{"id":2546,"date":"2013-08-05T21:21:16","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T01:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/delp\/?p=2546"},"modified":"2013-08-05T21:21:16","modified_gmt":"2013-08-06T01:21:16","slug":"come-to-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/delp\/?p=2546","title":{"rendered":"Come to the Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"communion-table\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I (Joel) had the opportunity to preach and lead communion this past Sunday at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Donaldson, IN. \u00a0It was a lot of fun! \u00a0I hadn’t had the opportunity to lead communion for quite some time so it was nice. \u00a0In planning and leading communion, I was able to review the Communion Liturgy that is in the Covenant Book of Worship. \u00a0I really appreciate it and was refreshed by going over it and leading a community of faith in it this past Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

So much of what our world tells us these days is that we have to be perfect. \u00a0We have to have it all together. \u00a0 We have to look perfect, we act perfect, we have to have the perfect job, the perfect spouse, the perfect kids and we have to do all the right things. \u00a0This kind of cultural problem invades the church also when we feel like we always need to have a smile on our face and look like we’ve got everything under control.<\/p>\n

Now, please know that I am not trying to make a criticism here. \u00a0It’s just a reality of the world today.<\/p>\n

Enter, the table. \u00a0The grace that is bestowed upon us from Jesus Christ though the sacrament of communion is like nothing else. \u00a0We don’t have to come to the table with things all in order. \u00a0We don’t have to have it all together. \u00a0We don’t have to be perfect.<\/p>\n

Here’s the liturgy that I used this past Sunday for communion taken from the Covenant Book of Worship:<\/p>\n

It is now our sacred privilege to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord\u2019s Supper.\u00a0 All who humbly put their trust in Christ and desire His help that they may lead a holy life; all that are truly penitent for their sins and would be delivered from them; all that walk in love with their neighbors and intend to live a new life, following the commandments of God and walking from henceforth in His holy ways, are invited to draw near with faith and to take this holy sacrament.\u00a0 <\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Come to the table, not because you must, but because you may.\u00a0 Come to testify, not that you are righteous, but that you sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ and desire to be his true disciple.\u00a0 Come not because you are strong, but because you are weak and that you stand in constant need of God\u2019s mercy and help.\u00a0 Come not to express an opinion, but to seek God\u2019s presence and pray for the Spirit.<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I (Joel) had the opportunity to preach and lead communion this past Sunday at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Donaldson, IN. \u00a0It was a lot of fun! \u00a0I hadn’t had the opportunity to lead communion for quite some time so it was nice. \u00a0In planning and leading communion, I was able to review the Communion … Continue reading »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[171,4099,42,4074,72],"tags":[73,24666,24649,24662,24648,24651],"class_list":["post-2546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelical-covenant-church","category-home-assignment","category-ministry","category-reflections","category-updates","tag-churches","tag-home-assignment","tag-ministry","tag-reflections","tag-travel","tag-updates"],"yoast_head":"\nCome to the Table - Delplog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/delp\/?p=2546\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Come to the Table - Delplog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I (Joel) had the opportunity to preach and lead communion this past Sunday at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Donaldson, IN. \u00a0It was a lot of fun! 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