THE LORD'S SUPPER AND BAPTISM

I want to discuss the connection between the Lord's Supper and baptism but let me begin with a story. When I was a student at Northwest Christian College there was an informal, unofficial theological debating society that we called simply the "radiator club." Just inside the front door of the main building is a radiator and students would gather there, especially on cold days. Whoever showed up had a good time discussing and answering all of the big biblical and theological problems of the day. One of the questions sometimes debated was, "when is the cleansing blood of Christ applied to a sinner's life?"

First John 1:7 says: "If we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus His Son, cleanses us from all sin." John seems to be saying that when we live in accordance with God's revelation, his light, we are brought into fellowship with each other and it is within this fellowship that we experience the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. But, is there a specific time or action in which this happens? What is it, precisely, that brings us into this fellowship and at the same time cleanses us from sin?

Before he became the Apostle Paul, Saul learned the answer to this question in a most dramatic fashion. On the road to Damascus to find and persecute Christians he was suddenly blinded by a powerful light and heard Jesus ask him, "why are you persecuting me?" They led him into the city and Ananias, one of the Christians he had come to persecute, was sent by the Lord to explain things to him. Ananias concluded by saying, "Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name." Ananias was saying to him, in baptism you can experience the cleansing power of Jesus' blood. In doing so he also entered the fellowship of those people called Christians.

Later, he reflected on the meaning of baptism in Romans 6:2-3 when he wrote: "How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?"

But baptism is only the beginning. In First John, John is writing to people who have been Christians for a long time. He recognizes that sin is powerful. It can smear and pollute the best of us and all need cleansing, more than once. If we claim that we do not sin, he says, we are liars. How is it then that being within the fellowship of those who walk in the light provides the opportunity to experience the cleansing power of Jesus' blood?

Again, Paul can help us. In 1 Corinthians 10:16 he says, "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?"

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are connected by the blood of Jesus. The initial cleansing of sin and entering into the fellowship takes place in baptism, an act of faith. The continued fellowship and cleansing occurs at the communion table. To be sure, there may well be other times and actions in which we experience the cleansing of Christ, but at the very least we can experience it both in baptism and in the Lord's Supper.

ADVENT: A TIME TO PREPARE

A promise was made by ancient prophets: the Lord's anointed, the one who would save his people, would be born as a child. And so Israel waited and hoped and lived "in the meantime." Finally, the time came but they were not as prepared to recognize him. As John said, "he came to his own, but his own did not receive him."

On this first Sunday of Advent we too are living "in the meantime." The word "advent" is from the Latin and means 'coming to.' Advent is that time when we focus on the promise of Christ coming to the world. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it is that time when we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is not a passive waiting. It is time to prepare.

A lot of preparation is needed when a baby is expected. Equipment and supplies must be purchased, perhaps a room redecorated, and other physical preparations made. More importantly, Mom and Dad need to prepare mentally and emotionally. Then, when the time is right, the baby comes.

It seems that even God had to prepare for the birth of His son. Galatians 4:4-5 says: "When the right time came, God sent His son, born of a woman ... to buy freedom for us ... so that he could adopt us as his very own children." Notice the first words: "when the right time came." It implies a time of preparation.

God worked in history so that it was the right time in many ways for Christ to come. Politically, the Mediterranean world was united and at peace, thanks to the Roman Empire. One language, Greek, was spoken everywhere making it possible to preach the Gospel to many people groups. The Romans built roads for their armies which made it easy for missionaries to travel. Also, the old gods had lost their power and attraction leaving people hungry for a savior. It was the right time -- the world was ready.

I wonder if God, the Father, also had to prepare himself? He knew what would happen. He knew how badly this sin-sick, Satan-enslaved world needed his son. And he knew what it would cost to buy our freedom. Perhaps God was always ready, but I can't help feeling that the Father not only prepared the world but also prepared Himself so that "when the time was right, God sent his Son, born of a woman ... to buy freedom for us ... so that he could adopt us as his very own children."

In this Advent season we can prepare for the coming of the Christ child by remembering why he came -- to buy our freedom -- and how much it cost. It is why we come to this table and remember how the Lord Himself took the bread, broke it and said, 'this is my body, given for you.' And the cup also, saying, 'this cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins.'

