The Feast in the Garden

January 25, 2026
The Feast in the Garden

In this opening message of The Feast series, Pastor Caleb invites the church to see eating not as a mundane activity but as a theological act—a daily ritual of dependence that reminds us we are sustained by God’s generous provision. 

Tracing the theme of feasting from Genesis to Jesus, he shows how our origin story begins not in scarcity but in a garden banquet prepared by a hospitable King who commands humanity to “eat” and enjoy his abundance. 

Sin, however, introduces the anxiety of scarcity—the fear that God will not provide—which leads us to grasp, hoard, and exclude. Yet the story does not end there. Throughout Scripture, God calls us back to the table, ultimately providing not only food but himself. In Jesus, the Bread of Life, God answers our deepest fear with radical generosity, inviting us again to trust, to share, and to live as people shaped by abundance rather than anxiety.

The Feast – Week 1

Pastor Caleb Campbell

Desert Springs Bible Church

Good morning, church. My name is Caleb, and I serve as one of the pastors here at Desert Springs.

Today we’re kicking off a new sermon series where we’re looking at God’s provision, God’s hospitality, and God’s generosity. As a church, we strive to live generously and hospitably. That’s part of why we’re remodeling the back third of this room to create space for 27 tables—spaces where we can gather, eat, pray, and build community. We’re also raising funds for 300 chairs—$30 each—because every chair represents someone who will sit here, meet Jesus, and experience healing community. We’re not just buying chairs; we’re praying over them, asking God to use them for his purposes.

Tonight at 5 p.m., we’ll gather for prayer—praying for our city and the needs written on our Pray for Phoenix boards. We are a church for our community, anchored in hospitality and care for others.

From now until Easter, we’ll trace a theme throughout Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation—the theme of the feast.

I want to invite you to meditate on the theology of eating.

Eating is more than consuming calories to power our bodies. It’s a theological exercise. When we feast—at weddings, Thanksgiving, or communion—the meal carries meaning. The food symbolizes something deeper. It connects us to memory, identity, celebration, and covenant.

Communion reminds us of this. Jesus took bread and said, “Remember.” The meal has meaning.

Eating is a ritual of dependence. When we eat, we acknowledge that we are dependent creatures—dependent on soil, rain, sun, biology, farmers, supply chains, and ultimately on God. Remove one element, and the food disappears. Remove the food, and life ceases.

Eating is a ritual of dependence on God’s sovereign care.

In Genesis 1 and 2, humanity’s origin story begins in a garden. God gardens. He orders chaos into flourishing. He cultivates abundance. Then he invites humanity into that garden and says, “Eat.” The first command in Scripture is to eat freely from the abundance God provides.

Creation itself is a feast prepared by God.

In the ancient world, kings would host lavish banquets—but only the powerful were invited. In Genesis, the King of Kings prepares a banquet and invites everyone. Humanity’s story begins not in scarcity, but in abundance.

But then Genesis 3.

The serpent introduces a subtle twist: “Did God really say…?” The temptation is not a direct attack on God but the suggestion that God may be withholding something good. Scarcity anxiety enters the human imagination. Instead of trusting provision, we grasp. We take. We hoard.

Sin turns God’s provision into something to be exploited.

The problem of scarcity in our world is not God’s lack of provision, but our lack of generosity and hospitality. We fear God won’t provide, so we take a little more—just to feel secure. And then a little more.

Throughout Scripture, God calls us back to the table. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Not my bread—our bread. Bread meant to be shared.

We are called not only to critique what’s broken in the world but to cultivate flourishing. Just as God cultivated the garden, we are invited to cultivate communities of generosity and hospitality.

And then, in John 6, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.”

He’s not speaking metaphorically in isolation. He’s drawing on the feast theme that runs throughout Scripture. God doesn’t just provide food—he provides himself. The ultimate answer to our fear of scarcity is Jesus.

Will God provide what is good for us?

In Jesus, God has already answered yes.

Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s hospitality and generosity. In his death and resurrection, he opens the table wide and says, “Come and feast.”

Friends, as you meditate on this theme of feasting, remember: our story begins with a generous King preparing a table. And in Christ, that table remains open.

If you want to know more about what it means to follow Jesus, our prayer team would love to speak with you.

Let’s stand together as we close in worship, remembering God’s goodness and provision.