The Holy Spirit does not seek to motivate His people into positive godliness by means of guilt. The only thing that guilt motivates us to is confession. Once confession is made, the central motive force for all that we do is to be love and gratitude. This Table is here to nourish you, to equip …
The Sun is Up
As we come to the Table together, I would like to speak a word to the children who have been gathered here with us. You are named by the name of Jesus Christ. Just as you were born into a particular family, and no one asked you whether or not you wanted your last name, …
Following Him Together
We have been considering the presence of our children together here with us at this Table. We have noted that nothing is required of them except the capacity to receive, the capacity to be shaped and taught. We have seen from Scripture that all who are bread get bread. All who are the covenant get …
Those Who Are Bread Should Get Bread
As we have said before, your baptized children are welcome to this Table. All who are bread get bread. But we have also explained it with several provisos. Young children should have the Supper explained to them by their parents in each observance of the Supper, and they should be able to attend to what …
More Than Welcome
This Table is all about grace, forgiveness, kindness, and acceptance. God receives you here. This is the normal way we ought to think of it. Not only does He receive you here, but he does so knowing all about your sins. Jesus said that this was His blood of the new testament, which was to …
The Sacrament is in the Participle
One of the great theological problems that has afflicted the church down through the ages is the tendency to think of the Lord’s Supper in terms of a snapshot, and not in terms of the video. There is no sacrament here on the table. We have bread, and we have wine, but we have no …
Obedience to Glory
St. Paul tells us that Jesus did not consider His equality with God as something to be grasped, but rather took the form of a servant. And, having done that, He was obedient to the point of death, to the point of the cross. We need to see here, and remember, and meditate on the …
Teaching Children to Come
As you know, we gladly welcome little children to the Table here. All baptized children are welcome to partake, with this proviso. What we require is that they have the capacity to be taught what we are doing through the doing of it, and that their parents faithfully instruct them every week as they partake …
The Table and Secret Sin
As we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we must remember that God is dealing with us here. What we do, what we eat, what we drink, alters us. It does not do this through magical means, but it is done through the power of the Holy Spirit, as He deals us covenantally. One of the …
Ignoring the PR Department
Christ was crucified between two thieves, and the statement made by this appears to have been that He was the principal evildoer. The one who associated with sinners during the course of His life was also associated with them in His death, as His enemies tried to make it into a slander—He died with criminals, …