The Blood of Jesus: Baptism and the Lord's Supper

In our church building I am glad that our communion table and the baptistery are located close to each other since there is an essential connection between them. Two statements by Paul, one about baptism and the other about the Lord's Supper indicate this relationship. In both cases he is discussing the danger of sin and how it can be dealt with.

In Romans 6:3 he says this about baptism: "How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?" In baptism the death of Jesus, his shed blood, becomes effective in our lives.

In 1 Corinthians 10:6, in the context of discussing the sin of idolatry, he says this about the Lord's Supper: "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?" In the Lord's Supper the blood of Jesus becomes effective in our lives, just as in baptism.

Does it offend you to talk about the blood of Jesus? It does some people. I know ministers who have tried to explain the sacrificial death of Jesus in ways that play down any reference to the blood of Jesus. This is not new. We had a highly respected choir director in college many years ago who was not only a classy lady but a dedicated Christian. She also had very high musical standards. She made it clear that the gospel hymn "Power in the Blood" was neither good music or, in her opinion, good theology. I can understand the revulsion for talking about the blood of Jesus. Some insensitive, fundamentalist preachers have gone to great lengths to portray the gross and hideous details of crucifixion, linked this to the many sins of their listeners and succeeded in laying a great burden of guilt upon them.

And yet, in the New Testament, the writers chose to use the word "blood" three times as often as the "cross of Christ," and five times as frequently as "death". What do we mean when we speak about the "blood of Jesus?" Language is symbolic. It points to something. To speak about the blood of Jesus being effective in baptism and the Lord's Supper means several things. Like any good metaphor it has several meanings but one is enough for us to see the connection between baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Among other things, it means cleansing. 1 John 1:7 tells us that "the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin." Dr Brand and Philip Yancy in their book, In His Image, explain how blood in our bodies carries away harmful chemical by-products that could threaten life. "Just as blood cleanses the body of harmful metabolites, forgiveness through Christ's blood cleanses away the waste products, sins, that impede true health" (77). One of the functions of blood is to cleanse.

It used to be that Saturday night was bath night -- you took a bath once a week whether you needed it or not. When finished you were clean all over. Of course, it would not be long before you would have to wash your hands again. Its like that with baptism and the Lord's Supper. In baptism we are totally cleansed of sin -- but that doesn't mean we never sin again. God in his grace has provided access to cleansing each week as we come to the table.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper -- Part 2

Baptism and the Lord's Supper go together. There is an essential relationship between them. They make the perfect pair, given to believers by God for their benefit. In a previous meditation I used this analogy to express one aspect of how they fit together: baptism as new birth is related to the Lord's Supper as natural birth is related to eating. We need weekly sustenance in order to maintain the spiritual life received in our new birth.

A second analogy is related to the New Testament image of the church as the bride of Christ. Baptism is related to the Lord's Supper as a marriage ceremony is related to marriage anniversaries and other acts of remembrance and renewal. At the ceremony, vows are said. Throughout the years that follow the vows are remembered and renewed repeatedly in simple rituals.

In a man's proposal and a woman's positive response both are saying "yes" to each other. But they haven't really said yes finally and completely until they say it in the vows of the marriage ceremony. Baptism corresponds to this. 1 Peter 3:21 says, "baptism now saves you," and then calls it, "the pledge (or vow) of a good conscience toward God." Baptism is our pledge, our vow, our "yes" to God. It brings us in that covenant relationship called the church, the bride of Christ.

We realize, of course, that saying "yes" in a marriage ceremony, and in baptism, is only the beginning. It is intended to happen only once, and then to be lived out and renewed in acts of loving faithfulness throughout the marriage. Furthermore, marriages that strengthen and deepen over the years develop simple and repeated rituals that remember and renew the initial yes.

Anniversary celebrations do this. Sometimes couples go to elaborate ends and great expense in anniversary celebrations. But they can also be very simple. I remember once on our anniversary that our kids thought it funny when our big night out was spent going to the public library.

Even more than yearly remembrances a variety of repeated, simple rituals help us to remember and renew our vows. One, for example, is the weekly date that many couples have. They may not say it out loud but when the set aside this time for each other they are in effect saying, "I remember and I renew my vow to you." They are saying "yes" to each other again.

