John tells us that if any man pretends to himself that he has no sin, he deceives himself. We are to confess our sins and, according to His promise, He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But we need regularly to be reminded of several things concerning this. The first …
The Table of Forgiveness
We have gathered here at the Table of Christ’s body, and we are offered the cup of the new covenant, which is the cup of Christ’s blood. This means that we have gathered at the Table of Forgiveness. Forgiveness was right at the center of the new covenant, and integral to it. We cannot celebrate …
A Good Pace
Careful study of the gospels shows us five distinctive characteristics of Christ’s table fellowship. First, He consistently sought out fellowship with outcasts. Secondly, those outcasts responded to Him with joy. Third, the religious establishment routinely grumbled about it. Fourth, the table fellowship was preceded by a call to radical discipleship. And fifth, such incidents frequently …
Jesus is the Contagious One
In the Old Covenant, we learn that sin is contagious (Hag. 2:13-14). We see that if a clean object comes into contact with an unclean one, it is the clean object that becomes unclean. We recognize that this principle continues to apply in certain ways in the New Covenant as well, which is why we …
Show the Lord’s Death
As you all know, we meet together every Lord’s Day. We do this in joyful recognition that Jesus rose from the dead. In this sense, every week contains an Easter. We declare this by our actions. And of course, all of the story of Christ must be present in order for us to understand any …
Feed and Restore
In John 21, Jesus shares breakfast with His disciples on the beach. This is one of His resurrection appearances, and it is quite a striking circumstance. For our purposes here, note two things. The first is that the Lord shares a meal with His disciples, as He is doing here, and secondly, that it is …
Acceptance Moves Both Ways
Allow me to speak a word of exhortation to the covenant children who are growing up in this church. For as long as you can remember, you have been welcome here at this Table. You are baptized, and you are invited to be here, invited to partake. This means that you are just as much …
A Table for the Riff-Raff
This is a Table set for sinners. But because sinners is a Bible word, many of us slip into our church-going trance, and we don’t rightly consider the ramifications of such a statement. This is a Table for riff-raff. This is a Table for losers. This is a Table for self-righteous fussers. Are you all …
More on Child Communion
Over at Canon WIRED, I recently answered a question about child communion, and that answer elicited this response. Since these are reasonable questions on a complex subject, let me add just a few more thoughts (three to be exact) to the matter. First, we hold the formal requirement for entry to the Supper to be …
Chalices and Platters I Never Asked For
We have before us bread and wine. We also have before us the choice of whether or not to renew our covenant oaths with God honestly or not. Never forget that the principle issues are not the bread and wine. “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He …