SHARING IN THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

This past Sunday, our study of the means of grace brought us to communion - the second sacrament Christ instituted for the church. Like baptism, this activity sets or signifies the grace of the gospel before our eyes in order to seal and confirm the good promises of God upon our hearts. Through baptism we enter God’s house. Through communion, we take our seats at his table. But what happens when we come to the table? 1 Cor 10:14-22 makes it clear that in this moment, God is doing something in us. It’s not only a reflection upon grace given in the past, but a true reception of grace in the present. Not simply an exercise of our faith in Jesus, but a means by which the Risen and Living Christ strengthens our spirits, nourishes our souls, and feeds our faith. Not just a memory of Jesus upon the cross, but a meeting with the Jesus who now sits upon the throne.

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IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR JESUS, COME TO HIS TABLE

As we live out our new lives in Christ in the year 2025, what the Apostle Peter wrote of first-century believers is true of us. “Though you have not seen him, you love him" (1 Pet 1:8). We’ve never laid eyes upon Jesus, but we long for that day when our faith will turn to sight and we enter into the fullness of everlasting life. But our journey home is long. We often lose sight of where we're going. Our faith in the Beloved but yet-to-be-seen Savior ebbs and flows. We think to ourselves, “If only I could just see Jesus! If only he was right here with me. Walking alongside me. Then, I could keep going. I would know this is real and worth it.” We love him but we don't yet see him. But the good news is that he loves us so much that he provides a special way to behold him: the Lord's Supper. Through the broken bread and poured out cup, Jesus shows us that he’s with us and will never leave our side.

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IMMERSED INTO THE LIFE OF CHRIST

Our study of the means of grace brings us to the sacraments of the church: Baptism and Communion. Two ordinary activities - immersion in water, sharing a meal - which bring the extraordinary grace of Christ to us in a special way. Visible words of the gospel which not only declare the good news of Christ's saving work but enact it and make it experiential for us. The first of these is baptism: God’s visible confirmation that we are his children. As we pass through the waters, God sets us apart. Bringing us from death to life. Taking us out of slavery and into freedom. Marking an end to our old identity and declaring to our heart, mind, conscience, and the depths of our spirit and to all those bearing witness, that we now belong to Christ. Baptism is the seal which confirms all this to be as really and wonderfully true as we were really submerged under the water and brought back up again. Would we remember our baptism - however long ago it was - and be spurred on to live like the new people we were shown to be. Trusting that God’s grace has come to us. Desiring to see more and more of our neighbors pass through the waters and move from being far from God to members of our family.

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SHARING LIFE IN CHRIST TOGETHER

This past Sunday, we learned that our relationship with God reaches its peak of joy through our relationships with each other. 1 Jn 1:1-4 taught us that to truly have Jesus is to share him with others. But we all know relationships can be hard. Christ won’t let us down, but others will. Our past experiences of Christian community or history with church might be marked by its share of disappointments. It may seem safer to go it alone or hold others at an arm’s length but the truth of the matter is that: You can’t live the Christian life alone and get all the grace that God has to give. Jesus gave himself to us so that we’d give ourselves to others. Through our fellowship, we’re caught up in Christ’s worship, mission, service, and friendship in a way we just wouldn’t be otherwise.

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GIVE YOUR NEED, GET GOD’S GRACE

As Christians, we've been born again by the word of God. Raised to a new life in a new family. Belonging to God as beloved children because of the work of the Son. Prayer is the means by which we call upon our Father. A special channel through which we connect with God and enjoy personal communication with him. But if we’re honest, for all we know about how good prayer is for us, we just don’t do it. Philippians 4:4-7 comes to us not to pile on the guilt, or charge us to offer better, more-disciplined prayers, but to provide us with a simple model for receiving God’s grace through prayer. One in which we give him our need and he gives us his peace. Because God is near to us through Christ, we don’t have to “be anxious about anything,” but can come to him with everything. Trusting that he hears us, loves us, and is ready to meet us in our weakness.

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IT’S THE WORD THAT DOES THE WORK

Of all the means of grace, there's one that does the heaviest lifting. One all the others point back to, respond to, and revolve around. One that does the primary work involved in making us more like Christ: the word of God. When it comes to God's appointed means to change us, it's the word that does the work. Above all else, 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 teaches us the work the word performs is to give life. Spiritual life. True life. Eternal life. The life in which we take up the means of grace. And the conviction, renewal, power, understanding, and help to live that Christian life. All of this comes through hearing, reading, and receiving the word of God. In Jesus Christ - the incarnate Word of God who has done the work to save us. In the gospel - the good news of his salvation. And in the Scriptures - God’s written words which reveal who Jesus is and all his gospel means.

