Series: Communion Meditations

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

‘Surely, You Don’t Mean Me?’

By Randy Ballinger When we read the Gospel accounts about the night before Jesus went to the cross, we see words about the institution of the Lord’s Supper: “Do this in remembrance of me”; we remember what Jesus did for us. “For the forgiveness of sins”; this is why Jesus did what he did for us. But we also see words that may trouble us, for they certainly troubled his disciples: “One of you will betray me.” When Jesus revealed that a betrayer was sitting at the table with him, it caused each one of his disciples to consider whether

September 7, 2020

Expensive Messages

By Jon Wren Would you like to receive a birthday message from legendary quarterback Brett Favre? It’ll cost you $400. Want to send your spouse an anniversary message from country music superstar Granger Smith? That’ll cost you $74. Or, since it’s Grandparent’s Day, perhaps you’d like to send your grandparent or a grandchild an encouraging video from Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss. It’ll cost you $999. All of these celebrities and more can record and deliver a custom video message for you through a platform called Cameo. Cameo contracts with various singers, actors, athletes, and other famous people to provide, for

August 31, 2020

Manna

By Jon Wren They were living in “unprecedented times.” It was their “new normal.” And they were all “in this together.” They were a group of desert nomads wandering in the wilderness with no idea of what would happen one day to the next. Some missed the certainty of the past, others had a mixture of hope and skepticism about the future, but they all were tired and disillusioned with the present. Sound familiar? Even though the events of Exodus 16 took place among very different people and in very different circumstances than our own, it’s hard not to see

August 24, 2020

They Forgot

By Stuart Powell The book of Judges begins with the hope that Israel will complete the unfinished work Joshua left them by transforming the land into the dwelling of God’s people. Yet the generations after Joshua learned that living as holy people is not easy. It created conflict between Israel and the people around them. As the Israelites settled into their inherited houses and began gathering the harvests from the adopted gardens, something terrible happened. Judges 3:7 summarizes the tragedy: “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals

August 17, 2020

Community of Outcasts

By Stuart Powell In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, we read about King Saul, who, filled with delusional jealousy and hatred, set out to kill David, whom he feared would take his throne. David escaped to safety and refrained from starting a rebellion. But during his time in exile, many people became connected to the young man who would become the next ruler. Scripture says, “All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around [David], and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him” (1 Samuel 22:2). The people who first

August 10, 2020

Go and Sin No More

By Stuart Powell John 8 tells of an unnamed woman caught in adultery. The Jewish leaders presented the woman to Jesus and asked what he considered an appropriate punishment. There is little doubt the teachers of the law and Pharisees had already condemned this sinner. By presenting her before Jesus, they sought to expose how his compassion stood at odds with the Law of Moses. Without realizing it, they brought the guilty one before God’s anointed judge of all mankind. Jesus spoke first to the accusers by confronting them with the universal human condition of sin. He allowed that shame

August 3, 2020

Building God’s House

By Stuart Powell During the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem, Solomon received a message from Yahweh God: As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel (1 Kings 6:11-13). David designed the temple, Solomon built it, but God conceived the faith upon which Solomon’s temple stood. That temple in Jerusalem was one of a multitude built throughout

July 27, 2020

A Powerful Death

By Stuart Powell In his description of Good Friday, Matthew shared details about three events that corresponded with the time of Jesus’ death: At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people (Matthew 27:51-53). Why do we spend so little time pondering these three acts of God—the torn curtain,

July 20, 2020

The Servant of Slaves

By Stuart Powell How does Jesus enter our lives? In the same way he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday—as a servant. Jesus’ disciple described it this way,“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’”(Matthew 21:5, English Standard Version). Jesus’ arrival at Jerusalem, before his suffering, opened with a scene foreshadowed in Zechariah 9:9. As he rode the donkey colt down the steep slope of the Mount of Olives, passing by the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus redefined the relationship between

