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>> [music] >> Good morning everyone. I'm Renee and welcome to First Baptist Church Fort Mill. We are so excited you and your family are here.

Whether you are joining us online or in person, [music] there are so many ways to stay connected here at the church. We hope you'll join us on Saturday, August 1st, where we will be sharing Jesus across the street in the paradise community. We will provide backpacks and school supplies for students, host [music] activities for children, pray over our neighbors, and share the love of Christ.

We are in need of school supplies. To find out a list and to sign up for the event, just go to fbcfm.com/events. And on the evening of Sunday, August 2nd, we will come together as a church family for a baptism celebration.

We will host a special baptism service followed by an ice [music] cream social. We would love for you to be a part of the special celebration. To learn more, just [music] go to our website.

Please join us for our next prayer and praise night on Tuesday, August [music] 11th. The service will begin at 6:30 and there is an optional meal before the service at 5:30. [music] to register for the meal or if you need child care, please go to fbcfm.com/events.

And one of the greatest desires [music] as a church is to make room for more people to hear the good news of [music] Jesus Christ. Beginning Sunday, September 13th, we will be launching a new Sunday morning schedule featuring three worship services [music] across two time slots. To learn more information about the new Sunday schedule, please go [music] to fbcfm.com/sunday morning.

Thanks again for being here with [music] us today. We would love to stay connected with you throughout the week. And there are some simple ways that you can do that.

You can simply follow the instructions on the tap card located in front of you or fill out a connect card. And thank you so much for your faithful giving. [music] because of it, we can share the hope of Christ here in our community and around the world.

Thanks [music] again for being here. Have a great weekend. >> Well, good morning church family on this beautiful Sunday, July 26.

What a great day to be in the house of the Lord together. And what a great day in general. Am I right?

The Lord woke you up this morning. He loves you. He pursues you.

Even when you let him down, he offers you grace and mercy. So, I'm just so excited to be with God's people today, to sing of what he's done for us, to hear the word preach and respond in worship and thankfulness. Well, thank you, Renee.

Like Renee said in the video, there's been a lot going on in the life of our church this summer. The kids got back from camp. Uh students got back from student camp.

We're praising God for all that he's done and that he'll continue to do in the life of this church. But some of you have been praying for our missions teams that have been going all summer that are going to continue to go. And I just want to say thank you so much for how you give and you make a difference across the street here locally with missions but also around the world in church planning and sending uh through NAM and missionaries that we cooperate with through our denomination through the international mission board.

We can do that because of your generosity. So thank you so much and I'm just so blessed and feel thankful to be a part of a church uh that cares so much about the lost and the nations. Uh, as Renee said, if you walked in here today, maybe you've been coming for a little while or maybe this is your first day in here.

You can tap the connect card on the seat back in front of you or visit either of our new here desks. We actually have a gift for you. And listen, we don't want anything from you.

We just want to know that you're here. We'd like to shake your hand and put a face with the name so that we can better connect you in the life of this church because you're going to grow spiritually uh in this room, but more so in groups when you're doing life with other believers. So, again, my name is Taylor.

We're so glad that you're here this morning. Uh, one last thing, if you didn't watch last week's sermon, I would go on YouTube and I would watch last week's sermon because it was really good just about reaching the lost and prioritizing what matters in our lives. And mark your calendars, as Renee said, for September 13th.

All right, we're going to have a contemporary service at 9:00 a.m. in this room and then at 10:30, contemporary service here and a traditional service in the chapel going on at the same time. So, for some of you, that'll mean maybe your class changes, but it's going to be a great week, and I'm excited for all that God's doing in the life of this church.

We're going to make room so that if you invite your neighbors or invite a family, there's more than enough places for them to sit. So, thank you for being with us today. Before we worship, though, I want to encourage you by reading God's word as we respond to it.

Listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 63. Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly, I seek you.

My soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory because your steadfast love is better than life.

My lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live. In your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food. And my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. Church, like the psalmist this morning, can we say that what we're seeking after more than anything is the Lord in life?

All of us are seeking, all of us are chasing something in life for satisfaction. But that true satisfaction will only be found in the name above all names, Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, who went to the cross on your behalf. And so, let's like the psalmist say, "Lord, in your sanctuary, I lift up my hands as a sign of surrender.

I say, Lord, my life is yours. You put me on this earth for a reason. And even when I don't understand the situation that I'm in, Lord, I'm going to praise you today.

Can we do that, church? Let's stand and let's praise our good God this morning. Here we go.

Lord, I [singing] come. I confess bowing [music] here I find my rest cuz without you I fallart. [singing] You're the one that guides my heart.

Let's tell the Lord we need him this morning. [music] And Lord, I need you. Oh, I need [music] you [singing] every hour.

I need [music] you. [singing] My one defense, my rightousness, oh God, how [music] I need you. Amen.

Where sin runs deep. Sing this morning. Our sin runs deep.

Your grace is [music] pour grace is found is [music] where you are. Where you are and where you are. Lord, [music and singing] I am free.

