Make people ask about your life "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" Ephesians 5:1-2 ( NET ) Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children 2  and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Part 2) This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood. Moreover, though the sacraments and thing signified are joined together, not all receive both of them. The wicked person certainly takes the sacrament, to his condemnation, but does not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both indeed received the sacrament, but not Christ, who was signified by it. He is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore no one should come to this table without examining himself carefully, lest “by eating this bread and drinking this cup he eat and drink to his own judgment.” In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. Therefore we reject as desecrations of the sacraments all the muddled ideas and damnable inventions that men have added and mixed in with them. And we say that we should be content with the procedure that Christ and the apostles have taught us and speak of these things as they have spoken of them. Summary If you're as old as I am you might remember the old ads with the tagline "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" Back in the day when the only way to record sound was on cassette tapes, Memorex branded itself as being the best at reducing the audio flaws common to tapes. I always think of those ads when I read the opening line to Ephesians 5 commanding us to be imitators . The word is mimētēs in Greek, so you can see where Memorex got its name. The point is that our lives must flawlessly reflect God's character since we're His dearly loved children . This means you must live in love , which is a nice sounding but somewhat abstract instruction; after all, love is an emotion, isn't it? What does it really look like to live in love? Since this is the way we're commanded to live , we need a concrete example of what living in love looks like. Thankfully you don't need to go searching to get such an example. You are to live in love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us! Christ's love is far more than just a feeling of affection. His love was self sacrificial and its sole purpose was to restore us back into a right relationship with His Father. This is what it means for you to live in love. Be willing to sacrifice yourself by putting others first, with your primary goal being to help them understand how it is they too can be restored to a right relationship with God. Dig Deeper Thankfully we don't need to rely on a faded, fuzzy cassette tapes to see Christ's love live in action. Certainly the words recording it come to life by His Spirit each time we read them, and especially when we hear them preached, but we've been given even more than that. Remember how we began this study of our sacraments a few weeks ago, being reminded that God knows our crudeness and weakness; He knows that your memory and even imagination fades over time, so He ordained sacraments so that all of your senses would be involved in experiencing Christ's love so that you could imitate it in our lives. This is especially true of the Lord's Supper, and it's why why we've been commanded to do this in remembrance on a regular basis until the Lord returns. In short, our Confession says, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. In other words, as you participate in the Supper, you become an imitator of God , fulfilling the very purpose you were created for. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who created us as His image bearers to imitate Him. A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you participate at the Lord's table, you'll be moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Peter 1

God's grace comes even to those who doze off. Acts 20:7-12 (NIV) 7  On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8  There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9  Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10  Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11  Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12  The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Part 2) This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood . Moreover, though the sacraments and thing signified are joined together, not all receive both of them. The wicked person certainly takes the sacrament, to his condemnation, but does not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both indeed received the sacrament, but not Christ, who was signified by it. He is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore no one should come to this table without examining himself carefully, lest “by eating this bread and drinking this cup he eat and drink to his own judgment.” In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. Therefore we reject as desecrations of the sacraments all the muddled ideas and damnable inventions that men have added and mixed in with them. And we say that we should be content with the procedure that Christ and the apostles have taught us and speak of these things as they have spoken of them. Summary Poor Eutychus. On one hand, what an honor to have your name memorialized for all ages on the pages of scripture. On the other hand, this passage wouldn't be included in Luke's account of the early church if he hadn't dozed off. Once again, we read the story through the lens of Luke's dry, subtle sense of humor: there were many lamps in the upstairs room , and Paul talked on and on . As midnight came and went, and Paul kept on preaching, poor Eutychus, like the disciples in the garden the night Jesus was arrested, submitted himself to slumber. But instead of being roused by Jesus, Eutychus took a three story stumble to his death. But, by God's grace, Paul, just like the prophets Elijah and Elisha of old, laid down on the boy and brought him back to life. The long winded preacher in me might like to focus on the fact that after a quick late night snack, the congregation once again eagerly listened as Paul resumed preaching until daylight. But