THE PASSOVER PREPARATION
Sermon preached at PCC byPs Jeff O’Neil on 31 March 2002
“And it was the preparation of thePassover,….” (John 19:14)
“Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.”(Luke 22:1)
There is an apparent difficulty between John’s Gospel and the other threeevangelists over the day of the Passover. We have to remember that the Jewishday is different from ours, in that their day finished at sunset, and the nextday began straight away. And for anyone who is interested in the chronology ofthe events, I refer you to Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times ofJesus the Messiah—but suffice it is for us from the two texts given to showthat first of all:
(a) It would seem that the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread was annexed tothe feast of the Passover. The first of the seven days was on the actualPassover day itself. They were to eat the lamb with unleavened bread, thusdepicting the haste with which they had to leave Egypt. But also it (theleaven) depicted a form of corruption.
(b) And, secondly, that there was a preparation for the Passover and Feast ofUnleavened Bread. The Passover lamb was to have been scrupulously examined andprepared. In fact it was Peter and John who are the two agents whom Christ sentin order to prepare for the Passover. And in fact Peter and John had theresponsibility of preparing the first and the last Passover that is recordedour Lord ever attended. There are no other accounts of Him attending thePassover in Jerusalem. And so Peter and John were given this responsibility.They had to prepare the upper room, and also take the lamb to the temple inorder for the priest to slay it, and then take it to the upper room, in orderfor it to be roasted there.
(c) But, thirdly, this preparation also requires that every Jewish house had tobe searched for any residue of leaven. Every old leaven prior to the Passoverhad to be destroyed. Now the law commanded them to do that, in Exodus 12. Butthe Jews added an interesting custom to it. They not only searched, but theytook candles in order to search, and they would go into the kitchen andsearched whatever utensils they had, and the stove that they used. They wouldlook on the floor, in every nook and corner, just in case a piece of leaven hadfallen inadvertently and hid itself in the dark corners of the home. The housewas searched diligently by the owners. This had to be eliminated, and all theold corruption found and destroyed.
Now leaven in the Scripture is used in the good sense, and in a bad sense. Butit is the bad sense that I want to refer to this morning. Remember the ApostlePaul, he uses the symbolism to deal with the problem in the Corinthian church.He says this: “Purge out… the old leaven” (1 Cor 5:7), get rid ofit, that corrupting influence in your midst, purge it out. Andso, in a symbolic form, all corrupting influences were to be removed before theJews of old partook of the Passover.
Now we, as Christians, would hold that the Lord’s Supper is the New Testamentsuccessor of the Passover (1 Cor 5:7). The two ordinances in the Scripture (thePassover and Circumcision) are taken over into the New Testament. The outwardform is changed but the inner principle and substance of the two remain. Sothat the Truth was in symbolism in the Old Testament, and the symbolism isstripped away and the gospel truth is set forth in all its simplicity. RememberPaul writing to the Corinthians again, in fifth chapter in 1 Corinthians: “Foreven Christ our Passover is sacrificed [crucified] for us.” But with thatprinciple that is carried across into the New Testament, I would suggest to youthat the principle of preparation is also taken across. And though the externalchanges concerning it, the inner principle remains, and so when Paul writes tothem in the eleventh chapter, he says this: “But let a man examine himself, andso let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” (v. 28). So you have theprinciple now of preparation in the Old Testament, and then Paul, after usingthe analogy of the leaven, goes on to explain to them concerning the Lord’sSupper: “Let a man examine himself.” And that is to say this, dear friends,that we are to investigate, we are to examine the rooms and the chambers of ourown hearts, not with candles but with the light of God’s Word before we come tothe Table of the Lord. Preparation before participation.
