There are two great questions that should be answered in your minds as you come to the Lord’s Table. These questions should not just be answered at one point in your life, but rather should be part of your conscious heart and mind each time you approach the Table. The two questions are these: what …
Life Devouring Death
The psalmist praises God because God prepared a table for him in the presence of his enemies. Surely this would include the presence of the great enemy, death. Now rightly understood, this table is the central example of that gracious provision, and rightly understood, this table is one of the great weapons in the arsenal …
The Glory of Matter
We are created and shaped in the image of God, and we are the crowning glory of matter. Our first father Adam was fashioned out of the earth, and when we die, we return to that earth. For a time, matter is organized in such a way as to love, think, sing praises to God, …
God of Surprises
We serve and worship the God of surprises. Before Christ came, the Jewish people were expecting God to send His Messiah, and He would deliver His people from the Romans, overcome their enemies, and bring in the resurrection. But God is the God of surprises. He did all this, but not in the way expected. …
Eating and Drinking Weakness
We must be careful not to slip into the assumptions of modernity, thinking that the principalities and powers, against which we do battle, have somehow disappeared in our enlightened age. And we must also take care not to misunderstand the nature of these principalities and powers, which is always in this world, most respectable. We …
Becoming Israel
The Lord Jesus arrived in Israel two thousand years ago in order to show Israel a new way of being Israel. Of course this “new” way was the way that God had always intended; the new way was actually the old way. A new commandment I give you, John said, but it is not actually …
The Kingdom of God is Not Like Crackers
The Supper of the Lord is not simply a continuation of the festival of Passover. It was instituted at that festival, and certain features of that feast are still incorporated in what we do here. For example, this cup is called by the apostle Paul the cup of blessing, which was the third cup in …
Not Taking It for Granted
We considered last week the problem posed by repetition, as well as the great blessing that flows from repetition. Some, seeing the very real problem of getting into a liturgical groove, have sought to address the problem by changing the liturgy constantly. But this approach seeks to address a spiritual problem through mere physical means—which …
Repetitive Food
We come to this Table every week. For some Christians, this repetition means that we will necessarily drift into religious complacency or sloth. This does happen, and so the Word must always accompany the sacrament, to keep us mindful of our responsibilities here. But one of those responsibilities is to be repetitive. The liturgy of …
Protection and the Supper
As you may recall, the Lord Jesus at the Last Supper gave bread to Judas. The apostle John says that after this identification of him, Satan entered him and he went out into the night. There is an important sense in which we should fence the Table, and this is what excommunication does. But I …