Good evening brethren and happy Sabbath! Just a reminder that all three congregations will have a potluck after services tomorrow. We will have sermon discussion in Charlotte and Hickory.

Taking a test

Do you remember taking tests in school? Maybe you’re still in school and still taking them, or perhaps you have to take them for part of your job. In any case, taking a test typically brings on a little anxiety for all of us.

For me, high school testing was pretty easy. I’d glance over my notes just before the test and breeze right through. I wasn’t a straight A student, but I did fine with very little effort.

College was a MUCH different story. I nearly flunked out at first because I was no prepared for the amount of work it took. Not just to do the homework assignments, but in preparing for the test. It was a lot harder than high school, that was for sure.

Learning before the test

What I had to come to the realization of, was that the exams I had in college weren’t the problem. It was the work done (or in my case, not done), before I got to the test. Once I understood that and began to properly prepare for my exams, I did much better. Still not a straight A student, but my grades improved considerably and I was no longer in danger of flunking out.

The key was developing good study habits. Taking studious notes in class, doing all of the assigned reading, and making sure I did it weeks before the exam.

Start studying

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup,” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28 NKJV).

Passover is just over three weeks away for baptized members of the body of Christ. That means our time of self examination and preparation should start now.

Passover is not the test. Passover is in one sense, the graduation. It’s what we get to do once we pass the test. The test, or exam, is actually that time of self-exam leading up to the Passover.

Will you pass?

When I took tests in college, there was always the question in the back of my mind, “Will I pass?” Well, thanks to improved study habits, generous curves and ‘the gods of partial credit’ as we said back then, I did.

Our exam before Passover is different. Our grade isn’t determined by how we do on it. If I exam myself and find lots of issues, do I fail? If I exam myself and find I’m doing okay, but still have room for improvement, have I passed?

What you find or don’t find about yourself isn’t what matters (although if you exam yourself and find nothing wrong, you might want to go back and look again).  What matters is that we take the time to do this critical self-exam. If and when we do that, no matter how ugly or unpleasant it might be, we have passed the test.

Once again, Passover is just over three weeks away. If you have not already, start ‘studying’ yourself, examine where you fall short and where you have improved, and you will have passed the test and be ready to take the Passover!