Series: Communion Meditations

Culture & Public Square

Armistice

By Jon Wren For 101 years, every November 11 has been acknowledged worldwide in some way. It is known as Veterans Day in the United States, but was originally known as Armistice Day; the Armistice ended the Great War, now known as the First World War, in 1918. That global struggle lasted more than four years and resulted in millions of deaths. When the warring powers finally agreed to cease hostilities at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the world breathed a sigh of relief and hoped for a real and lasting peace. That peace,

October 29, 2019

The Inspiring Leader

By Stuart Powell After Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had long anticipated (Matthew 16:16), Jesus began explaining God’s plans for this long-promised deliverer: From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” (Matthew 16:21, 22, New English Translation). Matthew didn’t record all of

October 22, 2019

Above All Else

By Beau Bruton Jesus told us, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else” (Luke 12:31, New Living Translation). It’s something all Christians should do. But life gets in the way; things happen—work, family issues, health problems, you name it. The world tries to pull us away from God’s kingdom, but Jesus draws us closer to it. The world hands us problems, trials, lies, and deception. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; [but Jesus said,] I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). So, what should we do

October 15, 2019

Again

By Stuart Powell I sinned again. The week had barely begun when I embraced the temptation and compromised my witness . . . again. It seems I’m continually choosing rebellion against God. No single temptation is entirely new; these are the same temptations I’ve fought for years. The Holy Spirit warns me. He corrects and confronts me about each temptation. But I keep stepping into the same trap over and over again. Don’t tell me it’s OK that I keep sinning against the creator. I’m willingly choosing my broken desire over the good plan of the sinless God. As the

October 8, 2019

The Sweetest Love of All

By Randy Gordon There are certain words that, through use or overuse, tend to lose their impact or meaning. One such word is love. (By the way, guys, Sweetest Day is October 19!) Let’s be honest, we all want to hear the words, “I love you!” from those closest to us. When a spouse or significant other tells us, “I love you,” it warms our heart and makes us feel special. But when, 30 seconds later, that same person says, “I love tacos” or “I love my dog,” does it mean the same thing? Do they love everything equally? Or—gulp—do

October 1, 2019

Old Testament Theology & Bible

Yom Kippur: Fulfilled in Jesus

By Jon Wren Beginning this Tuesday evening [October 8, 2019], over a period of the next 24-plus hours, Jews around the world will observe Yom Kippur. The holiday has its origins in Leviticus, where God instructed the Israelites to observe a “day of atonement,” which served to remind the people that sin separates them from God, and they cannot atone for it on their own. Over many centuries, the Jewish people have developed traditions and customs for observing Yom Kippur, and many of them come directly from Leviticus 16. One custom came from the instructions God gave the high priest

September 24, 2019

Happy New Year!

By Jon Wren Tonight [September 29, 2019] marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah literally means a “day of shouting or blasting of horns” by the priests. The year begins anew, and according to Jewish tradition, over the next 10 days, the people’s deeds are examined and weighed by God. The culmination of the 10-day observance is Yom Kippur. Historically, on that final day, the sinful deeds of the people were symbolically placed on a literal “scapegoat” that would be sacrificed by the priests so the sins of the past year would be

September 17, 2019

When He Appears . . .

By Stuart Powell Note: This meditation uses two visual aids: fresh produce of some sort, and a canned version of the same produce. Replacing corn (the example I use) with different produce of choice delivers the same message. [Hold up an unshucked ear of sweet corn.] Fresh sweet corn is the greatest food on earth! Its popularity might partially result from its limited availability. Most of the year, we must settle for canned corn. [Hold up a can of corn.] Canned corn is OK to eat, but it is nothing like eating fresh corn on the cob. Canned corn reminds

September 10, 2019

Blood and Victory

By Stuart Powell An 8-year-old girl had tried for months to learn to ride a bicycle. Finally, while visiting her cousins one day, she succeeded. Unable to contain her excitement, she ran to her mother shouting, “I know how to ride a bike! I know how to ride a bike!” The mom beamed. And then she saw blood covering part of her daughter’s foot. The girl had cut her toe on a curb while trying to avoid a bush. The concerned mom began asking questions about the foot and the blood, but the daughter ignored the concerns. “I’m OK!” she

