NULL
Illustration
Object:
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
I can still remember going to the bank seven years ago with my wife to buy our home. There were so many papers to sign! I thought we'd be in there signing mortgage papers forever! Yet, with each signature, we were saying, "This house is now in our name. This is our home." That signature represented ownership and authority. We made this house our own that day.
There have been many types of signatures or forms of authority over the years. Whether it was a simple handshake or a seal made in wax, these all served to form a pact or an agreement. God himself created his own seal when he delivered Israel out of slavery, and he used that seal again on the cross. Through the blood of the Lamb, God said, "This bond is sealed. You are mine."
Craig K.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Country songs are really happy if you play them backward, some people say. You get your wife back, your dog gets better, your truck starts running again... Although many dismiss country songs as corny, one in particular is appropriate for today's reading. The singer's wife has walked out on him, but he still loves her. Instead of crying about it, his song is a song of hope. He's leaving the light on for his wife -- in fact, leaving lots of lights on: "Every light in the house is on/ the backyard's burning like the crack of dawn/ the front porch looks like runway lights/ it's kinda like noon in the dead of night" he sings in the chorus. The second verse contains a caveat: "If I should ever start forgetting/ I'll turn the lights off one by one..." This singer's ritual of turning on the lights proclaims his love for his wife until she returns, like we proclaim Christ's coming in the bread and wine.
Leah T.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
In Billy Graham's daily devotional he was asked what is more important to God, our actions or the motives for our actions. The renowned evangelist answered with these words, "Sometimes I compare questions like this to the old question about which wing of an airplane is more important. The answer of course, is that one wing is just as important as the other, because both are necessary for the plane to fly. The same is true about our actions and our motives."
As we approach the communion rail this day, both our motives and our actions are of equal importance. Our motive in coming to the table is to seek forgiveness. Our action is in leaving the table is to forgive others.
Ron L.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
A recent study by the Barna Group (www.barna.org) showed that young Americans are holding an increasingly negative view of Christianity as compared to a decade ago. Just 16% of Americans polled in their teens and early twenties have a "good impression" of Christianity. For those averse to math, that means 84% of those polled don't. Of that number, 87% believe the church is judgmental, and 85% also believe the church is hypocritical. This is now the predominant view of Christianity among the next generation of Americans.
That provokes the question: How did Jesus want Christians to be viewed? The answer is simple and is found in this passage: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (v. 35). It is up to all of us as Christians to live up to this standard and give the future a more accurate view of this faith.
Craig K.
I can still remember going to the bank seven years ago with my wife to buy our home. There were so many papers to sign! I thought we'd be in there signing mortgage papers forever! Yet, with each signature, we were saying, "This house is now in our name. This is our home." That signature represented ownership and authority. We made this house our own that day.
There have been many types of signatures or forms of authority over the years. Whether it was a simple handshake or a seal made in wax, these all served to form a pact or an agreement. God himself created his own seal when he delivered Israel out of slavery, and he used that seal again on the cross. Through the blood of the Lamb, God said, "This bond is sealed. You are mine."
Craig K.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Country songs are really happy if you play them backward, some people say. You get your wife back, your dog gets better, your truck starts running again... Although many dismiss country songs as corny, one in particular is appropriate for today's reading. The singer's wife has walked out on him, but he still loves her. Instead of crying about it, his song is a song of hope. He's leaving the light on for his wife -- in fact, leaving lots of lights on: "Every light in the house is on/ the backyard's burning like the crack of dawn/ the front porch looks like runway lights/ it's kinda like noon in the dead of night" he sings in the chorus. The second verse contains a caveat: "If I should ever start forgetting/ I'll turn the lights off one by one..." This singer's ritual of turning on the lights proclaims his love for his wife until she returns, like we proclaim Christ's coming in the bread and wine.
Leah T.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
In Billy Graham's daily devotional he was asked what is more important to God, our actions or the motives for our actions. The renowned evangelist answered with these words, "Sometimes I compare questions like this to the old question about which wing of an airplane is more important. The answer of course, is that one wing is just as important as the other, because both are necessary for the plane to fly. The same is true about our actions and our motives."
As we approach the communion rail this day, both our motives and our actions are of equal importance. Our motive in coming to the table is to seek forgiveness. Our action is in leaving the table is to forgive others.
Ron L.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
A recent study by the Barna Group (www.barna.org) showed that young Americans are holding an increasingly negative view of Christianity as compared to a decade ago. Just 16% of Americans polled in their teens and early twenties have a "good impression" of Christianity. For those averse to math, that means 84% of those polled don't. Of that number, 87% believe the church is judgmental, and 85% also believe the church is hypocritical. This is now the predominant view of Christianity among the next generation of Americans.
That provokes the question: How did Jesus want Christians to be viewed? The answer is simple and is found in this passage: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (v. 35). It is up to all of us as Christians to live up to this standard and give the future a more accurate view of this faith.
Craig K.
