When we come to this Table in the demeanor of faith, we are not just nourishing ourselves. Rather, the entire Body is being nourished and built up to the extent that various parts of the Body are receiving this gift in true evangelical faith. Coming to the Lord’s Table rightly is not a way for …
God of Times and Seasons
God of our times and seasons, we thank You for our times and seasons. We know that we do not control history, and that yet You are pleased to use us in what You are doing in the course of history. We submit ourselves to You gladly now, and ask that this worship this morning …
Christmas as War
This is now the second Lord’s Day of Advent, and we continue to prepare ourselves for the celebration of one of the most monumental events of all world history—the time when the Second Person of the Creator God assumed a human body in the womb of a virgin, in order to join us in our …
The Central Table
This is the Table, and it has its rightful place at the center of our lives. What we do here sets the tone for what we do at every other table. This Table is the rudder; it guides and directs all our other table fellowship. If we are hypocritical here, we will be hypocritical around …
Grace Upon Grace
Our Father and God, we rest in Your presence now because we come in faith to the day of rest that You have appointed. We rest in Your grace, and the faith that You give to do this is additional grace — grace upon grace. In Your presence we are glad to receive what You …
Calendar and Story
This is the first Lord’s Day of Advent, the beginning of the church calendar year. One of the most important things we can learn in our celebration of this is the foundational truth that calendars are not silent—calendars always tell a story. Now just because a calendar tells a different story from ours does not …
Shadowlands
God of all deliverance and salvation, our lives are a mist and shadow, and then we pass away. All flesh is grass, and we wither and die. And yet, in Your great wisdom, according to Your Word, which does not wither and die, You have set eternity in our hearts. You have made us in …
The Architecture of Time
Next Lord’s Day marks the beginning of the Christian calendar, being the first Sunday of Advent. There are four Sundays in Advent prior to Christmas, and next Lord’s Day, in place of parables, there will be a series of exhortations related to the season. General exhortations linked to the church year will continue after Christmas …
God of the Wineskins
Our heavenly Father, You are the God of both the wine and the wineskins. You order our affairs in ways that astonish us, and we are sometimes tempted to think that You have forgotten what You ought to be doing. Your wisdom transcends ours. Your thoughts are not our thoughts. Your ways are not our …
Mother Love
Once two women were quarreling, and I am afraid that their quarrel was loud enough to be heard by others at the restaurant where they were having lunch. As it happens, there was a wise woman who attended the same church they did who happened to overhear. Deciding that since they had made the affair …