You are what you eat. And what You are eating here (by faith alone) is the covenant body of Jesus Christ. You are being knit together, growing up into Him, bone of His bones, flesh of His flesh. This is a foundational meal, the one that informs and sanctifies all the other eating and drinking …
Then You Qualify
We gather around this Table, week after week, month after month, and year and year. The mere fact that we do this means that we are defining the boundaries of our lives by it. At the same time, we are responsible to understand what is happening here, so that we do not drift into a …
How Faith Knows
The festival of Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit has been poured out. But recall, carefully remember, that throughout the Scriptures, when God’s power comes down in the person of His Spirit, He is always poured out upon something. He comes to rest. In the visitation of God’s Spirit, we do not find the …
What Good Will This Do?
Christ has been established at the right hand of God the Father, and He has been given dominion over all the nations of men. This has been established in principle, and the task of the Great Commission is not to go out and try to make this true, but rather to declare to all the …
A Self-Condemning Head Case
The Lord’s Table is the place where we are to overflow with gratitude and thanksgiving. It is not a time for us to curl up into a little ball of sorrow or remorse. If there has been sin in your life, and of course there has, then there are other times to deal with that. …
We Love Them All
Our God is truly good. The only attitude that does not see Him that way is unbelief—the twisted view that there could be another source of good, an alternative take on it, another way. But only God is good. This means that anyone who would be good also must come to Him on His terms. …
Which Instrument Are You Practicing?
This is a covenant meal. This means that the covenant features of blessing and cursing run right through the middle of it. In this covenant, God demands what He has always demanded from covenant-keepers, and that is faith in the only one who was a covenant-keeper completely, that is, the Lord Jesus. That is it—simple …
Go, Eat Your Bread
In this Supper, all the benefits of Christ’s death are sealed for those who partake in faith. This includes everything He has done for us: forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, and infinitely more. We have our conversions renewed and ratified before God as we partake. We have our covenant relation to God renewed as we partake. This …
Not That Kind of Fabric
The Christian Church is a commonwealth. One of the great things that we have in common is our access to this Table. It is a tremendous privilege, and we are not worthy of it in one sense. But in another sense, we are commanded to walk in a manner that is worthy of it. This …
Close Friends, Not Adversaries
You are accustomed to hear two words paired, and those words are Word and sacrament. The two do go together, and are not in the slightest degree at odds with one another. But in the minds of some, they are at odds, and sides are chosen. Some choose a rationalistic service, where the Word is …