Eating Together As Family

When I was a kid I enjoyed watching "Yan Can Cook."  He was always so happy, positive, and the food he made looked simply delicious.  The ingredients of his dishes were typically easily available because he encouraged people to cook for themselves.  That makes sense, right?  It's fun to see contestants on "Iron Chef" cooking with truffles, foie gras, and shark fin, but who can source or afford these sorts of delicacies?  I have found food tastes better when you are hungry, and even more so when you have laboured over it yourself.  Putting effort into a dish that turns out beautiful is satisfying on many levels!

C.H. Spurgeon compared the preparation of a sermon to preparing a delicious meal.  With the saturation of TV cooking shows and the internet which have revolutionised cooking by providing access to techniques and recipes for everyone, I sometimes wonder if the same thing has happened with sermons.  When I was a kid there was one radio station which broadcast sermons and praise music.  It used to be people would queue up to grab a cassette tape or CD after the sermon at church if it was particularly meaningful.  Gone are the days of cassettes (a good thing really!) and most churches and preachers have internet websites, live message streaming, downloads, and podcasts without end.  Since we can be highbrow over our gourmet creations, proper coffee, or seared ahi, isn't it possible we can become sermon or church snobs, preferring delicate aromas and exotic flavours over simple roast beef and potatoes?

We all have unique tastes and preferences when it comes to food, and I expect this also applies when it comes to church and varied approaches to the preaching of God's Word.  An international cornucopia of sermons accessed via the internet is a luxury afforded us the early church did not possess.  The abundance of options can tempt us to become gourmets where presentation and plating is more important than nutrition!  In my life it seems the amount of food intolerance and allergies has increased dramatically, and I wonder if the same is true concerning Christians today.  There are themes and styles we avoid when possible.  We prefer sampling over feasting because we're really not hungry anyway.  We are full of doctrine but not necessarily full of the Spirit who has given us a spiritual appetite.  There's something special  and uniting about enjoying a family meal at home together which can't be duplicated, and I believe the same concerning gathering as the Body of Christ in your home church.  We don't have the power to choose what's for dinner, but we can receive nourishment for our soul from God.

Hebrews 10:23-25 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Let's consider one another and continue assembling and exhorting one another to "stir up love and good works."  It is impossible to obey the "one another" commands of the New Testament in isolation, regardless of the quality of a podcast.  Are you hungry for the Word?  Dig in yourself and share what God teaches you with others.  How long has it been since you sat down to share a sermon with your brothers and sisters in Jesus?  God will supply the hunger of your soul by His grace and the pure Word.