CityView Magazine

16 | October • 2014 pendence on God's care and provision is a picture of the way the Lord spiritu- ally feeds His people in the Lord's Sup- per. Jesus makes this connection clear to us: "Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will nev- er die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh." (John 6:48 – 51) Another important foreshadowing of the Eucharist is the todah, a sacrifice offered in ancient Israel aer a person had been saved from a life-threatening situation. e lamb would be sacrificed in the Temple and the bread for the meal would be consecrated the moment the lamb was sacrificed. e bread and meat, along with wine, would constitute the elements of the sacred todah meal, which would be accompanied by prayers and songs of thanksgiving. In Hebrew, todah means thanksgiving, which is exactly the literal translation of the Greek word eucharistia. Indeed, both the Eucharist and the Hebrew todah are sacrifices of thanksgiving for salvation. All this historical background is not of mere academic interest: it is evidence that the Church, the Sacraments and the Christian life were all a part of God's design from the very beginning. Partic- ipating in Holy Communion is to testify to the saving acts of God throughout history, acts that reach their climax and culmination in the work of Christ on the Cross. It was always God's desire to save his people. It was always His intent to send His Son to die for us. In the Lord's Supper, we give thanks for God's plan, which began before the dawn of history and continues on into eternity. Indeed, we acknowledge the one Act that gives meaning to history. As the Apostle Paul said "For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again." (I Corinthians 11:26) CV Bob Hackendorf is Pastor of e Church of the Apostles in Hope Mills. Unless otherwise noted, all Scrip- ture quotations are from the New Living Translation. OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 1 NOVEMBER 4 WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT DOUGLAS BYRD HIGH SCHOOL EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY B.S. IN CHILD LIFE STUDIES WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW FORMER HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER CHILD SUPPORT ATTORNEY MOTHER OF TWO CHILDREN FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY THE LAW OFFICE OF APRIL M. SMITH, PLLC FAYETTEVILLE NATIVE CUMBERLAND COUNTY FAMILY COURTS NEED A FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY

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