Bread and Wine (Part 1)

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Bread and Wine (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

June 10, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs

Give

Before I eat that I really need to see the ingredients.

We celebrate the Lord's Supper every week at Redeemer, but have you ever paused to reflect on what it is and why we do it? In 1Corinthians 11:23-26 we find that the Lord’s Supper, also called Communion or the Eucharist, was given to the church by Jesus himself (see also Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22), but why? They may be familiar words to some of us, but it is quite odd to talk of eating someone’s body and drinking their blood. What is a covenant in blood? What is the significance that Jesus instituted this practice at the important Passover celebration of the Jews?

What we will see from 1Corinthians 11 is that Jesus, like a master chef, is taking many ingredients, images, promises, and expectations from the Old Testament, and combining them into one magnificent meal. The meal both highlights the essence and significance of those original ingredients and makes something surprisingly new. Jesus then sets the table, lays out the feast, and invites all who trust him to join him at this banquet.

As you prepare for worship this Sunday, read Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1Corinthians 11. Pray through these passages with your family and friends, and come to worship hungry.

Pastor David

Resurrection

August 19, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs

Is it really that important? "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 and 19). All of Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. This event is the very fulcrum of history. If Jesus stays in the grave he joins the ranks of the many failed would be messiahs of his day. Instead Jesus rises in victory and the world is never the same. We are never the same. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our rescue from sin and death, and the renewal of God’s good creation. All of 1 Corinthinans has been building to this powerful articulation of the centrality of the resurrection. This Sunday we will focus on the reasons why we can have confidence in the historical reality of Jesus rising from the dead and begin to explore how it really does change everything. I look forward to worshiping together this Sunday. Pastor David

Learn and Be Encouraged

August 12, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs

Read two things: All of 1 Corinthians 14 and the below excerpt from Annie Dillard. "On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. " Now read, meditate on and pray through 1 Corinthians 14. In what ways could we all come to worship this Sunday with greater expectations and deeper preparation for God to speak? I can't wait to worship together. Pastor David

Then Face to Face

August 5, 2018 • Rev. David Juelfs

How do you know that? The Corinthians prided themselves on their knowledge about spiritual things, and it made them miserable people. As they grew more knowledgeable, sophisticated, and experienced as followers of Jesus, they grew less loving, more divisive, and toxic to the people around them. This is terrifying to me. How can we avoid hurting ourselves and those we love in our pursuit of knowing God? Read, meditate on, and pray through 1Corinthinans 13:8-13. May we learn together how to love each other well, even as we too grow in our knowledge, sophistication, and experience. I can't wait to worship together. Pastor David