Series: Communion Meditations

The One Who Found Them

By Tom Ellsworth On July 30, 1945, just after midnight, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed while en route from Guam to the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The resulting explosions so damaged the cruiser that it sank in only 12 minutes. Amazingly, nearly 900 crew members made it into the water. Since the Indianapolis was unable to radio a distress signal, no one knew to look for the ship until it didn”t arrive in port. Consequently, after it was determined the Indianapolis was missing, no one knew where to look for survivors””if indeed there were any. The shark

September 4, 2015

The Power of One

By Tom Ellsworth One really can make a difference. It was a sweltering election afternoon in 1842 when Hoosier farmer Henry Shoemaker finally realized he hadn”t voted yet. Shoemaker had personally promised state representative candidate Madison Marsh he would cast his vote for him, so he saddled his horse and hurried to Kendallville before the polls closed. When the votes were counted, Marsh and his opponent, Enos Beall, were tied. There was one contested ballot, and it was Shoemaker”s. When his vote was finally admitted, the tie was broken, and Marsh was declared the winner . . . by one

August 28, 2015

All of Us Have Rocks!

By Steve Wyatt Some successful real estate developers gathered to discuss a possible joint venture. To their surprise, the group”s leader began by describing his most embarrassing failure. He explained how his eagerness to make a killing caused him to overlook one important detail. He added, “I”m more careful now to get all the facts before moving out.” The person beside him admitted he hadn”t always been a genius, either. He once purchased land for development that, unbeknownst to him, was sitting on solid bedrock. But the youngest member was reluctant to share his big flub. Instead, he fumbled around

August 21, 2015

The Scars That Heal

By Steve Wyatt The venerable apostle Paul was reminiscing about his ministry exploits in a letter to the believers at Galatia. He”s nearing the close of his letter when he suddenly states, rather matter-of-factly, “On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus” (Galatians 6:17).1 And that”s all he said. No additional embellishment, no “please feel sorry for me.” Just the facts”””I”ve got some scars.” And yet, in the very same paragraph, Paul also said, “But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). You see, Paul had

August 14, 2015

Reaching Down the Throat of Evil

By Steve Wyatt Bill was walking with his 10-year-old daughter and her small dog. Without warning, a neighbor”s pit bull rushed at his daughter”s dog. Bill quickly lifted his daughter and her pet to the roof of a nearby car, but the pit bull jumped onto the car”s hood and then onto its roof and savagely grabbed the smaller dog by its left hind leg. Bill saw the pit bull release its powerful jaws in an attempt snap at the neck of the smaller dog, so he reached into the pit bull”s mouth and grabbed its tongue. The dog bit

August 7, 2015

No More Soggy Slippers

By Steve Wyatt It was winter in West Virginia. Snow had freshly fallen and I, a 9-year-old geek if there ever was one, was wearing my cotton-flannel Zorro PJs and a brand-new pair of monster feet slippers. Something happened that was not to my liking (I can”t remember what it was), so I announced I was leaving. Moving out. Running away. No sooner had those words exited my mouth than Dad leaped out of his chair, grabbed a medium-sized suitcase, and proceeded to pack my bag. In less than three minutes, I was standing all alone on the front porch

July 31, 2015

City Communion

By Daniel Schantz “I . . . am like a sparrow alone on a housetop” (Psalm 102:7). The city can be a lonely place, and on this Sunday morning you are utterly solo. Your husband is on the road, and the kids are at grandma”s house. You are a worship widow. You take a seat near the front of the auditorium, looking around to see if there is a familiar face, but you recognize no one. The lights in the auditorium dim, and the video screen flashes to life with lovely nature scenes””a yellow field of wheat against a blue

July 24, 2015

Country Communion

ByÂ Daniel Schantz “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27, New King JamesÂ Version). You arrive late at the little country church that is surrounded by lime green sycamore trees. Late, because you had a tiff with your wife at breakfast. The pianist is playing “The Old Rugged Cross” on a piano that is slightly out of tune, just like you. Just as you and your wife take a seat, several farmers stand up and make their way to the back of the auditorium. Their faces are red from sun labors, except for their foreheads

July 17, 2015

Feeling Close

ByÂ Daniel Schantz “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David . . .” (1 Samuel 18:1). The word communion means “to share” or “to have something in common.” Although it is more than just a feeling, the feeling is rather nice. Communion is what you feel the first time you fall in love, and she loves you back. You can almost read her mind, and when she goes away, your heart breaks. Communion is what you feel in the middle of the night when your wife is trembling from a nightmare and, gently, you wake her from

