Ray Call- The Necessity of Suffering (Matthew 16:21-28)

First Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53:1-12

Second Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13 - 5:10

Sermon Text: Matthew 16:21-28

This Sunday we will worship in Word and in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. As you prepare for worship, consider what Thomas Watson, a Puritan, wrote about this sacrament:

See, then, what dear and entire affections we should bear to Christ, who gives us his body and blood in the Eucharist. If he had anything to part with of more worth, he would have bestowed it upon us. Oh, let Christ lie nearest our hearts. Let him be our Tree of Life, and let us desire no other fruit. Let him be our Morning Star, and let us rejoice in no other light.

 

As Christ’s beauty, so his bounty should make him loved by us; he has given us his blood as the price, and his Spirit as the witness of our pardon. In the sacrament, Christ bestows all good things. He both imputes his righteousness and imparts his loving-kindness. He gives a foretaste of that supper which shall be celebrated in the Paradise of God. (The Lord’s Supper, p. 26)