1. A Time of Preparation
And that is the purpose of this Sabbath, this is what you hold at this church.It is different in many countries. In Scotland, and particularly in the islandsof Scotland, when they would have preparatory services, on the Thursday,Friday, and Saturday, and then the Lord’s Table on the Sunday. And then on theMonday, a service of rejoicing. In Wales, it used to be but not so now, thatthe Saturday itself was a time of preparation before the Lord’s Table. Yourchurch holds it the Sunday before and the week before, using these as a time ofpreparation. So this service then, through the preaching of God’s Word, is inorder to bring us to remembrance concerning next Sabbath when we celebrate theLord’s Supper, and that during the week we may take the opportunity toscrutinise, to examine, to investigate the rooms of our hearts, whether therebe any impediments of sin therein. And so, with David, we can concur upon this:“I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search” (Ps 77:6),not with candles, but with the light of God’s Word, and then Psalm 139: “Searchme, O God, and see if there be any wicked way in me” (vv. 23–24). And that, myfriends, should be the desire and the willingness in theheart, my heart, that God would purge by the light of HisWord, and investigate the labyrinths of my soul and there chase after anyimpediments that would prevent me coming to the Table sincerely, genuinely, inspirit and in truth. And therefore, the time of preparation can also be a timeof expectation; and so the blessing is doubled, in as much that theanticipation in the preparation would convey a blessing to the soul, let alonecoming to the Table next Sabbath morning. So it is blessed to receive atime of communion, but it is also blessed to give a time ofpreparationfor communion. Setting apart a time by personal assentis also a time well spent. And may I encourage you, that if you fix upon a timeduring this coming week, where you would in your heart be determined that youwould seek the Lord so that your heart may be prepared before Him, don’t bediverted by any circumstance, by any involvement, by any other concerns or interests,but keep the appointed time. Be rigid, be disciplined in the time spent,however long it is, before the Lord, in order to prepare yourself for theLord’s Table.
Now let me give an example of this time of preparation. In my time of fortyyears in the steelworks, a great number of apprentices were placed with me inorder to teach them the craft. And we would have these big parts of machinescoming in from the mills, covered with rust and grease. But they would want itback quickly in order for production to go on, and I would tell the apprenticesthat a successful job required 95% preparation, to strip down the parts toclean. The alterations were made, and within a short time the parts wereassembled, but 95% of the time it was preparation. And so it is with sportsmen,if they have talents in a particular sports, 95% of the time is spent inpreparation, in training, before the finals. And it is no different with theLord’s Table, the Table of the Lord,preparation increases the joyof participation. And without due preparation then it is but presumption on ourpart; we are presuming upon the Lord if we come without preparation. PhilipHenry says, “Now it is one thing to be unworthy to come,” (and I’m sure we allfeel unworthy to come to the Table), “but it’s another thing to comeunworthily”; that’s the great difference. And that shows the necessity ofpreparation.
2. Preparation Consistsin Examination
“But let a man examine himself.” And as the Jews searched out any remainingcorrupting influences, the old corrupting leaven in their homes, we are tostrip the symbolism away from that, and honestly deal with our souls and see ifthere be any wicked ways within. Now the Scripture proposes three kinds ofcorrupting leaven. There are more than three, but in the context that we areusing, let me show you three corrupting leaven.
(a) Leaven of Hypocrisy (Lk 12:1). Therewas a multitude there, and “[Christ] began to say unto his disciples first ofall, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” There, ourLord clearly identifies leaven with hypocrisy. And who is not troubled withthis plague in the soul? We never seem to root it out completely out of ournature, do we? In Wales, we used to have a weed in the garden called foxestail. And you can till the ground, you can toil it industriously, you can pullit out by hand, you can put weed killer on it, but within a month, up it comesagain. It is the most awkward of plants to get rid of. And so it is, I feel,with the weed of hypocrisy. We deal a blow to it, but then some time later, upit comes again in our nature and in our hearts.
Now the word “hypocrite” means to wear a mask. You know, in medieval times,when they had their plays, and even in Shakespeare’s time, the actors playedmany parts, not just one part like nowadays, but many parts. And in order tochange the character, they would have a mask on a stick, and they would hold itbefore their faces, it covered them, and so they became a different character.And it is the covering that hides the real person.
