Message summary: Next time you get together to share a meal with brothers and sisters in Christ remember these early meals and aspire to the same kind of unity, gladness and sincerity within your church body.

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"Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:46-47).

We had a potluck meal in our Adult Bible Fellowship class this last Sunday, something we and other classes often plan when there is a Fifth Sunday. These types of potluck dinners are common in churches wherever we have lived. I doubt that any of our US readers need an explanation of potluck since everywhere we’ve lived potluck is popular. But for our international readers, potluck is a gathering where each family or individual contributes a food dish to be shared among the group. It results in a tasty variety of food, a great time of fellowship and often an exchanging of recipes.

In my 50 years of ministry and during my childhood I never recall going to a bad potluck dinner. There have been individual dishes that didn't really catch my fancy but overall I've always enjoyed potluck dinners. I like the variety of food in addition to the warm fellowship. Perhaps the name "potluck" comes from the idea that you're lucky if the "pots" (dishes of food) are still there when you get through the line or you're lucky if the entrees are not all the same kind of food.

Once a month our church choir and orchestra meet 2½ hours for practice on Saturday mornings. Brooksyne shares the following: we take a 30 minute break halfway through and enjoy a spontaneous potluck meal where there are no sign-ups. Deviled eggs are a given at every potluck, but several months ago the food contribution ended up being plate after plate of deviled eggs. Some took home the full dish of eggs they had brought due to the excess contribution of one food group. Interestingly, at the next gathering, there were no deviled eggs to be seen or eaten. (Too bad, since I enjoy at least one or should I say half a deviled egg at every potluck.)

Today's text describes potlucks in the early church, "taking their meals together". Tuesday evening we gathered for a potluck picnic with ministers from our area. We sat with a couple who host "Dinner Church" in an impoverished part of Lancaster City. At Dinner Church, worship takes place at the table around a big, delicious meal that is prepared together. This concept seems to be growing.*

But today let us consider a portion of the daily text from a more literal sense, "breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together." While enjoying dinners at church this text seems to be speaking of the blessing of hospitality in the home around the table.

I muse concerning all the meals we've enjoyed in various homes through the years and how many we've invited for a meal. For a number of years we have kept a registry of house meal guests and are now on our second book. Too bad we didn't keep a record from when we first got married! Likely there a few of you reading this message that can recall a meal around our table.

Whether you call it potluck at the church building or a meal at home sharing with others our daily verse gives us a glimpse of life in the early church shortly after it was established. It's rather doubtful they called them potluck but they ate together often so I consider Potluck Dinners to be Scriptural!  

A few verses earlier these four components are recorded by Luke, describing the early church in the days following the Day Of Pentecost and outpouring of God's Spirit:

"They were continually devoting themselves:
    * to the apostles' teaching
    * and to fellowship,
    * to the breaking of bread
    * and to prayer."

It must have been a wonderful time with outstanding unity probably never seen since in the nearly 2000 year history of the church. "Day by day continuing with one mind". What an interesting and compelling description of unity! "Breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart." That's a colorful, desirable description of a meal time isn't it?  It would also be a welcome description of homes all over the world where families sit down and eat together around their dinner table expressing love, interest, and support toward each other.

Next time you get together to share a meal with brothers and sisters in Christ remember these early meals and aspire to the same kind of unity, gladness and sincerity within your own church body.

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13.

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber