Series: Communion Meditations

Care & Counseling Grief & Suffering

A Reminder We Need

By Jon Wren Larry David is one of the most successful comic writers ever. The creator of TV’s Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm is a household name. Yet several years ago, in a profile in Rolling Stone magazine, a friend shared a poignant story about David’s trip to a baseball game. One night during his stay (in New York), David went to Yankee Stadium to see a game. His image went up on the big screen as Curb Your Enthusiasm’s theme song played over the big speakers. An entire stadium of fans stood and cheered for the hopeless case from

June 11, 2019

Doug Redford

Disfigured

By Doug Redford Jane Alden Stevens was a professor of fine arts at the University of Cincinnati. During a trip to France several years ago, she noticed a stone obelisk in a small French village that had inscribed on it the names of those who had died during World War I. She later decided to conduct a study of how people in various European countries remembered that war. The result was a book of black and white photos that she entitled Tears of Stone: World War I Remembered. At Brookwood Military Cemetery in England, Stevens photographed a grave with this

June 4, 2019

Memory: Weak Yet Powerful

By Stuart Powell Suffering and sorrow stink! Pain—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual—is seemingly ever present in our lives, and there often is no good way to deal with it. It never passes quickly enough. Some pain never diminishes. The death of a loved one gives birth to intense and enduring pain. Philip Yancey explained that God gave us memories of those who are absent from this life as a gift to help with the pain. The weakness of our memories is the best weapon we have to combat the pain of loss. Memory is limited, but memory also is a

May 28, 2019

More Than Enough

By Jon Wren Many Christ followers observe Communion as a reminder of God’s grace and goodness and as a gift we receive rather than a prize we must earn. But for many Christians and churches, the desire to show others God’s goodness in action can drift into a need to show others our own goodness. And if we are not careful, we can begin to drift toward a well-intentioned but incredibly destructive life in which we are consumed by the need to be busy or at least seem busy on behalf of Christ. Christian author Barbara Brown Taylor wrote of

May 21, 2019

No Contest

By Stuart Powell One Old Testament story is familiar to almost everyone, even those with little exposure to the Bible. A young, diminutive shepherd faced a mammoth, lifelong fighter in mortal combat. Each one carried the tools of his trade. The shepherd carried a staff, sling, stones, and a few years of experience watching over a flock of sheep. The soldier bore a sword, a blood-stained javelin, and the wisdom of countless victories on the field of battle. From their respective sides, each combatant spoke with confidence regarding his presumed victory. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and

May 14, 2019

Contemplative Steps

By Stuart Powell On the southern end of the temple mount in Jerusalem is a broad staircase that led throngs of first-century worshippers of Israel’s God to the center of the Jewish faith. The steps were built irregularly and uneven, alternating between long and short treads. This pattern seemed intended to slow down the hectic pace of worship, possibly by directing the pilgrims’ attentions away from social interaction surrounding them. Instead, they focused on what it meant to approach the awesome presence of the Creator. The temple entrance was designed to demand contemplative steps, so that the multitudes passing through

May 7, 2019

Marcus: Choosing to Love

By Jon Wren Nobody came to his first birthday party. He spent it alone in a wing designed for medically fragile infants in a hospital room in Northern Indiana. Marcus was born 3 months premature, weighing 1 pound, to a heroin-addicted mother who left him at the hospital as an orphan. He suffered from multiple medical complications, could not breathe on his own, and wasn’t expected to ever learn how to talk. Truth be told, doctors didn’t expect Marcus to live to see his 2nd birthday. But not long after, Marcus had a visitor, a 56-year-old nurse named Kelly. She

April 30, 2019

Care & Counseling

Removing Barriers to Community

By Melinda Gividen A story from Newton, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, is spreading joy across the country. Two-year-old Samantha Savitz lives there with her family; they moved to the neighborhood right before Sam was born. From the start, neighbors have loved on Sam and her family, sharing such things as cookies and casseroles with them. But the story grew more interesting when the family, and then the neighbors, learned that Samantha was born deaf. Over the last two years, Sam has become the most popular girl on the block. She takes daily walks with her parents, waving and smiling at

April 23, 2019

Family & Relationships Parenting

‘Teach Them to Your Children’

By Stuart Powell Teaching children is an important aspect of the Christian faith and obeying the God of creation. In Deuteronomy, for example, Moses repeatedly encouraged and instructed the people of Israel to pass down information to succeeding generations: These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on