It is one thing to have a form of godliness, but you know from your ownexperience, that often times, we deny the power of it because of hypocrisy. Youknow, Esau wept, because he had lost the blessing. But my friends, he did notweep because he had sold the blessing. That is what he should have been weepingabout: he had sold the blessing. Notice here that Christ tells the disciplesfirst of all the truth from this teaching; He pinpoints to His disciples beforetelling the multitude. How serious a thing it is, for a Christian to have aname to live, without being alive indeed. The outside looks clean, but withinthere is this power of corruption. You know, when you see someone rowing aboat, he is facing one way and the boat is going the other way. So it is withthe Christian, that he seems to be facing the right way, but really his life isgoing in the opposite direction. And is that true of you, this morning? Myfriends, if any of you are in the state of backsliding, and you are continuingon in your Christian life as if nothing is going on, or nothing is the matter;then you are really in a state of hypocrisy! If you are bearing ill will to aperson, and you are going to come to the Table next Sabbath, really you arewearing a mask. It’s as simple as that. If you are criticising a brother orsister and destroying their character while you are doing it, then you areleavened with hypocrisy. And the leaven of hypocrisy is weakening the power ofgodliness, it impedes the power of prayer and it robs the soul of thepreciousness of Christ. I can say that from my own experience, that the firstthing that suffers is: that prayer is impeded. And therefore we are to hunt forthis enemy. You can visualise the hunt in the homes of the Jews, but we have tohunt in our hearts for this enemy and we have to cry unto the Lord to rend theveil that would cover and hide my soul from Thee.
Now, the soul that is not truly hypocritical but has a leaven of hypocrisy willbe prepared to examine itself. And prepared for God to examine it. Thedifference between a hypocrite and a Christian who has a little leaven in hissoul is this: that the Christian with a little leaven will be prepared toexamine it, the hypocrite won’t. He can’t abide that. But the Christian willbewail any hypocrisy and he will flee to that fountain opened for sin anduncleanness. Philip Henry says, Moses took a veil when he spoke to Israel, buthe put it off when he spoke to God. Hypocrites do the opposite, do thecontrary: they show their best faces to men, and they cover it before God.Notice Christ says this: “Beware,” and that’s a danger signal to us: Beware. Hesays it first of all to His disciples, “Beware,” and it has this meaning ofholding towards oneself, don’t reach out and take hold of this leaven and bringit into your bosom. It’s the leaven of the Pharisees, those who desire “a fairshew in the flesh” (Gal 6:12); outwardly they deceive men but ultimately Godreads the hearts. But why beware, why beware, why is it such a positive danger,child of God? It is a danger for this reason: because hypocrisy slides intoapostasy. And apostasy is proof of hypocrisy, the downgrade, the steps goingdown, and that’s why it is a danger. Child of God, beware of this subtle sinand beware of this excuse that we make: “Well, nobody’s perfect”; don’t we usethat at times? My friends, that is a “believer’s bed of thorns, and thehypocrite’s couch of ease” (John Duncan). That is true. We must look and searchand find, if there is a special nook, a special hiding place in our heart; andwe must learn that any profit from the Table depends onpreparation for the Table. So beware of the leaven ofhypocrisy.
(b) Examine for Leaven of Heresy (Gal 5:7–9). Paultells the Galatians that you are to examine yourselves for the leavenof heresy. Perhaps that may be too strong a word for our purpose thismorning; we could use the word “error.” Examine for the leaven of heresy, “Yedid run well; who did hinder you…? A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”What was happening was this, the context of the previous verses shows, some hadcome in, Judaisers, into the Galatian church; and they were teaching JesusChrist, yes, Jesus Christ for salvation, yes, but plus circumcision. You mustbe circumcised on top of your salvation. And they were spreading confusion anderror in the church in Galatia. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Nowthis corrupting influence is often difficult to discern, as it makes itselfquite at home in our natures.
Now all of us here have different constitutions, different predispositions,different likes, dislikes; we are all different characters, but we have theselikes and dislikes in the realm of the intellect particularly, so that certainpersuasions, certain doctrines, appeal to us, we are attracted to them. Thereis something in the make-up of man that we find, perhaps, that we respond tothe unusual and to the unorthodox. And the feature of this particular leaven isthat it insinuates itself into other areas of the Truth. And what it does isthat it infects our discernment, it infects our balance as Christians, and itinfects our appreciation of the Truth itself. And it is the most obdurate andstubborn of leavens to purge out. Now the reason why it is so is that it hastwo friends, and they are called Pride and Prejudice, or Pride and Ignorance.And these three are stronger than David’s three mighty men. Now when I was ayoung Christian, these three were my constant companions, they were the bane ofmy life. They were worse than Job’s three miserable comforters, giving me allthe wrong advice, and sending me all the wrong directions. And they can only beovercome by three that are stronger, and that is the Truth, the Spirit, and theHeart humbled under the mighty hand of God. And that’s important in aChristian’s life: that submissiveness under the mighty hand of God.
