The Lord’s Supper is not just for looking back to the cross: it also looks forward to when He comes. That reality makes coming to the table a joyous celebration.

Something powerful happens when followers of Jesus gather together to break bread.

Jesus liked to eat. Yet, being at the table with Him is about much more than a meal.

Special bread on a special table in a special tent in ancient Israel pointed toward an astonishing reality that is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ: God wants us to come to the table and live in His presence.

When Jesus died on the cross, some of His disciples thought it meant He wasn’t the Christ. In all actuality, it meant that He was. It was necessary that Christ should suffer, and if we are going to follow Him, we must also suffer sometimes, too.

While our instinct is to root out (and, if at all possible, eliminate) the causes of our pain, Jesus invites us to find purpose in it.

When we are suffering, we often look for someone to blame. Yet when we hear God speak, we come away with a different focus.

Suffering is a part of life…but why?

Being in a relationship means making a choice. God offers us that opportunity through Jesus, and accepting it will change our lives and all our relationships in the best possible way.

From beginning to end, the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about relationship. “God with us” is who Jesus is and what our lives become when we follow Him.