Fellowship Programs

November 2023 – Deeply Rooted in Baking

November 1, 2023February 17, 2023By
November 2023 – Deeply Rooted in Baking

Let’s Bake! Holiday Baking Party

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Introduction

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, instructs the Thessalonians to encourage one another and build each other up. As believers, we are instructed to be concerned about our brothers and sisters in Christ and to stir up one another unto love and good deeds. We are to care for each other and consider how to stimulate one another to love as Christ loves us.

Cooking recipes are available from many sources. I have a family-inspired recipe book that I enjoy trying. I like remembering the occasions and memories associated with these recipes. For years these recipes were a well–kept secret. I had to rely on information passed down through generations. But now, I can measure precisely the ingredients needed for each dish.

During the holiday season, the Gonzalez family always gets together. After the arrival and greeting, immediately, the aroma of food cooking hits you. A roast is in the oven, tempting baked cookies and cakes are on the counter, and freshly brewed coffee entices each family member to head for the kitchen, where a sharing time begins. The older I get, the more I appreciate our time together. Holidays and weekend visits to Grandmother’s house were always a special time. As I reflect on those times, I realize how important it is to be with family. I want my family and the generations to experience the same joy I experienced in being with each other and know how these special moments build one another up.

Our lives are like a recipe, a map to understanding the commands of Jesus. The guidelines are in plain sight; no map is needed, no secret ingredients to search out. God’s word, the Bible, is the map, the recipe for a fulfilled life in Christ and for encouraging one another.

Program Ideas

Advanced planning will be necessary for each of the program options listed below. Ask individuals to handle various aspects of the program such as advertising, invitations, setup, and clean–up decorations.

  • Have a professional baker or women’s ministries member experienced in baking teach cookie baking or a cookie decorating class. You will need to plan for a least two to three hours for this program. If they are demonstrating cookie decorating, ask a couple of women to contribute the cookies to be decorated.
  • At the next potluck dinner, skip the dessert course and have a cookie exchange, swap recipes, share your baking stories with family, and print copies of the recipes. Ask the members to bring their favorite cookbooks and utensils passed down in the family for table decorations and display them.
  • Plan an outing to a local cooking school. Or watch an online cooking class on baking. There are many cookie baking tutorials on YouTube.
  • Contact and invite representatives from the local fire department, police station, and medical field to come to a recognition meeting. Along with words of appreciation for their service, present them with baskets of homemade cookies. For those not in attendance, deliver the baskets to their workplace. Enclose cards expressing thankfulness and gratitude to these individuals for their service to the community.

Encouraging One Another Through A Christ Filled Life

The Bible is full of stories of Jesus having a meal with people. One such occasion included the breaking of bread and fishes shared by a young boy. Jesus showed how much He cared for others and His great love for them. Other occasions were dinner with a tax collector, the Lord’s supper, and a visit to Mary and Martha’s home.

The Tax Collector (Luke 19:1-10 NIV)

Jesus was passing through Jericho. There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a tax collector and a very unpopular man. He wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed a tree. Jesus looked up and said to him, “I am going to your house.” And he did. People were wondering why Jesus would go to the home of a sinner. But Jesus showed his acceptance of Zacchaeus, and immediately, Zacchaeus’ life was changed forever. He told Jesus he would give half of what he had to the poor, encouraging one another. Jesus concluded by saying, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

  • The Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:1-19 NIV)
    Jesus had a specific reason for bringing the disciples together for the Lord’s Supper. Before Jesus died, he had a final meal with the disciples. He wanted to give them something to remember Him by when He wasn’t with them, so He used the bread and wine they were having with their supper that night to symbolize His love for them. Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples through the breaking of bread, and the wine was a tangible reminder that His blood and His life served as a payment for the sins of the world. Jesus took the bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, and He said, “this is my body give I for you, “do this in remembrance of Me.”
  • Mary and Martha. (Luke 10:38-42 and John 12:2 NIV)
    The story of Mary and Martha gives us an example of two women who loved Jesus and showed their love for Him in two different ways. Whether you are a Mary or a Martha, both women are valuable and have a purpose. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to get closer to Jesus. Martha prepared the house for Jesus as any hostess would do. Seeing the needs of others is an integral part of His ministry. Martha had a heart for hospitality, and Mary had the heart to learn. Both personalities are necessary for encouraging and uplifting one another.
  • The Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13-21 NIV)
    Having a Martha personality, I never want to be without food for my guests. Jesus was teaching, it was late, and his disciples noticed the people were getting hungry. What are we to do, we do not have enough food? Jesus’s reply was, “give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish here,” they answered. Jesus was not worried. He took the fish and loaves from the disciples and, looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the five loaves and two fish and asked the disciples to share with the multitude. Everyone was satisfied with twelve baskets of food leftover. Five thousand that day were fed, not counting women and children.

Why was being with family and friends so important to Jesus? To show us acceptance, and love, to know the needs of others, and to seize every moment to build each other up. The recipe to a fulfilled life in Christ and for encouraging one another:

  • Be deeply rooted in Christ
  • Mix well the secret ingredient “love.”
  • Add equal parts of charity, kindness, goodness, and gentleness—Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
  • “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and your neighbor as yourself” Matthew 22:27-39 NIV.

In conclusion, mix thoroughly with Hebrews 10:24, 25 NIV “Spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and even more as you see the Day approaching.”

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