July 10, 2015

A Good Meal

By Daniel Schantz “For this reason many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1Â Corinthians 11:30). Church services are well underway in a smalltown church of a hundred souls, when a little girl of 10 meanders down the center aisle, looking for a seat. She looks confused, as if she has never been inside a church before and she doesn”t know where to sit. Her bony shoulders are draped with a rag of a dress and her hair is matted and greasy. Her fingers and arms are gray with ground-in dirt, and she looks starved. At last she

July 3, 2015

A Good Thrashing

By Daniel Schantz “The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Sixteenth-century England was the era of the “divine right of kings,” when kings believed they were appointed by God and could do no wrong. During this time, the king alone was allowed to discipline his own son, the prince, but kings were often busy or out of town. Even when they were available, kings tended to be indulgent, and thus princes were often spoiled. The solution was to hire a “whipping boy,” someone to take the beatings the prince

June 26, 2015

Worship Worship & Prayer

Three Ways to Sing a Common Song

By Mandy Smith For many Christians, singing hymns in a group is still a meaningful experience. An a cappella version of “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” can induce goose bumps, especially when those harmonies chime in on the “A-men.” While we don”t usually dissect the meaning of this practice, there are reasons why singing as a group is powerful. The simple act of singing old songs about God to God with each other reinforces three things that are central to our faith: We are devoted to God through Christ, We are devoted to him together, and We are

June 19, 2015

Ordinary Sacredness

By Mandy Smith We know Jesus instituted the Lord”s Supper during the Passover feast, which Jews have celebrated for generations. Passover is an annual festival remembering God”s salvation of his people from slavery in Egypt. Like all celebrations of annual holidays, it takes much preparation and is a turning point of the calendar. So, as good Jews, Jesus and his disciples prepared and celebrated this feast together. But Jesus knew this Passover would be different from all he”d celebrated before, because he knew his death was imminent. The food is a central part of the Passover feast, but so are

June 12, 2015

Communion, Our Constant

By Mandy Smith The old Sunday school song goes, “Since Jesus came within and cleansed my soul from sin, I”m inright, outright, upright, downright happy all the time.” But very few Christians could honestly say they feel happy all the time. While we may retain an undisturbed, deep joy, it”s normal for any Christian to have moments of spiritual high and spiritual low, to feel close to God and far from God at various times, to have times of great faith and times of great doubt. One helpful practice that allows us to survive the darker times is to overlook

May 29, 2015

Church & Ministry

Cruciform Ministry (Romans 5:8)

By Neal Windham Garrison Keiller tells the story of how Clarence Bunson (at least, I think it was Clarence), a mainstay in Keillor”s fictional town of Lake Wobegon, lay cruciform, frozen to the roof of his Minnesota home in the thick of winter. Bunson had gone out to clean the snow off his roof and, tired from his work, had fallen asleep. Meanwhile, his wet clothing bonded to the frozen roof, rendering him immobile. Neighbors asked whether anything was wrong, and with characteristic Norwegian restraint he responded again and again, “No, I”m fine.” We know his character well, don”t we?

May 22, 2015

Care & Counseling Grief & Suffering

To Comfort All Who Mourn (Isaiah 61:1-3)

By Neal Windham The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion (Isaiah 61:1-3). Jesus loved Isaiah. Again and again, our Lord turned to the trusted old prophet to help orient his disciples in the compassionate ways of the kingdom. For example, he began the Sermon on the Mount

May 15, 2015

Passover Parallels (Matthew 26:17-19)

By Neal Windham Jesus” last supper was almost surely some sort of Passover meal. It was eaten at night while in Jerusalem, as custom would have it. Our Lord likely explained the meal”s key features, much as Jewish fathers would have done for their own children, though in Jesus” case the symbolism was developed in new and astonishing ways. “This is my body,” he said, “my blood.” More than this, Jesus ended the meal with a hymn, as was also customary at Passover, and celebrated it with his new “family,” the disciples, a Passover tradition dating to the time of

May 8, 2015

A Clean Break (1 Corinthians 11:20-23)

By Neal Windham Corinth is a beautiful city. Set on an isthmus dividing the Adriatic and Aegean seas, it was frequented by mariners avoiding the more treacherous waters of the Mediterranean in Paul”s day. As a result, it was a popular destination, well populated, and with a thriving economy. Remains of its stunning temple to Apollo stand in ruins to this very day, silently testifying to a distinctively pagan past. Little wonder that Paul had such a tough time with this church. It seems they were attempting to make the break with pagan society as slight as they possibly could.

May 1, 2015