Sitting there with a white piece of something in my hand and waiting to go forward left me very intrigued. I might have been ten or eleven years old and way out of my element.

The week had gone as expected for hundreds of kids at a scouting getaway: Bug juice, campfires, swimming, hikes and all kinds of activities.

But then came Sunday morning and I wasn’t a church kid but was encouraged to “try” one. So, I went to the one my friend chose.

I was left with the impression that it didn’t seem to mean that much to anyone there but the guy up front giving people a sip of juice.

This past Saturday, over fifty years later, I had the privilege of sitting with a group of believers, some very new to their faith in Christ, and teaching about the Lord’s Supper.

We were going to have it on Sunday and took the opportunity to get us all ready. We focused on two key passages in Matt. 26:26-29 and 1 Cor. 11:17-34.

We discussed how it calls us to more intimate communion with Christ and each other and that there’s nothing causal about it.

It’s also a call to a confrontation with how we live in light of what Christ has done for and given to us; the gospel we display, not just the one we declare.

It calls us to consider the lengths Jesus went to on our behalf and our response to it.

Communion, confrontation and consideration. There’s nothing casual about it.

We all left with the sense we could never allow it to become routine or a ritual.

It also made our hearts heavy for those who practice a religion and go through the rites, rituals or remembrances not only in vain, but to their own hurt 1 Cor. 11:26-30.

The Lord’s Supper calls us to look back to the cross, remember we are forgiven and confronts how we forgive.

It calls us to look around our church with fondness and confronts how charitably we live in fellowship (1 Cor. 11:17-22).

It calls us to look within with fear and confronts how we live the gospel we profess.

And it calls us to look forward to the day we’ll live in fellowship face to face with Jesus and break bread and drink that cup at His table. It confronts what we’ll do until then.

So, here’s my question for you: What might you be called to or confronted with if you took some time to consider the Lord’s Supper more deeply and took it more seriously?

I’d love to hear your response. Reply and let me know or jump into the community and share it on the post there. I read every one.

You can also jump in our community space and have some fun getting the conversation started.

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Book Release in December. New Excerpt (9/15):

…You might be like many who know what their church or denomination teaches but question some of it. Deep down you wonder if it's rooted in Scripture or tradition or worse, error. You’d like to have an easy and memorable way to evaluate the religious beliefs and behaviors of others who preach and teach the Bible. And you’d like to be confident but not arrogant about what you believe and why.

This short practical book will likely change how you read the Bible. And that has the potential to change your life. Enjoying and understanding Scripture is not as hard as you might think. I’d like to commend you for taking seriously your journey into the book of all books we call the Bible.

The material I’ve condensed into this book is what I’ve taught others in live classrooms and online cohorts for decades. It’s written out of years of experience and feedback from students in church settings and at ministry level training. It’s not the only book on this subject but there isn’t another one like it. I pray it will whet your appetite for more and accelerate your understanding of Scripture.

You're about to gain the understanding and tools needed for a lifetime of meaningful engagement with God's word. Give yourself permission to read it carefully and do the short daily exercises. It's how you'll get the most out of it. It's short, but I didn't write it to be a "quick read". There’s plenty in here you’ll want to put into practice..…

You can read the rest of the excerpt in the community space. Just click on the link below:

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