Sermon Video - Jesus celebrates God's provision with his friends, Luke 22:14-15

What did Jesus seek out on the evening when his Passion was only hours away?   The company of his friends and devoted followers.  More specifically, their company while they celebrated together God's provision for his people in the past through the Passover, a reminder that God's power and purpose will not be thwarted.

Sermon Video: The Body and Blood of Christ - Mark 14:22-26

During the Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus adds to that yearly ritual of remembrance of the provision of God on behalf of his people by instituting a New Covenant. The first was solemnized with the blood of animals, the new will be built upon the blood of the Son of God. In addition, Jesus offers his body as life sustaining food (the Bread of Life), and his blood as sin atoning redemption.

Throughout Church history, questions have arisen and answers attempted regarding the questions of who can administer rites of remembrance of the Lord's Supper, who can receive it, and what exactly is happening when we do. Is it the real presence of Christ, is it a mystery, or symbolic. While the answers have varied, broad agreement remains on this: those who would claim to be followers of Jesus Christ must participate, as this ritual is foundational to the practices of his Church.

Sermon Video: In Remembrance of Jesus - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

In his effort to reform the way in which the church at Corinth was participating in the Lord's Supper, the Apostle Paul reminds them that his instructions were received, "from the Lord" and then passed directly onto them.  The Early Church greatly valued Apostolic Authority, the teachings that were received directly from Jesus and then passed on to the Church during its first generation.  It was this teaching that was then incorporated into the Scriptures, nearly all of which had an apostolic author or someone closely associated with an apostle (i.e. like Mark with Peter).  For the Church this connection to Jesus is crucial, providing confidence in what we believe and teach.
What Paul received from Jesus regarding Communion was simple enough: (1) Jesus gave thanks, (2) acknowledged that his body would be broken and blood shed, (3) and then distributed it to his disciples to partake.  Our task, as the Church, while not spelled out in great detail by Paul, is still simple: do likewise.

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Sermon Video: Jesus and his friends - Luke 22:14-16

Less than twenty-four hours before his brutal death upon a Roman cross, Jesus celebrates the Passover with his chosen disciples; his friends.  He tells them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."  For Jesus there was immense value in this time with his companions before he walked the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows) alone.  Jesus' friends bolstered his courage and his hope, helping him find the endurance to complete the Father's plan and drink the cup placed before him.  We too require Christian fellowship to fulfill the tasks assigned to us by the Father.

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Sermon Video: A Chosen People once more - Joshua 5:1-12

Having successfully crossed the Jordan River, and having memorialized God's display of power, the people of Israel are now commanded by God, through Joshua, to re-institute the rite of circumcision before proceeding on toward Jericho.  As the text unfolds, we then discover that circumcision was not the only thing neglected by the generation that wandered in the wilderness, the people had also not celebrated Passover since Mt. Sinai.  The people obey, observing both the rite of initiation into the covenant, and the feast of commemoration of God's power in keeping the covenant by leading his people from bondage in Egypt. 
Why did God command these things, here and now?  The timing in the book of Joshua is repeatedly emphasized, as God's command to Joshua came on the west side of the Jordan, already in the Promised Land, and vulnerable to their enemies.  Because the battles ahead belong to the Lord, not to Joshua's strategic thinking, the need to be spiritually prepared for the task ahead is emphasized by God when he chooses this moment to insist that the people keep their covenant obligations.
The passage in Joshua reminds us of the need we have as a Church to emphasize both baptism and communion, for they are our rites of initiation and remembrance, and of the need we have as a Church to begin with obedience to the commands that we have already been given.  If we hope to do great things for the Kingdom of God, step one is to obey what we've already been commanded in the Word of God.

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Sermon Video: Josiah - Triumph and Tragedy - 2 Chronicles 35

Having come to the throne at the age of 8, King Josiah had already achieved what would for many people be a lifetime of accomplishments by the age of 26.  In the 18th year of his reign, having repaired the temple, Josiah imitated his great-grandfather Hezekiah by properly renewing the celebration of the Passover.  Through personal sacrifice and bold leadership, Josiah and the people of Judah (along with the remnant of Israel) celebrate the Passover with such vigor and zeal that it becomes the greatest such celebration since the days of the prophet Samuel.  For Josiah, this victory is yet another triumph.
The Chronicles doesn't mention any other events of Josiah's reign until the 31st year of his reign when Josiah is 39.  In that year, King Neco of Egypt seeks to bring his army north alongside/through the territory of Judah in order to attack the Babylonians.  The ongoing struggle between Egypt and the Assyrians/Babylonians/Persians was always something that threatened to engulf the Jewish kingdom(s) as they sat astride the north/south route.  As Neco's army approaches, Josiah has but two choices: (1) stay out of the fight and hope neutrality is respected, and (2) pick a side.  We're not told that Josiah consulted the LORD for advice, perhaps in his mind his duty was clear.  Josiah chooses to resist Neco and fights against him, but is mortally wounded in the battle and dies soon after.  In the end, Josiah lived an extremely faithful and purposeful life, but also one shortened by the tragedy of early death.

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