as awesome as their hunger to hear God's Word was, it's not what grabs our attention today. Rather, it's the opening line: On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Two things stand out: From the earliest of times, Christians have gathered together on the first day of the week. But secondly, in addition to spending the bulk of their time - the entire night, in this case - listening to God's Word preached, they also came together to celebrate the sacrament the Lord ordained for us. Dig Deeper Communion in this early congregation looked far different than it does for us. They didn't use cubed bites of white bread followed by tiny shot glasses of wine, as is common in our cultures. But even now, the communion experience looks different across the broad church spectrum. In some churches, the people remain seated while the elders serve, and in others, the congregation comes forward. Many like ours get their wine from a tiny cup, while others share a common cup. Our confession gives us four aspects that a faithful communion experience will include, no matter how different the particulars may be: We engage together - We're not just communing with Christ, but with His body as well, which is the church; With thanksgiving - Thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us is a key aspect of communion, which is why it's often referred to as the eucharist (the Greek word for thanksgiving); In a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior - Adhering to Jesus' command to do this in remembrance of me is the most fundamental reason we gather together to participate; We confess our faith and Christian religion - Participating in this sacred sacrament is the most reverent way you can confess your allegiance to the faith once delivered. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, whose Word and sacrament nurses us back to life even after we doze off; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the humility and reverence required to properly respond to God's gracious invitation to commune with Him and His Church; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Thessalonians 3

The Lord's Supper comes with a warning! 1 Corinthians 11:26-32 (NIV) 26  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27  So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28  Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29  For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31  But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32  Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Part 2) This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood . Moreover, though the sacraments and thing signified are joined together, not all receive both of them. The wicked person certainly takes the sacrament, to his condemnation, but does not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both indeed received the sacrament, but not Christ, who was signified by it. He is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore no one should come to this table without examining himself carefully, lest “by eating this bread and drinking this cup he eat and drink to his own judgment.” In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. Therefore we reject as desecrations of the sacraments all the muddled ideas and damnable inventions that men have added and mixed in with them. And we say that we should be content with the procedure that Christ and the apostles have taught us and speak of these things as they have spoken of them. Summary We get lots of solicitations here at the church from companies dedicated to helping ministries thrive, and one of the most common bits of advice regarding church facilities is that they be welcoming in every way - bright lighting, clean restrooms, well stocked nurseries, etc. Certainly that's good advice, but it's clear that Paul didn't work for one of these companies when he wrote this letter to the Corinthians. If Paul had his way, churches would have giant warning signs both indoors and out reminding parishioners to discern the body of Christ before participating at the Lord's Table. Failure to do so might result in weakness, sickness, and even a risk of falling asleep (and not just dozing off during the sermon, but a more long term nap you don't wake up from here on earth). Paul's intention here isn't to scare ordinary Christians away from the Table (sadly, some Christians understand it this way), but rather to underscore the importance of discerning the body prior to joining yourself to it. The word Paul uses in v29 and 31 literally means to judge through , as if you picked up an object and carefully looked it over from every angle. You're commanded to discern the body . This has a twofold meaning. First, you must fully understand who you're being joined to as you eat the bread and wine: the very body of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose body was broken and blood poured out for our sins. Secondly, you need to understand who you're being joined with : the body of Christ also refers to all those who comprise His Church. This is why disputes must be resolved prior to joining with your brothers and sisters at the Lord's Table Dig Deeper Our Confession reminds us here that not all who take the sacrament receives the truth of the sacrament. Although the sacraments and thing signified are joined together , that is, the bread and wine really are, in a spiritual sense, the body and blood of Christ, they're not magic pills that suddenly make a person a Christian. Out Confession cites two examples from the New Testament of men who ate the bread and wine, but didn't receive the spiritual benefit attached to those elements. Judas participated in the Last Supper before excusing himself to betray Jesus, and in Acts, a man named Simon the Sorcerer tried to add Christianity to his bag of superstitious tricks. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw (Acts 8:13). Yet even though he most certainly would have joined other Christians at the table, it quickly becomes apparent that his profession wasn't sincere. In the case of both of these men, they ate and drank the physical elements, but Christ was not communicated to them in the way that He is to believers. So heed this warning. Come to the table in fear - for one of our primary objectives in life is to fear God in all things (Ecclesiastes 12:13). But as you discern the body, you will gain the comfort that comes from truly knowing Christ and belonging to His people, the Church. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who disciplines us so that we will not be finally condemned with the world; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God helps you truly discern the body the next time you come to His Table; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Thessalonians 2

