Dear Family at Christ Community,

   We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper this Sunday as part of our worship service which will focus on Colossians 4:2-6. It is a passage that I return to often. Each time, I am challenged afresh by Paul’s words as he calls us to be steadfast in prayer and watchful with thanksgiving. I, like many of you, am more like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane who failed to pray and watch with Jesus for even an hour. With that being true, how in the world can I ever continue steadfastly in prayer when I am barely able to string together 10 minutes on an irregular basis, not to mention, be watchful AND grateful? Add to this Paul’s challenge to pray for missional opportunities for others. Given how self-focused most of my prayers can be, how can I shift my thinking to pray for other missionaries and ministers? On top of all this, Paul challenges us to consider how we live and how we respond to those who are outside of the family so that we can live missionally. Based on my struggling prayer life, what expectations can I really have for myself to live a missional life? All of this could quickly pile up on us causing us to despair.

   This brings us to the Lord’s Table. The broken bread and offered cup remind us that before we can put Colossians 4:2-6 into practice we must remember and look to the person and work of Christ. In much the same way, Paul begins with the preeminence of Christ long before he calls us to continue steadfastly in prayer. Colossians 1:15-20 serves as a beautiful description of what is essentially the meaning of the Lord’s Supper:

[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

   We CAN pray steadfastly and watch with thanksgiving because of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf. We CAN pray for missionaries and ministers to have many open doors to declare the mystery of Christ because Christ has opened the door for us to understand that He alone is Savior. We CAN walk in wisdom making the best use of our time as we are called to live missionally, because He has gone before us to endure and pay the penalty that we could never bear to pay. The broken bread and offered cup serve to remind us of these truths and nourish us so that we can pray and live in this God glorifying manner.

   Take time this week to look to Jesus at the right hand of the Father and meditate on how the perfect person and finished work of Christ empowers us do all of these things as a delight. Give thanks for God’s rich, ongoing provision in Christ through the power of the Spirit. Rest in your forgiveness as it empowers you to forgive.

In Christ,

Cameron