We have assembled here yet again. We do so aware of our sinfulness, and our unworthiness, and this is something we have already confessed. But at the same time, we are commanded in Scripture to walk in a manner that is worthy of the name we have received. And you, as a particular congregation, need …
Faith Chews and Swallows
As we celebrate at this Table, we must always remember whose meal it is. We did not establish this Supper, but rather, the Lord Jesus did. He self-consciously sat down at the Passover meal with His disciples, which He said He had been longing to do, and in the midst of these old covenant symbols, …
Partaking of Life
When the Lord established this meal, He intended for His people to proclaim His death until He comes again. And this is what we are doing. The death of Jesus is the new testament; we say this as a means of shorthand—we do not exclude the resurrection and ascension of Christ, but rather speak of …
Charge It to Christ’s Account
We serve the living God. We are a people who have been ushered into new life. We have heard the word of life declared. This is the bread of life; this is living wine. Life is a mystery, and only the dead think they understand it. Life is glory; life is movement; life is joy; …
Failing Better Next Year
In our nation, this week is set apart as Thanksgiving week. We, of all people, should be prepared to overflow with gratitude to God as we gather together with family and friends to rejoice before Him. We do this, not because we have substituted a cultural holiday for what the Lord requires, but because for …
Cooking and Eating
The Word and sacrament do not compete with one another, any more than preparation and fulfillment compete. Cooking and eating are not competitors, and so we do not set up a false antithesis between the two. It is common in the churches of the Reformation to have the pulpit occupy a central place, as ours …
We Insist You Come
Different churches have different approaches to the Lord’s Supper when it comes to how visitors from other believing communions are received. Some practice closed communion, where no one from outside that communion may partake. Some practice close communion, where you may partake under certain conditions. Others practice open communion, where the Table is open to …
Faith Apprehends All Things
We live in a world filled with the glory and kindness of God. We also live in a world filled with sin, sin that can be defined as refusal to see the glory and kindness of God. Some Christians have so emphasized the presence and tenacity of sin that they have made themselves unable to …
Grace to Burn
As we engage with the powers and principalities of this age, we do so by spiritual means, and not by carnal means. We declare the gospel, and we baptize the nations, and we offer wine and bread. But that is not all. The rest of the Great Commission says that we are called to teach …
Simultaneously Careful and Free
We have a tendency to look at the wrong things when preparing ourselves for this meal—and of course, we should prepare ourselves for it. The Bible contains multiple warnings against trifling with the holy things of God. He warns the unrighteous about defiling this sacramental meal. But from this warning, the righteous have drawn many …