

• Pray for the person who will receive it.

• Let the waiting remind you that love takes time.

• Let the warmth of the oven remind you that love is meant to be felt.

As you share:

• Offer it with a simple blessing: “This bread comes with love.”

• Share a story, a conversation, or even just a quiet moment.

• Let the bread say what words don’t always need to.

Why This Practice Matters

Baking bread slows us down. Sharing bread draws us closer. And together, they remind us that:

God’s love comes to us like bread— humble, nourishing, and freely given.

Bless the loaves with this prayer -

“God of Love, You feed us with what we need and invite us to share what we receive. As we bake and break bread this week, teach us to love patiently, generously, and joyfully. May our homes become small welcome tables of Your grace. Amen.”

Gather:

Share with one another what you experienced when making your loaf of bread. Maybe bring some to share with your small group. Pray for one another that you may become the bread for others to receive the nourishment of the spirit.