And this is what we do in the simple weekly ritual at the Lord's Table each week. We remember and renew the vow to God that we first made in our baptism. It may be simple and the routine may be all too familiar but it reminds us of who we are as the bride of Christ. Once again we say "yes" to him as we confess our faith, eat the bread and drink from the cup.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper -- Part I

Some things are meant to go together. As someone said, "Like meat and potatoes, salt and tomatoes, we make a perfect pair."

Likewise, baptism and the Lord's Supper make a perfect pair, they were meant to go together. They have a vital, even essential connection. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are recognized universally as the two ordinances, or sacraments of the church, given by God for the benefit of His people. While we often consider the meaning of each one independently, it is also important to see the essential connection they have.

Let me state it first this way: baptism is related to the Lord's Supper as birth is related to eating.

Baptism is part of the process of being born again. In John 3 Jesus told Nicodemus, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God." The obedient act of faith in baptism and the work of the Spirit results in new birth, or being born again.

Titus 3:5 also speaks of new birth when it says, "He saved us ... by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." The phrase, "washing of regeneration" could be literally translated as the "bath of new birth." One commentator explains it this way: "the process of washing in baptism produced a rebirth of which the Spirit was the origin" (Quinn, Anchor Bible, 219).

The connection between the sacraments can be put this way: baptism as new birth is related to the Lord's Supper as natural birth is related to eating. How many times are we born? Only once. How many meals do we eat? Many. Why? What happens if, after birth, we eat for a time and then say, "this is too much trouble," or "this is getting old," and so we stop eating? We die, of course.

John 6 is often seen as a spiritual interpretation of the Lord's Supper. In John 6:53 Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." At the last supper Jesus held the bread before his disciples and said, "This is my body given for you." Not in a literal sense, of course, but in a mysterious and real way, by faith, we partake of the body and blood of Christ, the bread of life, at this table. If the life given to us in our spiritual rebirth is to continue we need to eat regularly.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper go together. They are the perfect pair, essentially connected. New life comes through new birth and is sustained at the table.

OUR RICHES IN CHRIST

Janice Lemke, with her husband Cory, was a missionary in Ukraine for many years. Being a writer, she is always looking for a good story and she found one in a church in Kirovskaya, and then shared it in her weekly email update. In her words:

Cory likes to be early (his definition of "on time") and while waiting for things to get going, I decided to talk to an old woman who sat alone in the sanctuary. She greeted me warmly and I figured she might be good for a story or two to pass the time.

She's 89 years old, but details about World War II were just as clear to her as though it happened last month. It was a time of fear and hunger. Even though her father was a Christian, he had a position of authority on a collective farm. And even though Christians were supposed to keep their faith to themselves, he said one day, "Anyone who knows how to pray, you may go to the church and pray today for an end to this war." She recalled how they walked to the village, got down on their knees, and prayed with weeping. The next day, they heard no planes or bombs. The war was over.

When she was 40, she was expecting another child. The doctors told her she was too old and must have an abortion. She told them, "I have never even killed a kitten. How can I kill my own child?" Her daughter grew up to be a sweet and gentle woman who has a daughter who attends Bible College.

Her son lives in Germany. Her daughter does too. "They all do," she said. They wrote to say that life is easier there, and they wanted her to move there with them. She refused. "I have everything here I need," she said. "I have a garden and some chickens. I am very rich. I don't need anything more."

Here words challenged me more than any sermon I heard that day. Her clothes obviously came from some humanitarian aid box. On her feet, she wore dirty sandals with baggy boy's athletic socks with a red stripe and a hole in the heel. And her smell, frankly, told me she doesn't have hot water or a washing machine. Yet, she says, "I have everything I need. I am very rich." (Lemke update, 7/23/2005).

Reading this story led me to Proverbs 10:22, "The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." As we come to the Lord's Table we can be thankful for the riches we receive here. As Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich."

At His table we both celebrate and receive the richness of His grace, His love, His forgiveness. No wonder the Lord's Supper is called "eucharist" in Greek, which translated means to give thanks. It is indeed the Great Thanksgiving.

