Articles for tag: Lord&#8217;s Supper

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

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

April 27, 2020

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

The Time

By Stuart Powell John’s Gospel shares a conversation that occurred the Sunday before Jesus’ crucifixion which is often overlooked in the festive inauguration of Holy Week. Jesus replied, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. . . . Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour” (John 12:23-27, New English Translation). How often had Jesus looked ahead to “the time”? Did he ever pause as he washed his feet to consider where the nails

March 30, 2020

Michael C. Mack

A Global Pandemic—We Were Made for This!

By Michael C. Mack During times of crisis, the church has typically responded sacrificially for the good of society. Over the last several weeks we’ve seen ample evidence of that happening today. Christians are serving their communities, loving their neighbors, and caring for the needs of others. In the midst of a global pandemic, the church is taking action and God is being glorified. This is who we are! As one minister said, “We never would have prayed for this, but we were made for this!” We love others because God first loved us. We serve others because our Master

March 23, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Communion in a Socially Distant World

By Michael C. Mack If you were to look up the word communion in a dictionary, you’d see it defined as “intimate fellowship or rapport.” It comes from the same word as community or communication or communal. Under normal circumstances, this is a communal experience. So, how do we accomplish this aspect of Communion in a time of social distancing? First, we should remember that social distancing does not mean social isolation. For now, we are wise not to get together in large gatherings, but we can still find ways to love one another, carry each other’s burdens, encourage one

March 10, 2020

Grapes of Peace

By Daniel Schantz “The blossoming [grape] vines spread their fragrance” (Song of Solomon 2:13). The grape juice our churches use for Communion was developed by Thomas Welch, a Methodist minister, physician, and teetotaler, in the 1860s. He thought it hypocritical for preachers to oppose drinking and then serve alcoholic wine for the Lord’s Supper. Since grape juice contains its own leaven, he used pasteurization to stop fermentation. Welch’s Grape Juice Company resulted from his efforts to sell the juice to churches. But the choice of “grape juice” as the symbol of Christ was entirely God’s idea, and it was the

March 3, 2020

Care & Counseling Grief & Suffering

Suffering

By Stuart Powell Is the fruit of suffering bitter or sweet? How should we approach the anguish we encounter in life? Many times suffering is the exclamation point of wrong decisions. We suffer a broken bone because of our lack of judgment. We suffer from a broken heart because we trusted someone others considered unworthy. But sometimes suffering arrives uninvited. We make one wrong move and pinch a nerve. We undergo a routine physical and soon begin painful treatment for a heretofore unknown physical malady. A cultural shift places our faith squarely in the crosshairs of extremists. In A Place

January 21, 2020

Communion & Lord's Supper Theology & Bible

Do You Understand?

By Stuart Powell John 13 describes the interaction between Jesus and his followers on the night he was betrayed. As the meal progressed, Jesus got up from the table, removed his outer clothing, tied a towel around himself, and began washing their dusty feet as a servant would do. “So when Jesus had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table again and said to them,’Do you understand what I have done for you?'” (John 13:12, New English Translation). Peter didn’t understand. He thought it might be Jesus’ way of elevating

January 2, 2020

Mission & Evangelism

Ministry Behind Bars: How God Used a 'Reluctant Prison Chaplain' to Reach Hundreds on the Inside

By Bill Twaddell After trying my best to avoid him, I found myself face-to-face with a murderer. I didn’t like this guy. He had done horrible things to land himself at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mt. Sterling, Illinois. In the casual parlance of American jurisprudence, he was a “poster child” for the insanity defense. Many years earlier, he had committed a murder, pleaded insanity, and been found not guilty. After being set free, he committed another murder. By the spring of 2011, this man had spent most of his life behind walls and razor wire. He had sent several

December 3, 2019

The Right Reason

By Stuart Powell At this time of year, Christians proudly proclaim, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” The statement is intended to counteract cultural forces that are attempting to remove Jesus as the foundation of Christmas. Many people push to make the celebration about family, children, and giving gifts. Christians know there is more to Christmas—and we want to share that knowledge. We celebrate with confidence Jesus’ birth, a historical event and a major part of our identity as Christians. As believers we continually focus on the Son of God’s indescribable birth in Bethlehem. We display our conviction that

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

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

June 18, 2019

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

May 9, 2019

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

James Garfield’s European Vacation

James A. Garfield was the 20th president of the United States and an original investor in Christian Standard. He grew up in northeastern Ohio and was baptized in 1850 at age 18. He preached frequently during the 1850s while attending the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (which became Hiram College in 1867) and then Williams College (Williamstown, Mass.), and after returning to Hiram, Ohio, in 1856 to serve on faculty and as principal (commencing in 1857). In 1861 he entered military service with the Union Army during the Civil War. Soon after the war, he helped make arrangements to establish this

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

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

February 27, 2019

Discipleship & Spiritual Formation

Christianity in Confusion: What Happens When We Forgo Reading the Directions

By Kent E. Fillinger A year or so ago, one of my teenage daughters had several of her friends over for a sleepover. During the night, the girls decided to play a game. My daughter pulled Scattergories, which was new to her, out of the closet, and in the girlsâ™ rush to play, they decided to forego reading the directions. Instead, they came up with a way to play based on what they thought made sense. Not reading the directions first resulted in a hodgepodge game with no winner. There were a few arguments along the way, due to the

February 12, 2019

Culture & Public Square Politics & Government

Presidents’ Day

By Ronald G. Davis The presidents of the United States of America have represented the best among us. And the worst. For every president—whether moral, immoral, or amoral—has sinned. None has been perfect in policy nor in person. The wisest and the most foolish, the politest and the rudest, the honorable and the dishonorable, all are sinners. Oh, many have been men of prayer and public worship, but none has been the perfect example of righteousness and noble behavior. It is appropriate that we express honor to those to whom honor is due. Peter spoke for the Spirit when he

November 20, 2018