April 16, 2019

Remembering Excellence

By Stuart Powell Have you noticed the prevalence of sorrow-filled information that surrounds us? The daily news is laden with violence, and much popular entertainment is dark. Many of our words, even in church, are glum . . . almost heartbreaking. Most of our prayers are petitions for the sick and pleas for God to comfort those who have endured loss. Bible studies and sermons highlight the risks we face from cultural evils. This shouldn’t surprise us, for the brokenness of sin warps the human mind. The effects of sin direct our focus to violence and death. Our culture seems

April 9, 2019

Care & Counseling Grief & Suffering

Faith: From Sorrow to Joy

By Stuart Powell Is there anything more difficult than hearing someone you love say goodbye? We typically react with sadness. That feeling is amplified when the goodbye comes at the threshold of death. Jesus’ disciples experienced that situation on the night of his betrayal. Jesus warned his disciples what was about to happen: I tell you the solemn truth, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she

April 2, 2019

Worship Worship & Prayer

Unified Anthem

By Halee Wood Queen’s song “We Will Rock You” became a worldwide sensation in the 1970s and remains popular. Even in recent years, it is still often played in many professional sports leagues. It is a stadium anthem! When the song is broadcast on stadium speakers, even the most reserved fans engage. The song delivers this message to the opponent: “There is a battle ahead; we are prepared, and we will prevail.” The song unites every fan—all races and all generations. Even those scattered folks who support the opposing team must sit on their hands while this song plays so

March 26, 2019

New Testament Theology & Bible

The Radical Request

By Halee Wood During Jesus’ early ministry, many of his followers were ecstatic. Who wouldn’t have been? The vibe, the miracles, the fact that he was hanging out with sinners. Some of these people had been made to feel like complete failures by the legalistic Pharisees, yet Jesus was loving, healing, and spending time with them! Jesus eventually began to say radical things that made many people feel seriously uncomfortable. In John 6, he said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. . . . For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real

March 19, 2019

Family & Relationships Parenting

Benefits of the Family Meal

By Halee Wood Close your eyes and picture a family dinner. A “June Cleaver” mom is in an apron and pearls, “Ward” in a sweater and tie. The children’s hands are washed and their hair combed. The savory aroma of a home-cooked meal fills the air. Everyone, including the family dog, listens intently to what is being said. Is this what dinner looks like at your house? In real-life families dinner can be messy—there might be cooking and dining mishaps, arguing and complaining among family members, and other things competing for our attention. Though a sit-down meal as a family

March 12, 2019

Addicted to the New

By Randy Gordon This Wednesday is the first day of spring [in the northern hemisphere], a season we celebrate the newness of life all around us. We’re addicted to the new. That’s just the world we live in. We love the new iPhone. We love new cars (and if we can’t afford a new car, we buy a used car and a “new car smell” air freshener). We love new fashion, new books, new songs . . . new, new, new. Marketing strives to convince us that the newest version of anything—everything—is better than the previous version. It offers more

March 5, 2019

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Spiritual MRI

By Halee Wood Have you ever had an MRI? An MRI produces detailed pictures of internal body structures. It can assist in diagnosing many things we never want to face: aneurysms, inner ear issues, spinal cord injuries, cancerous tumors, and more. A prescribed MRI makes us cringe because we don’t want anything “bad” exposed, though all the while, in our gut we already know something is wrong or we would not have sought the help of a physician. An MRI can diagnose, but it cannot cure. The physician is who leads you through the healing process. The apostle Paul once

February 26, 2019

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Remembering Jesus: Bread, Cup, and Fellowship of Believers

By Stuart Powell When Christians gather to partake of the bread and the cup, we have one key focus: remembering Jesus. Our Lord instructed his followers to do this. “Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19, New English Translation). Most of us celebrate Communion in a comfortable, modern building, but have you considered how our setting compares to those of earlier generations? Paul offers a clue to this in his second letter to

February 19, 2019

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Displaying our Testimony

By Stuart Powell Testifying to Jesus’ influence on our lives is an important part of the Christian faith. As we grow in our faith, we should have more to say about Jesus. His influence first affects our attitudes about living. Jesus replaces our impure inner desires by teaching us to live holy. When we grant the Holy Spirit permission, he also changes how we view other people. Jesus’ influence eventually enables us to sacrificially love those whom we formerly opposed. God teaches us to welcome all who are different. He leads us to fast for those who abuse us. Jesus’

February 12, 2019