Series: Communion Meditations

November 28, 2014

Christian Standard

The Best Cleansing Agent

By Trevor Tolley A picture of the Old Testament sacrificial system isn”t pretty. Scripture says blood from the sacrificed animals was to be sprinkled on the altar, on the utensils used for the sacrifice, on the priestly garments, on the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, even on the people. This symbolized the necessity of blood to cleanse them of their sins. Not many of us would use blood as a cleaning agent, and we certainly would not use it as laundry detergent. In fact, when we get blood on our clothes, we struggle to find something that

November 21, 2014

Christian Standard

Approaching the Lord Rightly

By Trevor Tolley How should we approach the Lord”s table every week? This seems like a very important question. We do not want to approach the Lord wrongly. Fortunately Scripture offers insight. Consider, for example, when Isaiah was brought into the throne room of God. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two wings they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

November 14, 2014

Christian Standard

The Perfect Emblem

By Trevor Tolley The emblems of the Lord”s Supper, the fruit of the vine and the bread, uniquely communicate the message of Christ”s death and resurrection. The emblems so perfectly illustrate the redemptive story that it smells of conspiracy. In other words, it seems Jesus did not choose, but instead created, the perfect emblems. Have you ever considered the thought that the juice in a grape, if it remains in the grape, rots over time? But when, at just the right time, a grape is pressed or crushed, the juice can be put in a sealed container and preserved? This

November 7, 2014

Christian Standard

The Best Object Lesson

By Trevor Tolley A good teacher likes to use an object to help his or her students remember the lesson. A good teacher knows that a good object lesson engages a student”s senses. The more a student”s senses are engaged, the greater the likelihood the student will remember the lesson. Jesus understands this about us. And through the Lord”s Supper, Jesus demonstrates his mastery as a teacher. He cares enough to provide a physical reminder, an object lesson, of what he has done for us and what we believe. And what a reminder! Have you ever stopped to ponder the

October 31, 2014

Christian Standard

A Universal Language

By C. Robert Wetzel Have you ever found yourself worshipping in a congregation in a country where you did not know the language? Perhaps occasionally you recognized a melody of a hymn and tried to sing the words that you associated with that tune. Or saw Scripture was being read, but could only guess what it might be by looking to see how the Bible was opened. Was it about halfway? Then maybe it was a Psalm. Was it near the back? Probably a New Testament reading. But what? It becomes even worse during the sermon. Why is the preacher

October 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Why Satan Hates Communion

By Mark Atteberry   Toward the end of a lengthy prayer, shortly before his arrest, Jesus said, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one””as you are in me, Father, and I am in you” (John 17:20, 21, New Living Translation). Jesus prayed for unity among his people because he understood that bickering Christians preaching love would be about as effective in spreading the gospel as a 300-pound man recommending a new

October 17, 2014

Christian Standard

I Brake for the Lord”s Supper

By Mark Atteberry   You probably don”t recognize the name Jacob German, but he should be famous. In 1899 he was the first to experience something that has become a common occurrence “” so common I suspect most of the adults reading this have experienced it, probably more than once. On May 20, 1899, German was stopped for speeding. A taxi driver for the Electric Vehicle Company, German was tooling around New York City at the wildly inappropriate speed of 12 mph. People were aghast he would be so reckless. If they”d had driver”s licenses in those days, his almost

October 10, 2014

Christian Standard

When Bad Memories Are Good

By Mark Atteberry Every team and every player has a bad day now and then. No matter how good you are, sooner or later you’re going to get schooled by an opponent. When it happens, conventional wisdom says you should just forget about it and move on. But not everyone agrees. Enter Pat Summitt. From 1974 to 2012, Summitt coached the University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team to 1,098 wins, 16 SEC titles, and 8 NCAA Championships. If anybody knows what it takes to win, she does. (Summitt, who has Alzheimer’s disease, now serves as head coach emeritus.) In

September 26, 2014

Christian Standard

Beauty in Brokenness

By J. Michael Shannon “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying “˜Take and eat; this is my body”” (Matthew 26:26). At one time or another we all must deal with broken things. As children, we break toys. Later we deal with a broken car or a broken appliance. Occasionally we drop a cup or glass and it breaks. More significant is the certainty of broken relationships. Broken things often tell a story of sorrow and disappointment, but there is also power and, occasionally, joy in what has been

September 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Hallowed Ground

By J. Michael Shannon “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 and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:27, 28). No one who visits Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, can leave unchanged. In a three-day period, two great armies struggled there in an epic conflict. There were approximately 50,000 casualties from both sides. What makes Gettysburg significant today is that the entire town and county stand as a reminder

September 12, 2014

Christian Standard

Celebrating One Who Lives

By J. Michael Shannon “I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father”s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). We can understand when someone wants to celebrate the life of someone who had a great impact on our world. Consider Paul Bunyon, for example. Several communities in the upper Midwest celebrate the larger-than-life lumberjack. Contests and festivals honor him. Woodsmen compete, people play games, and there”s all kind of food. Here”s the problem: these activities and events commemorate a person who did not

