We come to this Table and find that it has been set in faith, hope, and love.
We come in faith because God has promised to meet us here, and we believe Him. The entire worship service crescendos at this meal. God has been present with us all along, but He is present in a special way here. It is here that we are privileged to partake of Him. Do you believe? I know you do.
In the Scriptures, hope grounded—it is not hope against hope. We have an assurance of things hoped for. Hope is assured, settled. When we hope in the promises of God, it is not like saying “I hope that it won’t rain today,” or “I hope that I win the lottery.” No, we have the blessed hope of our Lord’s return, a sure and certain thing. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord lasts forever. Our hope is in Him.
Love is straightforward – love for God and love for his people. This meal is given to us so that we might be knit together in love. That is the purpose, that is the intent. That is the whole point of gathering together like this.
Faith, hope and love meet together in this meal, just as they are the triad that crown the entire Christian life. We rejoice in them all, and receive them all as gifts from the hand of God. But remember that the apostle Paul taught us that the greatest of the three is love. With the bread in your hand, love God and love your neighbor. With the cup in your hand, love God and love your neighbor.
It doesn’t matter whether they are sitting right behind you, or across the room. This mean knits all of us together in love. God is doing it, and we are praying for Him to do it by the means He has adopted.
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.