Articles for tag: Lord’s Supper

February 5, 2016

Christian Standard

Unworthy at the King”s Table

By Tom Claibourne He had no business eating at the king”s table. His family background, physical infirmities, and utter helpless-ness should have barred him from such an honored place. But there he sat, day after day, like one of the king”s own sons. Mephibosheth had experienced more than his share of physical and emotional pain. Second Samuel 4:4 briefly recounts the tragic accident that left him unable to walk on the very day he learned of the battle deaths of his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, King Saul. Now, years later, David ruled as king over all Israel. Second Samuel

February 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Lesson for February 7, 2016: Passover (Exodus 12:1-14)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the January 31 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  The driving metaphor of religious practice in the Old Testament is a party. That is rather unique. Islam has its five pillars. Buddhism strives to achieve a state of Nirvana. Hinduism pilgrimages through several Vedas. But for the people of God in Scripture the word is

January 26, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

No Snow Day for Mountain

By Mark A. Taylor A blizzard of historic proportions is coming your way on a Saturday; so what do you do on Friday? Most local churches in the path of Winter Storm Jonas last weekend decided to call off services. And who could blame them? Record snowfalls and gale-force winds wreaked havoc from Kentucky to Cape Cod. Interstates were shut down. Residents were told to stay home and stay off snow-covered roads waiting for overwhelmed plowing crews to clear them. Churchgoers couldn”t get to church buildings, and many local municipalities had issued orders not to drive. But we heard about

January 8, 2016

Christian Standard

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

By Rick Chromey Blood is indispensable to life. The average human holds 10 pints of blood, which transports oxygen to our body, battles disease, and removes harmful toxins. Blood coagulates and helps form scabs to heal wounds. Recently, science has attempted to create synthetic blood, but there”s simply no substitute for this uniquely divine liquid. Blood is part of our cultural vernacular. It”s in the blood. We”re blood brothers. Blood is thicker than water. Bad blood. Hot-blooded. Sunday, bloody Sunday. Historically, blood sealed contracts, confirmed friendships, and solidified treaties. Today, blood is often the clue that solves crimes through DNA

December 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Beyond Information

By Tom Lawson We”re still living with the aftermath of the Protestant Reformers who cleansed worship spaces of every piece of art. But doesn”t the Bible give us examples and a mandate to use all the arts in worship? In 1524, the great Grossmünster cathedral in Zürich was just a shell of its former glory. The statues had been smashed and all the artwork had been removed. Initially, even congregational singing had been discarded, along with the statues and frescoes. What was left was a nearly empty room, except for a towering pulpit, for plain and unadorned Christian worship. In

August 25, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Recognizing the Body

By Mark A. Taylor I first prepared the following as a Communion meditation for the church where I worship. It occurs to me that it considers a biblical challenge that Christians everywhere do well to remember. We don”t read far in Paul”s first letter to the Corinthians till we see this was a church with problems. “I appeal to you brothers,” he wrote, “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and

July 28, 2015

Christian Standard

Aaron Wymer’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Aaron Wymer, senior minister with Grandview Christian Church, Johnson City, Tennessee. ________ Noticeably missing from this list are my professors from Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Johnson City, Tennessee, yet they were all instrumental in forming me and pointing me in the direction I have traveled. It seemed unfair to mention one of them and not another, so I left them off

July 10, 2015

Christian Standard

A Good Meal

By Daniel Schantz “For this reason many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). Church services are well underway in a smalltown church of a hundred souls, when a little girl of 10 meanders down the center aisle, looking for a seat. She looks confused, as if she has never been inside a church before and she doesn”t know where to sit. Her bony shoulders are draped with a rag of a dress and her hair is matted and greasy. Her fingers and arms are gray with ground-in dirt, and she looks starved. At last she

March 2, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for March 8, 2015: Another Comforter/Advocate (John 14:15-26)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the March 1 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  In his Gospel, the apostle John often focused on a central theme for an entire chapter (John 14, 15, 16, 17). The predominant note in John 14 is comfort. The setting is the night on which Jesus was betrayed. After instituting the Lord”s Supper in the upper room, Jesus and his disciples (except Judas) set out for the Garden of

February 13, 2015

Christian Standard

The Lamb of God

By C. Robert Wetzel “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). How strange it must have seemed to pagans when Christians described Jesus as the Lamb of God! This would be especially true when they heard Jesus described as the Word who was with God and who was God and who became flesh in Jesus Christ. God, a lamb? If the pagan were to use an animal metaphor to describe God, he would certainly choose some powerful animal whose image would strike terror

January 22, 2015

Christian Standard

What I Learned When I Asked about Healthy Churches

By Brad Walden A longtime friend reported on the latest developments in the church where he had invested years of service. He seemed excited, but also concerned about the changes. So I asked, “Do you think your church is healthy?” He answered, “Oh, yes. We are healthy. We have the largest bank balance in our history.” So that”s it? A healthy church has a healthy cash reserve?  That got me to thinking. How would I define a healthy church? Is your church healthy? Can you invite new neighbors to attend your church with total confidence they will find a healthy environment? Will involvement

