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The Lord’s Supper

Posted on October 13, 2014 by johnmarkum

²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For every time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. – 1 Cor. 11:23-26

This coming Sunday, October 19, we will participate in communion (aka “The Lord’s Supper) for the first time at LifeCity Church. While there has been some mistaken thoughts about communion, for me the spiritual exercise is extremely meaningful. As we get close to the day we do this as a church for the first time, I want the people who attend this Sunday to understand why this is such a big deal. Perhaps you’re nowhere near Santa Clara, but still wonder. Well, here’s a few thoughts on the subject:

Symbolic. Jesus handed freshly broken bread and said “Take, eat this is my body.” He was speaking figuratively just as he did when he offered them the cup of wine and said, “take, drink, this is my blood…” The point of communion is to serve as a…
Reminder. Jesus asked us to participate in the Lord’s Supper “in remembrance” of his sacrifice on the cross for the sin and brokenness of the world. When we do so we are remembering “the Lord’s death”. Because it is a reminder, communion is for those who have already placed their faith in Christ. Participating is completely meaningless for the person who has not put their faith in Jesus.
Hope. We’re not just remembering what Christ did for us by dying on the cross (and, yes, rising again) – we are proclaiming it “until He comes.” Because He is coming back! One day we’ll see Him face-to-face and He’ll set this world under His rule and justice.
Witness. By participating in communion together we are “proclaiming” via a symbolic demonstration of what Jesus did for the whole of humanity. The Lord’s Supper is a powerful testimony of what Jesus did for those who have yet to believe on Him.
Cleansing. We are commanded to purify ourselves for the taking of communion. This is done directly between each individual and God – because of the cross, Jesus is the only necessary intercessor. We are encouraged to confess to God the things that He calls as sin, and receive the forgiveness that Jesus offers through His sacrifice which we remember at communion.

In anticipation for this Sunday (or any communion service), ask yourself two things:

Have I placed my faith and trust in Christ?
Is there anything in my life that is separating my heart from the heart of God?

I look forward to sharing in the Lord’s Supper with you this Sunday, church!

Blessings,
Pastor John

Good Grief

Posted on September 30, 2014 by johnmarkum

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.“
– 1 Thessalonians 4:13

I get weary at nearly every funeral of the counsel people try to give to the family of the deceased. Many well-intentioned friends and relatives quote scriptures about Heaven and say things like “they’re in a better place.” It’s not that these quotes are incorrect, it’s that they are almost universally ill-delivered. I always know it’s grating on the grieving individual when they quietly but consistently respond to each new piece of advice with “I know.”

Translation to the “I know” response? Internally, that person is thinking something like, “Yes, I too have heard, quoted, and memorized every single verse you’re giving me now. I know that I’ll see my Dad/Mom/kid/friend/etc. in Heaven one day, and that right now they are in Jesus’ presence enjoying perfect rest. But I was just having lunch with them a week ago and now they’re gone… I can’t talk to them, laugh with them, or turn to them when I need them anymore. And all of your ‘advice’ feels a lot like you’re telling me to suck it up and get over the fact that my ______ just died and I feel like I’m burying a piece of my soul with them.”

I’ve even heard some suggest that we should not grieve at all for the loss of a loved one because they’re “in God’s hands now” and we’ll see them again.

This may be a revolutionary thought for some, but grief is a good thing.

Jesus grieved at the loss of a friend, Lazarus. Psalm 34 tells us that God is “near to the broken-hearted.” And even the above passage from 1 Thes. encourages us who are in Christ, that “we do not grieve like… those who have no hope.” But we do grieve. And grief is good.

Grief is accepting and acknowledging that we’ve suffered a loss.

It’s giving that loss it’s proper place of honor, and it is also an important piece to the healing process in our own hearts. Not grieving a loved one who’s passed is a lot like getting a serious wound and not treating it – healing is slow, if not unlikely, and infection of the wound is almost guaranteed.

I’ve seen many Christ-followers carry an infected heart because they were taught to “not grieve” and the hurt of losing someone has left them with an aching, wounded soul. They often turn that blame straight to God for taking their loved one instead of properly grieving and leaning on God’s grace for hope and healing.

Grief is also the price we all inevitably pay for love.

Every person you and I love (including ourselves) will one day face death. And the greater the love for that person, the greater the grief. Grieving that person’s loss is acknowledging how loved they were. In an unexpected way, grief is also a sort of celebration that a person was well loved, and greatly missed – even if Heaven is a future hope. It’s healthy to remember that.

