King

"Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David," 2 Timothy 2:8.

Offspring of David. A second covenant from the Hebrew Bible that holds today, God made with King David. David's kingdom would never end, and his offspring would reign for ever. Jesus is the offspring of David, raised from the dead forever, he reigns forever. So Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, foretold as the offspring of David. And his kingdom consists of the ransomed from every tribe and language and people and nation. One king, king both of Jews and Gentiles together, alike. New covenant. Church of God.

So we meet with a brother or sister today under the Lord Jesus Christ. And together we worship God in receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. New testament.

Blood

"You are the sons of the covenant that God made with your fathers, speaking to Abraham," Act 3:25.

The one covenant from the Hebrew Bible that has held ever since God made it, is the one with Abraham (& Sarah). Repeated to Isaac. To Jacob. The other covenant, with Moses and the Law, ended with the sacrifice of Jesus. The new covenant in Jesus's blood taps into the covenant God made with Abraham. So Jews and Gentiles, both, have access to God in one Spirit. In the singular sacrificed body of Christ, Jews from all over the world, and Gentiles from all over the world are all reconciled to God and to each other. By faith having become children and heirs of Abraham. Modern day Israel, a nation established by human will, has no fulfillment related to the Law of Moses. This statement holds true of any nation today. God's new creation is no modern nation, but is the congregation of faithful humans redeemed by Christ, belonging to Christ. New covenant.

We meet with a brother or sister today participants in God's new creation. And together we praise God who, through Christ, redeemed us all from the curse of the Law.

Church

"Christ entered once for all into the holy places by means of his own blood thus securing an eternal redemption," Hebrews 9:12.

Eternal redemption. New covenant. New testament. New will. Eternal covenant. New creation. New high priest. New priesthood. New temple. Real. Heavenly temple. Made without hands. Foundation made of humans: apostles and prophets. Cornerstone made of the human: Jesus Christ. Established 2000 years ago. Continuously being built to the now with human living stones: Jews and Gentiles. By faith. New Jerusalem from the sky. The Israel of God. Church of Christ.

We meet with a brother or sister today parts of God's new temple. And together we give thanks for hope that enters into the very sanctuary of God.

Privileged

"The ark of God's covenant was seen within his temple," Revelation 11:19.

Where was the ark of the covenant? In the temple. What temple? the one in the sky. Yeah. In heaven where God's throne is. The holy place made without human hands. The holy place where Jesus entered taking his own blood sacrifice securing an eternal covenant. What covenant? Not the old one. A new covenant in his blood. The covenant celebrated when we participate in communion, when we take the Lord's supper. In God's sky temple comprised of human beings answering the gospel call. Answering God's invitation through his son, born from a woman.

So we meet today with a brother or sister sharing in Jesus's sacrifice. And together we give thanks privileged to house the ark of God's new covenant written on our hearts.

Please

"God sent out his son born of a woman," Galatians 4:4.

So when the wholeness of time had come to its purpose, God commissioned his son, through a woman's birth labors making him subject to the Law's demands, in order to redeem us from the Law's curse, indeed, in order to adopt us his children. And as we are God's children, from out of the depths of our hearts we call out to God, Father!, since God commissioned the Spirit of his son to dwell there within us. So. We don't live as slaves any more. We are the children of God! And, through God, we remain heirs of his promises. New testament.

We visit with a brother or sister today in a new covenant, heirs of God's promises. And together we say: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people who please him!

Waiting

"This man was waiting for the consolation of Israel," Luke 2:25.

Old man Simeon. That's who was waiting. Waiting for what? Rather, for whom? For the consolation of Israel. Consolation. Consolation of whom? of Israel. Of God's chosen people whom he had not rejected. And who did Simeon discover at the temple? A six-week old baby boy. Jesus. He blessed the baby as Israel's consolation: God's salvation as a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to his people Israel. Jew and Gentile, together. One. New covenant. New people. New creation.