The Pursuit of Happiness Hebrews 12:2 A Fourth of July Communion Meditation

On this Fourth of July I want to focus on two puzzling statements, one in the Declaration of Independence and one in Hebrews 12:2. The puzzling phrase, at least to me, in the Declaration of Independence is found in the philosophical heart of that document: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The phrase that puzzled me is: "the pursuit of happiness." It could easily be understood as hedonistic, self-centered and focused on personal pleasure. Surely that is not what Jefferson meant. But what did he mean? I came to understand it when I learned the educational and philosophical context in which it was written.

The Declaration of Independence was written and signed by men who had been highly influenced by the Scottish Enlightenment. In fact, fully one third of the signers were of Scottish or Ulster Scott extraction. They were all familiar with and had been influenced by the teaching of Francis Hutcheson of Glasgow who was known as the father of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Hutcheson believed that every one's ultimate goal in life is happiness, but for him this meant not the gratification of physical desires but making others happy. The highest form of happiness for anyone is making others happy. "That action is best," he said, "which procures the greatest happiness."

A scientific experiment at the University of Oregon a few years ago and reported in the Eugene Register Guard supports this idea. A number of people were given money and the opportunity to give it away or to keep it. Their brains were monitored and it was discovered that voluntarily giving to help others produced a response in the part of the brain that registers pleasure. I guess you could say that God created us this way.

Haven't you found it to be true that when you did something that made someone else happy that it produced happiness in you also? Like seeing your child open a gift, or seeing a young person blossom as a result of your teaching. Doesn't it make you happy to see slides by a missionary you have supported of people being baptized in Kenya, or children singing enthusiastically in a Ukrainian church camp? On the other hand, the more self centered, the more we try to make ourselves happy by hoarding or spending on ourselves, the more miserable we are.

Jimmy Durante's gravelly voice in Sleepless in Seattle said it in song, "Make someone happy, make just one someone happy, and you will be happy too."

This helps us understand the puzzling statement about Jesus in Hebrews 12:2 which says, "... for the joy set before him he endured the cross ...". It seems strange to put joy and enduring the cross together in the same sentence but its true that when Jesus went to the cross he was in "the pursuit of happiness" -- yours and mine. the happiness of forgiven sin, of cleansing and renewal. The happiness of reconciliation and hope. All of this he secured for us on the cross. Thus, it was "for the joy set before him that he endured the cross." We experience again that joy now as we join him at His table.

CHOOSING IS THE HEART OF COVENANT

At the last supper Jesus spoke not only about the bread being his body given for us but also about the new covenant in his blood. Last week as the wedding of Doug and Tracy approached, and as I thought about preparing a communion meditation, I couldn't help but think about how marriage is a sign of the covenant God has given us in Christ.

There are many connections between marriage as a covenant and the new covenant that we have in Christ but certainly one of the most important is the fact that at the heart of each is choosing.

In marriage, two people have chosen each other and expressed their choice in the vows they make. It may have begun with just one of them choosing the other but it will never work until both choose the other. Over sixty years ago, unknown to her at first, I began the choice of Frances when I saw her singing in a women's trio at church. Thankfully, the time came when she chose me as well. Once both have chosen the other they are able to join in saying with the woman in The Song of Solomon, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine."

After Genesis 3 and the separation from God that it describes, the entire story of the bible can be summarized in terms of God choosing to love his creation. God chose Noah and established an everlasting covenant with him. God chose Abraham and made a covenant of love with him to make him a great nation and to bless all the families of the earth through him. Out of divine love God chose the Jews, as Moses wrote, "to be a people for his own possession ... not because you were more in number than any other people ... but because the Lord loves you" (Deut 7:6-8). And in the New Testament we are told over and over that God has chosen us in Christ.

Paul put it beautifully in Ephesians 1 when he spoke of how God "chose us in Christ ... and destined us for adoption as his children." Here is the beauty of it -- God hasn't chosen people in general. He hasn't chosen a crowd. He has chosen me, you, each of us personally, out of his love.

But have we chosen Him? He will never go back on his promises, He will never stop loving us with an unconditional love. He will be true to his covenant. We will always be God's beloved, and He longs to hear us say that He is our beloved also.

At this covenant meal we can not only experience the joy of knowing that he has chosen us, we can recommit ourselves to him. We can do it now as we say together the good confession of faith.

We Are Family John 19:26-27

When I thought about a communion meditation for Mother's Day a text immediately came to mind, John 19:26-27, where Jesus is on the cross. He hangs there in agony but when he looks down and sees his mother and the man called his beloved disciple, often identified as John, he says, "Woman, behold your son" and to the disciple, "behold your mother."

