Greetings Redeemer family!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful July 4th weekend. It is a great thing to be able to celebrate the many ways that God has blessed our nation with friends and family. This weekend also marks the departure of our team to North Africa, as was mentioned during last week’s service. Please keep them in your prayers these next 2 weeks; that God would grant them safety, unity, and opportunities to share His glorious Gospel in this overwhelmingly Muslim area.

This Communion Sunday, we continue our sermon series of snapshots in the life of Christ by examining Christ’s claim to be “the Bread of Heaven.” We begin our worship this week with a song that I introduced shortly after beginning my time at Redeemer. “Satisfied” is one of my favorite songs to sing as the music is quite simple, but also has some interesting variations in the harmony that keep it interesting. The lyrics are a wonderful reminder that Christ alone can meet the deepest longing of our souls.

All my life long I had panted
For a drink from some cool spring
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within

Hallelujah He has found me
The one my soul so long has craved
Jesus satisfies all my longings
Through His blood I now am saved

But maybe you’re something like me, and you feel a little bit of tension when you sing these words. We know and confess that Jesus CAN satisfy all of our longings. We have tasted of His goodness, and know that He is the One we truly long for. We even have faith that He WILL, in the end, satisfy all of our longings. Yet the fact remains that He has NOT YET filled those longings completely. This may leave you confused, frustrated, or feeling like a fake. This is why I take such comfort in the words of the Psalmist that we use as our call to worship this week.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because
your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. (Ps 67:1-7)

Note that the Psalmist begins by acknowledging his CONTINUING longing for God. He has previously experienced the power, glory, and love of God, but it leaves him longing for more. What’s more amazing is that this longing does not lead to depression and doubt – but rather the Psalmist expresses joyful trust and worship.

Arise my soul arise,
Shake off your guilty fears
The bleeding sacrifice
On my behalf appears
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands
My name is written on His hands

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my Light my strength my song
This Cornerstone this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love what depths of peace
When fears are stilled when strivings cease
My Comforter my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

As we come to communion, we look to Christ as the Bread of Life to renew us and enable us to live for His glory in our daily life. This prayer of preparation recognizes that communion is a gift of God’s grace as well as a remembrance of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection:

We do not presume to come to this your table, most merciful Father, trusting in our own righteousness, but only in your boundless mercy. We are not even worthy to gather up the crumbs under your table. But you are the same Lord, ever merciful. Grant therefore, Lord of grace and love, that we may so eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ and drink His blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His body, and our souls washed through His most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us.

I look forward to celebrating the sacrament of communion with you all this weekend. Even as we feed on Him this weekend, I also hope that you are seeking Him daily in times of personal worship and devotion. As you do this, He will be faithful to attend His Word and grant you the sweet fellowship of His Spirit.

Feeing on His promises,

Tim Sharpe
Worship Director
Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Lynchburg VA