If we refuse to judge ourselves, the Word tells us, then God will undertake the task. But St. Paul adds that God does this so that we will not be condemned with the world. Judgment begins, Scripture tells us, with the household of God. Chastening begins with us so that it might not be the …
True Self-Awareness
If we would judge ourselves, St. Paul tells us, we would not be judged. When we look away from ourselves, to the mirror of God’s Word, and to the image of God imprinted on our brothers and sisters around us, we are brought to a true knowledge of ourselves. We cannot come to a true …
How Much More
The New Covenant is not a covenant that altered the fundamental nature of covenants. Throughout the Old Testament, covenants always had attendant blessings and curses. Some have wanted to imagine that the New Covenant was a covenant of automatic blessings, and that by its very nature, curses were impossible. But St. Paul tells us here …
The Table Fences Us
St. Paul tells us that we must not eat and drink from the table of the new testament unworthily. He uses the word several times, but remember the context of his warning. The Corinthians were guilty of divisions in the church, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and greed. Paul tells them that such sins, unrepented, were inconsistent …
Fighting With the Supper, Not Over It
As we noted last week, there is another complaint that has been brought against us—in our observance of the Lord’s Supper, we serve alcohol to minors. There are many principles involved in all this, but we need to focus on just one of them right now, and bring this wisdom with us as we come …
Jesus Gives Alcohol to Minors
As many of You are aware, some of our local adversaries have officially complained about the worship service we will be having at the Kibbie Dome just before the Trinity Festival. Their complaint centers on the fact that we will be serving alcohol to minors. For some years, we have been teaching you that our …
Judas At the Table
St. Paul tells us that our Lord instituted the Supper on the night He was betrayed. The indications from the gospels are that He served the elements of that Supper to his betrayer, Judas, who was already under the influence of Satan himself. And Jesus knew this. At the first celebration of this Supper – …
What Grace Prepared
We are gathered here to eat the Lord’s Supper, not our own suppers. We all have homes of our own, and kitchens in them, and dining rooms. We have left behind our own food. This is not because we are ungrateful for it, but rather because we know that our food is not the food …
Just Come
Because the Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal, it may be abused. It is a covenant Supper, not a magic Supper. In the history of the Church, tragically, abuse has happened often. Paul says here that it is possible for the Supper to do more harm than good. He says that when the Corinthians came …
Real Presence
We want to affirm the presence of the Lord here with us now, and this presence is truly a real presence. We do not want to say it is an absence — a mere memorial — and neither do we say it is an etheral, spiritualized presence, or that it is simply a raw material …