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A TRUE BUFFET OF GRACE

This Sunday we began a sermon series on the means of grace. We’re turning the page on the book of James which taught us that "wisdom is the way” to wholeness in our lives. If wisdom is the way to spiritual wholeness, then the means of grace are the vehicles that get us there. The means of grace are HOW we change. The God-appointed activities to make us more like Christ. As we engage in them, they function like conduits by which heavenly grace comes to us here upon the earth. They are practical, tangible, visible, and experiential connecting points to our lives in this world that cause, empower, and enable us to live them out God’s way. 

Throughout this new series, God's word will call us to open our hands and receive his grace as we give ourselves to: 1) Our worship on the Lord’s Day, 2) The Word of God, 3) Prayer, 4) Fellowship with one another, 5) The Sacraments of Baptism and, 6) Communion, and, 7) the grace of Generosity.  God works in us through each of these grace-bringing activities to make us more like Christ - who is Wholeness Himself. We began with the Lord's Day, which is a true buffet of grace. An opportunity for us to experience all the means with an intensity and impact that just doesn’t happen the rest of the week. We were challenged to see every Sunday as remarkable and call it the best day of the week. Because each Sunday is a day for resting in grace. A day for remembering and rejoicing in grace. And a day that orders our lives according to a rhythm of grace. 

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BIBLICAL COUNSELING WITH PASTOR JAMES

This Sunday, we capped off our journey in James - a book filled to the brim with Spirit-inspired, God-breathed, timelessly-true wise counsel from Pastor James - by approaching the book from a counselor's point of view. Guest preacher, Pete Payne from our sister church in Westminster, CO not only taught us about counseling, but showed us how to counsel by applying the letter of James to real-life scenarios: Getting to the root of anger in a brother’s heart, helping a sister to see what’s really causing her conflicts, patiently encouraging the grumbler at the church potluck, coming alongside the suffering saint to remind them to “count it all joy” when they encounter trials - again and again and again.

All the while, impressing upon our hearts that in every situation we encounter - every trial, every conflict, every weeping brother, rejoicing sister, or grumbling friend - God is at work. He set the meeting. He planned the interaction. And in all these moments, he’s given us the amazing privilege of speaking his words to one another. Pointing out when there’s something that just shouldn’t be, and holding out the freedom that comes from living under “the law of liberty.” Our Wonderful Counselor himself, stands ready to inject his grace into every situation and make each intersection of his people a redemptive one.

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god’s means of caring for us

Last week, we heard about patiently enduring the trials in our lives. Waiting upon God to bring forth the slow fruit of suffering and bring in that Day when suffering is no more. But what do we do while we wait? Practically speaking, what do you do when you’re suffering or sick? Drink herbal tea, take medicine, go to the doctor, lay in bed all day? How about anxious, depressed, overwhelmed? Do you withdraw from those who care for you? Internalize every problem? Scrutinize every thought and action? When you're pained by the danger a straying brother or sister is facing? When your personal comfort is far from ideal, what’s your first reaction? Is it to fix the problem yourself? Is it to resign and accept it as your lot? Is it to fight and resist with everything you have, hating even the thought of it? OR, is it to pray? Casting yourself upon the power and mercies of God. Inviting others to join you in doing the same. In this final passage of James, God's wisdom counsels us to make prayer our first response. To bring him into everything, because prayer is God's means of caring for us in the midst of anything. His gracious instrument to shape our hearts and make us whole.

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IS BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE TRIAL

James 5:7-12 returns to the theme of suffering that began the book. The believers addressed in the letter are experiencing oppression at the hands of “the rich” in their community (5:1-6). The wise pastor that he is, James knows that they, and we, can lose perspective when we’re in the thick of trials. We become disoriented in the moment of suffering, lose sight of what God is doing, and struggle to believe anything good is coming from this. God’s wisdom calls us to maintain a patient perspective to endure the challenges we face. To believe that the best treasures in suffering come at the end. To fuel our endurance, strengthen our faith, and lift our gaze above the weeds of difficulty we’re walking through, James offers much-needed perspective. Calling us to look within to examine the ways we’re prone to sin in our suffering. Encouraging us to look backward toward the faithful brothers and sisters who give us examples of patient endurance down through the ages. Declaring that we must look forward to return of the Lord and establish our hearts in the hope of his coming. We can take heart that all our suffering has an end-date, because Christ will come to make all things new, set everything right, and wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Below, you can find a list of recommended resources to 1) Encourage you by the examples of godly men and women who have gone before us, and 2) Establish your heart in the hope of Christ’s return.

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FIND THE LIST OF RECOMMENDED RESOURCES HERE