Series: Communion Meditations

Prayer Worship & Prayer

Could You Not Watch?

ByÂ Robert F. Hull Jr. In a powerful sermon, Fred Craddock points out that only the reader of Mark”s Gospel really sees Jesus in Gethsemane lying prostrate on the ground and hears him praying for the hour to pass from him (Mark 14:35, 36). Peter, James, and John are all asleep, and because we are awake and reading, we are tempted to be very hard on these three. How could they have fallen asleep, when all Jesus asked of them was to stay awake for a little time while he went away to pray? We can be unforgiving when we are

April 10, 2015

Baptism Theology & Bible

Remember Your Baptism

ByÂ Robert F. Hull Jr. Sometimes we do not see the wealth of our own church practices until we worship with people whose practices differ from ours. From Easter to Pentecost you will hear in many churches, especially those in the Anglican, Lutheran, and Catholic traditions, the words “remember your baptism.” If you were to worship in some of these churches, you would even see a large vessel of water brought in as a visual reminder of baptism. It is especially during the season when we focus on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that the baptistery and the table

April 3, 2015

New Testament Theology & Bible

Peace Commission

By Robert F. Hull Jr. According to the Gospel of John, it was at his last meal with the disciples that Jesus offered them the gift of his peace and told them not to be afraid (John 14:27). But that was before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. A few days later they were huddled in a room with the door locked, very much afraid and not at peace. Suddenly the risen Jesus stood before them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). He showed them his hands and his side, and said again, “Peace be with you!

March 27, 2015

“˜Wash Your Hands”

By David Ray When you were little and getting ready to take your seat at the family dinner table, did your mom ask, “Have you washed your hands?” If you had, you probably proudly held them up to show her. But on those rare occasions when she caught you “dirty-handed,” you”d sheepishly have to slip away to put soap and water to work. As often as we were reminded, we should have remembered to wash our hands every time. But since we are creatures of forgetfulness, or just too preoccupied with other things, that getting ready for the table often

March 20, 2015

“˜Whiter Than Snow”

By David Ray Rising to an elevation of more than 9,000 feet, Mount Hermon is a commanding presence at the northern edge of Israel. Its towering summits are usually snowcapped throughout the winter. In fact, today these mountains are home to Israel”s only ski resort. The melting snows help feed the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River valley far below. A psalmist poetically describes it as “the dew of Hermon” (Psalm 133:3) that falls toward Mount Zion. Snow is fairly rare in most of Israel. Jerusalem and its environs receive an occasional dusting, but seldom is there any real accumulation.

March 13, 2015

Mission & Evangelism

Safety or Security?

By David Ray When Jim Elliot was in high school, he studied architectural drawing, played on the football team, got elected president of his senior class, and was such a talented actor that several of his teachers urged him to consider a professional career in theater. I guess you could say he was on a fast track to “success” in life. Growing up in a religious home, though, Elliot headed off to a Christian college and eventually sensed a calling to work with a remote tribe of Auca Indians in the jungles of Ecuador. They were a people who not

March 6, 2015

Christian Living

March Madness

By David Ray It”s March, when college basketball takes center stage and provokes spirited debate about who will make it into tournament play. Team records wrangle for attention, brackets are set, and fierce competition begins. We get very passionate about who wins and loses. Winning brings bragging rights for fans, revenue for schools, and even professional signing opportunities for the greatest players. For a coach, however, losing badly can mean forfeiting an extended contract or finding a moving van parked in the driveway. Who wants to be last? The disciples of Jesus certainly didn”t! Once, after a long day, Jesus

February 27, 2015

Proclaiming the Lord”s Death

By C. Robert Wetzel “We believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). In a very real sense, participating in the Lord”s Supper is preaching. Preaching is proclamation. The apostle Paul tells us, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord”s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). And thus we are proclaiming to the world what we first confessed when we came to Christ, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” There are at least three ways the Lord”s Supper may be proclamation. It may

