Bringing Meaning to the Communion Table (1 of 2)

Diving Deeper
Luke 22:14-20

14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

17After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

We were reminded and encouraged to consider deeper the purpose of Communion. This act is often relegated to a habit that becomes legalistic and lacking in meaning. And, at other times becomes non-existent and without purpose.

The passage shows that Jesus did implore us to "do this in remembrance of me." We can think of many ways that we like to remember... remember life, memories, meaningful events. It seems we have been designed in such a way that we seek to remember. In this act of obedience, we are remembering all that He is and all that He has done. Even before the creation of time He foreknew who would be His and He ordained an eternal plan which includes us and the gifts He has given to us, the fact that a loving God created us in the first place, His longing for reconciliation, His sacrifice to redeem us, and His commitment to seal us unto the day of His final return. All more than worthy of remembrance.

Next, Receiving God's Grace afresh. Here, too, it seems we have been designed to strive for new beginnings... we like new beginnings. As the new year comes around, the tradition of establishing new resolutions and goals still holds an appeal to those aspiring for a change. And, He introduces the cup, "...the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you," so that we can start over.

Next, in Mark 2:17 Jesus specifies who He came for, thus those who recognize the need for a Savior can rescued, redeemed, and restored into a relationship with Him. Mark 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Again we see in Hebrews 10:10,14 how Jesus, our author of new beginnings; gave us the opportunity to start anew. We were once sinners destined for destruction and now by the grace of God and the blood of Christ, we have been justified. (made just-as-if we never sinned) We have been atoned by the work of the cross.

10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Heroes... Part 6... Jesus (2 of 2)

Diving Deeper for Reasons to Rejoice that Our Hero Has Come!
2 of 2

REASONS TO REJOICE!

So now our hero, our Messiah has arrived and in the message here from our pastor, we are challenged to consider why this news would cause such rejoicing and how would it impact all the
peoples of the earth. Three reasons that Christ came and how it would change the course of eternity is outlined below.
First, Christ came to rescue us.

He came to rescue us from the penalty of our sin.
Sin is the Greek archery term for missing the mark. Anything less than perfection is sin.

Sin is... anything less than perfection.
We are called to live without sin.
Matthew 5:48 says, 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Sin results... in death.
Anything less than perfection will result in death, eternal separation from God.
Romans 6:23 says, 23For the wages of sin is death,

Sin requires justice. Payment must be made.
Any substitution would entail a perfect sacrifice, thus He offers... Himself in our place!
Humility at the utmost.

And, the following passage shows that he came to rescue us from that penalty.
Mathew 1:20-21 says,
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Then, he rescues us from the power of sin in our lives today.
So, this is not only something for "the peoples of the earth" to look forward to... someday when we die, rather we can experience power now.

Though, hope alone would have been reason enough to rejoice. He goes even further by giving Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. He gives us life, now.

So He extends redemption, hope, and power. Redemption and Hope... when He rescued us from the penalty of sin. And, power from the Holy Spirit when He rescued us from the control of sin.
And, as we consider chains that bind us; substance abuse, the dangers of the tongue, the enticement of wealth, the drive to please...we can, truly, rejoice that their is strength to overcome all that entangles us.

In John 8:34-36, Jesus, obviously, hits the nail on the head when He says:

34Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

1 Peter 2:24 reinforces that because he bore our sins on the cross any further clinging to the the "habits of our soul," for those of us who have surrendered, are living with a gift we haven't opened.

24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

Galatians 1:3-4 further reminds us that this grace He has extended starts today, not the day we leave this earth.

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Second, He came to reveal God to us. His name, alone, indicates that God was with us.

23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

1 John 14:7,9 points out that because of Him, we have now seen the father.
7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Hebrews 1:3 shows how He was the "radiance and exact representation" of the Father.

3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Third, He came so we could receive life.

John 1:10-12
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

This didn't just happen. Like a 2-year old, we hold up our hands and say, "No!"

John 10:10

10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Everlasting life has been purchased free of charge because of Him. And, we think we have a better way thus we turn and run the other way.

Romans 6:23

23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we receive Him, we accept the gift He is offering. It is He who is on the throne. In order to accept the gift, we must be willing to surrender. And, because of Him we have freedom, power, and life. Praise God!

In Ephesians, we are encouraged to take advantage of every moment. We don't know how many days we have left. Thus in everything we do, may we do it for the glory His name.

Our Hero has stepped into our 'atmosphere,' are we willing to reach out and be rescued? Will we reject or receive the best news ever announced? And for those of us who have received, will we share this hope? What a privilege, and responsibility?

Heroes... Part 6... Jesus (1 of 2)

Diving Deeper for Reasons to Rejoice that Our Hero Has Come!
1 of 2

In Part six, and the last message of the Heroes series, our pastor preached on Jesus. The greatest hero that ever stepped into human history was Jesus.

SHEPHERDS & ANGELS
We read about the pronouncement in Luke 2:8-12 between the shepherds and the angels. This was the medium He used to announce His arrival.

It was at this moment that God used perhaps the most mysterious of His creation, the angels, to inform the world indirectly that the Messiah had been born. And, He uses a group of humble shepherds to receive the message, welcome Him, and ultimately play a beautiful role in the "processional entry" of the King of Kings.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
He announces His entrance through a group of humble shepherds.