An obdurate heart and mind, and I know something of this myself, an obdurateheart and mind that are closed to the Truth, and will not respond to reason orto teaching, even though at times I didn’t have the answer for my position, Iwas in a precarious position. When you think of it, this leaven of error or ofheresy is such a potent invader that it came and invaded the life of theApostle Peter; and Paul had to stand there and challenge him, the two greatestfigures in the New Testament church. One of them fell grievously into error andPaul withstood him face to face and challenged him, saying: “Look Peter, that’swrong. I’m telling you that’s wrong, according to the Word of God.” I didmention last week of something similar, that heresy in the head is not as badas heresy in the heart. Heresy in the heart, when in the heart, has capturedthe city. When in the head, it tends to be theoretical, and therefore it is notheretical, not truly heretical; and can be mastered by the Truth itself. TheChristian who falls into serious error, and our Lord’s Word can be appliedhere, and is promised in: “if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurtthem” (Mk 16:18).
Again, and here I have the advantage of old age perhaps, that when I was ayoung Christian, I was an Arminian, I think most Christians, when they areconverted,—there are exceptions,—are Arminians to start off. I was Arminian,amongst other things. And Arminianism is really a very serious heresy, not anerror, it is a heresy. And it breeds others as well; for instance, that you canfall from grace, that is directly related to Arminianism: that you can fallfrom grace. I was an Arminian, but gradually I was worn down by the Truth, theTruth that I read, the Truth in the Bible, the Truth that I read in Banner ofTruth books, for instance. And mixing with the Reformed brethren for the firsttime, I was gradually worn down by the Truth; it was ignorance on my part, my background,I didn’t have any teaching on this matter; it was pure ignorance on my part,and the tradition that I have been brought up with. But it was Truth thatrescued me and delivered me, and changed my stance and my position. And sothen, it is well to examine our hearts as we come to the Table; and ascertainwhether we believe what we really believe, believe sincerely and truly andfully, or are there elements of doubt concerning the truth that trouble us, andmake us uncertain? That agitates our consciences perhaps, and worries ourminds. If so, we are to confess our difficulties before the Lord, to come andto pray that He, in His grace and mercy, will open our eyes. It doesn’t preventus coming to the Table, for it is there that the Truth is placarded crucifiedbefore our eyes.
Daniel Rowlands, who was probably the greatest preacher that Wales has producedand God raised up, (and I would set him above Whitefield), was preaching and hewas unconverted. He was an Anglican, and one Sabbath when he was taking acommunion service in the crowded church, as he knelt at the lectern in thefront, he came to the reading of the order of service. He read out loud: “Bythine agony and bloody sweat,” and when that came into his conscience, he sawthe suffering of Christ, and his outlook changed, he imbibed the Truth. And soit is that the communion service can be the means of restoration, it can be themeans of information, it can be the means of bringing the Truth to bear uponour minds and consciences in the way of the Truth not experienced before. Ithas that element of power, not in the bread, not in the wine, but in the Truth,that is the requisite.
(c) Leaven of Scandal (1 Cor 5: 7).“Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump.” He’s talking to the church:Now get rid of this leaven, destroy it, eliminate it, that ye might be a newlump. Now the context in which he uses that is this: it is of an incestuousperson within the communion influencing the whole of the lump, or whole of thechurch. Just as there was sin in the camp when Achan hid the wedge of gold andgoodly garment, the Lord saw there was sin in the camp; so in the Corinthianchurch there was this incestuous person. Now, beloved, we can harbour in ourhearts darling sins that would scandalise if they were known.For this leaven I am talking about cannot only ruin your life, it can ruin thelife of your church. You see, this leaven not only corrupts within yourself,but it festers without like an angry boil, and it can break out before the eyesof the world. And if you are entertaining something similar in your heart, thenlance the boil! We must forever be watchful of our personal walk, so that as apeople we have a conscience void of offence before God and before men.