February 20, 2015

The Cup of Blessing

By C. Robert Wetzel “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16, King James Version). There are so many rich meanings and experiences in the Lord”s Supper! When the apostle Paul spoke of the “cup of blessing” he used a term that had a special meaning for those who understood Jewish dinner tradition. At the end of a Jewish meal the most honored guest at the table took the cup, lifted it up, and said the benediction. Today when we talk of the benediction we probably think of

February 13, 2015

The Lamb of God

By C. Robert Wetzel “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). How strange it must have seemed to pagans when Christians described Jesus as the Lamb of God! This would be especially true when they heard Jesus described as the Word who was with God and who was God and who became flesh in Jesus Christ. God, a lamb? If the pagan were to use an animal metaphor to describe God, he would certainly choose some powerful animal whose image would strike terror

February 6, 2015

A Time to Reset

By C. Robert Wetzel “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3). As the technologically challenged among us fumble with our computers and related products, we often create problems with the very devices meant to help us. Rather than following prescribed procedures, we simply press buttons, as though the more commands we send, the more likely we will secure

January 30, 2015

When We Partake

By H. Lynn Gardner Partaking of the Lord”s Supper is not a meaningless routine ritual. We must partake thoughtfully, and with our minds engaged. Communion should be one of the richest and most meaningful experiences of our week. 1. We remember Christ”s sacrifice on our behalf. “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24*). Lest we think we deserve God”s favor, lest we forget what Christ did for us, we are regularly reminded of the price paid for our salvation. The cross of Christ is not an insignificant fact from the storeroom of history. We are remembering and savoring

January 23, 2015

The Lord’s Supper in the Early Church

By H. Lynn Gardner “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them” (Acts 20:7*). “And they devoted themselves to the apostles” teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). Luke says the central purpose for assembling is “to break bread,” which underscores its primary importance (Acts 20:7). The church observed the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week. Early Christian writers say this was because Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Comments from early Christian

January 16, 2015

What Does This Meal Mean?

By H. Lynn Gardner Modern Jews eat the Passover meal much the same as God instructed through Moses thousands of years ago. At one point in the ceremonial meal the youngest in the company asks, “Why is this night different from all other nights? What does this mean?” The leader responds, “We celebrate tonight because we were Pharaoh”s slaves in Egypt, and the Lord our God delivered us with a mighty hand. Had not the Holy One, blessed be he, redeemed our fathers from Egypt, we, our children, and our children”s children would have remained slaves.” Moses wrote, “And when

January 9, 2015

New Testament Theology & Bible

He Identifies with Us

By H. Lynn Gardner Jesus shared flesh and blood with us. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:17, 18)*. Timothy Keller explains, in The Reason for God, Christianity alone among the world religions claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair,

January 2, 2015

Giving & Fundraising Stewardship & Generosity

Care & Counseling

Grateful Response

By H. Lynn Gardner Doctors told me I would die of my pulmonary fibrosis if I did not get a lung transplant. On June 15, 2004, I received a double lung transplant and have been blessed with a 10-year extension on life with my wife, family, and friends, as well as continuing some teaching and writing. Do you think I am grateful for thisÂ gift? I have been saved from deathÂ and received a new lease of life. I have tried to thank God every day for this gift of life. Unsaved persons face the prospect of death without hope and eternal

December 30, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

New Steps and a New Gift

By Mark A. Taylor Every year at Christmastime I look for a way to give something to someone who can”t or won”t give me anything in return. Usually this means an extra offering to a favorite mission, a check written to a local shelter, or gifts purchased for our church”s project to “provide Christmas” for needy children. I do this because it”s always seemed to me that exchanged gifts are trades, not really gifts. They”re fun, and they can be a good part of office or family celebrations. But true generosity doesn”t happen with rules about dollar limits or gift

December 12, 2014

Family & Relationships

Make a Christmas Memory

By Diane Stortz Long before digital photos and decorative paper backgrounds, Mary made the first Christmas scrapbook””in her heart. When Bethlehem”s shepherds heard the astounding news that the Messiah had been born, they left their sheep and hurried into the village to see him. They found Mary and Joseph and with them the baby, snuggly wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough””just as the angel had told them. Luke says they “told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds” story were astonished, but Mary

December 5, 2014

Mark A. Taylor