This is a participation trophy you want to win! 1 Corinthians 10:13-17 (NIV) 13  No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 14  Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15  I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16  Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17  Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. -- 21  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22  Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Part 2) This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood . Moreover, though the sacraments and thing signified are joined together, not all receive both of them. The wicked person certainly takes the sacrament, to his condemnation, but does not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both indeed received the sacrament, but not Christ, who was signified by it. He is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore no one should come to this table without examining himself carefully, lest “by eating this bread and drinking this cup he eat and drink to his own judgment.” In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. Therefore we reject as desecrations of the sacraments all the muddled ideas and damnable inventions that men have added and mixed in with them. And we say that we should be content with the procedure that Christ and the apostles have taught us and speak of these things as they have spoken of them. Summary You didn't need to read today's passage to understand that even though you're a Christian, you remain subject to temptations. As Paul reminds us, temptations are common to mankind. But you did need to read today's passage to be reminded of God's faithfulness to you when you're in the midst of temptation. His faithfulness is such that He will provide a way out so that you can endure every temptation without falling victim to it. Since your primary defense against temptation is God's faithfulness, it makes sense that that Paul implores you to flee from idolatry . An idol is anything that gets in between you and God, so an idol keeps God's faithfulness hidden from you, and you're left to try and endure temptations with nothing but your own feeble strength. But Paul didn't write this passage just to make you feel warm and fuzzy in regards to God's faithfulness. This passage is a very serious warning. It's a reminder that when you fall into temptation, you're not just dragging yourself into sin. As one who's come to the Lord's Table, you've joined yourself to Christ; you've participated with Him, as Paul puts it here. That means that as you sin, Jesus is very much right there with you. At the end of this passage, Paul puts it quite bluntly. For a person like you, who has participated in the body and blood of Christ , you can't simultaneously sample the food the demons offer you from their table. Rely on the strength the Lord has given you, which comes in no small part from the spiritual nutrition you've gained while participating at the Lord's table, to flee temptation. Dig Deeper Maybe at some point you or your children have taken home a participation trophy. That's the consolation prize handed out to those who came to the tournament but didn't win enough games to nab a real trophy. Unfortunately that's the attitude that far too many Christians take to their experience at the Lord's table: they simply participated . They were there in the sanctuary, they ate the bread and drank the wine, but the experience was empty and hollow. They don't go home with the 'real' trophy. You might know the Greek word Paul uses here that's been translated as participation . It's koinōnia. One dictionary defines this as "an association involving close mutual relations and involvement—‘close association, fellowship.’" Notice here that actual koinōnia requires mutual effort. Eating bread and drinking wine do not bestow some sort of magical power upon anybody who happens to consume them. Rather, the elements are simply an external picture of the internal bond present in those who are in koinōnia with Jesus. This is the kind of deep participation that you're invited to as you come to the table. The Holy Spirit enables and equips you for this as you diligently prepare yourself for the meal as you come to understand the theology of communion and recognize how dependent you are on the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all your sins. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for a deeper understanding of communion so that through it you might better appreciate the koinōnia you have with Christ; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 2 Thessalonians 1

