Spring Feasts

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Exodus 12:14-20 and Leviticus 23:5-8 explains the origin and purpose of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins the day after Passover and continues for seven days (sundown, April 2– sundown, April 9). The observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a symbol of our commitment to turn toward righteousness and turn away from sin. During this weeklong feast, nothing with leaven in it may be eaten. Abstaining from leavened bread for seven days is symbolic of God’s people separating themselves from sin and turning towards a holy relationship with the Lord. The Lord requires us to clean our homes of any food products that contain leaven, yeast, baking powder, baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate. Foods with leaven include breads, cereals, cakes, pies, crackers, and soups. Read the labels on all of your foods, especially in the pantry and freezer. A list of foods containing leaven is listed on pages

Things You Need to Know

• The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins at sundown, April 2 and ends at sundown, April 9.
• During this month, begin to clear your home of food products containing leaven.
• The only bread to be eaten during this Feast is matzah or bread without yeast.
• All believers are to bring a sacrificial offering each day beginning sundown, April 2 through sundown, April 9. You may bring your offering to The KBC dropbox, use the mobile app, give online, text: GIVE & your dollar amount to 844.606.0759 or mail to:

WVUMC

Attention: Finance Manager

6011 West Orem Drive

Houston, Texas 77085

• Please note: These offerings are not your tithe. They are separate and in addition to your tithe.

What is Leaven?

Leaven is yeast or any “fermenting” substance used to make dough or other foods rise or sour. Some yeast derivatives are added to foods for flavor or nutritional purposes. The rules of leavening also apply to foods prepared from five types of grain: barley, wheat, rye, oats and spelt.

Removing food products that contain leaven (yeast, baking soda, baking powder, sodium bicarbonate, autolyzed yeast, & yeast extract) has its roots in ancient Passover preparation. Thirty days before the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, the women of every household began removing all leaven (known as “chametz” in Hebrew) from their homes. Removing leaven is a spiritual as well as a physical cleansing. Jesus spoke of leaven as a symbol of sin in the gospels (i.e., Luke 12:1), and the apostle Paul did likewise in I Corinthians 5:6-8.

Instructions for Removing Leavened Food Products

Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses.For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut offfrom Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be aholy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat–that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this sameday I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this daythroughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of themonth at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Forseven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that sameperson shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land.You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread. Exodus 12: 15-19(NKJV)

The Lord requires us to clean our homes of any food products that contain any kind of leaven: yeast,baking powder, baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, autolyzed yeast, or yeast extract. Also,traditionally most foods that contain wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt, except for matzah, are refrained from during Passover, as they are often processed in mills where leaven is present. Foods with leaven include most breads, cereals, cakes, pies, crackers, and soups. Read the labels on all of your foods, especially in the pantry and freezer. You may be surprised about the foods that contain leaven. It is easy to identify packaged foods that are usable during the Feast of Unleavened Bread by looking for product packages bearing one of these symbols: or “OU Kosher for Passover. 

Here is a suggested leavening removal guide. Try to eat these foods during this removal time period: 

• March 1– March 7: All foods containing leaven or the 5 forbidden grains.

• March 8 – March 14: All canned goods containing leaven or the 5 forbidden grains.

• March 15 – March 21: All cereal products containing leaven or the 5 forbidden grains.

• March 22 – March 28: All bread, crackers, and pastry products containing leaven or the 5 forbidden grains.

• March 29 – April 2: All seasonings, sauces, and condiments containing leaven or the 5 forbidden grains.

• Sundown, April 3:  All leavened products should be out of the home.

The general idea is to symbolize a purified life in Jesus by “eating clean” for the 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This diet is also a healthier way to eat.

Here are some examples of items you should remove from your home.

The Feast of Firstfruits

The word firstfruits means “a promise to come.” On the day of Firstfruits, Sundown, April 4th to Sundown, April 5th the Church Family will bring a special offering to the Lord.  This offering will represent the firstfruits of any financial income since the Feast of Tabernacles which was held (October 2025). In Leviticus 23:9-14, the first crops of the barley harvest were offered to God as an offering of thanksgiving for the promise of an abundant harvest. This offering, lifted up to the Lord, is called the early firstfruits. In I Corinthians 15:23, Jesus is considered the firstfruit of the harvest of all who have died in him. This Feast was fulfilled when Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. For Christians, this feast is important because it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Things You Need to Know

• The Feast of Firstfruits begins at sundown, April 4, and ends at sundown, April 5.
• You may bring your offering to The KBC dropbox, use the mobile app, give online, text: GIVE & your dollar amount to 844.606.0759 or mail.
• You determine the amount of this special offering, symbolizing your thanksgiving to God for providing the “early” spring harvest. The “latter” spring harvest will occur during Pentecost.
• The firstfruit offering is not your tithe. It is separate and in addition to your tithe.

Preparing for the Feast of Firstfruits and Counting of the Omer

I. Feast of Firstfruits

On the day of Firstfruits, believers will bring the firstfruits of any financial increase received since the Feast of Tabernacles (October 2025).  The firstfruit offering, called the early firstfruit, is not your tithe or regular offering.  It is separate and in addition to your tithe.  You determine the amount of this special offering, symbolizing your thanksgiving to God for providing the “early” spring harvest.  You may bring your offering to The KBC, use the mobile app, give online or by mail.

II. Counting the Omer

The daily “counting of the omer” will begin on the evening of April 2.  (See: https://www.chabad.org/holidays/sefirah/omer-calendar_cdo/jewish/Omer-Calendar.htm).

• See the Omer Calendar in the April Prayer guide.
• After marking off the day, pray the following blessing with your children until the 50th day, “We praise You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by Jesus Christ, our eternal Redeemer and Savior, and commanded us to count the Omer. By faith, we wait with joyful hearts to celebrate the sending of Your Holy Spirit.”
• Remember to count the omer beginning at sundown, April 2.

The Feast of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks)

The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament and the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. This feast is to be filled with joy and thanksgiving for God’s bountiful blessings of the harvest.

During the celebration of Pentecost, believers will bring the firstfruits of any income received since the Passover festivals. This offering is called the latter firstfruit offering.  It is separate and in addition to your tithe. You determine the amount of this special offering, symbolizing your thanksgiving to God for providing the “latter” spring harvest.