Jesus shares a meal with the disciples where they fail to comprehend that as they gaze upon him and the bread and wine that they are really seeing the same thing twice. The effect of this is to leave a visible means by which the grace of Christ’s saving work is conveyed to those of us who have not yet gazed on him, but who perceive him in the meal.
Preparation songs this week are Put A New Song In My Heart and As Pants The Deer For Water Brooks (Psalm 42). Worship begins with Across The Lands with its strong focus on the Lord Jesus, the word of God the Father. The prayer of adoration and confession will call to mind the wonderful life-giving grace of God’s love, how much we need it, and how sadly we often forsake it for our own means of fulfillment.
John Wesley’s version of Von Zinzendorf’s Jesus, Your Blood And Righteousness is our means of testifying about the wondrous grandeur which is the righteousness of Jesus, and we continue to anticipate Easter in our recitation of the Nicene Creed, then sing the last verse of an old hymn To The Great One In Three.
In God’s Word Jeremiah 16:1-21 reveals the profound call which God places upon the prophet so that his life is a complete message of the judgment which the people are incurring.
We’ll then sing I Will Glory In My Redeemer, and then turn to Matthew 26:17-30, the account of the last supper. While taking note of details provided in the other Gospels, we’ll be paying most attention to the emphasis which Matthew maintains.
With the cross immanent Jesus takes the time to share this meal with the disciples, at once pointing out their need, the effect of his death, and an anticipation of glory to come. He instructs them to trust in Him every time they eat the meal and so experience a growing faith.
While they had not idea of the importance of the meal while Christ stood among them, they and generations more would understand that eating and drinking is a reception of the very grace poured out when Christ is present, though He is physically absent.
We do well to remember that this is the gift that Christ gives His people as they struggle through the trials of life in this world.
As we turn toward responding to the grace of God’s Word, this week we’ll hear from David and Gae McDonald, workers with the Presbyterian Inland Mission in outback South Australia. They’ll introduce themselves and provide a sense of the work which we, and many others, partner in.
Alan Fox will lead us in prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for the needs of others, then we’ll give our tithes and offerings and conclude our worship singing Lord Be My Vision.
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