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Looking Back and Looking Forward
By H. Lynn Gardner Certain events invite us to both look back and look forward—graduations, weddings, New Year’s Day. At these times we consider the significance of the past and anticipate the future....
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Wordless Groans at the Lord’s Table
By C. Robert Wetzel “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). We often find our congregations preparing for the Lord’s...
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His Glorious Body
By C. Robert Wetzel Glory to God in the highest! Coming to the Lord’s table is an occasion to celebrate the glory of God and the promise of our participation in his glory. Traditionally we have often...
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Proclaiming the Lord’s Death
By C. Robert Wetzel “We believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). In a very real sense, participating in the Lord’s Supper is preaching. Preaching is proclamation. The apostle...
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The Cup of Blessing
By C. Robert Wetzel “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16, King James Version). There are so many rich meanings and experiences in...
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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...
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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...
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Foolishness and Communion
By Tom Lawson “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). What could be more foolish than...
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And When He Had Given Thanks
By Ron Davis One of the curious elements of the Passover Jesus shared with his apostles in the upper room, as recorded in Luke 22:14-20, is the comment, “he gave thanks.” Thanks? For what exactly?...
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The Shedding of Blood
By Ronald G. Davis The Passover of the Hebrew people was inextricably tied to the shedding of blood. How many thousands of Egypt’s firstborn sons had to die to free the Hebrews from their bondage? And...
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An Occasion for Unity
By Ronald G. Davis On the same occasion Jesus put in place this memory meal, he prayed fervently for the unity of those who would assemble around his table. Sadly, this table has often divided those...
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Judas at the Table
By Ronald G. Davis Because of varying details in the four Gospel accounts, scholars disagree over whether Judas was still present in the upper room when Jesus called for a new bread-and-cup occasion,...
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Turning Point
By Ronald G. Davis Turning points sometimes come in a roar. Turning points sometimes come in a whisper. In modern history the roar was heard in the deathly din of D-Day. And the course of modern human...
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My Favorite Meal
By Tom Ellsworth I would be hard-pressed to list my favorite meal. Some days I long for the time when I ate at my grandparents’ table and enjoyed a dinner of speckled butter beans, corn bread, and...
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The One Who Found Them
By Tom Ellsworth On July 30, 1945, just after midnight, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed while en route from Guam to the Leyte Gulf in the Philippians. The resulting explosions so...
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A Glimpse of Tomorrow
By Tom Ellsworth At the time many condescendingly referred to it as “Seward’s Folly”—because U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered the deal and was its biggest promoter—but the purchase of...
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Body Language
By Robert F. Hull Jr. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we...
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Kingdom Clash
By Robert F. Hull Jr. In the closing of his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul includes this surprising note: “All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s...
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Hungry or Empty?
By Robert F. Hull Jr. In the Gospel of John, the people who were fed by Jesus chased after him the next day to Capernaum, across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus said to them “You are looking for me, not...
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Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner
By Robert F. Hull Jr. Some of Jesus’ dinner companions are a bit surprising. Early in his ministry he ate with a large group of tax collectors and sinners (Mark 2:15). Once when he was at dinner with a...
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