Dear Family at Christ Community,

   We have the privilege of celebrating the Lord’s Supper this Sunday. Our service will focus on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John in which he uniquely records the victorious declaration: “It is finished.” John Calvin in his Commentary on John brilliantly captures what this means for us:

“It is finished….Now this word, which Christ employs, well deserves our attention; for it shows that the whole accomplishment of our salvation, and all the parts of it, are contained in his death. We have already stated that his resurrection is not separated from his death, but Christ only intends to keep our faith fixed on himself alone, and not allow it to turn aside in any direction whatever. The meaning, therefore, is, that every thing which contributes to the salvation of men is to be found in Christ, and ought not to be sought anywhere else; or- which amounts to the same thing- that the perfection of salvation is contained in him.”

I can think of no better way to celebrate the finished nature of Christ’s work on our behalf than through the bread and the cup. The broken bread signifies the broken body of Christ on which our sin and God’s wrath was exhausted in full atonement; the poured out cup signifies the spilled blood of Christ that covers us in His righteousness and grants us newness of life in covenant newly kept by Him alone.

   As you prepare this week, meditate on how Christ’s finished work on your behalf allows you to rest in God’s grace alone by faith alone. Consider the ways in which you continue to strive to earn God’s love. Repent of these strivings and ask the Spirit to show you how you might replace them with worship and adoration. Remember the specific evidences of God’s grace in your life where He has reminded you that “It is finished.” Share some of these things with those around you. Pursue forgiveness and reconciliation with those who you are at odds with so that the finished work of Christ can be meaningful in those hard places as well.

In Christ,

Cameron