Dear Family at CCC,

This Sunday we will finish our series through 1 & 2 Peter and celebrate the Lord’s Supper together.  Our status as elect exiles means that Peter’s closing call that we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ is both comforting and urgent.  It is comforting because our election—God’s choosing us—assures us that He loves us and really will help us to know Him better and experience His grace more deeply.  It is urgent because our exile in this world means that growing in our knowledge of Jesus and the experience of His grace is the most important business we have. The more progress we make in the gospel, the more we will find ourselves longing for and hoping in the return of Jesus and our home with Him in the new heavens and earth.

We see this also in the Lord’s Table. The broken bread reminds us of the broken body of Jesus which He gave up for us to free us from the brokenness of sin as we look toward His return and the end of our exile in this world.  We see the effects of this brokenness all around us and in us, but the Table reminds us this is not the final word. The poured out cup reminds us of Jesus’ spilled blood, giving us new life in Him and assuring us that we really belong to God and that He loves us.  It comforts us because we see that He is working all things for our good as His elect people.

As we prepare to partake of the Table, let us meditate over God’s electing love for us.  Let us ask Him to help us through the power of the Spirit to trust Him, to rest in His sovereign care of us, and not to be anxious about the troubles of life.  Let us prepare our hearts to eat of the bread and cup in eager anticipation of the marriage supper with Jesus in the new heavens and earth. Knowing Jesus is better than the fleeting pleasures of sin.  May the Lord increase this conviction in our hearts!

In Christ,
Robby