Series: Communion Meditations

June 23, 2017

Christian Standard

Slowly Savored

By Rick Chromey From mainstream Starbucks and neighborhood bistros, the local coffee cup has evolved into a symbol of connection, companionship, and community. The coffee experience is about family and friends, because great coffee naturally takes time. The beans must be roasted and ground. The coffee is percolated, heated, and even specially flavored. And, of course, every cup is sipped and savored to the last drop. Consequently, coffee is the perfect nonalcoholic drink of choice. It”s the ideal beverage for gathering because great community also happens with time. Friendships are grounded and grown. Relationships emerge through connection and communion. In

June 16, 2017

Christian Standard

Let Us Celebrate

By Rick Chromey Every culture has holidays, but few sanctify more special days than Americans. Perhaps it”s because we embrace our past as good and godly. Perhaps it”s because we hunger for any reason to party or get a day off. Or perhaps it”s because we need another special day to capitalize on our consumerism. Regardless of the reason, Americans celebrate famous people like Martin Luther King Jr., St. Patrick, and Columbus. We memorialize Mondays into three-day weekends to rest from our labor. We throw parties on July 4, October 31, and December 31. We love to give thanks around

June 9, 2017

Christian Standard

Written in Blood

By Rick Chromey January 26, 2005, was to be a typical day for 44-year-old John Phipps and millions of other Los Angeles workers. When the father of three boarded his morning train he couldn”t possibly have known a suicidal Juan Manual Alvarez had parked his car on the train tracks several miles away. It was only minutes to mayhem. Details about what happened are sketchy, but Alvarez evidently changed his mind and escaped his car just prior to collision with Phipps”s speeding train. Unfortunately, Alvarez”s selfish act killed 11 people and injured more than 200, including John Phipps, who lay

June 2, 2017

Christian Standard

The Heart of Reunion

By Rick Chromey Everybody loves a reunion. And there”s no better place to observe a good reunion than outside airport security, as various groups congregate and wait for loved ones to arrive. During the wait, some families huddle quietly while others chatter loudly. A woman inspects makeup and hair. Several check the flight board. A mom and two kids look for their soldier dad, while grandparents anxiously wait on grandchildren. A nervous boyfriend clutches chocolates and fingers a ring, while cheerleaders prepare to welcome a victorious team. Others wait, as well, but with noticeably less enthusiasm. These individuals seem apathetic,

May 26, 2017

Christian Standard

What It Means to “˜Examine”

By Randy Gariss The Lord”s Supper is about celebration. After all, the meal points to the love of Christ, forgiveness of sins, the coming of the kingdom, and other wonderful repercussions of the cross. Yet, in the midst of the joy there is another imperative from Paul, one with more sobering overtones. We are each told to “examine” ourselves. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread

May 19, 2017

Christian Standard

Communion with You

By Randy Gariss If the idea of a one-person wedding seems bizarre, so too does the idea of personal Communion. There are many things in the Christian life you can do on your own. You can study, pray, fast, sing, worship, and serve all by yourself. But why is there not even a hint in Scripture about taking the Lord”s Supper alone? When Christ initiated Communion, it was in a group (Matthew 26). When Communion is described in the book of Acts, it is in a group (Acts 2:42). The same is true in 1 Corinthians. A study of Scripture

May 12, 2017

Christian Standard

A Picture of the Future

By Randy Gariss A sage wryly commented, “All predictions are difficult to make, but especially those about the future.” He is right, of course, but can you imagine the empowerment if we were able to accurately see the future? For example, what if the junior high teen, distraught over his gangly appearance, could only get a glimpse of the composed, mature young adult he would someday be? Wouldn”t that picture diffuse much worthless worry? Or consider the impact a peek into the future could have on the young couple working through that first rough year of marriage””each of them going

May 5, 2017

Christian Standard

The Unexpected Place Setting

By Randy Gariss It must have seemed an odd table. David was king of Israel, and when he sat down to eat he had his family and his sons. As king, he naturally would have included some friends and perhaps a favorite servant or two. And also a crippled man by the name of Mephibosheth. The backstory has all the human interest we can handle. Years before, Saul had been the king and he had made the young David”s life miserable””repeatedly attempting to cut it short! Saul”s despotic life and desperate panic were all an ill-fated attempt to keep David,

April 28, 2017

Christian Standard

Reaffirming Our “˜Yes”

By Mark Atteberry Some of Jesus” parables are epic in scope, like one about the prodigal son. Others are quite short, like this one about a farmer and his two sons:  “There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, “˜Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” “˜I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, “˜I will, sir,” but he did not go” (Matthew 21:28-30). The kingdom of God is hindered by people