We share with a brother or sister today in the fellowship of the new covenant. And together we praise God for Jesus, savior of the whole world.

Temple

"You are being joined together growing into a holy temple in the Lord," Ephesians 2:21.

The former covenant, established through the Law of Moses, had a temple where God was worshiped, where God dwelt (in a sense). Solomon eventually built it in stone in Jerusalem. After its destruction by the Babylonians, it was rebuilt just as God's prophets had said. It stood during Jesus's time; he prophesied its final destruction by the Romans. The new covenant also has a temple: It consists of human beings - by Jews first, and then including Gentiles, ethnics. This new temple, not of stone in Jerusalem, finds its foundation on God's apostles and prophets , with Jesus as its cornerstone. An eternal temple made not by humans but of humans, where God dwells in the Spirit for ever.

We meet with a brother or sister today parts of God's holy temple. And together we give him thanks for building us into his home.

Guarantor

"Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant," Hebrews 7:22.

The Law of Moses and its covenant had a priesthood, all the descendants of Levi (hence, Levitical priesthood), and specifically, of the high priest, Aaron. When they died, they got replaced by the next Levitical descendants in line. That covenant of the Law is gone. That priesthood is gone. There is no Levitical priesthood in the worldly nation of Israel today. Yet, the new covenant established by God has a high priest generically distinct, not from the tribe of Levi, but from Judah, namely, Jesus. He belongs to a different order. He never dies; so he remains high priest for ever. He guarantees the better covenant.

We visit with a brother or sister today belonging to God's new order. And together we give thanks to God for raising Jesus from the dead to life forever.

Better

"He was looking forward to the city whose designer and builder is God," Hebrews 11:10.

Who was? Our father Abraham. Even as he and Sarah camped out in the promised land, they looked for an even better country. A heavenly homeland. A city built by none other than God himself. They recognized that on this earth they were strangers, exiles. The new covenant established by God in Christ concerns promises, spiritual, heavenly, eternal realities. They do not consist of earthly nations and geographies and governments and structures designed and built by the sweat of man. So, we set our eyes on things above not on things of this earth. New testament.

We visit with a brother or sister today fellow wanderers looking forward to God's home. And together we say to God: yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever!

Built

"You yourselves are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood," 1 Peter 2:5.

You, who? You, who have been born again to a living hope through Jesus's resurrection. You, who love him even if you have not seen him. You, who believe in him even if you have not seen him. You, who heard the announcement of the Good News. (What announcement? The preaching of the gospel.) You, who were ransomed from futile ways with the precious blood of Christ. God's spiritual house. New temple. New dwelling place of God in the Spirit. New covenant.

We visit with a brother or sister, priests and priestesses serving as God's new temple on earth. And together we offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to our God and his Christ.

Change

"Where there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well," Hebrews 7:12.

Change in priesthood? Change in the Law? What's this talking about?! The former covenant between God and Israel, effected through Moses, has been done away with. The Law, and its temple/tabernacle, and its rules, and its the priesthood under Moses's brother Aaron, was ended. (When? At the sacrifice of Jesus's own body on the cross.) Now a new covenant. A new priesthood. A new high priest. A new temple. (These are not about some hypothesized structures to be built in a modern day nation called Israel.) A new temple being built by God with living stones, human beings. A new priesthood, all people confessing Jesus as the Christ of God. A new nation, a royal people belonging to King Jesus. A new high priest, Jesus, who serves in the holiest place of all, God's own presence in the heavens. For ever.

We meet with a brother or sister today eternally changed into God's presence. And together we give thanks for Jesus, the new high priest, our confession.

Modern

"Neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation," Galatians 6:15.

Are we Jewish? counts for nothing. Are we Gentile? counts for nothing. What counts for everything now: God's new creation. Born of the new covenant. Not of the modern state of Israel. Not of the modern state of the United States. Not of the modern state of Russia. Not of the modern state of China. Not of the modern state of anywhere on earth. All that counts now is God's new creation. God established a new covenant in the cross of Christ. May his peace and mercy be upon all who walk by his rule, upon the Israel of God. The congregation of the Messiah. New creation.