Christianity's thorniest mystery is trying to define 'is.' 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NIV) 23  For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24  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.” 25  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Part 2) Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Yet we do not go wrong when we say that what is eaten is Christ’s own natural body and what is drunk is his own blood— but the manner in which we eat it is not by the mouth but by the Spirit, through faith. In that way Jesus Christ remains always seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven— but he never refrains on that account to communicate himself to us through faith. This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood. Moreover, though the sacraments and thing signified are joined together, not all receive both of them. The wicked person certainly takes the sacrament, to his condemnation, but does not receive the truth of the sacrament, just as Judas and Simon the Sorcerer both indeed received the sacrament, but not Christ, who was signified by it. He is communicated only to believers. Finally, with humility and reverence we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God’s people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. Therefore no one should come to this table without examining himself carefully, lest “by eating this bread and drinking this cup he eat and drink to his own judgment.” In short, by the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors. Therefore we reject as desecrations of the sacraments all the muddled ideas and damnable inventions that men have added and mixed in with them. And we say that we should be content with the procedure that Christ and the apostles have taught us and speak of these things as they have spoken of them. Summary We're going to be coming back to this chapter often this week as we work to understand the mysterious reality of this ongoing sacrament that Jesus ordained for us. Once again, our hapless Corinthian predecessors created the need for Paul to correct them, and we benefit from it because now we have these written instructions. Of course all of Paul's writing is inspired by the Holy Spirit - although we hear Paul's voice come through the words, we can honestly say that they are God's Words. But Paul wants to emphasize the authority of his words here, reminding us that he received these words directly from the Lord and now passes them on to us. Paul goes on to repeat the gospel accounts of Jesus in the upper room with His disciples on the night He was arrested, quoting Jesus' words verbatim: This is my body, which is for you; Do this in remembrance of me. In this eloquently simple statement, Jesus tells us what we're being given to eat, who it's for (us!), and instructions to remember Him by continually doing this. This passage also demonstrates why we consider communion as an aspect of what we call the ordinary means of grace (the tools with which God most often conveys saving grace upon us). Paul writes that whenever we eat and drink this, we're proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes . In other words, although preaching is the most ordinary of the ordinary means of grace, coming to the Lord's Table is just as much a proclamation as preaching! Dig Deeper Want to start a fight between two solid Christians who agree on nearly every other aspect of Biblical doctrine? Ask them what the little word is means in Jesus' communion formula and then get out of the way! Does it mean that the physical bread & wine somehow are Christ's physical body, or does Jesus simply use the word is in a metaphorical sense? Each major branch of Christianity answers this question differently: Roman Catholics understand that the elements transubstantiate . There "takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood" ( CCC 1376 ). Martin Luther famously pounded the table and shouted out Christ's words "This IS my body" as the early reformers tried to sort things out. Lutherans reject the idea that the elements physically change substance, but still advocate that Christ's physical body is in, under and around the bread and wine. They don't like the term consubstantiation , but it's how the rest of us describe their understanding ( Book of Concord ). The later Reformers had differing approaches to this mystery. Zwingli understood the 'is' completely metaphorically and focused on the memorial aspect of the Supper, but Calvin wasn't ready to let go of the literal presence. He emphasizes that Christ's presence is real and substantial, though apprehended through faith by the work of the Holy Spirit ( Institutes IV.17.10-12, 19, 32-33 ). It's Calvin's view that's reflected in our Confession: Yet we do not go wrong when we say that what is eaten is Christ’s own natural body and what is drunk is his own blood— but the manner in which we eat it is not by the mouth but by the Spirit, through faith. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gave His Son not just to forgive our sins, but to nourish our faith through His presence in our lives; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the wisdom and insight to understand the mystery of Christ's presence in the elements as clearly as you can; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 5

I'm glad I wasn't there to hear Jesus say this in person! John 6:47-57 (NIV) CONTEXT: We began this passage yesterday. People who saw Jesus feed thousands with little food track Him down, wanting more. Jesus urges them to seek eternal food, not what spoils. Despite His signs, they ask for another miracle. Jesus explains that He is the bread of life from heaven, and whoever comes to Him will never hunger or thirst. 47  "... Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48  I am the bread of life. 49  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52  Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53  Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. -- 60  On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ... 66  From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Summary There are times when in looking back upon the interactions Jesus had with those around Him, it seems so hard to understand how those listening to Him could have missed the good news He proclaimed. Jesus proclaims the best news of His entire ministry in today's passage - that the one who believes has eternal life - but at the same time it's not difficult to see why that first audience rejected His offer. Jesus told them that since He was the living bread that came down from heaven, the key to attaining eternal life was to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Can you imagine the look of shock and confusion on the faces of those listening? They'd been listening to His wonderful teaching about loving one another and what it truly means to live in the light of God's commands, and now He's telling them the key to eternal life is eating Him. So it's no surprise