In repentance, we lose all other hope, help, treasure, definition, purpose, and joy, so that in faith we might gain Christ as our hope, Christ as our help, Christ as our treasure, Christ as our rule, Christ as our purpose, and Christ as our joy.

The Lord Jesus builds His church using disciples who are authorized by Him, in dependence upon His power and His faithfulness, to make more disciples who are dependent upon His power and His faithfulness--n.b. The minister forgot to read the text after praying. The audio of the reading is inserted from the family worship lesson in the same text from the previous week.

Because church members may be unsaved like Judas, or doubting like some of the other eleven, Jesus marks the church that He has set apart to Himself with a sign of His authority to strengthen our confidence in His salvation and commitment to His commandments.

Adam was to be something of a son of God and failed. Now Jesus, who is something of a son of Adam, becomes a new Adam. Those who become God's sons in Christ are beloved and pleasing in Him who identified Himself with a repentance-needing humanity.

There had been no king in Israel, and everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. Now, the Lord has asserted Himself, bringing His Word through Samuel. But the whole nation is using the ark superstitiously, just as Hophni and Phineas had taken Yahweh's worship lightly. So the King asserts Himself-first here against Israel, and then in coming chapters against the Philistines as well.

The Lord commanded the Lord's Supper in which the Lord Himself gives the Lord Himself to the Lord's body and confirms the Lord's covenant between the Lord and those who are the Lord's own, as they proclaim the Lord's death until the Lord comes.

In the Supper the Lord gives Himself to His church corporately and confirms His covenant with His covenant people. Because they were taking individually and carnally, the Corinthians were not feeding upon Christ in a corporate and covenantal way-thus profaning the Lord Himself, despising the church of God, and shaming their brothers and sisters around them. The Lord greatly condemns and chastens taking the Supper individually or carnally.

John could only give that baptism that said that we need repentance. Jesus is infinitely more worthy and powerful. He pours out the Spirit who actually gives that repentance without which we would go to Hell rather than be gathered to Him.

God exercised all wisdom and prudence in planning to glorify Himself, His Son, and His grace by purchasing our forgiveness with the infinitely valuable blood of Christ.

In prayer, we are to offer our whole selves unto God through Christ, depending upon Him and calling upon Him to do according to all His holy Word.