We meet with a brother or sister today participants together in the new creation. And together we give thanksgivings out loud to God who alone makes all things new.

All

"In this way all Israel will be saved," Romans 11:26.

All Israel? Who is *all* Israel? It is the Israel that includes the fullness of Gentiles. The Israel that includes Jews and Gentiles, both, and. In this way? What way is that? This way: All Israel's salvation comes not all at once. In the present, a partial hardening exists among the Jews against the gospel. (Partial? Right. A goodly number of Jews do come to faith in Christ in the now, but not a majority.) At present God grafts wild Gentile branches into his cultivated olive tree stock. In this way. So, in the new covenant, God extends mercy on all, Jews and Gentiles.

We visit with a brother or sister today in the joy of God's salvation. And together we praise God for his mercy in Christ.

Israel

"Has God rejected his people?" Romans 11:1.

By no means! (Wait - what people are we talking about here? Jews. Israel.) God has not rejected his people whom he knew from times past. God has always kept a remnant of these folks by his grace. Throughout the centuries before Christ (including Christ himself!) and in the 2000 years since Christ to the present, God has kept the Jews as a people, though scattered throughout the world. We make no mistake about that. Nor do we make a mistake about this: the modern nation of Israel in the mideast today does not exist in answer to the old covenant. The old covenant ended. The only covenant in force today is the new one in Christ. God expects Jews and gentiles alike to come to faith/trust in Christ and so be saved. New covenant. New testament. New will.

We meet with a brother or sister today participating together in the Israel of God (not in the Israel of the world). And together, we give thanks to God anticipating Christ's return to collect all his people, Jew and gentile.

Washed

"Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant," Hebrews 9:15.

Who? Jesus. His blood purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Whoever is called may receive the eternal inheritance. (Called? who gets called? Anyone who hears the gospel call. God invites all in the Good News. I mean, that's the point of the proclamation!) By God's new covenant, by God's will, we (the called) have been sanctified through Jesus's sacrifice. We (Jew & gentile) have had hearts sprinkled clean with his blood, we have washed our bodies in pure water. So we draw near to God. In full assurance of faith.

As we meet with a brother or sister today we affirm Jesus as high priest of our confession. And together we give thanks to God by confessing his name.

Anyone

"The Law does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God," Galatians 3:17.

What covenant did God ratify before the covenant based on the Law? Again: The one God made with Abraham based on God's promises. Where God would bless all peoples through Abraham's seed, Christ. A covenant further based in the same faith/trust that Abraham had with God. The faith/trust that any human being, Jew or gentile, may have in Christ and join with Christ as heirs in covenant with God. A covenant that anyone, anyone at all, being baptized into Christ has put Christ on. And that anyone, anyone at all, may belong to Christ. That anyone, anyone at all, may become an heir according to God's promise.

And so we meet today with a brother or sister joint heirs in the promises of God. And together we bless the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is become our father, too.

Ancient

"You are sons of the covenant that God made with your fathers," Acts 3:25.

That's Peter preaching to fellow Jews. What covenant? What covenant was still working? The one through Moses and the Law? No. Nope. That one was broken by Israel, and God took it away. So what covenant? The one God made through Abraham (& Sarah!) with the people. Yeah. The one when God said to Abraham: And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And who is Abraham's seed? God's messiah. christ. Jesus. God made a promise in that ancient covenant. God promised blessing to all of earth's peoples. God integrates his new covenant into that eternal promise. A blessing to all. All of us. Jew and gentile. In Christ.

We visit with a brother or sister today in the new covenant with God. And together we give thanks to him for Jesus who blesses us with forever life.

Anyone

"I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah," Jeremiah 31:31.

