Spring Home Group Series
Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
Jesus fed people spiritually with the truth of God’s Word. Jesus also fed people physically with miraculous bread and fish multiplied for many. He extended a wedding celebration in Cana with good wine. He shared meals with religious rulers and rebellious reprobates. He used a meal of broiled fish to prove that He was victorious over the tomb and fully alive.
And Jesus continues to feed us today. He feeds the Church with His very body and blood in Holy Communion. We gather together as the Body of Christ each week to celebrate a meal.
God uses food to deliver His blessings. This Home Group Series is going to explore how God uses the gift of food to sustain us both spiritually and physically. You will grow in your Biblical knowledge of Faith & Food and become more reflective in your daily eating.
Knowing the peace and the power of the cross leads us to proclaim the words of Scripture: “Oh, Taste and See that the Lord is Good!” (Psalm 34:8)
Session Overview
Session
/Topic
/Central Teaching
Session #1
/Growing
/God sustains our life through food
Session #2
/Cooking
/God invites us to participate in the blessing of food
Session #3
/Thanking
/God engages many people in the gift of food
Session #4
/Eating
/God blesses us with companions
Activities
Each session has some corresponding activities. These activities are optional for your home group and should be adapted to fit your needs. These are opportunities for your group to try something new together
Session / ActivitySession #1
/ -Offer to help a neighbor prepare his or her garden.-Grow a plant as a home group.
-Volunteer at St. Luke’s God’s Glory Community Garden.
-Visit a farmer’s market.
Session #2
/ -Every person brings one ingredient to make a dish to share.-Make Beer Bread as a group.
-Share a recipe from a loved one in your life who you consider a Godly man or woman.
-Make meal for someone in need.
Session #3
/ -Make a meal as a way to thank someone.-Have a ‘Thanksgiving in May’ meal.
-Share a table prayer or a way your family says grace before meals.
-Pray together at a public meal.
Session #4
/ -Inviteat least one non-group member or family to join for a fellowship meal.-Volunteer as conversationalists/helpers at soup kitchen.
-Have a picnic or BBQ.
Session #1: Growing
GETTING STARTED
Make sure everyone knows each other. Have all participants tell about their experience with gardening. Have someone offer up a prayer for God’s blessing on the study.
WATCH SESSION 1 VIDEO
Where do you get most of your food? Where did it come from before the grocery store? Discuss whether or not it is important to know the source of your food. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to growing your own food.
DIG IN
Read Psalm 34:8 and discuss the following statements.
Growing, cooking, thanking, and eating food are an opportunity to taste and see that the Lord is good.
We often overlook God’s active work in and through the blessing of food.
THE STUDY: GROWING
Read Genesis 2:15-17. Scripture begins in a garden with the Creator providing food for creatures to eat. Why does God explicitly invite Adam to eat from the garden? Why does God command Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Read Genesis 3:17-19. Sin leads to parched ground and frustrated farming. Sin disrupted Adam’s relationship with God and disrupted his food and farming. What does this tell us about food? How does sin disrupt food and farming today?
Read Jeremiah 14:1-10 & Jeremiah 31:10-14. God’s judgment came through famine; God’s mercy came through food. Why would God work His judgment and mercy through food? Does God still work this way? How does a full refrigerator and pantry hinder our ability to understand this section of Scripture?
Read John 20:11-18. Mary thinks that Jesus is the gardener. Is this a meaningless detail or an important symbol? How does the resurrection of Jesus restore the Garden of Eden? Discuss the following: Jesus came to tend the garden of creation.
How does Jesus act as a “gardener” in your life? What seeds does He sow? What weeds does He pluck? What life does He cause to grow?
Read Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 & Mark 4:26-32. These are just a few examples of Jesus using the image of growing food to describe growing in faith. Why does He connect faith and food in this way? Can we understand Jesus’ words if we know nothing about growing seeds?
How often did Jesus reflect on faith and food? How often do you reflect on faith and food? Why might we do this less often than other generations of God’s people? Does this impact our ability to reflect on Scripture?
WRAPPING UP
Be sure to thank your hosts and begin planning a service activity and fellowship event. Share prayer requests and close with a time of prayer together.
Session #2: Cooking
GETTING STARTED
Make sure everyone knows each other. Have all participants tell about their favorite food to cook. Have someone offer up a prayer for God’s blessing on the study.
WATCH SESSION 2 VIDEO
On a scale of burning water to Top Chef, what are your cooking skills? How did you learn to cook? Discuss the joys and frustrations of cooking.
DIG IN
Read Numbers 11:7-9 and discuss the following statements.
God invites us to combine different ingredients and create different meals when he told us to rule and have dominion over creation.
Cooking uses God’s gifts of creativity, knowledge, and science.
THE STUDY: COOKING
Read Exodus 16:4-8. Manna was God’s gift of bread from heaven. How was God testing the Israelites through this manna? Why did God deliver this food in such a miraculous way?
Read Exodus 16:22-30. Moses gave the people a ‘recipe’ to follow when he told them to bake bread before the Sabbath. Some of them deviated from the recipe. What happens when you deviate from a cooking recipe? What happens when you deviate from God’s recipe for obedience?