September 3, 2019

Better Promises

By Stuart Powell Much of Christianity is understood best through the lens of the Old Testament. The history of Israel and the Law of Moses reveal how far humanity fell from the ideal God created. The earliest believers were devout Jews who had spent their lives looking forward to the Messiah spoken about in their Hebrew Scriptures. Considering all this, this New Testament passage is striking: “But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenant that he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6, New English Translation). How did Jesus’ sacrifice usher in

August 27, 2019

Christian Living Work & Vocation

The Meaning of Our Labor

By Jon Wren Many of us enjoy an extra day off and spend time with family and friends on Labor Day weekend. This uniquely American holiday was created in the 19th century to honor American workers by giving them a well-deserved day off. Though the holiday has become more a celebration of summer’s end than a day to mark progress by the labor movement, it still is a day enjoyed by nearly everyone. Scripture says God gave us work as a gift, not a curse. Before sin entered the world, God placed humans in the Garden of Eden to “work

August 20, 2019

Washed, Sanctified, Justified

By Stuart Powell As Christians, we must choose how to express ourselves. We all are tempted to display the sins in our relationships with people inside and outside of the faith. Paul wrote about this battle in his letter to the believers in Corinth: Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and

August 13, 2019

First Memories

By Stuart Powell In the second-last chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses blessed the tribes of Israel. As the old prophet prepared to ascend the mountain to view the Promised Land and then to die, he poured out his heart in prayer. He asked God to continue showing favor to his chosen people. In his prayer, Moses referred to Yahweh God as “him who resided in the burning bush.” Even at the end of his life, Moses was still awed by the memory of his first encounter with the creator God. How often did Moses’ thoughts drift back to that day in

August 6, 2019

Faith of the 21

By Stuart Powell Some images in life are so tragic, we struggle to process what we’ve seen. In early 2015, 21 young Christian Egyptian men clad in orange jumpsuits were marched single file onto a beach in Libya. The men stopped and faced the camera and were forced to their knees. Behind each Christian was a masked radical Islamist holding a knife. We all know what came next, and most of us recoil at the thought. Many people living in Western cultures that developed from Christianity’s influence are tempted to believe martyrs are people we read about only in the

July 30, 2019

On-Time Delivery

By Jon Wren Several years ago, an independent study conducted by a British research firm determined that the most efficient organization in the world was the United State Postal Service. The study found that on average, a typical Postal Service employee handles more than 268,000 pieces of a mail a year. That total amounts to almost 765 packages and letters every day! Yet despite its legendary efficiency, the typical post office still doesn’t deliver all of the mail on time . . . or sometimes at all! A 2018 report found that only 93.8 percent of all first-class mail was

July 23, 2019

Baptism Theology & Bible

Help the Fish

By Jon Wren One Sunday in Texas, when legendary General Sam Houston attended a service at a small country church, he decided to place his faith in Christ. After the service, the pastor and congregation walked with Houston to a nearby creek for his baptism. As the pastor led Houston into the water, the church began to sing a hymn to thank God for his mercy. After the song, the pastor took Houston’s confession, then leaned him into the water and back out again, baptizing the general into Christ. As the crowd began to clap and cheer, the pastor proclaimed,

July 16, 2019

A Moment

By Stuart Powell By definition, a moment is a very short span of time. The swing of a pendulum,a breath,a sigh,a yawn,a statement;all of them take only a moment. We often dismiss the moments of life as insignificant events. But sometimes such dismissals trivialize the impact those moments can have on our lives. _ _ _ A lot can happen in one moment. There was a moment when perfection and beauty were crippled by an act of pride and selfishness. It was the moment Eve stretched out her hand to receive the forbidden fruit. In a moment, the innocence of

July 9, 2019

Godliness

By Stuart Powell Dictionary.com defines godliness as “conforming to the laws and wishes of God.” Those are demanding words. To conform, we must fully understand God’s law. To live up to God’s standards, we must comprehend all of his wishes for us. But who can know what the eternal God wants? Many times, it seems, God’s expectations are much simpler than we anticipate. One action that he made explicitly clear to his followers involves the table before us. Listen to his command: Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to

July 2, 2019