New Beginnings

We met in our semi-permanent space (Central Christian Church Community Room on 12th and Guadalupe) for the first time. We had an hour to set uo and used every minute of it. Hope to finish with time to spare this next week, but we'll see. This week there were already a few visitors and new faces, which we were excited to see. Hopefully, getting a behind the scenes look didn't put anyone off or scare them away. Personally, I enjoy being with a church where you get to see the man behind the curtain. Hopefully I'm not the only one.

This week we had a prayer service that broke up into Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Thanksgiving centered around the Eucharist (which means, literally, "thanksgiving"). Eucharust/communion/Lord's supper is always such a meaningful time for me. Especially as it followed on the heels of our public and privae confession/s.

I was reminded if the popular website and book PostSecret. The concept is folks sending in their secrets and fears anonymously to this website, where they are then printed on the site (and in the book). Such a great first step and ultimately helpless act. Here's my sin...now what. I out it out there, now what do I do. I believe that such an important part of being the church is being the place where you can post your secret and post your sin. Where you can carry it to the feet of the cross and have it forgiven.

It is a powerful thing to recognize your own sin. Not to recognize it in some generic way ..Yes, I..m a sinner, the Bible says we..re all sinners.. but to know it and own it, to recognize that it was this week that I ignored the homeless guy standing on the corner, that it was just yesterday that I gossiped about my friend, just hours ago that I spoke unkindly to my wife. It..s important to recognize that we are so inclined to sin, it..s a wonder we ever do anything else. It..s important that we see our sin as real, because it is real, and if it isn..t then our Lord isn..t and His sacrifice isn..t. We must recognize that we share a common problem, we are sinful, we are broken, we are evil, we miss the mark almost as often as we shoot. Recognizing that is a powerful thing.

In the beginning, God created a perfect world. He created human beings in His image and hoped to share that world with them and share relationship with them. Within a very short time, they exercised the free will that love requires and they broke the world and that relationship. They sinned. We continue that tradition. Since just after the beginning, humans have sinned, and we are no exception. Recognizing that, the weight of that, is a powerful thing.

What has been done in response is even more powerful. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, was sent to earth to die for our sin. He was raised from the dead to show His power over death and over sin. He has promised that those of us who believe in Him, who live in obedience to Him, can die to sin and be resurrected in Him.

But we..re like prisoners who have been offered a pardon, we have to accept it. We have to be willing to call Jesus our Lord if we want Him to be our Savior. We have to repent of the sin that we confess and we have to choose to be baptized in His name. We have to live in obedience to Him. If we don..t, than we're as helpless as someone with a secret and a postcard, thinking that's all there is.

The Lord..s supper proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ. It proclaims His atoning work and His resurrection victory. It proclaims God..s judgment upon those who reject His offer of grace but it also welcomes all who come in faith. It proclaims hope, but also proclaims the finality of God..s work in Christ. Even as it includes, it excludes those who set themselves against the gospel. It visibly unites the people of God and gives expression to their fellowship with each other and with God. The supper proclaims the gospel.

When we eat and drink we renew our covenant with God. We pledge ourselves to keep the covenant. Just as Israel voiced its willingness to obey the covenant, so we ratify the covenant in our life when we eat and drink. It is a moment of rededication and recommitment. In the context of this worship, we voice our commitment to live worthy of the gospel. We vow to take up our cross, call Jesus Lord and follow Him into the world as obedient servants. The supper is the moment when we renew the vow we made in baptism.

When we take this supper, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin. We remember the grace that has been offered to all who believe and obey. We affirm that Jesus is the Son of God and that only through His death and resurrection can our sin be forgiven. That if we call Him Lord we can also call Him Savior. And we give thanks for that. To the One who remembered us in our low estate, who freed us, who gives us this food as His body and blood, we give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.