whatsoever that John tells us just a few verses later that from this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Dig Deeper Theologian R.C. Sproul offers some help in understanding these difficult words of Jesus: Many biblical scholars through the ages have thought that Jesus was giving a discourse on the meaning of the Lord’s Supper and was saying that unless a person partakes of the real body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of Holy Communion, he cannot be redeemed. I don’t agree with that position. I believe Jesus was making the point that He is the giver of supernatural life, the living Redeemer who had been sent by the living God to impart eternal life to all who put their trust in Him. Furthermore, He was calling for a deep commitment. He told His disciples: “You have to come into Me, be united to Me, feast upon Me—not just have a casual relationship to Me.” He was calling His followers to a wholehearted pursuit of union with Him—a union without which there is no spiritual life. To put it another way, Jesus declared that religion won’t do it. Church attendance won’t do it. Good works in and of themselves won’t do it. The only thing that gets us into the kingdom of God, by which we participate in the gift of eternal life, is union with Christ Jesus. To emphasize this, our Lord said, “You have to take all of Me, as if you were ingesting Me." Our Confession also helps explain Jesus' words. When you partake of the Lord's Supper, you receive into your soul, for your spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, your only Savior, but it's certainly not the act of physical eating and drinking that saves you. Rather the elements of bread and wine are physical signs that seal your eternal union with Christ, which is yours by faith, which is the hand and mouth of your soul. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, the author and giver of eternal life; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will not just have a "casual relationship" with Jesus, but rather "a wholehearted pursuit of union with Him;" A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 4

Sometimes being a hard worker isn't a good thing. John 6:25-40 (NIV) CONTEXT: After spending days teaching people, during which He had fed the 5,000, Jesus had crossed the lake, partly because He sensed the crowd wanted to make Him their political leader. But the crowd came looking for Him. We pick up the conversation after they'd found Jesus again. 25  When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” 28  Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  30  So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31  Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32  Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”   34  “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 35  Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36  But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37  All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40  For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” We'll finish this passage tomorrow. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary Jesus doesn't seem happy that the crowd He had slipped away from had found Him. He immediately lays into them, pointing out that the only reason they came looking for Him was because they had eaten the loaves and had their fill [when Jesus fed the 5,000]. In other words, they only saw Jesus as a solution to their ongoing physical need to eat. Instead of working for food that spoils, Jesus tells them they ought to be working for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. After all, Jesus tells them, God the Father has placed His seal on Him. These were hungry people who'd been miracuously fed by Jesus, and they wanted more. They had demonstrated that they were willing to do almost anything to get more of this miracle food, as evidenced by the fact that they traveled a significant distance to track Jesus down, and they expressed their willingness to do even more by asking Him what must we do to work the works God requires (literal translation) in order to get this food that endures to eternal life? Dig Deeper These first century Jews were hard working people, just like us. Certainly their work differed from ours - their lives centered around the work of baking bread and commercial fishing - but like us, they knew that having food on table their depended upon them working hard to make it happen. So they fell into the same trap we often fall into. When you're a hard worker, it seems to make sense that getting more of God's grace and blessing comes down to working the works that God requires. But Jesus stuns them and us with the simplicity of the work that God requires : Simply believe in the One God has sent . This doesn't lead to bread that spoils, like the manna provided in the wilderness, but to bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The people demanded that Jesus always give them this bread . The real miracle is that Jesus gives them exactly what they want here! He says I AM this bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. But tragically, these people whom Jesus gives this amazing answer to end up rejecting the bread of life . They missed that Jesus came to work the will of God in our place so that we could be given the food that endures to eternal life. This is what we celebrate each time we come to the Lord's Table. Make sure that you take and eat of it! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gives us the true bread from heaven; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you always remember that Christ came to work the works God requires on your behalf. A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 3