Though, we read in verse nine that the heavenly display that night was quite spectacular.
No doubt... here an angel of the Lord stands before them, the glory that blinded Moses surrounds them, and like all other angelic encounters in Biblical history they were startled, to be more precise... terrified. No small exchange is occurring here.

9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

And, then what was this message that this heavenly host would deliver...

10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

This good news of great joy... that would be for all the people.

WOW! What were they about to hear? Last news like this had been foretold by the prophets of what was to come. And, now this angel of the Lord stands before them delivering a message that would fill them with reason to rejoice, and not just for themselves, (the Jewish chosen) but reason for all the peoples of the world to rejoice. And, the angel continues...

11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Today the Messiah, the long-awaited Messiah, had arrived. And his arrival was without the pomp and without the circumstance of earthly kings. Again, the angel continues...

12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

So, first, He chooses a humble, young, Jewish girl; one whom was among the poorest, though most faithful, of the Jews to conceive and give birth to the Messiah. Then we learn that He announced his arrival in a field to a group of shepherds. And, finally He Himself has arrived, is wrapped in cloths, and is lying in a manger. A manger... from which cattle feed. The irony is more than I can imagine. The King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe steps into history, as an infant, and He announces His entrance through a group of humble shepherds and lies in a cattle trough. Later, the text reveals that the world, too, will begin to discover the news but then only through a small, devout band of magi. (A beautiful account of its own...)
Don't you think we would have sought to do it differently.

Heroes... Part 1...Nehemiah

Characteristics of a Difference Maker

DIVING DEEPER into Nehemiah 1-8
I was encouraged on Sunday morning in our church service when our pastor spoke on Heroes from our faith, highlighting Nehemiah. He demonstrated how Nehemiah was a difference maker and how we, too, can develop the characteristics he possessed into our own lives.

The five characteristics of difference makers that he studied included a holy discontent, urgent prayer, action taking, perseverance, and joy. First, a holy discontent was described as when something is not as it should be and it's "driving you nuts." Instead of distracting themselves, people who want to make a difference stay in the middle of the issue so that the fire won't die. They don't run, hide, or lay low. They embrace it passionately. And, they must! For it seems, it is those particular issues that they were designed for and doing any less would be selling themselves short.

According to the first four verses in Nehemiah, we learn that because of his concern with the state of the Israelite remnant who had survived the exile and the condition of Jerusalem, he sought out a report. And, then with the results he sat down, wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed for some days.

It was then that we learn more about the second characteristic of a difference maker. That attribute is to pray urgently. And, Nehemiah immediately sought the Lord on their behalf and not lightly. Fervently, he pours out his plea to God. Between Nehemiah 1:4 and 2:1, he beseeches the Lord over the course of four months. And, in Nehemiah 2:4 he continues the urgency when he prays just before answering the king.

Nehemiah's humility in Neh. 2:8b-18 affirms the sincerity of his prayers and to whose throne he had actually been approaching these past four months. He gave all the credit to God, whose gracious hand had been upon him, and was the reason this earthly king had granted his requests.

Third, he takes action. We see how voraciously he makes one request after another, and then once the king grants these requests, he sets off to complete the job. No time for dust to settle. No time for second thoughts or mental defeats to crouch in and attempt to slow the efforts. Rather he immediately set a time, left for Jerusalem, and was there only three days before he, at night, began to inspect the wall. No one knowing yet his agenda from the Lord.

After his inspection, he approached the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, and any others who would be working on the wall in order to urge them to join the mission. And, join they did though the opposition would come. Every advance Nehemiah made included trouble as we see examples in Neh. 2:10 and 19.

Fourth, we see how Nehemiah modeled persistence. In Neh. 6:3, he kept focused on the task versus the opposition. Persistence is necessary when opposition lurches. For it is distraction from the goal that opposition seeks most. Had Nehemiah diverted and went down to meet with his opponents, a vulnerability to their ploy would have ceased the progress of the re-building. Just where they wanted him. Rather, staying on task must be the priority in such situations. This helps avoid scheming traps on part of the opposition to prevent further progress from being made and ultimately abandonment of the mission.

It wasn't only the opposition that he persisted to resist. In Neh.4:10, we see how the people of Judah became discouraged and considered retreating from the work. Further we see the enemies eager to attack and end the project. And, then Nehemiah appealed to the nobles, officials, and the rest of the people to join and protect them from defeat by their enemies while the workers continued re-building the wall. And, they agreed.

Again we see his persistence when he confronts the nobles and officials about enslaving their people and the imposition of a usury upon them. His persistence was rewarded when they agreed to deploy all such doings, repay, and pledge to keep these promises. Nehemiah prayed that anyone doing otherwise would be shaken of his home and emptied of his possessions by God.

And, ultimately in spite of further opposition from his opponents Nehemiah and all of the workers brought the wall to completion within fifty two days. 'Truly, the work of God occurred for such a feat' was the cry by both the blessed and their enemies. The surrounding nations were afraid.

Fifth, and finally we see the joy of Nehemiah in Neh. 8 as the people listened attentively throughout the morning to the book of the law. Initially they wept and mourned as they heard the law and were grieved by their sin, but Nehemiah instructed them to rejoice, to enjoy choice foods and sweet drinks, and to send some to those who had nothing prepared. And so they did.

So we, too, should consider... what is breaking our hearts? Urgently pray, pouring it out to the Father; take action to make change, persist until the work is completed, and then celebrate that the Lord, he, is good!
In closing, Dwight Moody said, " Pray... as if it all depends on God, Live... as if it all depends on you."