A Communion Hymn

A Shocking Thing (Communion Hymn)

Lyrics by DA Carson

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A shocking thing, this, that we should forget
The Savior who gave up his life—
To turn from the cross, indifferent, and let
Our minds veer toward self-love and strife.
This Table, this rite, is habit—and yet
Christ’s words pierce our shame like a knife:

While breaking the bread, the Lord Jesus said,
“Do this in remembrance of me.”
“Do this in remembrance of me.”

Enamored with power, surrounded by praise,
We set out ecclesial plans.
Efficiency hums, and we spend our days
Defending, promoting our stands.
Techniques multiply, our structures amaze—
The gospel slips out of our hands.

While breaking the bread, the Lord Jesus said,
“Do this in remembrance of me.”
“Do this in remembrance of me.”

Restoration History: The Sand Creek Address - Church In-fights

         Evaluation of The Sand Creek Address (1889)

W. Carl Ketcherside considered the Sand Creek document “divisive”, labeling it a tool that was as “unscriptural as ever, conceived by the minds of partisan men”. It was a “death knell for the autonomy of the local congregation”.  One of the pillars of the Restoration Movement was Unity; therefore, according to Ketcherside, the Sand Creek Address failed to achieve this. This was certainly a far cry from the methods used in the past at unification. Around 1827, John Wright encouraged both the Stone followers in Indiana and the “New Lights” to “unite and face their problems together; and to call themselves Christians” (North, 189). The Sand Creek document served the opposite purpose. In their attempt to unify on ideas, the writers of the document were promoting separation. Congregations were encouraged to “disfellowship from one another” (Ketch.) and elders were encouraged to “pronounce the sentence of spiritual death upon another congregation over which they held no jurisdiction” (Ketch.).

Invitation To The Lord's Supper

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread… (Acts 20:7a). We are getting all the elements ready…The Bread, The Wine (grape juice). The Lord said, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes…Do this, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:25-26). Let’s take the time this week to “Examine ourselves” as we approach the Lord’s Table.

We will dine on Sunday March 11^, 2018. Service begins promptly @ 9:00 am. For Christ’ body was wounded; for Christ’ life was taken. The Disciple of Christ says “Lord, I believe it. My life springs from your suffering; my joy from your sorrows; and my hope of glory everlasting from your humiliation and abasement unto death” (Campbell, A.) We look forward to serving you!

Invitation to The Lord’s Supper

Transformation Ministries Florida

Meeting Place: Sundays @ 9:00am Hampton Inn - 5740 N. State Road 7, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073

Pastor Pratt Brown, Pastor Andrew Hall

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Early Church Splits & Union - The Bible Only?

A Perspective on the Restoration Movement

The church of God is complex. These days we use the term “It’s complicated!”. Throughout church history the church has gone through many cycles. One such cycle was the Restoration Movement. According to James North (2) “The church has constantly gone through cycles of revival in order to cast off some of the accretions that have built up around the structure of the church”. Throughout the process, we find people leading the charge with a variety of opinions, many rallying the cause under a variety of titles such as Liberals, Conservatives, Fundamentalist, Disciples of Christ and even, “Christians”.

“Probably the most significant of the reviving and cleansing movements was the Protestant Reformation” (North, 2). The Movement took place in the Americas around the year 1800 and its goal “was to restore the church to the ideals of the New Testament” (ibid, 6). These ideals were built upon the twin pillars of (1) The Unity of all Believers, and (2) The use of the Bible as the only authority for the Faith and Practice of Christians. This platform was very attractive, considering the state of the church at the onset of the movement. There were sectarian divisions, splits over doctrine, objections to the use of musical instruments, creeds and church polity. One thing was sure, the Reformation Movement was very appealing in that it was a breath of fresh air for the church in general and the community of unbelievers who had to endure constant scandals, fights and splits over these issues. “The existence and competition of rival denominations was a stumbling block to the smooth progress of the Gospel. Therefore, removing the stumbling block was to be the goal of the Movement” (ibid, 7).

The strategy was brilliant.