From the very beginning, the church was not only a people gathered in rows to hear teaching, but a family gathered around tables to share life.
In Acts 2, we get a beautiful picture of the earliest Christian community. After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the believers devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” They worshiped together, prayed together, shared what they had, and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. Their life together was marked by joy, generosity, simplicity, and deep fellowship.
This pattern of gathering around the table became an important part of the early church’s life. The New Testament even refers to these shared meals as “love feasts” in Jude 12. These gatherings were more than casual meals. They were sacred reminders that the church is a family formed by the love of Jesus. Around the table, social barriers came down. The rich and poor, young and old, new believers and mature disciples all shared one meal as one body.
The table has always held deep meaning in the story of God. Jesus often taught around tables. He welcomed sinners, ate with outsiders, fed the hungry, broke bread with His disciples, and gave us a lasting picture of His kingdom through a meal. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered His disciples around a table and gave them bread and a cup as a way to remember His body given and His blood poured out.
Because of this, meals in the life of the church have never been merely about food. They are about remembrance. They are about fellowship. They are about hospitality. They are about becoming the kind of people who make room for one another because Christ has made room for us.
At Rise Community, we set aside one Sunday every quarter for what we call Love Feast Sunday. On these Sundays, we take a break from our normal Sunday rhythm. Instead of moving through our usual routine, we slow down. We gather around the table. We share a meal. We enjoy conversation. We create space to know one another, encourage one another, and remember that church is not just a service we attend. It is a family we belong to.
Love Feast Sunday is not a step away from worship. It is an expression of worship.
When we sit across the table from one another, we remember that the gospel creates a new family. When we share food, we remember the generosity of God. When we make room for someone new, we practice the hospitality of Jesus. When we laugh, listen, pray, and eat together, we participate in a deeply Christian practice that has shaped the people of God for centuries.
The early church understood that spiritual formation happens not only through sermons, songs, and prayers, but also through shared life. Something holy happens when God’s people slow down long enough to be present with one another. The table becomes a place where strangers become friends, friends become family, and the love of Christ becomes visible.
Of course, the New Testament also reminds us that the table must reflect the heart of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul corrected the church because their gathering had become divided and self-centered. Some had plenty while others went without. Their meal no longer reflected the love and unity of Christ. That warning still matters for us today. A true love feast is not about convenience, preference, or simply enjoying food together. It is about humility, unity, generosity, and love.
That is why Love Feast Sunday matters.
It gives us a chance to practice being the church in a tangible way. It reminds us that following Jesus is not meant to be lived in isolation. It invites us to slow down in a hurried world and pay attention to the people God has placed around us. It helps us remember that the kingdom of God often looks like a table with room for more people.
Every quarter, when we gather for Love Feast Sunday, we are joining a story much older than ourselves. We are remembering the early believers who broke bread in their homes with glad and sincere hearts. We are remembering Jesus, who welcomed people to the table with grace. And we are looking ahead to the great feast of the kingdom, when people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will gather in the presence of God.
So come hungry. Come ready to share. Come ready to meet someone new. Come ready to be reminded that in Christ, we are family.
Love Feast Sunday is a simple meal, but it points to a beautiful truth: the church is at its best when we make room at the table.