So not grieving them is almost like denying that they were loved at all.

There comes a point when we must all move passed the grief, of course – accept a new normal without that loved one in our lives, remember and celebrate the life that we enjoyed with them, live the rest of our days in a way that person would be proud of us, and look expectantly to the day we are all reunited in God’s big family.

Yes, we should encourage people with the promises of God in His word.

But more than anything, a grieving person needs to see us live God’s word out to them in their loss, not just heard quoted at them from a safe distance. Instead of just quoting a verse at them, get close to them. Mourn with them. Be the promise that God gave to those who suffer loss. Be near the broken-hearted. Like Jesus did.

Blessings,
Pastor John

When Being Pruned

Posted on July 16, 2014 by johnmarkum

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:1, 2

As a follower of Jesus, what do you do when hardship hits your life? What do you and I do when it feels like God is allowing, maybe even causing, pain to come into your life? There’s a fascinating observation we can make in John 15 where Jesus is comparing Himself to the vine of a grape plant that connects the branches to their source of strength and nutrients: the roots. There are two contrasted groups of people in this passage that Jesus talks about here in these few verses:

One group is “in Him” but not bearing fruit – i.e., spiritual fruit. In His illustration this would typically describe a branch that had grown longer than it’s strength could hold up, and thus was being weighed down by the leaves of the branch. And distinctly absent of fruit.
The other group of people are the ones “doing all the right things.” They’re faithful. They’re fruitful. They’re doing exactly what they were grown to do.

In the first case the “vinedresser” a.k.a. vintner, prunes the branch that has grown far from the vine (it’s source) and lacks the stability and strong connection to the vine to support it’s own weight. The vintner “takes away” or prunes (Greek: “airo” literally meaning “to lift up,” used to describing pruning) the branch back – cutting off length and leaves so that the branch can stay close to the root and concentrate more of it’s resources into doing what the vintner intended for it: to produce fruit.

God does this to us, when we allow the weight, sin, cares, and values of this world to weigh us down. We end up laying in the dirt. And no grapes grow where the branch touches the ground. We have to be lifted up. Pruned back. And that’s a painful thing. No one likes the pruning. But God’s desire in doing so is not to punish us. But to “lift” us up out of the dirt. God doesn’t rub our nose in our sin and brokenness. He wants to lift us up out of it so that we can grow and bear fruit. But that may require some pruning first.

But what of the second group? The “good” ones? The branches that bear fruit. Oh, well God just uh,… well God prunes those branches too…

Hey don’t get mad at me, that’s what Jesus said! The same Greek word (“airo“) is used to describe the vintner’s treatment of the fruitful branch also. And the motive is spelled out for us: “that it may bear more fruit.” On the surface, we tend to push back on what Jesus just told us here…

“Why would God prune the people who are doing the right things? How is that fair?”

But it’s not a question of fair. It’s a question of fruit. God’s desire for us is that we bear fruit, and then bear more fruit. His intentions for us are good! But sometimes God has to take good from us to give us better. And He gets to be the judge of what “better” looks like.

Maybe you’re not being pruned because you’re doing something wrong, but because you’re doing something right. Maybe you’re suppose to go through this pruning for your continued growth, and not because you’re being corrected.

Many of you who know God can accept what I’m saying, but you still have a frustrating question that is predictable, because we’ve all been there:

So how do I know the difference? How do I know when I’m being pruned because of sin in my life vs. when I’m doing the right things?

Are you ready for the answer..? You can’t. You don’t. Of course, if there’s something obvious that God is showing you, you might know – but aside from that, there is no way to tell the difference. God treats the two nearly identical, and bot for the same reasons – He loves us and wants His glory and our good in our lives.

And though you can’t often identify the reason God is allowing the pruning into your life, you and I are given the proper response to have from Jesus: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)

When difficulty hits, when hard times come, when you feel the pruning – regardless of the source or reason – abide in Him. Remain in Christ. Maintain your faith. Draw near to the “Root” where the strength and nutrients are. Don’t leave God and don’t abandon your faith – “For apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

The only thing worse than disappointment with God, is disappointment without God.

Stay strong. Endure the pruning. Allow God’s strength to be made perfect in your weakness. Abide in Him.

Blessings,
Pastor John