Dear Family at Christ Community,

This coming Sunday we will have the chance to taste and see yet again that the Lord is good as we come to the Lord’s Table! As we handle and taste the broken bread, we will be reminded of our total, life-changing forgiveness through Christ’s broken body. As we hold and drink the offered cup, we remember our newness of life in the New Covenant purchased by the shed blood of Christ. As we witness the community of brothers and sisters around us participating in this meal together, we know that this redemption has been tangibly accomplished and applied. This is why the Lord commanded us to use something we could see, touch, and taste—to remind us that salvation is not merely spiritual but something that deeply affects flesh and blood down to the joints and the marrow! The table declares our salvation to be a palpable reality that continues to affect how we live. The common elements of bread and cup proclaim our need for continued nourishment for our salvation along the way. Eugene H. Peterson captures this idea in Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination:

“The power of this Eucharistic meal to keep us participant in the essentials of salvation is impressive. This is the primary way that Christians remember, receive, and share the meaning of our salvation: Christ crucified for us, his blood shed for the remission of our sins. This is where we affirm the action of our salvation.”

      In preparing to come to the table, reflect on how your salvation in Christ alone by God’s grace alone through your Spirit-filled faith alone is making a tangible impact on your life at current. How is the forgiveness of Christ in His broken body affecting your understanding and application of God’s love for you and His call for you to love and forgive others? How is the resurrection of Christ as evidence of the New Covenant guiding you to walk in newness of life displaying the glory of God to those in your spheres of influence? Is your salvation evident and tangible to those around you? Pray for the Spirit to use this week’s table to nourish and strengthen you in all of these things despite whatever failings you may have experienced in the past.

In Christ,
Cameron