May 27, 2012 Pentecost Sunday

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁴ When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and⁾the apostles with Him. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁰ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

Can you hear it?
In the distance, the knocking, the waiting.
Do you hear it?
Do you listen?
Come to the table of mercy.

Pslam 51:17: 'My sacrifice is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.'
Come to the table.

Can you feel it?
In the pit of your stomach, from the soles of your feet
The pounding, the waiting.
Do you feel it?
Are you moved?
Come to the table of grace.

Dueteronomy 7:9: ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Come to the table.


We are being called.
You are being called.
I am being called.
The rhythm of my name comes up through me and in me and around me, placed by the Lord, whispered by the Spirit, shouted by the Savior.
Come to the Lord's table.



In sinlessness, He answered
In faithfulness, He gave
In humbleness, He moved
Matthew 20:28:²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Bread broken and blood spilled on the Lord's table.
Clear your thoughts, cleanse your distractions.

He is calling you to come. He has commanded you to keep the table.

5/15/2011

You do not have a body with a soul,
You are a soul encased in a body.
This body is weak. It is flawed. It will change, become damaged, eventually give everything then
Stop.
Where do we go when we have fallen? To whom do we turn when we cannot go on?

You don’t have a mind and a soul,
You have a soul limited by your mind.
This mind is weak. It is flawed. It will change, become damaged, eventually give everything then
Stop.
Where do we go when we have lost our way? From whom do we seek wisdom?

From the highest mountaintop to the lowest gorge,
In our joy and in our sorrow,
In the light and in the darkness;
Only God can save us now.

Through His grace He has gifted us a Savior,
We are told:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
We are told:
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Only God can save us now.
This body is weak. It is flawed. It will change, become damaged, eventually give everything then
Stop.
This mind is weak. It is flawed. It will change, become damaged, eventually give everything then
Stop.

And we are called.
Through Christ our soul rejoices.
Through Christ we find salvation.
Today and everyday we must take up His cross, we must take His yoke upon ourselves, we must remember and give honor.

Matthew 11:28-30
Titus 3:5-7

Palm Sunday

Tell the people: Look, your King is coming!
A humble child, a lowly place
Ransomer and Redeemer
Look, your king is coming: Hosanna to the Son of David!
A beloved prophet, a servant teacher
Ransoming and Redeeming
Blessed is the one: Tell the people,
Lay out your cloaks!
Lay down your branches!
Heed His coming!
Tell the people: He will be betrayed;
He will be killed. He will rise again.
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Remember: the crowds that had assembled for the spectacle saw the truth in His innocence and beat their breasts.
Do not look for the living among the dead,
He told us: The Son of Man must be delivered to the sinful men, be crucified, and rise again.
Look, your King has come: purchasing your life with His suffering
Nailed to a tree, mocked, willfully placing himself into our service.
Tell the People.

7/14/2010

I am many things. I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter.
I am a friend, confidante, a cheerleader.
I run this household, an overseer of food, clothing, schedules.
I have known great joy and deep sorrow.
I have walked through peace and chaos.
I go through each day strong or weak, until the night falls and I am too weary to continue.
I am broken.
I am surrounded by brokenness.

You, you all who are so many things.
Husbands and Wives
Mothers and Fathers
Brothers and Sisters
Daughters and Sons.
You - you all are broken
This world, this flawed and human world, it is broken.
We are caught in this place and we are all broken together and we are all driven to our knees.

The weight of all that we are not,
All that we cannot do,
All that we cannot know -
This weight fractures our hearts, rends our minds, and leaves us
Broken.

And into this place a child was born.
And in this world a man was crucified.

He said we should remember, for He knows the weight that drags at our souls.
He charged us to remember His sacrfice, for He, too, was broken.
He left us with this gift and we must honor it, for He is so much more than we can be in this world.
For He did more than we can ever do,
He became whole again.
He chose to come among us,
He allowed this world to break His body,
And then He rose again.
He knew our need, and
He saved us.