Lives of our Fathers

 

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This is the communion meditation for Legacy Christian Church, 5/28/2023

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History bears weight. Somebody important once said “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” I don’t think history repeats, but I do think it often rhymes. History bears weight because you can learn a little about the path you travel, if you take a minute to look at where you came from. Jesus’ genealogy is a representation of the divine right of Jesus to certain titles He claimed.

Jesus’ family tree was not without noteability and notoriety. We all have these strange nuts on our family tree. One day I might tell you about mine. Today, we should consider Jesus’ people. Let’s examine the past to see a select portion of the fathers of the Savior. Abraham: Vs 2: Not always the most noble of character, he’s the father of the people. Right there in verse 3 Abraham’s great grandson: Judah, father of Perez and Zerah, by Tamar.

We go further down, then Matthew records Jesse, the father of David the King.

By naming Jesus as the Son of David, Matthew puts him in line for all sorts of prophecies made about the shoot of Jesse, Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Messiah. It’s always been interesting to me that in the next sentence, he becomes just David: “the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” David sought God’s heart, but often found his own pleasure. He chased after the temporary and fleeting pleasure of the world.

And so on and so forth. The point of all this genealogy is in verse 17: “So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. “ 14-14-14. That’s not just a terrible lock combination, that’s a clue, Jesus is the authorized King of the Jews (prophecy not withstanding) by legal right, and more importantly, He is the one King promised from long ago. Jesus’ forefathers had a part to play in God’s plan, it didn’t matter who they were or what they had done to achieve their mark on their world. We also have a part to play, but our role is a little different. In the life applications adult Bible fellowship class on Sunday mornings we’ve been looking at Ephesians, and in that book we see and learn something important: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  (9)  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  (10)  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Eph 2:8-10 .

God’s got a plan for us too! Good works! If we see our past, we see that our faith comes from evil deeds. Our own story, is one of separation from God, and of opposition to our plan God created for us, until we met Jesus. In Him, we find the fulfilment of God’s purposes. Our sins are forgiven, and our future secured. We take this meal together to remember, just like Jesus said, that we’re in a new covenant. This morning, will you take His body with me, and remember that He is the propitiation for our sins? Will you take the cup and raise it to remember the new covenant written in this blood He shed for us. Hallelujah, Jesus had some interesting Kin, and now, I, and the rest of you too who’ve obeyed His Gospel, have been adopted into His family. Let’s pray.

Something to think about While taking the Lord's Supper

 I gave these thoughts during Communion Time, January 29, 2023 at Legacy Christian Church. We take the Lord's supper every week, together.

Devoting Yourself

My second favorite book of the Bible is the Book of Acts. I love reading the history of the early church, seeing how they struggled with some of the same issues we have in church, and hopefully, learning the lessons they are trying to teach today. Even from the Church’s earliest days, we learn some important lessons. Read with me in Acts Chapter 2 beginning with verse 42:

Act 2:42-47  And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  (43)  And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  (44)  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  (45)  And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  (46)  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  (47)  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Very quickly, I want us to look at four things the early church did as it was being established.

1.      1. They devoted themselves to learning from the right place. They witnessed the miraculous power of God demonstrated by the Apostles, and then listened to them teach about Jesus. This gave them the information they needed for the new life they embraced.

2.      2. Fellowship: It’s so important to get together. They needed it especially because many of them were far from home. They celebrated Pentecost and in the process, found out about Jesus. Eager to learn, they needed physical support as well as spiritual while they were learning about the Way

3.      3. They broke bread together like we’re doing now! Jesus gave us a meal to eat together and remember Him. They did it every day, but we do it every week.

4.      4. They prayed. Prayer changes the one praying, and it can change outcomes. It aligns us with God especially when we pray as we study the Apostles’ teaching, or fellowship together, or when we break bread!

When we do these things, we are transformed, made ready to do the good things that God has prepared in advance for us to do. Will you join me in prayer, to thank Him for His wonderful mercy, His eternal Son, and the Hope we have for resurrection.

Psalms 131 -Revisited as a Communion Meditation

 I've talked about this Psalm before in a devotional thought. Here, I've turned it into a communion meditation. Check this out:

Psalms 131

Psa 131:1-3  A Song of Ascents. Of David. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.  (2)  But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.  (3)  O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.

 

I’ve seen what happens when kids go from milk to solid food. It’s not an altogether pleasant occasion. There’s fussing, tears, pawing, calling out. And then, there’s quiet, and clinging.

When we try to lift our hearts up to understand, raise our eyes to perceive, we’re trying, many times to grasp at things we can’t comprehend. At least not right now. Once you’ve become an adult, and have kids of your own, you know why they stop taking milk. They’re growing. Even if they’re not aware of the process, it’s occurring, and they are changing. In the three years Jesus spent with His disciples on earth, He was changing them. He was feeding them milk, and getting them ready to be without Him. On the night He was betrayed, He took the Passover meal given by God through Moses to celebrate and remember the transition of the people of God from slavery into freedom. He told them what it really meant. It was something too great and marvelous to comprehend. When He announced to them on that night that someone would betray Him, they couldn’t believe it. When He announced that He had to go away, they didn’t understand. He gave them a deeper meaning to that meal though. It was a type of what was to come, what those disciples were witnessing in the moment. He simply told them to take the bread which is His body, and that the wine in the cup was a new covenant written in His blood. Take it, eat it, and remember. Find your comfort there.

After the weaning’s over the child finds new comfort in the presence of his mother. We do the same thing when we take the Lord’s supper. We find the presence of Christ here together in remembrance of what’s He’s done for us. Let us pray and remember and participate in the presence of Christ together.