Mark 14:22-26

Bringing the sermon home:

The biggest debates of our age, whether cultural, political, or religious, are all worldview debates, and nothing shapes your view of the world more than your view of God. What comes into your mind when you think about God, and how is that view being shaped week after week?

1. For those covered by His blood, Jesus has paid it all (vv.22-25).
   
   As Jesus and His twelve closest disciples partook of His final Passover meal, contemplating the significance of the roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Exodus 12), Jesus suddenly broke with tradition and invested new meaning into two of the elements of the supper: the bread and the cup. Rather than pointing backward to the first Exodus, these new symbols were pointing forward to the new Exodus that was about to begin with the once-and-for-all sacrifice of a new Passover Lamb: Jesus Himself. What are you trusting in to be made right with God?
   
   
2. His steadfast love endures forever (v.26).
   
   Have you ever considered the mood as Jesus sang a final hymn (possibly Psalm 118) with His disciples? Knowing what awaited Him just hours away, Jesus sang a song of praise to His Father. In Jesus, have you so “tasted and seen that the Lord is good” that you can sing His praises, even as you march toward suffering?
   
   
3. At His table, we receive His sanctifying and sustaining grace (1 Cor 10–11).
   
   While saving grace is only received through faith, sanctifying and sustaining grace are received through each of the means of grace that God has instituted, including the Lord’s Supper. Do you approach His table each week with both humble self-examination and joyous celebration, eager to receive this grace that shapes your view of God?