July 13, 2020

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Communion on the Moon

By Jon Wren This Monday, July 20, marks the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It was the culmination of years of intense planning, research, and effort—and of centuries of scientific and astronomical study. It ranks as possibly the most impressive human achievement in history. People of a certain age can recall the image of the American flag on the moon’s surface and Neil Armstrong’s famous “one giant leap for mankind” statement. But probably very few people know about something else that happened that day on the moon. After the landing, astronaut Buzz Aldrin removed from his “personal

July 6, 2020

Enslaved

By Stuart Powell One of the most widely known Bible stories is Israel’s exodus from Egypt. We tend to frame the exodus as the nation’s permanent liberation from enslavement. The books of Exodus and Leviticus describe Israel’s journey during their first year after leaving Egypt. In Leviticus 25, God explained his plans for the Year of Jubilee as a time when property ownership was restored to the original Jewish recipient’s family and slaves were set free. God explained his reasons for this: “For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of

June 29, 2020

Declaration

By Stuart Powell In the late 18th century, a colonist began writing a manuscript that summarized the political unrest of his time. He produced a startling declaration read aloud in a political hall in Philadelphia: When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes

June 22, 2020

Religion

By Jon Wren Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious” or, “I’m not into organized religion”? We’ve probably all heard it; maybe we’ve even said it! In matters of faith, there might not be a less popular word than religion. The word religion comes from Latin; it is a combination of the word re (meaning “again”) and ligamen (meaning “bond” or “connection”). Ligamen is the Latin root for the English word ligament—the connecting tissue between muscle and bone. The word religion essentially means to reconnect something that has been broken, severed, or torn apart. What a

June 15, 2020

Bible Study Theology & Bible

Application

By Jon Wren Did you know Google receives more than 2 million job applications each year? Of those applicants, only about 0.02 percent are hired—after up to 29 different interviews! Harvard University receives 40,000 applications each year and accepts fewer than 2,000. But neither of those can rival the stringent vetting of Chick-fil-A! Chick-fil-A receives more than 50,000 franchise applications per year and contacts only 60 to 100 people for an interview. (Contacting 100 applicants from among 50,000 equates to 0.002 percent.) The process subsequently involves up to 10 interviews, 12 written essays, and includes a final “make it or

June 8, 2020

Christian Living

Has-Beens

By Stuart Powell The term has-been is a demeaning way to describe the diminished status of once-popular personalities—athletes who can no longer compete, actresses who have not aged well, singers whose vocal ranges shrank with their fan base. A has-been’scurrent status is a dim shadow of what it once was. As Christians, maybe we should consider becoming a has-been as a liberation rather than a demotion. Compare the “glory days” of our life prior to knowing Christ with the abundant life of our present faith. Would we willingly adopt the term has-been to become more like Jesus? In 1 Corinthians

June 1, 2020

The Conqueror

By Stuart Powell Julius Caesar led his Roman troops to victory at the battle of Zela in 47 BC in what is now northern Turkey. Details of the battle are relegated to history scholars and trivia buffs. Those accounts tell of a complete and rapid victory. A well-known Latin declaration of triumph is attributed to the conqueror: “Veni, vidi, vici.” In English that translates to, “I came; I saw; I conquered.” We can write these words off as the excessive boasting of an arrogant warlord who died centuries ago. But as believers, we can reapply this proclamation of victory to

May 25, 2020

Safely Across the Bridge

By Adrienne Feldmann A young family went on a summer getaway to Chicago. They spent a long day walking up and down the Magnificent Mile—the city’s premier shopping district—and honestly, the kids did not find it quite as magnificent as their parents did! As the marathon shopping session was ending, Mom and Dad realized their children were worn out, so they did what most parents of young kids do—they made a beeline for the best playground they could find. Maggie Daley Park in Chicago is a park to end all parks. Slides are everywhere. There are incredible things to climb.

May 18, 2020

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

The Pledge

By Stuart Powell In many American schools, a student’s day starts by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. We publicly recite the pledge to our flag and republic to proclaim our trust in those we’ve elected to ensure the safekeeping of our civic freedoms. Top among those freedoms are living our faith and speaking candidly about our government. A pledge is a public declaration of personal conformity to the rule of law in our country. Those who hear our pledge should be confident that we intend to live out the call of “justice for all.” Peter wrote that the Christian life

May 11, 2020