I recently bumped up against an old post on a blog that expressed a kindred conclusion toward the idea of sin, self-examination, and the Lord’s Table. Paul’s warning to examine yourself before partaking of the bread and the cup, lest you take in an unworthy manner, should not be taken lightly. However, the opportunity for self-examination, rather than scaring you away from the Lord’s Table, should result in an opportunity to receive afresh the cleansing of forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

You can check out the article I found at this link: mymiscellanies.blogspot.com .

The biblical exhortation of self-examination was not meant to frighten, intimidate or “guilt” the sinner away from celebrating communion because they have sinned this week, or feel unworthy (who isn’t unworthy, really?). Rather, it was meant to expose the unthinkable nature of coming to the table of remembrance without it also being a table of cleansing. Here are some notes from a message I preached on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34….

I read an article called, “Abandoning an Incomplete Gospel,” by Dieter Zander, originally published in Regeneration Quarterly. I was intrigued by the title since I have written a booklet called The Whole Gospel of Christ: Helping Christ’s Ambassadors to Faithfully Deliver the Message of the King. I thought Zander might be saying the same thing - so I read the article. I recommend you read the article too, BUT don’t go away without reading my comments too.

Zander makes some good points, but I didn’t like everything. Here’s the good stuff…

I have invited a couple other guys to blog with me at Cafe Biblia. Today, I want to introduce you to Brian Sayers. I need to do this right away since he posted his first blog just minutes ago!…

There is a lot of discussion among those who preach about making the truth “relevant” to every day life. But is this really helpful if the questions people want answered aren’t the questions they should be asking? To put it another way, what if people’s “felt needs” aren’t always their “true spiritual needs?” The Word of God is sufficient to meet all of our spiritual needs. Duane Lutfin, in an recent interview with Preaching magazine, speaking of the value of expository preaching, makes just this point.

I don’t agree with everything he says in his interview, and often find Preaching Magazine too eclectic and “trendy” to be helpful. But these observations are helpful.

He says…

I’ve tried to explain my concern over the lack of concern many Christians have for the local church. Now, I want to show you from Scripture why every Christian should love the local church and why every Christian should consider the local church as indispensable for their own Christian walk, a basic disciple-making ministry, and missions.

You should build your life around the local church. Today, I’m going to tell you why. Well, I’ll give you the first reason: The local church is the household of God.

Look at what Paul says to Timothy…

For a long time I loved the music of Phillips, Craig & Dean. Their harmony is great, and I appreciated their worship songs - sung directly to God. I later found out they were singing to god, not God…

I feel like I need to explain further my burden for writing on this topic on the importance of the local church. So, I’m going to describe some of the scenarios I have run into which provoke (not anger) me to labor to persuade Christians from the Scriptures to cherish life in the local church.

Ligon Duncan commented on the importance of the local church at T4G. I want to give you the link and add my 2 cents at the same time…