January 2, 2015

Christian Standard

Grateful Response

By H. Lynn Gardner Doctors told me I would die of my pulmonary fibrosis if I did not get a lung transplant. On June 15, 2004, I received a double lung transplant and have been blessed with a 10-year extension on life with my wife, family, and friends, as well as continuing some teaching and writing. Do you think I am grateful for this gift? I have been saved from death and received a new lease of life. I have tried to thank God every day for this gift of life. Unsaved persons face the prospect of death without hope and eternal

October 31, 2014

Christian Standard

A Universal Language

By C. Robert Wetzel Have you ever found yourself worshipping in a congregation in a country where you did not know the language? Perhaps occasionally you recognized a melody of a hymn and tried to sing the words that you associated with that tune. Or saw Scripture was being read, but could only guess what it might be by looking to see how the Bible was opened. Was it about halfway? Then maybe it was a Psalm. Was it near the back? Probably a New Testament reading. But what? It becomes even worse during the sermon. Why is the preacher

October 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Why Satan Hates Communion

By Mark Atteberry   Toward the end of a lengthy prayer, shortly before his arrest, Jesus said, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one””as you are in me, Father, and I am in you” (John 17:20, 21, New Living Translation). Jesus prayed for unity among his people because he understood that bickering Christians preaching love would be about as effective in spreading the gospel as a 300-pound man recommending a new

September 9, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

Our Focus: on the Cross?

By Mark A. Taylor “I don”t get to a Christian church very often. I don”t get to take Communion every Sunday. And when I do, I want to hear a word about the cross.” I still remember that comment spoken to me years ago by a graduate of Cincinnati Bible Seminary (now Cincinnati Christian University) who had long before quit attending a Christian church/church of Christ. Evidently, because he now belonged to a congregation that does not observe the Lord”s Supper every week, he missed it. And obviously, from years-ago training and decades of experience, he knew what was supposed

August 8, 2014

Christian Standard

Why Celebrate Every Week?

By Mark S. Krause Some in the church world today ask, “Why celebrate the Lord”s Supper every week?” In the Christian churches/churches of Christ, we celebrate the Lord”s Supper each Sunday because we find that pattern reflected in the early church described in the New Testament. While it is inevitable that the church has changed over the centuries, we believe there are basic patterns worth preserving, and this is one of them. But this leads to a more basic question: “Why did the early church celebrate the Lord”s Supper every week?” The answer is very simple, but it requires a

July 14, 2014

Christian Standard

Lesson for July 20, 2014: Overcome Temptation (1 Corinthians 10:1-22)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the July 13 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Paul guided the Corinthians to live as a community of believers. In chapter 8 he answered their questions about eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. In chapter 9 he responded to an inquiry about his apostleship. Paul then warned about the possibility of becoming a “castaway” (9:27, King James Version). Here in chapter 10 he

June 13, 2014

Christian Standard

What”s So Distinctive about the Christian Faith?

By Donald S. Tingle The world is full of religions. If Christianity is just one of many faith traditions, what makes it so special, so distinctive from all other religious claims? The answers Christian have given to that question often fit somewhere between two extremes. But somewhere in the middle lie the answers we need to show followers of other religions why Christianity alone truly leads us to God. On the extreme right some might say, “Christianity is true; therefore all non-Christian religions are false. Non-Christians are so thoroughly blinded by Satan that nothing worthwhile can be found among their

May 27, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

The Christian”s Ritual of Remembrance

By Mark A. Taylor Last Saturday, The Wall Street Journal posted a headline above a picture of a grade-school boy decorating a soldier”s grave in Virginia: “With Memorial Day Approaching, Rituals of Remembrance Begin.” But the American Automobile Association estimated more than 36 million Americans would be traveling over the holiday weekend. A spokesman suggested this year”s unrelenting winter created a pent-up longing to experience warm temperatures in wide-open spaces. And I”m wondering how many of these sun-starved campers, fliers, and interstate sojourners took time for a “ritual of remembrance.” Only a minority, most likely, but I”ll not bore you

April 14, 2014

Christian Standard

Making the Point: Delivering Powerful Communion Meditations

By Andy Heisler Preparing a three-minute Communion meditation has challenges that are unique from crafting a 30-minute sermon or Bible lesson. A sermon speaker or lesson teacher is able to follow the arc of a story, and take time to unpack the meaning of a text. A meditation presenter, on the other hand, has only a few critical moments to engage the congregation and lead them to the foot of the cross. Preparation is critical to crafting a Communion message that hits the mark. Consider the following suggestions: Make the Point Being clever or creative is not of greatest importance,

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