With: Celebrating Forty Years of Faithful Community

Devotional

Day 1: Crumbs at the Shepherd’s Table

The shepherd spreads a table in the wilderness. David’s psalm paints green pastures and dark valleys with one constant: “You are with me.” The rod and staff comfort not through absence of danger, but through presence. God prepares a feast where enemies watch, proving abundance thrives even in barren places. [40:19]

This psalm dismantles the myth of self-sufficiency. The shepherd’s care—grass, water, rest—comes not from human striving but divine initiative. God names our neediness and meets it through daily provision, not grand gestures.

When have you mistaken survival for solitude? The shepherd’s table waits in your valley. Sit. Taste. Let your enemies see you fed. What barren place in your life needs this reminder of presence over plenty?

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
(Psalm 23:5, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three specific provisions that sustained you this week.
Challenge: Write down one “valley” you’ve walked through. Circle where God’s presence met you there.

Day 2: Sponge Layers of Fellowship

The early believers broke bread in homes daily. Luke’s snapshot shows hands kneading dough, voices debating scripture, coins clinking as needs were met. Their rhythm—teaching, meals, prayer—built a community where “no one claimed private ownership.” Joy became audible. [43:29]

Shared tables dismantle isolation. The Acts church didn’t theorize unity—they baked it. Each meal reenacted Jesus’ hospitality, turning strangers into kin. Their generosity flowed not from obligation, but from resurrection-fueled hope.

Your kitchen holds sacramental potential. Who needs a seat at your table this week? When did a shared meal last surprise you with joy?

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… All who believed were together and had all things in common.”
(Acts 2:42,44, NRSV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal someone needing tangible fellowship this week.
Challenge: Share a meal with one person outside your usual circle. Note three things you learn.

Day 3: Buttercream and Broken Walls

Eight-layer cakes require patience. Each sponge layer, each smear of frosting, builds a monument to delight. Like the psalmist’s overflowing cup, such feasts defy scarcity’s lie. The sermon’s cake became a shared language—sweetness multiplied through willing hands. [18:12]

Jesus turned five loaves into a feast. Our small offerings—a song, a casserole, a listening ear—become miracles when shared. Delight thrives not in perfection, but in participation.

What “pound of butter” have you hoarded? What recipe of generosity have you left untried?

“They all ate and were satisfied. They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.”
(Mark 6:42-43, NRSV)

Prayer: Confess one hesitation about offering your imperfect gifts.
Challenge: Create a small delight today—bake cookies, write a note, sing to a friend.

Day 4: Potlucks and Pentecost Fire

Potluck tables groan under curry, casseroles, mangoes. Each dish tells a story—immigrant spices, family recipes, store-bought pies. Like Pentecost’s tongues of fire, diversity fuels unity. The early church’s daily meals became their training ground for radical hospitality. [37:32]

Jesus ate with tax collectors and Pharisees. Our tables practice resurrection when they welcome difference. Every shared plate whispers: “You belong.”

Whose presence would stretch your table’s comfort? What dish from another culture could become your communion?

“Day by day… they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts.”
(Acts 2:46, NRSV)

Prayer: Ask forgiveness for any exclusion you’ve practiced at your table.
Challenge: Invite someone to share a meal who differs from you in age, faith, or background.

Day 5: Yowling Cats and Highway Miracles

Four cats yowled in crates as flames chased the car south. A phone rang—Walter’s voice cutting through smoke. The church became a lifeline, funding motel rooms and hope. Forty years of casseroles and choir practices forged a community ready to carry the stranded. [41:54]

The Good Shepherd works through hands that cook, voices that sing, wallets that open. Westminster’s story mirrors Acts—ordinary people building extraordinary withness through daily faithfulness.

What “highway evacuation” in your life needs communal support? Who have you hesitated to call?

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
(Galatians 6:2, NRSV)

Prayer: Name one burden you’ve carried alone. Ask for courage to share it.
Challenge: Call or message someone who supported you in a past crisis. Thank them specifically.

Sermon Summary

It celebrates with as the central reality of faith life, insisting that God and community belong together. The account highlights small moments of delight alongside decades of ministry and local memory, showing how shared joy knits people into mutual belonging. It names breaking bread, prayer, teaching, hospitality, and music as concrete practices that make withness real, and it affirms these practices as formative rather than merely functional. The text contrasts the life-giving quality of with with the modern scourge of loneliness, noting social and health harms when people live cut off from one another and from God. Scripture anchors the theme, especially the twenty third Psalm with its image of God as shepherd who walks with people through green pastures and valleys of the shadow of death. The early church in Acts models devotion to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer as patterns to copy now.

