It is not a coincidence that the fall of our race into sin involved food. God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in a garden full of food, and placed one tree in that garden off limits. They were not to eat of that one tree. All the other trees were open to them, …
And the Table Underneath
Our gracious heavenly Father, we thank You now in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You for this food, the hands that prepared it, the fellowship around it, and the table underneath it. We give all thanks back to You, knowing that without Your Spirit, we could not live in the Sabbath rest that You …
Even the Stones Know
The Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem in great triumph. His majesty and rightful claim to the throne of David were manifest . . . to His disciples. But the established powers in Jerusalem refused to know what they had a responsibility to know. And in this, the very rocks were more spiritually astute than the Pharisees. …
Even the Stones Know/Palm Sunday 2005
INTRODUCTION: The Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem in great triumph. His majesty and rightful claim to the throne of David were manifest . . . to His disciples. But the established powers in Jerusalem refused to know what they had a responsibility to know. And in this, the very rocks were more spiritually astute than the …
Palm Sunday and a Crown by Faith
In the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, we see that the cross is very much in view. At the same time, it is a triumphal entry because the resurrection is equally central. We might even say that the death of Christ is surrounded by resurrection. On the next day much people that were come …
The Crowds of Palm Sunday
A commonplace in Christian circles understands the events surrounding the first Palm Sunday as a demonstration of the “fickleness of crowds.” But there are good reasons for questioning this common assumption. On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of …
God’s Daughter-in-Law
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Almighty God, everlasting Father, gracious Lord, we worship You now in Your triune holiness, knowing that we cannot worship You or approach You in any other way. We pray to You, Father, lifting up Your name because we know that Jesus taught …
A Divine Comedy
In the resurrection of Christ from the dead, we see the banishment of the old pagan idea of tragedy. The history of the world, in the light of the resurrection, is actually a divine comedy. And Christ rose from the dead in the middle of human history so that we might know the end of …
Routine
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week, considering it the culmination of our service of covenant renewal. But to many of our fellow believers, this fact by itself smacks of ritualism or superstition. “Why do this so often? Do you keep forgetting?” Well, on one level, yes, we keep forgetting. We believe that we are …
Marriage As Manifest Glory XV
Introduction: Forgiveness makes it possible to “start over.” The power of forgiveness is enormous—the reason it is so infrequently employed is because it transforms everything, and not because it is “a dud.” Last week we addressed what forgiveness is (a transaction), and how to understand it when the other party is being difficult. We now …