Jared Longshore's Blog

Worry is poison. It spoils your life. And it is a pesky little racal because it can come in all seasons. You can worry when you don’t have two nickels to rub together. And that might seem like a natural time to do so. But you can also worry when God opens up the windows of heaven and pours you out a blessing. After all, where are you going to put it? And how are you going to keep the bad guys from taking it?

The key is to see that worry doesn’t die by peering into the future and seeing how things will play out. But worry dies when we walk by faith not by our eyeballs. Paul did not know what each new city held exactly. Abraham didn’t know what Canaan’s land looked like but he knew God said to go. When that Word from God becomes enough, generosity flows, industry flows, kingdoms are built, children are raised in the way they should go. So cast all of those cares before the Lord as you kneel and when you stand, don’t pick them up. 

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At this table, our Lord gives and we take. You are reminded of this every week, “Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you.” The Lord wants you to take here. He commands you to take. But to take is one thing and to grab is another. You should not grab at this table, as the Corinthians were doing with one grabbing and eating while another went hungry, one getting drunk while another got no wine. 

But notice what is prohibited and and what is not. Ambition is not prohibited. Selfishness is. The selfish do not remember the people around them and they do not remember God. And the only solution for the selfishness that remains in us is to learn to take in the right way. And our Lord has told us the way: “Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me.” So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Baptism is God’s sign and seal in which He places His triune name upon our heads. He does this because we are His children. The fruit of the womb is His reward (Psalm 127:3). This good news comes to us in Jesus’ name, which means the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of God’s promise that we are indeed His. This sign of baptism points to that guarantee for we who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into His death. Therefore as Christ was raised from the dead, so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).

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We have come to a time of harvest and so reaping is in season. As the fields of grain around us are gathered in, so Paul worked the fields in Asia, Greece, and Rome. Likewise, you work the fields God has assigned to you. When you students hit the books and write the papers, you’re working fields. When you moms criss cross our town in mini vans so many times in a day that the GPS locator gets tired, you’re working fields. When you men go to work in your vocations dealing with markets, people, institutions, or front end loaders, you are working fields.

As you do so, make sure that you do not begrudge the labor. The fields are white and laborers are few. But it is also true that the fields are white and the laborers are grumpy. Paul says ministers who labor that way don’t do any good to their flock no matter how solid the counsel and teaching (Hebrews 13:17). And the same holds true for your good works. They must be strengthened by the happiness of another. They must be done in the joy of the Lord. 

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We are currently amid holy worship on Mount Zion. While we are not always worshipping the LORD on Mount Zion, we are always having had worshipped the LORD on Mount Zion. By he same token, we are now eating and drinking at the table of the LORD. And while we are not always eating and drinking at the table of the LORD, we are always having had eaten at the table of the LORD. This meal sticks with you and the truths delivered to you here by the hand of Christ continue to inform your life as you go out from this table.

One of those truths that sticks with you is that here you do not eat alone in secret. “Bread eaten in secret is pleasant” says the foolish woman (Proverbs 9:17). But lady wisdom says the opposite. She has slaughtered beasts and furnished a table for many. So as you come, remember your covenant brothers and sisters in Christ. You are one bread with them and you come as one bread. The voice of Wisdom Himself says here “Take and eat.” His generosity will follow you all the days of your life. And by faith in His continual generosity, you can be generous toward one another. So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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By baptism we are buried with Christ into death. The old man dies. And in that death we die to sin, no longer to walk in it. Being baptized into Christ dead, we are also raised with Him to walk in newness of life. Baptism signifies that Christ has made all things new, including us. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection (Romans 6:5).

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You come before the Lord in worship today as people with full lives. You have duties and responsibilities that tumble off of your to do list. And for that reason, you must remember where you are and what you are doing as a matter of first importance. David expressed the words that must be on all of our hearts and lips, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquirer in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). And it will not do to say that you have more distractions clanging around than David for just before this declaration he said, “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should arise against me, in this will I be confident (Psalm 27:3).

The worship of God is always rendered in the midst of battle, amid dominion, amid the trouble of life. So you must offer the primary thing amid all of that, and that primary thing is to enquirer in this temple of the LORD. As you do so, remember that you do not go about this service in your own strength. The Spirit is within you, Christ before you and beside you. The Father smiles on you in the tumult. Trust Him and worship.

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When the passover was instituted, it was instituted as a memorial of what God had done for Israel. God’s judgment fell upon Egypt and His judgment passed over Israel. The passover meal was a continual testimony to God’s favor upon Israel and this favor was to be communicated to the children. In Exodus 12:26 Moses writes, “When your children shall say unto you, ‘What mean ye by this service?’ That ye shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt.’”

This new covenant meal before us is a memorial. Our children partake and thanks be to God. As they do, remember that this meal is no substitute for your teaching but an aid to it. Your words to them of what this meal means should be added to their eating and drinking. Tell your little ones what we are doing here. Remind them that this bread is the body of Christ broken for us. This wine is His blood shed for us. His judgment has passed over us and He has looked upon us with favor. You are a busy congregation so ensure that in the hustle of life, you are turning your hearts and your faces toward your children and speaking to them of the wonderful works of God. So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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If worship is the center of our cultural reformation, and it is the center of all of our cultural endeavors, then worship is also central to our apologetic. This means that, while you may not view yourself as an apologist, refuting attacks against the kingdom of God and compelling unbelievers on college campuses to come and welcome to Christ, you are nonetheless a leading apologist here at this covenant renewal service. Every first day of the week, we assemble on this Mount Zion, heaven and earth touch in a unique way. God opens heaven, we ascend, and He announces in heaven and on earth, “You are in my Beloved Son, and as such with you I am well pleased.”

Your duty is to ensure that your worship is not perfunctory. Faith is the very substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. The world needs this evidence and your faith in this service of covenant worship is that evidence. So sing with understanding and with faith. Pray with knowledge and faith. Hear God Himself speak to you through His Word, listen and obey in faith. 

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As you come to this table, come remembering that it is His sign to us of His covenant promise. He has sworn an oath to give us eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ. And He has not only sworn this oath but given us this bread and wine as a sign of His promise. It is your duty to read the signs of the times. The Father speaks to us at this meal. And He does not tire of reassuring us of His faithfulness. As you eat this bread, it is a word in your mouth from our Father in heaven. As you drink this wine, it is a message on your tongue and that message is grace and peace. Your mouth is a mailbox.

To live by faith means you look to these God given signs and believe them. And what you do here at this sacramental meal, you are to do everywhere you go, namely live by faith in the Word God delivers to you. He never tires of speaking and this is good news for man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the Father in heaven. So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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