A New Series..."What the Heaven is Communion?"

Greetings in Christ!

As I set my thoughts and prayers to leading worship in the month of May, I noticed a theme running throughout both the Scriptures and "theme's" of the liturgy/calendar: Communion, a.k.a. The Eucharist, a.k.a. The Lord's Supper.

This has prompted me to create a Sunday Sermon Series for the month of May: "What the Heaven is Communion?"

Together, we'll be exploring in worship, through song and thought and prayer and fellowship what "the table" of Christ has to say to us - each Sermon speaking about the table does: unites (5/2), persuades (5/9), saves (5/16), inspires (5/23), and teaches (5/30).

For this Sunday, 5/2, take a look at Acts 11:1-18.

This passage is a confrontation - Peter is in BIG trouble! In spite of Christ's own command to spread the Gospel, the "good news," to ALL nations, one powerful component of the "early Christian Church" is promoting the concept that "salvation in Christ" is for Jewish law-observers only.

As complicated as this passage is, it gets at a very simple reality - in all times and places human beings endure great temptation to become control freaks.

If we are not careful, we assume that our own thoughts about God, ourselves, and others are what God in fact thinks too - we must be careful to be listeners, and followers, though we are, at times, called by God to speak and lead on God's behalf.

As I look at this Scripture in which someone is in trouble for "sharing the grace of Christ with someone who didn't deserve it," (one way to paraphrase the sentiment of the Jerusalem leaders) I wonder in a metaphorical sense, "who" or "what" is it that exists outside of my concept of grace?

This might not nessecarily mean a "type" of person, but could even be a situation - "I'll never be friends with that person again," or "they'll never forgive me for this," or "I'll never get over that,"

In what ways might the grace of Christ come over your life and unite something you believed to be broken?

Christ's peace guard our hearts and minds,

Rich