Most interpreters see this as a loving son making sure that his mother is taken care of after he dies. Joseph is probably dead, at least he is never mentioned after the birth accounts in Matthew and Luke. Although Jesus had four brothers who are named in Mark 6 we are told by John in chapter 7 that they did not believe in him. And in both Matthew and Mark we are told of a time when they thought Jesus had "lost his senses" (Mt 12; Mk 3). Maybe Jesus thought that he could rely on this beloved disciple more than his brothers to look after a destitute widow.

But there may be a deeper meaning here. John's gospel is well known for stories that have both surface and deeper meanings. In this case he seems to be saying to Mary and John, you are family now, immediate family, and by extension he could be saying to all who come to the foot of the cross, you are my family. When we gather at the cross we are family. Earlier in the Gospel Jesus had said about his death on the cross, "If I am lifted up, I will draw all people to me" (12:32). The Gospel, like a powerful magnet, draws us together as his family. this idea of being family is supported by images used in other places of the church being the household of faith.

One day last week I was skimming through the obituaries in our local newspaper when the last sentence of one caught my eye. It was for a woman named Gloria Adams who died on April 9, one month from today. All I know about her is what I read in the brief article. It pleased me to read that she was highly respected by people in the business world and that she loved to fish and ski and was a very good golfer. But what struck me was that not a single relative or family member was listed as a survivor. She had not married, apparently, and I thought to myself, she died without a family. But then I read that last sentence: "A special thanks ... to her family at Restoration Fellowship" (a church in Springfield). Yes, she did have a family. All who gather at the cross and call Jesus Lord are family, brothers and sisters in Christ. I wonder if they sang at her memorial service, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God."

To his brothers at the table in the upper room, and to us, Jesus said, "This bread is my body, given for you ... this cup is my blood, shed for you." As the family of God we say together our confession of faith.

Postscript: After this Mother's Day meditation a relatively new couple in our church said they had been in the church with Gloria Adams for several years, had attended her memorial service, which they said was packed, and expressed appreciation for the emphasis on her family-church relationship.

Inextricably Entwined Romans 4:25

I like the phrase "inextricably entwined." It is hard to say but it's meaning is especially appropriate when we meet on Easter, resurrection Sunday, and partake of the Lord's Supper. It means, of course, that certain things go together and simply cannot be separated. They are so interconnected that you cannot separate them without doing damage to each.

The cross and the resurrection are inextricably entwined. The cross, which is at the heart of the Lord's Supper, and the resurrection, which we celebrate today but also on the first day of every week, cannot be separated without doing damage to the meaning of each.

Take the resurrection away and what does that do to the meaning of the cross? It means Jesus died and remains dead like any other good man, like the prophets before him. He left behind some helpful teachings but like the death of any other man, his death may be inspirational but it is not redemptive. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins."

On the other hand, take away the cross and what does that do to the meaning of the resurrection? There is nothing left to validate. It may be a marvelous miracle but Jesus then is no different than Lazarus. He too was raised from the dead, but only for a time, and not to validate any redemptive, atoning sacrifice on his part. Jesus, on the other hand, came for the very purpose, as he put it, "to give his life a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45). In the upper room at the Last Supper Jesus held the bread and said, "this is my body, given for you," and the cup saying, "this is my blood ... shed for the forgiveness of sins." Were these the rants of a self-deluded pretender? No! God raised him from the dead on the third day and thereby changed the cross into a big exclamation point. YES! It is true. His death was not in vain. Paul said it all in one short sentence in Romans 4:25, "He was delivered over to death because of our sins and he was raised to life for our justification."

I wonder if some artistic person could come up with a piece of jewelry that would show the cross and the empty tomb inextricably entwined? We have lots of cross jewelry but the cross by itself, without the resurrection, is just an instrument of death, like a scaffold or an electric chair. Both the cross and the resurrection lose their power when separated. The cross or the resurrection without each other mean little or nothing, but together they mean everything.

How appropriate it is, therefore, on this resurrection Sunday that we remember the cross and give thanks that he was "delivered to death for our sins and raised for our justification."

