For years, we have written a weekly post called “Sermon Prep” with the aim of helping our Grace family prepare our hearts for gathered worship each Sunday. These posts typically announce which passage of Scripture or topic will be preached and who will be preaching it, along with a brief explanation of how we hope and pray the Lord will work in our hearts through the message.

Every Sunday, we’re following in the obedient footsteps of the Apostle Peter, to whom Jesus gave the charge, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17) Our Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ “prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, anoints our heads with oil, and overflows our cups” (cf. Psalm 23:5) through the inspired Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And while the Apostle Paul made it clear that preaching is to be a central part…

“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

…he also told us that singing, prayer, and mutual encouragement are equally vital.

“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18–21)

After signing off these weekly posts with the encouragement, “See you Sunday, Grace. Come hungry!” I’ve decided to rename them “Preparing the Table”. My hope is that it will remind us that everything we do from the moment we walk onto the Grace campus until we get in our cars to head into the week ahead contributes a valuable part of our “weekly feeding” from Jesus, the Chief Shepherd.

This Sunday, Fred Sanders will feed us with a sermon from Exodus 14:1-31 (finally, the Red Sea moment we’ve all been waiting for!) … and Caleb Bilti will feed us with songs and hymns and spiritual songs to address one another with. Would you pray for them this week as they prepare?

And this Sunday we will conclude our service by nourishing our souls through the observance of the Lord’s Supper as we proclaim Christ’s death together through the shared bread and cup.

See you Sunday, Grace. Come hungry!