There was a scandal in the Corinthian church; and no church and no individualis exempt from this leaven. And this scandal, these scandals, they all springfrom temptations and from entertaining exciting thoughts. Now, whether thesescandals are temptations of the flesh, whether they are financial temptations,whether there is pride over a certain subject, or whether there is malice, orthere is personality antagonism towards each other; they are not to be givenhouse room, they are not to be entertained in any way. You know Luther said,“You can’t stop a bird flying over our heads, but we can stop it from buildinga nest in our hair.” And Paul says to us, these temptations will come into ourlives, they will cross our minds, but that’s as far as they must go.
And as we anticipate coming to the Table of the Lord, then this preparation ofpurging must take place in our hearts, so that we don’t unworthily eat. Topartake of the cup unworthily is to drink poison instead of blessing. You haveheard of the poison chalice. Well, my friends, such is the cup of the Table ifit is taken unadvisedly. Yes, in preparation, in investigation, in examination,we may discover sin and it is bitter, but when we come to the Table, we willdiscover Christ, that He is sweeter, and it will be sweeter. It is one thing totake the elements, but another thing to taste them. So those of us who countourselves friends of Christ, and are privileged to dine with Him, and claim tobe His brethren and sit at His Table and sup, we are to seek to discover and to“lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us” (Heb 12:1).You recall that Joseph only ate with his brethren, and discovered himself tothem, when they had confessed their sin. And so likewise, when we come to theLord’s Table to eat with the heavenly Joseph, we must confess our sin, and Hewill manifest Himself and discover Himself to His brethren. For we arepromised: “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn1:7). And that is a time of preparation, a time of examination, in which welook particularly for the leavens that I have mentioned.
3. Time for Meditation
Now, this is a constituent and element of preparation. We are in the busynessof this age,—and I don’t envy Singapore in that respect,—to try and stop andthink, not only about the great verities and truth of the Christian faith, butto dwell upon the banquet that our Lord has prepared for us next Sabbath. He iscalling us, by appointment, to the banqueting house, and His banner over us islove; and therefore we are to meditate upon ourselves, and above all upon theLord Jesus Christ, because “on other Sabbaths God feeds us, but on the TableSabbath, He feasts us” (Swinnock). There is a difference; that week by week weare fed and watered by the Word of God, but come the Sabbath on which we havethe Lord’s Table, He feasts, He spreads the Table for us.
Now meditation is a difficult exercise and business, and of course it isbecause of the busyness of our age, and the busyness of our lives. But when youthink of the lengths that the world goes to in this, did you know thatPythagoras hid himself in the cave for one year, that he may study abstruse andfiner points of philosophy and that only to satisfy his mind? But the Christianhas more. When the Christian meditates it kindles his affections. Remember howDavid reacted: “O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps119:97). The more he came to the Word of God, the greater his love increased.So meditation kindles the affection, warms the heart, it stimulates faith anddesire. But as well as these workings it also sanctifies the soul; and it isincumbent upon us, of course, to sanctify ourselves in readiness for the Tableof the Lord next week. Do you know that many of the Jews would bathe themselves?This was part of the preparation for the Passover; they would bathe themselvesbefore they partook of the Passover. That is symbolic, of course, ofsanctification. But remember what Joshua told the people. He told them:“Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you” (3:5).Sanctify yourselves; and it was on the Sabbath that the walls of Jericho felldown because the people sanctified themselves. And it is on the Sabbath ofpreparation, that the walls of opposition to spiritual growth and progress andenjoyment can fall at the contemplation of Christ’s bounty that is on theTable.
“You know the Jews would not eat common bread with unwashed hands, neithershould we eat the sacred bread with unwashed hearts” (Swinnock). So sanctifyyourselves. And such contemplation, such meditation, although demanding effort,and it does demand effort because we are not used to it. Our forefathers hadperhaps, more of a pastoral society; they had more time, you can say. But,nevertheless, you can still meditate, and it is far less demanding, and lessexhausting, than what Joseph’s brethren did when they heard that there was cornin Egypt.They packed their bags, took their sacks and they moved out, whatever thehazards of the journey to Egyptwere, whatever difficulties, whatever the problems, they would go to Egypt in orderto get the corn. Why? Because they were hungry. So it is that next Sabbath, theheavenly Joseph opens His storehouse, the great granaries of grace, and thereis sufficient for all; and spiritual hunger will strive to get it. Spiritualhunger will strive to be satisfied and partake of the Bread of LifeHimself. And there is sufficient for all, just as Abigail broughtout two hundred loaves and two large containers of wine, to satisfy the hungerof David and his men (1 Sam 25:18).