THE OPEN TABLE

Some churches practice "close" communion, so called because only those who are close, or within that particular family of faith can participate. For instance, in Ceres, Oklahoma there are two small country churches. I served one while in seminary at Enid and learned that the other, a Southern Baptist church, allowed only members of the local body to participate. Even former members who had moved away, joined another Baptist church and returned to visit could not partake. It was an extremely "close" service.

Our church, and most others, have an open table. I got to thinking about the image of an open table and its implications. Several key words came to mind that summarize the meaning of "open."

"Inclusive" was the first. The invitation in the scriptures, "whosoever will may come" applies to the table as well as to the Christian faith. It is the Lord's Table and we know from the Gospels that Jesus did not shrink from eating with anyone. Saint, sinner, down and out, up and out, all classes, all colors -- all are welcome.

The second word is "opportunity," as in an open door. But opportunity must be seized. It is an opportunity to meet the Lord and receive his grace. But you have to answer, to go through the door, to show up at the table. It requires some action and commitment on our part.

"Enough" is the third word. An open table implies that there is enough to go around. Its like the church potlucks we have. We always invite everyone to stay and eat, even if they brought no food. And there's always enough for all. What we receive at the Lord's Supper is also enough to sustain us spiritually. Here we find the bread of life and there is enough for all.

Another word that comes to mind when the word open is used is "transparent," or "revealing." You can see through an open door. Or we speak of certain people as being open and mean that they are not secretive, they do not hide their feelings or thoughts. To be sure, there is something mysterious about the Lord's Supper because it operates by faith, but at the same time it is open and revealing. Through it we see the sacrifice, the love, and the open arms of our Savior.

One more word implied by "open" is "unhindered." There is no fence around the table. There are no barriers. No one will stop you from participating. Those who have no faith in Christ will probably not participate, but the table is open to them also as an invitation to faith. To everyone, this table says, will you believe, will you commit yourself, will you confess your faith in Christ. "Whosoever will may come.

Let us say our confession of faith and then let us commune with the One who said, "this is my body," and "this is my blood."

The Gospel Every Week

I once had a student at Northwest Christian who asked me the same question several times. He was an older student, had a good sense of humor, and with his Reformed Church background enjoyed playing this little game with me. The question always came if he happened to see me as we left a chapel service. Referring to the sermon we had just heard he would ask, "was the gospel or law?" He knew the answer and he knew that I knew the answer but he liked to play that little game.

If I were to ask you this morning after Nick's sermon, was that gospel or law, what would you say? It might help if I define the terms. By "law" I do not mean legalistic rules and regulations. In this case, it means guidance and helpful instructions for living. Psalm 119 refers to the law as a light for our path. It is the kind of guidance found in the Sermon on the Mount or in the epistles. It is the biblical revelation of how to live in keeping with God's will.

Nick might preach a really helpful sermon from one of these texts, say, on loving one another, or on living a holy life, or how to pray, but it would not be a gospel sermon. The gospel is not good advice or good ideas or good instruction. The gospel is good news.

But what is this good news? In its simplest and most essential sense it is Christ. To preach Christ is to preach the gospel. One of the most concise summaries of the gospel is give by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. In essence, he says that the gospel he preached to them was:

Christ,

Christ predicted in scriptures

Christ crucified for our sins, and

Christ resurrected and seen to be alive.

The great Reformer and theologian, John Calvin, said that we need the gospel preached to us every week, and the Lord's supper to ratify the promise, because we are partly unbelievers until we die. As the distraught father said to Jesus in Mark 9: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." We are all partly unbelievers and we need to hear the gospel every week, -- the good news of what God has done for us in Christ, his sacrifice for our forgiveness and salvation.

And we do. Like a couple of weeks ago when Nick's sermon was an excellent example of "law," giving guidance and instruction for living as Christians, we still heard the gospel in the communion meditation and in the act of communion. And we needed that. As the old Gospel hymn says:

Tell me the old, old story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.

Tell me the story simply, as to a little child;

For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.

Tell me the story slowly, that I may take it in --

That wonderful redemption, God's remedy for sin.

Tell me the story often, for I forget so soon;

The early dew of morning has passed away at noon.

Yes, tell me the old, old story, of Jesus and his love. We need to hear the gospel every week, and we do as we hear his words from the Last Supper and partake of his body and his blood.