Series: Communion Meditations

Cleansing from Heaven

By Nancy Karpenske What does a car wash have in common with Communion? I”m not talking about the do-it-yourself car wash. Picture instead the one where you pull up, align your car correctly, and drive in. You sit in the comfort of your car, proceeding slowly through first the water, then the soap, then the powerful spray, then more rinsing, perhaps even blow-drying. Your car emerges spotless and shiny. You haven”t really lifted a finger. It reminds me of a popular Christian song by Todd Agnew. In “Grace Like Rain” he says God washes away all our stains, just like

April 25, 2014

Creation Theology & Bible

Where Is Eden?

By Jeff Faull Where is the Garden of Eden? Not the actual geographical description. You can read that in Genesis 2. Where is the garden now? What happened to it? Last we knew, it was in Genesis 3. Remember? Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:23, 24, New

April 18, 2014

Passion

By Jeff Faull Did you ever try one of those love tester machines at the mall? You drop your coin in and grasp the handle as all your friends watch. The buzzers sound and the lights flash and the machine tells you your “love quotient.” You might be hot, passionate, burning, wild, mild, harmless, clammy, all the way down to cold or blah. Have you ever wasted a quarter on that? By the way, those machines came out in the 1930s and are totally random in their rating selection. Maybe that bursts a bubble for some of you, or perhaps

April 11, 2014

His Story, Our Story, the Story of Christ

By Jeff Faull Imagine a child asking the apostle Paul, “Would you tell me a story?” Where would he start? He could tell about his Damascus road experience, adventures at sea, the time he was bitten by a snake, and the great basket escape. He could speak of the time Eutychus fell asleep during his sermon and fell out the window and died. Then there were the occasions he was stoned and left for dead. He could relate his vision of the third heaven. He might mention his authorship of at least a dozen books of the Bible. Paul could

April 4, 2014

Worship Worship & Prayer

Still We Meet on the Lord”s Day

By Jeff Faull “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus. . . . On the Lord”s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet” (Revelation 1:9, 10, author emphasis). Today is the Lord”s Day, but it doesn”t quite seem the same. John was being punished. We are not. John was suffering. We are not. John was alone. We”re not. John was an apostle. We”re not. John was an eyewitness. We”re not But we are trying to listen to God,

March 28, 2014

Salvation Theology & Bible

Nothing but the Blood

By Kay Moll In his book The Applause of Heaven, Max Lucado tells of an earthquake that struck Soviet Armenia in 1988. Just before the earthquake, a young mother named Susanna, along with her 4-year-old daughter, had arrived at her sister in-law”s apartment. The whole building collapsed, and Susanna and her daughter were trapped under tons of concrete and debris. Help was tortuously slow in coming. The two were trapped for eight days. Susanna”s heart was pierced by her child”s pitiful cries for something to drink. In the midst of the nightmare, she remembered seeing a program on television about

March 21, 2014

Salvation Theology & Bible

Saved by the Blood

By Kay Moll Paul Brand tells the story of something that happened in 1802*. A smallpox epidemic had broken out in a Spanish settlement in Bogota, Colombia. The colonists sent a desperate cry for help to King Carlos IV in Spain. They poured out their fear that the whole colony would be wiped out by the disease and they asked for help. King Carlos had had his own three children vaccinated against the disease””even though the treatment was new and still controversial. But no way for transporting the vaccine had been developed. The king and his advisers finally came up

March 14, 2014

‘Are You Being Broken?’

By Kay Moll In his book A Distant Grief, Kefa Sempangi says when he began his ministry in Uganda, he was challenged by some older ministers about the need for continual repentance. One of them would often ask him, “Are you repenting? Are you walking in the light? Are you being broken?” The older minister went on to stress how important it is to be broken, even as Jesus was broken for the world. He said to be broken is to have no pride. If there is pride, there is no confession. If there is no confession, there is no

March 7, 2014

Salvation Theology & Bible

The God Who Hung on a Cross

By Kay Moll In 1999 an evangelist visited a village in the northern part of Cambodia that for many years had been under the control of the Khmer Rouge. Christianity was seemingly unheard of. If people professed any kind of faith, it was in Buddha or their ancestral spirits. But when the evangelist came to this particular village, he was surprised at the people”s eagerness to hear and respond to the gospel. He said it seemed to him as though they had been waiting for him. One old woman told him they had been waiting . . . waiting for