Don't let yourself get spiritually hangry. John 3:1-7 (NIV) Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3  Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4  “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6  Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ NET Bible translation : 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above , he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above .’ Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary One of the first books of the Bible we learn to read in Greek while at seminary is the gospel of John. He writes with a simple style that's the easiest of all of the New Testament books for a beginning translator to get started with. But hidden beneath his elementary grammatical style are some of the Bible's most elegantly complex gems! One of John's best features are the secondary characters we read about throughout the gospel, all of which undergo significant development and change throughout the story. John draws his readers deep into the lives of men like Thomas, Pilate and even John himself using their struggles and questions as a foil for understanding our own personal challenges. But one of John's most fascinating secondary characters is Nicodemus. We meet this pillar of the Jewish establishment here in chapter 3 as he comes to Jesus at night (the contrast between light/dark is another theme throughout John's gospel). Nicodemus recognizes that Jesus is "a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him. ” But rather than bringing the clarity Nicodemus wanted, Jesus' answer confused him all the more. Jesus told him that only those who were born again could truly know who Jesus was and the Kingdom He came from. Dig Deeper Nicodemus immediately got hung up on the logistics of physically being born again. But that's not what Jesus meant. We can be certain of that, because if that's what He meant, John, who writes using plain, simple words, could have expressed the thought much more plainly in recording Jesus' words. But instead John used a lesser used Greek word that perfectly captures the nuance of the Aramaic words that Jesus like spoke in. It certainly could mean born again , as it's most commonly translated, but it's best understood to mean born from above . In other words, seeing and understanding the Kingdom of God comes only to those who are born again from above by the Spirit ( Read the NET Bible Study notes on v3 ). It's this idea that brings us to this passage today as we work to understand the Lord's Supper. You very much get that you need to eat on a regular and continual basis to nourish your physical body. Most of experience immediate physical (and even mental) effects if we miss a meal (any of you get hangry ?). The same holds true for your spiritual life. Since you've been born from above , it only makes sense that you need to be fed from above on a regular basis. You're spiritual meal always comes in the form of the Word. As you read it now, it's a midweek snack. As you hear it preached on the Lord's Day, it's a substantial meal. But you also need to regularly experience in the formal setting of the visible signs that Jesus ordained to both physically and spiritually nourish and seal your faith. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who brings us into His Kingdom by causing us to be born again, from above ; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will continue to remain obedient to the truth; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 2

The invitation to the Lord's Table is the most exclusive invitation you'll ever receive. 1 Peter 1:21-25 (NIV) 21  Through him [Christ] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 22  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24  For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.”  And this is the word that was preached to you. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary Peter makes an astonishing connection to begin today's passage. Way back at the start of this year as we began working through our Confession, one of the first things we learned was that creation itself testifies to God's existence , so that all men - whether they've ever read the Bible or not - have no excuse for not knowing there is a God who created, orders and continues to provide for all that we see around us. But our ability to see God through what he's made has been marred by sin, which has impaired our ability to think clearly and correctly . So while everyone ought to know there is a God, Peter informs us that it's only through Christ that you believe in God . Peter here isn't pitting the work of Jesus against the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, who turned your unbelieving heart of stone into a heart of flesh in which the imperishable seed has taken root. Rather, Peter's point is that your faith and hope are in God because God raised Christ from the dead and glorified Him. But what really grabs our attention today as we come to this passage in the context of the Lord's Supper is how the Holy Spirit plants this imperishable seed which is made possible because of Christ's resurrection and ascension: He does it through the living and enduring Word of God. Whereas people are like withering grass and falling flowers, the Word of the LORD endures forever (Isaiah 40:6-8). So if you're wondering why your pastor spends so much time communicating God's Word to you, this is why. It is the primary means by which the Holy Spirit brings you to Christ, and it's through Christ that you believe in God. Dig Deeper Most churches want as many people as possible to come to our services, to join God's people in songs of praises, and especially to hear the preached Word, which Peter reminds us is so powerful. All sorts of evangelistic efforts are made in order to boost attendance. We want the whole community there! But participation in the Lord's Supper is different. It's exclusive. It's only for those who are already born again . Maybe that hits you as being overly harsh, especially because it seems so contrary to our zeal for evangelism, but it only makes sense. Those who only have a physical and temporal life, the life that is common to all , have no need for a meal meant to nourish a spiritual and heavenly life, which is only given to people in their second birth. Paul makes clear in the eleventh chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians that improperly participating at the Lord's table can be deadly serious . Before you join yourself to the very body and blood of Jesus, you need to have purified yourself , and Peter explains here that you do that by obeying the truth - fully believing in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ and the God who made that all happen (v21). This good news has been preached to you through the living and enduring Word of God . The continued growth of this imperishable seed happens as its nourished by your ongoing participation in Christ's body and blood, which you receive from the Lord's Table. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who raised Jesus from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will continue to remain obedient to the truth; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Thessalonians 1

