The Bread We Share
OPENING PRAYER:
Father, forgive me for the times I've consumed Your blessings without considering those who still hunger. Teach me to see Your provision not as mine to hoard, but as ours to share.
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."
This passage describes the early church in Jerusalem immediately after Pentecost. The Holy Spirit had just been poured out, thousands had come to faith, and the new community of believers was learning what it meant to live as the body of Christ. Their response to God's provision was radical generosity.
Acts 2:44-45 (NIV)
REFLECT:
Here's something Pastor Todd Carter pointed out that might make us a bit uncomfortable: Jesus doesn't teach us to pray "give me this day my daily bread." He teaches us to pray "give us this day our daily bread." That little shift from singular to plural changes everything. This isn't a private prayer about personal provision—it's a communal prayer that assumes shared responsibility.
The message highlighted how countercultural this feels. We live in a world that celebrates personal success, individual wealth, and self-sufficiency. The idea that God's blessing of me is actually meant to bless others through me feels odd, even threatening. What if I share what I have and then don't have enough for myself? What if I give away my resources and God doesn't replenish them? These fears reveal how deeply we've absorbed the lie of scarcity, even in our generosity.
But the early church understood something we've largely forgotten: when we pray for daily bread, we're not just asking God to meet our needs—we're volunteering to become part of the answer to someone else's prayer. Todd shared the powerful example of Tracy, a woman at the Sedgwick County Work Release Facility who had just surrendered her life to Jesus and been baptized. Right after her baptism, she suffered a catastrophic heart event, lost her job, and couldn't meet her housing obligations. Through CarePortal, someone in the church family connected with Tracy and met that financial need. That person became the answer to Tracy's prayer for daily bread.
This is what it looks like when a community truly prays and lives "give us our daily bread." It's not just about me having enough—it's about all of us having enough. Todd mentioned that in 2025, the church helped over 1,000 people with an economic impact of over $200,000. That's what happens when people stop viewing God's provision as private property and start seeing it as a shared resource. Food, clothes, rent, utilities, furniture, high chairs, beds—all the daily bread people needed, provided by a community that understood they were blessed to be a blessing.
The challenge here is personal and practical. When you pray "give us this day our daily bread," are you willing to be part of the "us"? Are you willing to let God use what He's given you to meet someone else's need? Todd emphasized that part of the reason some people's prayers feel ineffective is because they view God's blessing as purely for their own consumption, while God views His blessing as a way for us to bless others. When we live with open hands—receiving from God and giving to others—we discover a joy that hoarding could never produce.
I WILL STATEMENT:
I will pray the Lord's Prayer every day this week. Remember: This isn't about perfection; it's about direction. If you miss a day, just start again. Choose a consistent time and place, use the prayer guide in the app, join the Facebook prayer times, or attend a live 6 am prayer meeting at one of the campuses.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord, You have given me so much more than I deserve. Help me hold Your blessings with open hands, ready to share with those who are still waiting for their daily bread. Make me an answer to someone's prayer, and let me experience the joy that comes from living generously. Amen.