Communion, How Important Is It Really?

At our church, Nesconset Christian Church, we celebrate Communion every week. Sometimes it's in the beginning of the service, sometimes towards the end after the pastor's sermon.

Wherever it is positioned in the service, it can be argued that it's the most important part of the service.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul recounts what the Lord told him regarding communion. Jesus didn't give instructions on the sermon or teaching. He didn't give the disciples hints on what kind of music to play. He did, however, give specific instructions on Communion.

We see in Acts 2:42 and Acts 20:7, that the "breaking of bread" is a central part of every meeting of the believers. They did this each and every time they met.

In 1 Corinthians 11, we see Paul said, "whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes". Why is that important?

This is of the utmost importance, because without the Lord's death and resurrection, every other element of the service is meaningless. If Jesus never died for our sins and then arose from death, He is shown to be a charlatan, at best. However, in the days after His bodily resurrection, He was seen by over 500 believers (1 Corinthians 15:6). This has never been disputed or proven false.

And, as humans, we tend to forget, so the Lord knew how important it was for us to be reminded of His death, which He took on so we did not have to suffer the punishment for our sins, each time we meet.

DaVinci's Last Supper

As you approach Communion time at your church, remember. Remember the Lord's death and his resurrection. Remember his body, when you take the bread. The body that hung on that tree. Remember, it is you and I who belonged there, but in His love, grace and mercy, Jesus, God in bodily form, allowed Himself to be nailed there with all our sins. And as the cup is passed, which represents His shed blood, remember the writer of Hebrews (9:22) reminding us that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. We must remember, that the reason we are saved is because of this one act of love on God's part. 

Never forget. That's what Communion is about and it's the reason we should partake of it every time we meet as believers.

It's that important.

Communion - by Third Day

Is the Church trying too hard to identify with the world?

Is the Church trying too hard to identify with the world?

Gay Wedding Cakes - Are Christians Getting It Right?

The Colorado Civil Rights Commission has affirmed an earlier ruling by a judge that a Christian baker, who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding (original story here), must serve gay couples despite his religious (Christian) beliefs. Last December, a Colorado judge ordered the baker to bake cakes for gay couples and prove he had done so. That ruling was appealed in January.

Jack Phillips owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado. He is a Christian man who has been baking cakes at that establishment since the '90s. He holds the Biblical belief that homosexuality is a sin and is wrong. It's what the Bible says, and those of us who believe the entire Bible is the God-inspired handbook on Christian living, hold those same beliefs. We aren't saying it, we are just repeating what God has said in His Word to us and it's up to us to be obedient to those teachings. All those teachings.

Mr. Phillips has stated that he'd gladly make any other pastry item for gay people, just not a wedding cake.

When I first heard about this case and others (a photographer and flowershop in the southwest and another baker in the northwest), I have to tell you that the hair on the back of my neck stood up in anger. This anger is a reaction to the "in your face" homosexual movement in this country. They are intolerant, even while demanding tolerance from those who disagree with their lifestyle. They are very vocal. Very organized. They can be militant.

Now, in the Bible, God does not say homosexuality is the worst sin ever. He does call it an abomination and that's because it goes against His creation. However, He does call it a sin. There's no disputing that fact. There's no further explanation, like, a non-committed homosexual relationship is a sin, but a committed one is OK.

When God saw it was not good for man to be alone, He put Adam to sleep, took out a rib, and created woman. Notice, He did not create another man. Creating woman, as He did, would set up marriage as God sees it. To paraphrase Jerry McGuire, "she completes him"; to paraphrase the Bible, "and the two become one flesh". In Godly, Biblical marriage, a man and a woman can have children and "be fruitful and multiply" as God commanded them. You cannot do that with two men or two women. It's the way God set things up. If you have a problem with that, don't complain to a Christian, complain to God.

In the New Testament, God tells us, and I am paraphrasing, the two most important Commandments are "Love God" and "Love People". In those two all the law given in the Old Testament will be fulfilled.

So, as Christians, we need to know what is sin according to God, so we can be obedient and stay away from doing those things, but we also have to be obedient by following the two most important Commandments. We cannot pick and choose what to accept and follow. Many people will do that to support their personal beliefs, but if you don't accept and follow the entire Bible, then you might as well accept and follow none of it.

At one company I worked at, I befriended two women. They are sisters. I suspected one of them was gay, but I was not sure. They were both a lot of fun to be around. We laughed a lot when hanging around each other.  I did not hide my Christianity, from them. I don't hide it from anyone. They knew I was a deacon at my church and so on. Well, one day, the one I thought was gay said that she needed to tell me something and at that moment the Holy Spirit told me she would tell me she was a lesbian. So, we set it up to meet later in the week at lunch time. She brought me into her car and "came out" to me. I really did not know the exact words I would say to her or how exactly I would even react, but the Holy Spirit took over. Well, I took a breath and very calmly the words began to flow. I told her, lovingly, that I believed in the Biblical view of homosexuality and that would never change. I also told her, however, I believed in the Biblical view that I should love her and that would never change either. From that day forward, I made sure to live that out with her each and every time we were together. We are friends to this day. I never compromised either belief, nor will I, but I was able to have a relationship with her and never waiver from my beliefs.

