The apostle tells us that when we partake of this holy meal, we are proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes. Because this is a standing truth, it means that from the first observance of the Supper to the last observance of it just before His Second Coming, the Lord’s death … [Read more...]
Clothed with Humility, Clothed for Glory/1 Peter 5
Introduction: Peter now comes to his final words of exhortation and encouragement. The holiness under pressure that he has been encouraging them in is a holiness that is arrayed in humility. This humility is characteristic of the entire Christian body, including the head of that … [Read more...]
Getting What We Deserve
The task before us today, in these times, is that of learning how to live faithfully as Christians in the station to which we have been assigned, and yet to do it with an eye on the big picture. We need to understand that the nation will not be transformed by direct action, aimed … [Read more...]
Real Presence
We want to affirm the presence of the Lord here with us now, and this presence is truly a real presence. We do not want to say it is an absence—a mere memorial—and neither do we say it is an ethereal, spiritualized presence, or that it is simply a raw material presence, crassly … [Read more...]
Philip and Naomi
Too often we speak of marriage as though the secret to a happy one is something uniquely marital. But marriage is a human estate, and is a relationship between two humans, a man and a woman. And as something that encompasses a vast number of humans in relationship, it also … [Read more...]
Micah and Kelsey
A wedding ceremony is an imaging ceremony. This is the case because a wedding is made a wedding by virtue of the fact that it consists of a man and a woman, coming together as man and wife. We are told in Scripture, in various ways that this is an imaging of God. The first … [Read more...]
The Spirit of Glory Rests on You/1 Peter 4
Introduction: We have been talking about holiness under pressure, and Peter has been preparing these saints for a time of intense persecution. We are dealing also with hard facts on the ground, with rival interpretations of those facts battling it out. And those rival … [Read more...]
As a Lamb Among Wolves
The apostle Paul once said that he filled out the sufferings of Christ (Col. 1:24). Clearly, he did not mean that the atonement was somehow lacking—when Jesus cried that it was finished, it really was finished. So what did He mean? The complete atonement established the body … [Read more...]
The Head of the Table
As the apostle Paul begins the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, let us assume that he is not guilty of a radical lurch as he changes subjects, deciding finally to come back to the subject of the Lord’s Supper in v. 17. The culmination point of Christian worship is the … [Read more...]
That He Might Bring Us to God/1 Peter 3
Introduction: In Christ, every aspect of our lives is woven together. The demeanor that receives the salvation offered to us is a demeanor that relates to husbands, wives, and everyone else in that same way. The spirit you have toward God is not turned off when you face your … [Read more...]