Read Matthew 14:13-21 and John 2:1-11. Jesus took the ingredients on hand – bread, fish, water – and made a miracle. Why did Jesus use the ingredients on hand? Could He have done a miracle with nothing? Is there a reason Jesus’ uses what is around Him to perform miracles?
Read Acts 2:42-47. The early church was a diverse group of people with many different backgrounds, talents, and resources. God mixed them together to make the church.
How is your home group a diverse mix of people? How is the Kingdom of God a diverse mix of people? Does God still use the ingredients on hand (people and resources) to perform Kingdom work?
Read 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Paul uses a cooking metaphor – yeast leavening bread – to describe the work of Jesus in our lives. What does yeast do to a lump of dough? What does Jesus do to us through faith? Can a person fully understand Paul’s words if he or she has never made bread?
How is God like a master chef? What are some ways that God has used you to be a part of something bigger than yourself? How can understanding cooking help us understand the work of God?
WRAPPING UP
Be sure to thank your hosts and solidify a service activity and fellowship event. Share prayer requests and close with a time of prayer together.
Session #3: Thanking
GETTING STARTED
Make sure everyone knows each other. Have all participants tell about a memorable pre-meal prayer. Have someone offer up a prayer for God’s blessing on the group’s time together.
WATCH SESSION 3 VIDEO
Do you pray before a meal? Do you pray before all meals or just some meals? What about snacks and desserts? Do you pray in public or only at home? Discuss why you do or do not pray before eating.
DIG IN
Read 1 Timothy 4:4-5 and discuss the following statements.
God performs extraordinary work through the most ordinary material.
Praying a blessing over a meal implicates us in the food we eat.
THE STUDY: THANKING
Read Leviticus 7:11-18. Thank offerings in the Old Testament involved food. Why would food be used to give thanks to God? Do you think it was difficult for the Israelites to depart with their food in this way? How do we use food to give thanks to God?
Read 2 Chronicles 5:12-14. What happened when the Israelites gave thanks to God? Is praying a blessing more than thanking God for the food? Does prayer invite God’s presence into our midst? How might God’s presence change your eating?
Read Isaiah 25:6-12. Isaiah provides a vision of God preparing a feast. How do the people respond to this feast? How does saying grace help us recognize the greater feast that is to come at Christ’s return?
Read John 6:11 and Mark 14:22. Jesus prayed before eating. If all creation was made through Jesus, then why would He give thanks for food He created? Does this show us something about the person of Jesus? Does this provide an example of what we should do before eating? Both?
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Paul encourages Christians to pray without ceasing and give thanks in all circumstances. Should we thank God only for our food? What else causes you to pray and give thanks?
Do you always pray the same table prayer or a different one? Do you prefer to memorize a table prayer or make it up on the spot? Do you only pray for your food or other matters?
Discuss: We should thank God for everything & everyone involved in giving us food.
WRAPPING UP
Be sure to thank your hosts. Have you completed a service activity or fellowship event? Share prayer requests and close with a time of prayer together.
Session #4: Eating
GETTING STARTED
Make sure everyone knows each other. Have all participants tell the group about their favorite food to eat. Have someone offer up a prayer for God’s blessing on the group’s time together.
WATCH SESSION 4 VIDEO
What is the best part about eating? Do you prefer to eat alone or with others? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to eating alone. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of eating with others.
DIG IN
Read Proverbs 15:17 and discuss the following quotations.
“When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you’re inviting a person into your life."
Maya Angelou
“I saw few die of hunger; of eating, a hundred thousand.”
Ben Franklin
THE STUDY: EATING
Read Genesis 2:18-22. God made humans for community. Why is it not good for us to be alone? What blessings come from sharing life together over a meal? Why is eating together often a communal experience?
Read Acts 10:9-16,34-43. Peter grew up Jewish following strict rules about not eating with Gentiles. God showed Peter that those rules had been fulfilled in Jesus. Why did God go to such lengths to unite the early church’s eating? What occurs when we eat with people from different backgrounds and nationalities?
Read Ezekiel 3:1-5. You are what you eat. Ezekiel was instructed to eat a scroll and speak God’s word. How is studying God’s word liken to spiritual eating? What nourishment do you gain from Bible study and prayer? Is it better to do this alone or in the company of others?
Read Matthew 26:26-29. Gathered together to eat a meal, Jesus gave the church a new meal to celebrate: The Lord’s Supper. Why would God deliver forgiveness through eating? How does the Lord’s Supper give us fellowship with God? How does the Lord’s Supper give us fellowship with one another?
Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, 33-34. The church in Corinth was abusing the Lord’s Supper. Some were eating to excess while others went hungry. What sins do we need to watch out for in our daily eating? How can we correctly use God’s gift of eating?
Discuss: Growing, cooking, thanking, and eating are all opportunities for reflecting on God’s work in and through food.
WRAPPING UP
Be sure to thank your hosts. Be sure to continue caring for one and meet as a group to share Christian life together. Share prayer requests and close with a time of prayer together.
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