Why do I relate that story? Well, I think we, as a Christian community, are reacting to this whole gay wedding thing wrong. I am not, nor will I ever, say we should compromise our belief that homosexuality is a sin and as a result, gay "marriage" really does not exist. It goes directly against how our Father in heaven set things up and, after all, we are His creation, so we should follow that steadfastly!

But, in my opinion, instead of opting out of service to gay people, we should be overwhelming them with Jesus. Not only should we bake cakes for them, but we should shower them with the Gospel. Who else will love on these people, if not Christians? We are called to "Love People"! How is not providing what we do to them loving them? And by loving on them, I mean, sharing the Gospel, the message of the saving grace and mercy of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. It's what we are called to do. We should do it! It would seem to me to be a divine appointment if a gay person identifies themselves as such to a Christian. What an opportunity for us to be God's loving children!

We should not "celebrate" gay people's lifestyle. I get that. It's not up to us to show we are happy that anyone is willingly sinning. 

Let me ask this, how many gay people, adulterers, liars, cheats, violent people go in and out of every establishment run by Christians everyday, including Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, and are sold this or that or provided with this or that service? If Christian businesses refused service to sinners, they'd have no business at all and, worse yet, would not be fulfilling Jesus's command of going out into the world and being His witnesses!

However possible, without getting caught up in their sin, we need to give the lost as much of Jesus as we can.

In the Casting Crowns song, "Jesus, Friend of Sinners" it says it aptly:
"Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded. What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did?"

The only signs we should be carrying are those proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those proclaiming the love of Christ. The amazing grace and mercy of Christ. Then, and only then, are we fulfilling our true roles on this planet and that is "Loving God, by loving people" because we will be the obedient, loving children our Father in heaven calls us to be.

If we did this, we wouldn't have our Godless government telling us what to do, because we'd already be doing what our Father in heaven has told us to do. And, in doing so, will fulfill His command to us, and, after all, isn't that more important than refusing someone a piece of cake?

How Should I Pray?

Luke 11:1-4

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

"Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."

I have often heard people say, "I don't know how to pray."

Well, knowing how vitally important prayer is to our Christian lives, the Father has provided an example of how to pray in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Luke.

Now, this is not a prayer we need to recite word for word, necessarily, although there is nothing wrong with that. It is that, as well as a guideline on how to form our prayers.

Verse 2: "Father hallowed by your name, your kingdom come."

This places God the Father where he belongs. We acknowledge his holiness and we ask for His kingdom to come down to earth. We are asking for God to reign, not only on earth, but in our hearts.

Verse 3: "Give us each day our daily bread."

This can be looked at in two ways. One, the obvious, we are asking for our great Father in heaven to meet our physical needs. Bread was an important part of daily life in that time. It helped sustain people. Remember when the Father gave the Israelites manna. It was a substance they ground into flour and made cakes or bread out of. Another way to look at this is to ask who is the Bread of Life? Jesus, of course. So, we are asking for Jesus to be in us and guide us each and every day. It's the only way that we can live in a manner that glorifies God.

Verse 4: "Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."

In Luke 6:37 Jesus says, "Forgive and you will be forgiven."

We need to have forgiveness in our hearts or our prayers will be hindered. And finally, ask that you not be led into trials. We are asking God not to be the one to carry into a trial. NOTE: Some manuscripts also include, "and deliver us from the evil one." asking God's protection on us.

These are guidelines. You can take each verse and apply to your situation. I am a big believer of writing things down so I remember. That comes with being almost 56 years old. But, it helps. Write down your thoughts or bullet points to guide you in your prayer. After all, prayer isn't this trance-like state, it's simply a conversation with God, so referring to something to guide you is perfectly fine.

You will see as you progress in time, your prayer may change. It probably will. And that is OK because our needs and situations change. Again, these are guidelines, not some sort of formula to make prayer "work".

The important thing you should take from this is it's important to pray. Take the time each day to pray. Talk to God. He wants to hear from you. He wants to answer your prayers to prove to you who He is and how much He loves you. The answers may not be what you are looking for or come in the time frame you think they should, but be certain of this, the answer will be exactly the right thing at exactly the right time for you.

God bless you and Pray! Pray! Pray!

The Good News!

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Here's the good news! Humans have been messing up since time began. Remember Adam and Eve? Wait. That's not the good news!

By messing up, or sinning, humans' relationship with God was broken. Wait. That's not the good news!

God, the Father, had a plan to fix humans' relationship with Him. His Son Jesus! God sent Jesus to earth, to live, to teach, to die and then to be resurrected to restore humans' relationship with Him! YES YES! That's the good news!

This restoration is available to anyone, no matter what they've done. It's available to YOU! Doesn't matter what you've done in your life. God's forgiveness is available to you!

All you have to do is believe and be baptized! 

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