Month: July 2022

The Lord’s Supper, Part 2

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The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 29

78. Question: Are then the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ?

Answer: No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ and is not the washing away of sins itself but is simply God’s sign and pledge,[1] so also the bread in the Lord’s supper does not become the body of Christ itself,[2] although it is called Christ’s body[3] in keeping with the nature and usage of sacraments.[4]

[1] Eph. 5:26; Tit. 3:5. [2] Matt. 26:26-29. [3] I Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:26-28. [4] Gen. 17:10, 11; Ex. 12:11, 13; I Cor. 10:3, 4; I Pet. 3:21.

79. Question: Why then does Christ call the bread His body and the cup His blood, or the new covenant in His blood, and why does Paul speak of a participation in the body and blood of Christ?

Answer: Christ speaks in this way for a good reason: He wants to teach us by His supper that as bread and wine sustain us in this temporal life, so His crucified body and shed blood are true food and drink for our souls to eternal life.[1] But, even more important, He wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge, first, that through the working of the Holy Spirit we share in His true body and blood as surely as we receive with our mouth these holy signs in remembrance of Him,[2] and, second, that all His suffering and obedience are as certainly ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins.[3]

[1] John 6:51, 55. [2] I Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:26. [3] Rom. 6:5-11.

Prayer Journal: Week 29

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Prayer is not the fruit of natural talents; it is the product of faith, of holiness, of deeply spiritual character. (E.M. Bounds)

This Week’s Scripture

·         Ezekiel 37:1-14
·         Psalm 130
·         Romans 8:6-11
·         John 11:1-45

Adoration

John 11:25-26a
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Jesus Shall Reign (verse 1)
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
does its successive journeys run.
his kingdom spread from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.
(Isaac Watts)

Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.

Confession

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:7-8)

Lord give me the repentance which is of the will, that, not only in desire but also in intention and effort I may embrace what is good, especially those virtues which once I neglected or refused, and so be endued with power to accept thy pardon; through Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen. (Bishop Brent)

As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Thanksgiving

O Lord, you hear our cries when we call out to you. You hear our voices and are attentive to our pleas for mercy. We give you thanks. God of grace, you do not mark our iniquities, for if you did, who could stand? Instead, with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. We give you thanks. Because in you there is hope, we will wait upon you. We give you thanks. Lord, with you there is steadfast love and plentiful redemption. We praise you good and sovereign Lord that you will redeem us from all our iniquities. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen. (based on Psalm 130)

Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.

Supplication (Petition – prayers for yourself)

·         Help me to mature in my faith and to increasingly please God by my thoughts, words, and deeds.
·         Particular struggles in various relationships
·         My activities for this day
·         Other needs

Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)

·         My Family
·         My local church
·         My denomination
·         Para-church ministries, particularly Christian education and discipleship
·         Evangelistic ministries
·         Other needs
​
God is too kind to do anything cruel, too wise to make a mistake, too deep to explain himself.
(Charles Swindoll)

Where Endless Joy Abides

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But it happens that many, from frequent hearing of the Gospel, are conscious of little longing for it, because they have not the spirit of Christ. But he who wishes fully and with relish to know the words of Christ, must be zealous to bring his whole life into conformity with him.

It is vanity to hope for long life and to take little thought for a good life. It is vanity to attend only to the present life, and not look forward to things to come. It is vanity to love that which passes with all speed away, and not to be hastening thither where endless joy abides.

Thomas a’ Kempis

The Lord’s Supper

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The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 28

75. Question: How does the Lord’s Supper signify and seal to you that you share
in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all His gifts?

Answer: In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup in remembrance of Him. With this command He gave these promises:[1] First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely was His body offered for me and His blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the minister and taste with my mouth the bread and the cup of the Lord
as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely does He Himself nourish and refresh my soul to everlasting life with His crucified body and shed blood.

[1] Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19, 20; I Cor. 11:23-25.

76. Question: What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink His shed blood?

Answer: First, to accept with a believing heart all the suffering and the death of Christ, and so receive forgiveness of sins and life eternal.[1] Second, to be united more and more to His sacred body through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us.[2] Therefore, although Christ is in heaven[3] and we are on earth, yet we are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones,[4] and we forever live and are governed by one Spirit, as the members of our body are by one soul.[5]

[1] John 6:35, 40, 50-54. [2] John 6:55, 56; I Cor. 12:13. [3] Acts 1:9-11; 3:21; I Cor. 11:26; Col. 3:1. [4] I Cor. 6:15, 17; Eph. 5:29, 30; I John 4:13. [5] John 6:56-58; 15:1-6; Eph. 4:15, 16; I John 3:24.

77. Question: Where has Christ promised that He will nourish and refresh believers with His body and blood as surely as they eat of this broken bread and drink of this cup?

Answer: In the institution of the Lord’s supper: The Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (I Corinthians 11:23-26). This promise is repeated by Paul where he says: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread (I Corinthians 10:16, 17).

Prayer Journal: Week 28

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Prayer does not enable us to do a greater work for God. Prayer is a greater work for God.
(Thomas Chalmers)

This Week’s Scripture

·         1 Samuel 16:1-13
·         Psalm 23
·         Ephesians 5:8-14
·         John 9:1-41

Adoration

Psalm 23:1-3a
     The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3     He restores my soul.

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (verse 1)
All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.
(Edward Perronet)

Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.

Confession

Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. (Ephesians 5:8b-13)

Merciful Lord, deliver me from idolatrous love of created things or beings. Keep me from loving anything of this world except in service to my love for you, and only as far as love for you will allow. Above all, my God, deliver me from an idolatrous love of self. I know that you made me to do your will, not mine, and to love myself, as all other created things, only as it serves love for you. Amen. (John Wesley)

As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Thanksgiving

My Lord and Shepherd, thank you for providing for all my needs, and even lavishing upon me green pastures and still waters. You have restored my soul and you continue to lead me down the right path for the sake of your glory. For that, dear God, I thank you. I am humbled that even in the valley of the shadow of death, I do not have to fear, for I am under your protection and loving care. In fact, more than that, you offer your good gifts to me even in the midst of trials and tribulations. My cup surely overflows. Thank you, O God, for the abundant life you have given me in this world and for the promise of an eternity in your unveiled presence. In the name of the Shepherd and Lover of my soul I pray. Amen. (based on Psalm 23)

Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.

Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself)

·         Spiritual Warfare
·         Growth in Christlikeness
·         Increasing faithfulness in the spiritual disciplines
·         My health
·         For my ordinary appointments and activities to become divine appointments and activities.
·         Other needs

Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)

·         My Family
·         Mercy for those who are poor and hungry
·         Justice for those who are oppressed and persecuted
·         Peace for those in the midst of war, crime, and violence
·         Other needs

O God, may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord.”
(The United Methodist Book of Worship)