February 28, 2014

Care & Counseling

Alone in a Crowd

By Tom Claibourne The Lord”s Supper is quite paradoxical. It looks backward and forward. It calls us to look upward but also inward. It is utterly profound yet disarmingly simple. It celebrates life while focusing on death. The Communion emblems prompt feelings of assurance while also calling for an honest self-evaluation regarding our sin. They honor Jesus” death but also his resurrection. They help us celebrate the forgiveness of our sins while reminding us of our ongoing struggle with temptation. The Lord”s Supper stirs tears of repentance but also smiles of celebration. It calls forth horror at the intensity

February 14, 2014

Valentine Love

By Tom Claibourne Legends abound regarding the origin of Valentine”s Day and the namesake for the holiday. At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies associated with February 14. The best-known account features a Roman priest who was martyred during the reign of Emperor Claudius for refusing to renounce his faith and for defying an edict issued by the emperor. The Roman Empire under Claudius was involved in many bloody, unpopular military campaigns. As a result, it became increasingly difficult to recruit soldiers. The emperor reasoned that the Roman men did

February 7, 2014

New Testament Theology & Bible

Powerful Reminders from Passionate Events

By Tom Claibourne Twenty-six verses. Mark 14:1-26 comprises less than a third of the chapter, but it is filled with a whirlwind of passionate emotions and events. “¢ We see envy, fear, anger, deception, malice, hatred, and evil plots: “The chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him” (v. 1). “¢ We see gratitude, love, a sacrificial offering, some misunderstanding, an explanation, and a gospel message for the ages: A woman touched by the grace of God offered an expensive expression of love and gratitude to Jesus by anointing him

December 20, 2013

Culture & Public Square Race

God and Sinners Reconciled

By Victor Knowles I believe the music of Christmas is the most beautiful music in the world. Indeed, it may even be the most meaningful music the world will ever know. From “Away in a Manger” to Handel’s “Messiah,” the marvelous message of the true meaning of Christ’s coming to earth is made clear. It is especially appropriate at this time of Communion to ponder the reason Jesus Christ was born.xÂ “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing” (“O Come, All Ye Faithful”). John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

November 29, 2013

‘Teacher, Don’t You Care?’ (Mark 4:38)

By Neal Windham Rembrandt’s wonderful painting Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a study in how the disciples interact with Jesus in the midst of a terrifying squall. The Dutch master uses light sparingly, but ever so carefully, highlighting the bow and its frantic crew. At the very front of the boat we see a man sitting cross-legged, arms extended, as he tends to the sail. He is lifted fully 10 feet off the sea’s violent surface by a massive and unforgiving wave. But he doesn’t appear to be worried or upset, even though he is about to take

November 22, 2013

“˜A Different Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:12, 13)

By Neal Windham A young man, skinny as a rail, makes his way to the front of the church during the hymn of decision, and for him the decision has not come easily. He has examined his world of commitment, belief, and action, as well as the biblical account of Jesus” life, death, burial, and resurrection, and has concluded in his late 20s that this faith is the real thing, that he wants to become a Christian. His eyes grow wide with interest and fear, however, as he observes the part-time preacher who is about to baptize him standing in

November 8, 2013

A Distant Engagement (Matthew 26:29)

By Neal Windham God warned Israel in various ways to follow him, but not to come too close. For example, Moses demanded a full disclosure of God”s glory, but was allowed only a glimpse from the safe vantage of shielded rock. Israel was to approach God”s holy mountain, but not touch it, which of course led to certain death. Similarly, the ark of the covenant could be seen but never touched. Isaiah”s peek at God”s fantastic holiness left him totally undone, a man of “unclean lips” dwelling among people of similar spiritual darkness. And only the high priest ascended the

November 1, 2013

Theology & Bible

What on Earth?

By Neal Windham Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). Even believers sometimes struggle with the fact that an instrument of execution is the dominant symbol of the Christian faith.1 So it should come as no surprise that many ancient Jews and Greeks found the cross unacceptable. Generally speaking, the religious quest is, after all, about life, not death. It is

October 18, 2013

Culture & Public Square

Flash Mob

By Mandy Smith On a seemingly ordinary morning, in a busy Belgian train station, the announcements of arrivals and departures were suddenly interrupted by Julie Andrews”s familiar voice intoning, “Let”s start at the very beginning . . .” A few commuters paused for a second to wonder why the train station would air “Do-Re-Mi,” before returning to their morning rush. Then, in the center of the atrium”s tiled floor, a single man started to dance, and before long a passing little girl had joined in. A crowd began to form to watch the spectacle but, at each measure, members of

September 27, 2013