September 7, 2014

Christian Standard

The Blessing of Memory

By Mike Shannon One of the things we fear most is the loss of our memory. We get frustrated over even small memory lapses. It is such a devastating problem that much time, money, and effort go into solving the serious medical issues that contribute to loss of memory. But what if it is not a medical problem? What if we deliberately forget or we forget out of benign neglect? It is vital to Christians to always remember the meaning of the cross. How can we ever forget what Jesus did for us there? The early church was concerned about

August 29, 2014

Christian Standard

Gateway to Hope

By Mark S. Krause In Dante Alighieri”s Divine Comedy, he pictures the gateway leading into the Inferno (Hell) as being inscribed with these words: Through me the way to the city of woe, Through me the way to everlasting pain, Through me the way among the lost . . . Abandon all hope, you who enter here.1 When the church gathers, some come who have had their hopes crushed in the last week. A job may have been lost. Perhaps a home or a relationship has been lost. Various ones might have lost a battle for good health, a loved

August 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Revealed in the Breaking of the Bread

By Mark S. Krause In the old Errol Flynn movie The Adventures of Robin Hood, there is a remarkable scene of revelation. Robin Hood has been fighting the injustice of evil Prince John, who was ruling England in the absence of his brother, King Richard the Lionheart. King Richard had gone to the Holy Land for a Crusade, and his whereabouts are uncertain. Some believe him dead. However, Richard returns to England with a few men, incognito, in the dress of monks. Richard realizes his danger and decides to seek out Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. Still clad in monk”s

August 15, 2014

Christian Standard

Refreshed by Repentance

By Mark S. Krause Repentance is not popular today. One Internet blogger called repentance “the most unpopular message in the history of mankind.” Why is this? What is it about calling people to repent that rubs us the wrong way? When he was about 4 years old, my son learned a painful lesson when he burned the tip of his finger on the cigarette lighter in my car. I was sorry, but knew his finger would heal (although he still bears a scar). He taught me a lesson about repentance a few days later. As I was washing the car in

August 8, 2014

Christian Standard

Why Celebrate Every Week?

By Mark S. Krause Some in the church world today ask, “Why celebrate the Lord”s Supper every week?” In the Christian churches/churches of Christ, we celebrate the Lord”s Supper each Sunday because we find that pattern reflected in the early church described in the New Testament. While it is inevitable that the church has changed over the centuries, we believe there are basic patterns worth preserving, and this is one of them. But this leads to a more basic question: “Why did the early church celebrate the Lord”s Supper every week?” The answer is very simple, but it requires a

August 1, 2014

Christian Standard

The Blessing of Memory

By Mike Shannon One of the things we fear most is the loss of our memory. We get frustrated over even small memory lapses. It is such a devastating problem that much time, money, and effort go into solving the serious medical issues that contribute to loss of memory. But what if it is not a medical problem? What if we deliberately forget or we forget out of benign neglect? It is vital to Christians to always remember the meaning of the cross. How can we ever forget what Jesus did for us there? The early church was concerned about

July 1, 2014

Christian Standard

Most Memorable

By Mark S. Krause What was your most memorable Lord”s Supper celebration? Recently I shared the table of the Lord with 800 believers at the International Church in Kathmandu, Nepal. These were mainly expatriates””Christians far from home who were hungry for the fellowship of Communion. It cheered my soul to be with believers who prized this moment so deeply. Think back. What was a memorable Lord”s Supper for you? I can recall sharing at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem on Resurrection Sunday, with a village church in Uganda, and with a great crowd at the North American Christian Convention. What

May 30, 2014

Christian Standard

More Than Medicine

By Nancy Karpenske One little typing error. Instead of Communion meditation, if you hit one wrong key, you type Communion medication. Medication: a substance used to treat, to heal, or cure a disease. Meditation: a process used to focus one”s thought on a particular idea. Communion is a time where we stop to meditate, to focus our thoughts. The Communion emblems, the bread and the juice, are not medicines. Consuming them doesn”t heal you. They do, however, have a therapeutic effect. Touching and tasting the bread and the juice provide a visible reminder to refocus our minds and hearts past

May 23, 2014

Christian Standard

In the Painting

By Nancy Karpenske William E. Barrett”s novel The Shape of Illusion tells a story about a painting. The scene depicted on the canvas is Pilate”s courtyard. Jesus is there, beaten and bloodied. He is surrounded by the angry mob screaming insults and throwing rocks. This fictional painting is no ordinary work of art. It seems that everyone who looks at it finds his or her own face in the raging crowd. Saints, sinners, priests, paupers: all instantly see themselves acting despicably in the gruesome scene. How would you respond if you saw your own likeness in that setting? What if

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