Sunday, November 16, 2008

It's always been easy to recognize the significance of the cup that represents Jesus' blood. The Bible is clear that through the shedding of Jesus' blood we have forgiveness. But I did not understand the importance of the body. Yet, now I do not think we are called to remember His physical body, but the body that is the church. When I eat of the bread I acknowledge my part in the body of Christ and my place in the kingdom of God, just as in taking the cup I acknowledge that Christ has forgiven my sins.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Was Paul able to preach so well in so many various circumstances because of a miraculous power of God or because his faith prepared him for every situation? In some cases, he may have prepared what he was going to say along the way. But in others, such as with the jailer, the words he spoke were not prepared, yet he still spoke the word of the Lord and all were saved.

1 Peter 3:15 says that we should all be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks us to give an account for the hope in us. This means that in any situation we should be prepared to speak on the topic of Christ. The example of worship in 1 Corinthians 14 shows that it was not about having prepared sermons but about speaking as God inspired them. I think often times we are so concerned that we say the right thing that we rely too much on our own ability and not enough on Him.