The Lord's Supper is a shocking interruption to your life. Mark 14:17-26 (NIV) 17  When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18  While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” 19  They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” 20  “It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21  The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 22  While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” 23  Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24  “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25  “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26  When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   35: The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church. Now those who are born again have two lives in them. The one is physical and temporal— they have it from the moment of their first birth, and it is common to all. The other is spiritual and heavenly, and is given them in their second birth; it comes through the Word of the gospel in the communion of the body of Christ; and this life is common to God’s elect only. Thus, to support the physical and earthly life God has prescribed for us an appropriate earthly and material bread, which is as common to all as life itself also is. But to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers he has sent a living bread that came down from heaven: namely Jesus Christ, who nourishes and maintains the spiritual life of believers when eaten—that is, when appropriated and received spiritually by faith. To represent to us this spiritual and heavenly bread Christ has instituted an earthly and visible bread as the sacrament of his body and wine as the sacrament of his blood. He did this to testify to us that just as truly as we take and hold the sacraments in our hands and eat and drink it in our mouths, by which our life is then sustained, so truly we receive into our souls, for our spiritual life, the true body and true blood of Christ, our only Savior. We receive these by faith, which is the hand and mouth of our souls. Now it is certain that Jesus Christ did not prescribe his sacraments for us in vain, since he works in us all he represents by these holy signs, although the manner in which he does it goes beyond our understanding and is incomprehensible to us, just as the operation of God’s Spirit is hidden and incomprehensible. Summary Our practice in Reformed churches is to participate in communion usually every 4-6 weeks. But the Sunday before we celebrate it, we begin a week of preparation. These next couple of weeks as we read the Bible together, we'll be reminded why it is we do this; to come to the Lord's Table is a big deal, and we don't want to rush into it as if we were just grabbing a quick bite to eat. Jesus' preparatory exhortation , to use the formal term, at first seems really different that what we might do. He begins by dropping a bomb: someone at the table would betray Him. Mark then records the disciples' reaction, writing that they were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me?” Jesus followed His shocking announcement with a dire warning for the one who would sit at His table, communing with Him, before going out to betray Him. It would be better for that one, Jesus says, if he had not been born. But that's what we still seek to do as we prepare to respond to God's gracious invitation: to instruct you to spend the intervening days looking within yourself to be certain you're fully on board with Jesus, and that you trust in Him completely. We also, like Jesus, warn those who would pretend to sit at the table on Sunday while denying Christ every other day of the week. Dig Deeper It seems so ironic the way the gospels present it. For lots of reasons it's good that our communion services are as formal and even somber as what they are, but this first experience of the Lord's Supper was quite different from what we've come to think of it as. Thirteen guys were stuffed into an upstairs room which was likely very cramped (da Vinci's painting, as magnificent as what it is, isn't a very accurate representation of the actual scene). Nobody quietly played Just As I Am as Jesus distributed the elements. As this motley crew worked their way through a very regimented passover liturgy, their Rabbi went off script, breaking bread and passing around a cup. That's exactly how Mark records what happened: While they were eating, Jesus took bread... It was a completely unexpected interruption. Most significantly, Jesus usurped the very meaning of the ceremony they'd come to celebrate. Instead of using the meal to symbolize solidarity with the people whom God had passed over while they were slaves , our Savior invited participants to become one with Him by consuming His body and blood. But that's really what a communion celebration is: an intrusion of the heavenly into our otherwise mundane world. A chance to see, touch, smell and even taste the very spiritual presence of Jesus right there around us. It's important for you to prepare yourself to participate in communion, but don't miss the shocking interruption it represents. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, whose Kingdom is coming where we will drink from the fruit of the vine right alongside Jesus! A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your commitment to Christ would be solidified so that you will not betray Him; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 21