Category: Bible

The right attitude at communion

December 9, 2024

For communion today I want to read a few verses from 1 Corinthians 11. This is where the Apostle Paul tells the believers at Corinth to have the right attitude when taking communion. As they were a mix of cultures and different religions in the past they needed to focus on the right things when taking the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:23-29

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord Himself. On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.” 25 In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and His people–an agreement confirmed with My blood. Do this to remember Me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until He comes again. 27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

In this passage there are three main ideas.

1. A past remembrance – In verses 23-25 Paul repeated Jesus’ words when he said this is my body and my blood. It is a call for us to remember Jesus’ sacrifice and Jesus’ death on the cross for us. It is a reminder to focus on the One who paid the price for our sin. The One who died in our place to purchase eternal life for us all.

2. A present reflection – Verse 28 calls for us to examine ourselves. The people in Corinth were using the Lord’s Supper to fill up. Some were over eating, others were getting drunk. Paul called them to focus – on Jesus and their relationship with Him. As Christians, we can use this time to tell Jesus how thankful we are and how much we love Him. We can also use it examine ourselves and confess any things we have done wrong. 

3. A future hope – In verse 26 it looks forward when it says, “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until He comes again”. Our great hope as Christians is Jesus coming back. He has gone to prepare a place for us. He is coming back so we can be with the Him forever.

So, as we take the bread and the cup this morning. Let us remember Jesus death for us. Let us examine ourselves. And let us look to the future with hope of the Lord’s return.

Groups in the time of Jesus

December 3, 2024

When I was at Bible College one of the assignments I had to do was about the four main groups of people that were around when Jesus walked the earth. This was to give us an idea of what life was like at that time and to give us a context for Jesus’ words.

The four main groups we have to look at were the Pharisees, Saducees, Essenes and Zealots. Here’s a very brief rundown of each group…

Pharisees – very strict sect who followed the law of Moses and had over 600 laws to guide their daily lives. They spent a lot of time interpreting the laws and trying to apply them to their everyday lives. They believed Israel was a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation and thought that if all of Israel could keep the law for one day, then the Messiah would come. Jesus spoke out against them because they were more interested in keeping the law than showing compassion to those around them and looking good on the outside.

Sadducees – they also followed the law of Moses but rejected many of the oral traditional laws that the Pharisees held. Their main focus was the Temple and Temple activities. They did not believe in an afterlife or future judgement. They believed that God did not intervene in the affairs of men and their motto was if it is to be, it is up to me. Because of this they survived by cooperating with the Roman authorities which gave them much power in the Jewish religion. To be a Saducee you must be of priestly heritage. The Saducees were the main teachers in the Temple.

Essenes – this group of people saw themselves as the only people who worshipped the true faith and that they were the true remnant of Israel. They believe all others had left the true teachings behind and the Temple had been corrupted. Because of this they separated themselves in their own communities and lived a very strict monastic lifestyle. They believed that God would come and judge the rest of the Jews and the world and vindicate their beliefs about God and true religion. They avoided all unnecessary contact with non-Essenes.

Zealots – they were part of the Jewish patriotic party and opposed the Roman occupation of the region at all costs. Their motto was we will have no king, but God. Their goal was a land truly free from Gentile defilement, just as God had originally intended according to them. They sometimes used violence to bring their cause to pass. Some of the community of Jews saw them as bandits, but they saw themselves freedom fighters.

The interesting thing about this assignment and it really helped me to understand life in New Testament times a little bit better. It gave me a window in to religious life at the time that Jesus walked the earth.

It also helped me to understand people (and myself) today too. Many people of faith still live out their faith in a way similar to these groups. Some focus on the Bible like the Pharisees. For some it is all about church like the Sadducees. Some separate themselves like the Essenes. While others are like the Zealots and have no king but God.

Saved by grace through faith in Jesus

November 26, 2024

Bible readings: Ephesians 2:4-10, John 3:14-21

Over the years I have had a lot of conversations with people about faith, life and God. Some have been with people who follow Jesus with all their hearts and I have been inspired by their faith and stories. They have uplifted me. Others have been with people who had a vague belief that maybe there is a God out there somewhere, but He is far off and distant or He is a harsh judge with a big stick waiting for us to mess up.

As I have reflected on these conversations and our Bible readings from today I have come up with three thoughts that I want to share.

1. We are truly saved by Grace

In our first reading from Ephesians chapter 2 we see that we are saved by grace through faith. This means we are saved by God’s mercy because of our faith in Jesus.

In our natural state our sin separated us from God. Paul tells us that we used to follow the ways of the world and lived to gratify the desires of the flesh. But God in His great mercy came up with a way for us to be right with Himself. Jesus paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross for us. God graciously provided a way for us to have our sin forgiven in Christ and come in to right relationship with Him.

As our reading says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT). In His love the Father tells us we are saved by grace and we are welcome home.

2. We need to believe in Jesus as our Saviour

In our second reading we see that God says we have eternal life if we believe in Jesus. God did His part by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us. Our part is to believe in Him, and trust Him as Lord and Saviour.

In John 3:16 the Bible says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Faith and trust in Jesus Christ means eternal life.

Many people think this is too simple – just believe in Jesus. They think they need to work for their salvation, follow strict rules or do some sort of penance. But believe me, purchasing our salvation was not simple for Jesus. He gave up everything. He was whipped and beaten. Mocked by those who watched on. He even gave up His own life. We just have to believe in Him and what He has done for us. The Bible tells us that this faith and belief brings eternal life.

3. Jesus came to save us, not judge us harshly

Another point from our second reading is Jesus came in to the world to save us, not judge us (John 3:17-18). To those who think God is a harsh God, who lives at a distance and judges us harshly, just need to look to Jesus. They need look afresh and see what He has done for us.

Jesus is God in person. Immanuel, God with us. In His love He died, so we can live. If God wanted our lives to be judged harshly, He could have done nothing and waited until the end of time to judge us all. But instead Jesus came to rescue us. God intervened in our situation. Luke 19:10 reminds us why Jesus came when it says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Jesus could not stand the thought of us not spending eternity with Him, so He left the glories of heaven to meet us where we are at. He did not come to hit us with a big stick, but to wrap His arms around us in love.

Closing reflection

The great message of the Bible is God’s incredible love for us and His desire to be in relationships with us all. He moved heaven and earth to make this happen.

Jesus came to earth, lived to show us what God is like, then stretched His arms out and was nailed on that cross. The nails pierced His hands and feet, but His love held Him there. Church, God’s grace can be summed up in the letters of the word G.R.A.C.E. – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

Let us pray.

We CAN trust God

November 22, 2024

As believers in Christ we can trust God to do all He says He will do in the Bible. As it says in Numbers 23:19…

“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

What God has said in the Bible will happen. There were over 300 Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ. So we know He is true to His word.

It is said there are over 5000 promises of help in the Bible for us today. Many millions of people hold on to the promises of God each day and He upholds them.

Because of God’s past actions, His present help and His unchanging nature, we can trust Him for the future.

When Jesus said He is going to prepare a place for us and coming back for His own in John 14:1-3, it is a promise we can hold on to. He is also bringing His rewards with Him for all we have done (Revelation 22:12).

We can trust that all will come to pass as it says in the book of Revelation. One of the great promises from Revelations is found in Revelation 21:1-4…

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Jesus IS coming back with His rewards. There WILL be a new heaven and new earth. God WILL wipe away every tear from our eyes and there WILL be no more sorrow and pain. And best of all, God’s home WILL be among His people.