Personal testimony appears as a witness to how with can rescue from despair, open vocational call, and sustain during disaster. Concrete stories include ordination celebrations, support during the Fort McMurray wildfire, and the ordinary generosity of shared food and hospitality. These stories function as communal memory that preserves identity and fuels courage for an uncertain future. The piece issues a pastoral call to practice with intentionally: to welcome newcomers kindly, to learn scripture together, to share meals, and to pray. It rejects rugged individualism and reframes faith as interdependence sustained by God. Finally, it issues a benediction that roots identity in mutual belonging: people are with one another, with God, and with themselves, carried by the triune presence in all seasons. The tone remains thankful and exhortatory, naming both the struggles and the abundant gifts that come when a community chooses to live with one another and with God.

Key Takeaways

1. Withness heals isolation and loneliness Withness rebuilds the human landscape that loneliness erodes by offering steady, embodied presence rather than quick fixes. Sustained communal practices like hospitality and shared meals interrupt the spiral of isolation and reset expectations about what human flourishing requires. This healing does not sanitize pain, but it holds suffering alongside hope, giving space for lament and resilience. [38:27]
2. Breaking bread forms faithful bonds Sharing food embeds theology into the body: remembering Jesus in common meals teaches dependence, reciprocity, and gratitude. Potlucks and cups of tea become catechesis that shape habits of generosity and belonging across differences. These ordinary acts create durable trust that sustains costly service and difficult conversations. [37:09]
3. Stories sustain communal hope and identity Narratives of rescue, ordination, and shared care function as community memory that orients action and imagination. Recounting how people were supported in valleys teaches younger members what faithful presence looks like and frees them to risk vulnerability. Storywork turns isolated incidents into patterns of ministry that future generations can inherit and practice. [42:41]
4. God’s withness carries through valleys The image of God as shepherd reframes hardship as a path walked together, not a trial to endure alone. Divine presence assures practical accompaniment in fear, grief, and transition, inviting faithful response rather than self-reliant striving. Trusting this withness reorders priorities toward compassion, not performance. [40:19]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[17:50] - Moments of Delight
[25:35] - Musical Duet from Godspell
[34:10] - Opening Prayer
[34:31] - Forty Years Celebration
[36:41] - Gratitude for Gifts
[37:09] - Shared Meals and Potlucks
[38:05] - The Power of With
[38:27] - Loneliness and Its Cost
[39:17] - Psalm 23 and Withness
[43:29] - Acts and Early Community
[46:46] - Celebrating With God
[66:08] - Blessing and Sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Psalm 23 (ESV)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people.

Observation Questions

Psalm 23 describes God as a shepherd who walks with people through both green pastures and dark valleys. What specific actions does the psalm say God takes to care for us?
Acts 2:42-47 lists four practices the early church devoted themselves to. What are they, and how do they reflect "withness"?
The sermon mentions that sharing meals like potlucks or tea creates "durable trust." What examples of this were given in the sermon? [37:09]
How does the sermon contrast the idea of "rugged individualism" with the biblical vision of community? [39:43]

Interpretation Questions

Why might breaking bread together (Acts 2:42) be described as "embedding theology into the body" rather than just a functional act? [37:09]
The sermon claims loneliness is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. How might isolation weaken both individual and communal flourishing? [38:27]
Psalm 23 says, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me." How does God’s presence reframe hardship compared to facing it alone? [40:19]
Acts 2:46 says the early church shared meals "with glad and generous hearts." What attitudes or values does this imply about their relationships?

Application Questions

When have you experienced a "valley of the shadow" where God’s presence or a community’s support sustained you? How did that shape your understanding of "withness"?
The sermon highlights ordinary acts like sharing food or praying together. What is one small, intentional way you could practice "withness" this week (e.g., inviting someone for coffee, joining a small group)? [37:32]
Loneliness often drives people to seek connection in unhealthy ways. How can we create spaces in our lives where others feel safe to be vulnerable and known? [38:59]
The early church "devoted themselves" to communal practices. What habits or rhythms could your own community prioritize to deepen interdependence?
Stories of support (like during the Fort McMurray wildfire) fuel hope. What story of God’s faithfulness or a community’s care could you share with someone feeling isolated? [41:54]
The sermon says hospitality includes "welcoming newcomers kindly" and showing them where the bathroom is. What practical step could you take to make newcomers feel truly with your community? [43:52]

Sermon Clips

There are days when these with things might seem unmanageable, even impossible. We know this, don't we, my dear siblings in Christ? However, the most important with to remember is God. Like our United Church creed says, we are not alone. Thanks be to God. Remember Westminster, that God bears us up like a persistently caring shepherd and when we go into that valley of the shadow, God doesn't say, good luck. I'll see you on the other side. God is right there with us in every part of the journey. [00:45:25] (37 seconds) #GodWithUs

I remember how you reached out to me on the day of the Fort McMurray wildfire nearly ten years ago. I think it was Walter who connected to me on the phone when Ian and I and our four yowling cats in their crates in the back seat were driving south on Highway 63, and how this faith community supported the wildfire recovery fund. And I know that mine is not the only story of this kind of support and life giving ministry that has been part of Westminster United Church over the past forty years and still is right here and now. [00:41:54] (35 seconds) #FaithInAction

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