But, my friends, Christ spreads the Table, and there is bread and wine for all,in abundance. If He could feed the five thousand, He can feed our hungry soulsnext week. Bread and wine for the soul. Oh, Singaporeans are noted for theirappetite and their love for food. Oh, but the Christian Singaporean should bedifferent, he should be noted for his desire and hunger for the wine and forthe bread of life. We should want to feed on Christ, we should want to deriveall the benefits that are in Christ; we can’t get enough of Him, our soulshunger and thirst after the living God and we know that He is present with uson the Lord’s Table day so that we might enjoy Him and feast on Him. Andtherefore we are to take this opportunity to prepare and so “open the doors ofyour souls and let the King of Glory enter in” (Swinnock). We often, in thesinging of some Psalms, think of heaven’s portals opening and the ascension ofChrist, and the receiving of Him, and the exalting of Him in the glory. Butthink of it also, more personally, as you open your heart to the King of Glory,He will come in. My friends, upon the communion Sabbath the Bridegroom comesforth from His chamber again, as the sun comes forth in the morning. He comesforth from His chamber to embrace His bride, and we are to prepare ourselvesfor the “kisses of his mouth,” to experience that “his love is better thanwine” (Song 1:2), for He is the heavenly Solomon. And in the midst of Hisenemies and in the midst of our enemies, He spreads the Table before us, and Hecalls to us as Wisdom: “I have furnished my table” (Prov 9). The Table isfurnished; the feast is ready. Oh, that the guests will come in their weddinggarments, and in a state of preparation.
Applications
Yet, two things by way of application.
(a) The first is this: Remember this is a family meal, and only those who areblood relations can come, only those of us who have the relationship withChrist, the blood relationship with Christ, and it is at the feast Table thatthe household of faith are gathered. And they gather to rejoice and to share inthe provision of our Elder Brother and God our Father. And we come in to sit atthe Table. Well, I preach in a church in Surrey, England, and there they havetables and the congregation moves forward in the communion service, the sheepcome forward, the goats are left in their seats. There is a clear division. Andas they come forward, they sing a psalm as they come to the table. They sitaround the table, and the one cup is passed round, and the one bread is passedround. They share at the Table of the Lord, but it is a family meal. And as wesit together, there ought not to be any rancour, there ought not to be anyproblems in the family of faith, there ought not to be any leaven of hypocrisybetween brothers and sisters in the Lord sharing together in divine and holycommunion, eating and supping with Christ. For He has promised to be there, andin the elements we see Him. O Zion, prepare to meet thy God, not in wrath, butat the Table. It is lovely to think that He will sit with us next Sabbath.Prepare to meet Him in His holy ordinance! It’s a great occasion, and thereforeit would take great preparation to sit with the Lord Jesus Christ.
(b) Then this thought: perhaps someone may be feeling very weak in coming,there is a weakness upon you. But, dear souls, you must realise that it is astrengthening ordinance, as the Puritans used to say. It is to equip youfurther, and it will strengthen you. By it, Christ will overcome yourdeficiency and “give strength into your soul.” Thou art weak, He is mighty, andwill hold thee with His powerful hand. You may bemoan your unfitness, but allthe fitness He requireth is to see your need of Him. You should come in need,you should come with hunger; and your needs, dear ones, will tug at His heartlike a kite tugs at the string in the hand that holds it. He feels your need,and He will meet your need in Christ and will perfect His strength in yourweakness. Oh, we are of the weak, of the foolish, and the base things of thislife. The Apostle Paul had his weakness, he had his infirmities, yet herealised: “Thy grace is sufficient for me, and that your strength will be madeperfect in my weakness” (cf. 2 Cor 12:9). The motto of the Scout Movement is:Be Prepared. How much more should that be the desire of the Christian? Beprepared, and come with love in your heart. God willing, may you share togetheras a complete church in this ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. Amen.
—26 May 2002
