September 25, 2023
October 1 | Application (“More to Restore”)
I was brought up in the Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, but I have remained in this tribe by personal choice. . . . But there is still more to restore. . . .
Articles for tag: Breaking Bread
July 18, 2022
The Family Table
Some families still gather around the dinner table at the end of a long, hard day to break bread together. It’s a place to talk, laugh, and cry. In much the same way, Jesus gathered with his disciples around a table at the Last Supper. . . .
March 29, 2021
Seeds to Be Planted
We don’t have to fear death any more than a seed needs to fear being planted.
April 21, 2019
Listening on the Road
By S. J. Dahlman I met Peter a few weeks after arriving in Platt Bridge, then a down-at-heels village just outside Wigan, in northwest England. When we crossed paths one chilly March day and said hello, my accent caught him off guard. (Wigan wasnâ™t exactly a tourist town.) âAre you American?â he asked. âYes,â I answered. âWhat brings you here, then?â I told him I was the new minister at the Church of Christ on Victoria Road. âFancy that,â his wife chimed in. We introduced ourselves and stood chatting for a half hour. That was the beginning of an off-and-on
July 10, 2018
A Meal That Reminds Us
By Jon Wren In the last chapter of John’s Gospel, Peter and John, among other disciples, encountered the resurrected Jesus early in the morning on a beach at the Sea of Galilee. Their meeting with him was the culmination of what surely had been a strange and confusing period of time. After spending years following Jesus through small villages and large cities, watching him heal the sick and the demon-possessed, hearing him teach and preach, and even watching him die on the cross, these disciples were sitting with Jesus on a quiet beach . . . and the Lord had
March 13, 2018
The Presence of the Resurrected Christ
By Dick Wamsley In an article in Worship Leader from 1993, Robert Webber wrote, “In early Christian worship . . . the giving of thanks was not a sober recall of the death of Jesus, but a joyous response to the presence of the resurrected Christ.” He cited the experiences of the earliest Christians when they came together to “break bread” (Acts 2:42), connecting those experiences with the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus recorded in Luke 24 and John 21. Luke records the appearance of Jesus to Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus. Even though Jesus walked with
August 4, 2017
To Be Restored: “˜Not the Only Christians”
By Trevor DeVage Messy . . . that is part of what I love about the early church. It was full of messy and unlikely people who were chosen to usher in Christ”s message to the world. Open the book of Acts and you”ll notice that these church pioneers shared in all things, cared for one another, added to their number daily, broke bread regularly, and carried the message of hope continually. They were all ordinary and messy men and women just like you and me. And out of this mess, Christ reached the world with his message. I love
April 4, 2014
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,
June 9, 2013
Our Missional Experiment
By Greg Hubbard It was shared life with a purpose. We laughed together. We cried together. We prayed together. We ate together. When somebody around us had a need, we spontaneously served them together. Meaningful spiritual conversations were frequent. We caught a glimpse of kingdom life as we had rarely experienced it before. In the early 2000s, a church known as Apex came to experience all of this in Las Vegas, Nevada. Quite a journey had brought us to that place. Apex began as an outreach of Canyon Ridge Christian Church as a means to reach young adults. At first
April 19, 2013
When Jesus Missed Communion
By Tom Lawson Have you ever missed Communion? Since ancient times Christians have not wanted to miss Communion. In ad 152, Justin Martyr, in describing a Christian worship service, noted the deacons took the elements of Communion to those who were too sick to attend. As unfortunate as it is when we miss Communion, can you imagine how much worse it would be if Jesus decided not to be there? The bread would be there and it would taste no different than usual. Same with the cup. The prayers would sound the same. In fact, an outside observer might notice
November 14, 2010
Self-Examination, Not Self-Recrimination
By Daniel Schantz “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread . . . “ (Acts 20:7, King James Version). Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Catholic Jesuits, started life as a fiery, Spanish romantic””womanizer, gambler, warrior. When he was wounded in a battle against the French at Pampeluna, he was carried off to a castle hospital. While recovering, he was given a copy of The Imitations of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis, and he was so moved by it that he resolved to give up his wild living and become a saint.
November 30, 2005
Our Last Supper? (Communion Meditation for the final Sunday of the year)
This is the last Sunday of the year. For some it is the last chance to catch up on their New Year”s resolution to read through the Bible this year. For others it is the last chance to write a check to the church in order to receive a tax credit. For all of us it is the last opportunity in 2009 to break the bread and drink the cup together at the Lord”s table. It was at the last supper that our Lord Jesus instituted the Lord”s Supper. It was Passover and Jesus was in an upper room with
