Days before we were due to leave the US back in 2018, I was backing out of a parking space and grazed the bumper of another car. The damage wasn’t significant in any way, but it was enough that it left me in an awkward situation. When you’ve been caught out, the one thing that you want is a way to make it right. In this instance, the cost of making it right was about $100 in cash.
Continuing to work through our liturgy, or order of worship, we come now to expiation. So far, we have witnessed the revelation of God in his word, adored him through song, and confessed our sins to him. What we, and Isaiah, long for in confession is atonement. We want to be forgiven and to know that we are forgiven.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”(Isaiah 6:6-7)
In this moment, Isaiah experiences the burn of the coal as it cleans his unclean lips. And he is given that great reassurance. His sin is atoned for. That means that his sin has been purged or cleansed. This is expiation. This is what was accomplished by Christ on the cross. When it comes to our own time of worship, what does this mean? How is it that the Christian can receive assurance that sin is atoned for? Through the Lord’s Supper.
In the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim Christ’s death until he comes(1 Cor. 11:26). We experience communion with Christ in a way that is as real as the bread we eat. We experience communion with one another as we take and eat together.
We are reminded that our sin is atoned for because of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross.
Sincerely,
Pastor Dan
Notices
We have begun to upload videos of our Sunday sermons on Youtube. You can view the most recent one here.
Please join us for our Tuesday Night Prayer meeting on Zoom at 7:30pm. We’ve been working our way through the Lord’s Prayer and it’s been so helpful for us in learning to shape our prayers according to the way Jesus taught us. Email Pastor Dan or Alistair for the Zoom link.
We’ve been having some great discussion times at The Journey. If you’re in your 20s or 30s, please join us as we seek to find our joy in Jesus and community together. The Journey meets on Thursdays at 7pm in the Side Hall.