Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The bread and the cup proclaim

 
"Proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." That is the message we preach to make disciples of all nations. We must proclaim the gospel as Christians. And one very visible proclamation of this good news of eternal salvation is the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The church unifies around the centrality of the death of our Lord, remembering what He has done, and proclaiming it visibly, with the bread His body and the cup His shed blood. We remember all Jesus has done when we meet at His supper. And we proclaim the gospel as we remember Him together.

This symbolic meal refreshes our devotion to our Savior and to the gospel message. It calls us to very regularly celebrate His truth, His atonement of our sin, and His victory over death and hell. Those outside of us looking in on the celebration can see the gospel story and our respectful worship of our Savior at the Lord's supper. His table then becomes a means to preach His death. And when we celebrate it, we ought to make the gospel shine past any other part of the solemn ceremony.

When we take the bread in hand and drink the cup, we are affirming "Jesus died for me". And that gospel reminder should stir us to live for Him. It should motivate us to be deliberate in sharing His saving work with those around us. It should help make the church a people identified solely with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In that truth, we are made alive anew. And that proclaimed message will bring life and hope to our world.

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