Who makes the new covenant? God. Who does he make the new covenant with? Israel and Judah. (It's quite distinct from the former covenant given through Moses and the Law. Which they broke. Over and again. We remember that covenant is done and over with.) So God has not rejected his chosen people. That is, not his remnant leftovers. God builds a new covenant based on his promises to Abraham. Not on the Law. And. The new covenant includes anyone in the nations who fears God. Gentiles, ethnics. All who call upon the name of the Lord!

We get together with a brother or sister today solid in the promises of God. And together we honor God who covenants with anyone calling on the name of Jesus.

Permanent

"God qualified us as ministers of the new covenant of the Spirit," 2 Corinthians 3:6.

New covenant of the Spirit? Yes! The Spirit gives life. Desperately needed because the old covenant based on letters carved in stone brought condemnation and death. That covenant that kills was itself brought to an end. And the new covenant of life in the Spirit brings righteousness and glory. Glory! The permanent covenant shines! It takes away the fog of the old testament, and gives freedom in Christ. And we all, Jew and ethnic alike, are being transformed into the bright image of Christ. New testament. Good News!

We meet up with a brother or sister today to celebrate the new relationship we have with God and each other. And together we give thanks for his eternal life-giving ministry.

Temporary

"By the blood of the eternal covenant," Hebrews 13:20.

Eternal covenant? Yes. God has taken away the former covenant, the one sealed with the blood of animals, the one with ancient Israel. It was temporary. Yes. And God has established a new covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus. This covenant is eternal. In this new covenant God grafts all peoples through faith in Christ into the root stock of the promises God had made with Abraham. With faithful Abraham. And by this new covenant God now equips his people with everything good. Equipped to work his will in us through Jesus. God's blessings promised to Abraham on all earth's families through Abraham's seed: Jesus Christ.

As we meet with a brother or sister today, we work God's will with each other. And together we give glory to God for his grace for ever and ever.

Strangers

"You were separated from Christ ... strangers to the covenants of promise," Ephesians 2:12.

God had made the law of covenants and ordinances with Israel through Moses. Through the sacrifice of his body, Christ abolished it. God had also made covenants of promise (not law). Before the law of Moses, God promised to bless all families of earth through Abraham and Sarah. As of yet, however, gentiles, ethnics, any other peoples were not part of that. Not yet. But Christ came and preached peace between far off and near by peoples. Christ's blood (the seal of the new covenant) brought us all near to God. Through his body on the cross, Christ created in his very self one new people. Christ reconciled us all in his one body to God. Through Christ we all have access to God in one Spirit. We all, together, form the new temple of God on this earth.

We visit with a brother or sister today being blessed by God's promises. And together we give thanks to God for calling us all into the one body of Christ.

New

"This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood," Luke 22:20.

Communion. Lord's supper. Bread and wine. One loaf, one cup. One body. One Spirit. One hope. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God; Father of all, over all, through all, in all. New covenant. New will. New testament. New agreement. New deal. The old covenant, weak, impotent, passing away, completed, is done. And gone. The old covenant has been fulfilled. New covenant is established. We do not look to the old testament with ancient Israel to hear God's will today. We listen to the new will, to the terms of the new covenant, we pay attention to the new and last testament of God for today's guidance to life. The gospel of Jesus Christ.

We meet with a brother or sister today attending to Jesus's life in God's new will. And together we give thanks that the old testament is done.

Completely

"I have come not to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill them," Matthew 5:17.

So. Jesus says he came to fulfill the law and the prophets. What law? The one of the covenant God made with Israel through Moses when God released them from Egyptian slavery. The one they broke. That law. That's what Jesus came to fulfill. And he did. Completely. He did not abolish it arbitrarily. No. Rather: Christ ended the law by fulfilling it. Jesus was its culmination and our righteousness. Jesus came in the flesh and did the law, he did God's will. Having fulfilled it, it's over. It's done. It is finished. So by his sacrifice, Jesus took out the earlier covenant to establish the new covenant. And by this new will, we are made holy through Jesus's offering.

We meet with a brother or sister today in a new covenant with God. And together we give praise for God's grace lavished on us in Christ.