April 21, 2017

Christian Standard

Forgotten Heroes

By Mark Atteberry Philo T. Farnsworth. You should know who he is. You don”t, but you should. He made a gigantic contribution to mankind, one that most people experience every single day, often for hours at a time. But I suspect you couldn”t find one person out of a thousand who could tell you what he did. On January 7, 1927, Mr. Farnsworth, then a 19-year-old farm boy, filed a patent on an invention called “television.” A few years later, he transmitted a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, from his Philadelphia laboratory to his home a few miles away. Ironically,

April 7, 2017

Christian Standard

Misfit Convention

By Mark Atteberry The world has little patience for a misfit. Show up at a swanky country club in jeans and flip-flops and you won”t be allowed to play. Let your grass grow too tall or park a junk car in your driveway and the homeowners” association will impose a fine. Cheerfully work above and beyond your job description and your fellow employees will resent you for making them look bad. Let”s face it. Life is less painful if you fit in. We even drill this into our children, starting with the uniforms we force them to wear when we

March 31, 2017

Christian Standard

In Remembrance of Me

By Becky Ahlberg Do you remember your first Communion? The first time you held the bread and cup and accepted the invitation to this table offered by the Lord himself upon your baptism and commitment to him? How old were you? Where were you? Who else was there? For some of us, that moment was decades ago; for some others, it might be this very day. For all of us, it is a call to remembrance. We”re called to remember our commitment. We”re called to remember our community here in this place and to remember Christians around the world. And

March 24, 2017

Christian Standard

Amazing Love!

By Becky Ahlberg One of the universal truths we consider when we gather around the Communion table each week is to remember the amazing love of God. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin” (1 John 4:10). God incarnate showed his love in his willingness to bear the shame, endure the cross, and be the bridge that brings us back into relationship with him. All these things are illustrations of his indescribable love. One of the first Scriptures most of us memorized is

March 17, 2017

Christian Standard

The Joy of Suffering

By Becky Ahlberg Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:1-3). We live in

March 10, 2017

Christian Standard

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

By Becky Ahlberg He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5, King James Version). This famous passage of Scripture is filled with imagery to

February 24, 2017

Doug Redford

Just Ten Seconds

By Doug Redford In February of 2003 Fred Rogers passed away. Rogers was the man responsible for creating Mister Rogers” Neighborhood, a program on public television that sought to let all children know how much they are loved and how very special they are. Rogers, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian church, did the show for 33 years; it can still be seen on many public television stations. In a 1997 interview, Rogers recalled, “When I saw television for the first time, I saw people throwing pies in each other”s faces””demeaning things. I knew then that this medium needed to

February 17, 2017

Doug Redford

Calvary-Road Therapy

By Doug Redford Peter Bronson, a former columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer, wrote an item for the opinion page that appeared in the paper on July 31, 2005. He entitled it, “Country-road Therapy Soothes the Soul.” In it he wrote, “I”ve heard of physical therapy, occupational therapy, water therapy, and music therapy. I prefer country-road therapy. The prescription is simple: Take a full tank of gas and a summer afternoon, and just drive until the billboards are replaced by barns and the skyscrapers turn into silos.” “When I had a motorcycle,” he continued, “I spent hours exploring country roads. Mostly

February 10, 2017

Christian Standard

Mission Accomplished

By Doug Redford Charles Swindoll”s sister once asked him, “What”s your favorite feeling?” After some thought, Swindoll replied, “I think it would be accomplishment.” He observed how good it feels to complete a job, whether it”s a project at work, an assignment at school, or a remodeling project at home. I think I”d agree with him. How I enjoy crossing off finished tasks I”ve listed on my desk calendar! When the task represents years of effort””like the high school and college ceremonies celebrated everywhere this spring””the sense of accomplishment is even greater. Graduates and their families deserve to celebrate. Jesus,

February 3, 2017

Doug Redford

To the Earth and Back

By Doug Redford Maybe you”ve heard an expression often shared between two people who love each other: “I love you to the moon and back.” I”m not sure how the expression originated. The meaning is pretty clear; it”s another way of saying, “I love you more than you can even begin to measure.” Every February, love takes center stage with the celebration of Valentine”s Day. But love takes center stage every Lord”s Day for the followers of Jesus during the observance of Communion. Jesus, literally, loved us to the earth and back. To the moon and back to earth is

January 27, 2017

Christian Standard

TIME and TIMELESS

By Ronald G. Davis Sunday again. One hundred sixty-eight hours have passed, and now we are here again. How feebly we apply markers to the times of our lives. Yet we are creatures of time, having been destined to be born into time, to suffer all the joys and vicissitudes time offers, to die and find an end to time. Here, at this table, week after week, we assemble to remember that Timeless once entered into time. The Timeless One took on the weaknesses of time, so that he could save us from the inherent weaknesses of being creatures of

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