Holiness is Christ in me. Lord, [music] I need you. Oh, [singing] I need you [music] every [singing] hour.

I need you. [music] I want defense, my [music] rightousness. Oh [singing] God, how I need you.

So teach our song, [music] Lord, to teach my song to rise to you. [music] When temptation comes my way, when I cannot stand, I'll fall [music] on you. That's right.

Cuz Jesus, you're my hope. [music] Lord, I need you, Lord. I [music] need to save every hour.

I need [music and singing] you. My one defense, [music] my rightousness. Oh God, how I need you.

[music] You're my heart. My [music] rightousness, oh God, how I [singing] need. Cuz he's our one.

You're my one [music] defense, [singing] my rightousness. Oh God, [singing and music] how I need you. We need you, Lord.

[music] In the midst of your circumstances this morning, church, in the midst of your hurt and your pain, the Lord is sovereign. I know sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes we don't understand what he's doing, but we can trust him cuz he's [music and singing] good and he loves us.

So, let's sing this out. [music] Cuz there is strength within the [singing] sorrow. [music] There is beauty [singing] in our tears.

[music] And he meets us in our morning. And you [singing] meet us in our morning with a love to cast out fear. [music] Cuz he is working.

You [singing and music] working in our waiting. [music] You sanctifying [singing] us beyond our understanding. [music] When beyond [singing] our understanding, [music] you're teaching us to trust.

We sing your plans cuz your plans [music] are still to prosper. You have not forgotten us. That's right.

You're with us in [music] the fire, in the flood. Cuz you [music] are faithful forever. Perfect [singing] in love.

You are [music] sovereign over us. Thank you, [singing] Lord, cuz you are wisdom. Let's [music] sing this out.

You are [singing] wisdom unimagined. [music] Who could understand [music and singing] your ways? He's reigning high, raining [music and singing] high above the heavens, reaching down in endless grace cuz he lifts us up.

You're the lifter of [singing] the lonely, [music] compassionate and kind. He surrounds us. You surround and [music] you uphold me.

And your [music] promises [singing] are mighty delight. Here we go. Your plans [music] are still to prosper.

You have not forgotten [singing] us. That's right. You're with us [music] in the fire and the flood.

[singing] You are [music] faithful forever. Perfect in love. You [music] are sovereign [singing] over.

We sing your plans. [music] Your plans are still prosper. You have not [music and singing] forgotten us that you're with us in the fire and the flood.

[music] And you are faithful forever, [music] perfect in love. You are sovereign over. Yes, he [music] is.

Seems like [music] we believe this this morning, church. Even what [music and singing] the enemy means for evil, you turn it for our good. That's right.

You turn [singing and music] it for our good and for your glory, Lord. Even in the valley, [music] you are faithful. You're working for our good.

believe that you're working for [music] our good and for your glory. Even when the enemy beats for evil, [music] you turn it for our good. That's right.

You turn it [singing] for our good, for your [music] glory, Lord. Even in the valley, you are faithful. You're working for our good.

[music] You're working [singing] for our good for your glory opens [music] our still and prospers right. You have not forgotten [music and singing] us with us in the fire in the [music] blood. You are [singing] faithful forever.

Perfect [music] in love. You are sovereign over us. Your plans, your plans [music] are still prosper.

You have not forgotten [singing] us with us in fire in the flood. [music] You are [singing] faithful forever, perfect in love. [music] You are sovereign over [singing] us, Lord.

You are sovereign [music and singing] over us, Lord. You are sovereign [music and singing] over us. Amen.

Father, we praise you this morning that you loved us first so that we could love you in response. Lord, be glorified the rest of our time together this morning. All got the people said, "Amen." You can have a seat, church.

Oh, well, good to come together to praise God. And you know, I I I got to thinking as I walked in here. I know they they had replaced the carpet in here this week and I thought how strategic of us to schedule communion service with a new carpet, right?

So, no pressure on anybody when we get to that that time in the service there to be the first one to spill something on the new carpet there. Oh, we are glad that you're here today as we worship our God together. And speaking of uh communion, if you did not get some of the uh communion elements on your way in, we've got some of our guys who are ready to serve you right now.

If you just raise your hand and keep that hand up until they can find you, they're going to be coming around. Some up here uh just keep coming and just keep those hands up over here as well. Uh, as you're finding that, let me give you one kind of piece of official business in your worship material this uh, Sunday is actually a ballot uh, for the election of uh, the office of deacon in the life of our church.

It's been a process that's been going on now for a few months and some some conversations, prayer, interviews, and uh, we're excited to have 17 candidates to place uh, before you. uh you are free to to as if you're a member of the church to participate in that. You can take that ballot at the end of our service, put it in any of the offering boxes or there'll even be some guys with benevolence offering baskets as you exit today.

We always do that connected with uh the Lord's supper and you could drop it in there as well if that would be easier. Or you can check 17 individual names or just the ones you're most acquainted with. Or if you want to affirm all 17 candidates and don't want to do 17 check marks, there's a way to do that on the ballot.

So please uh make note of that if you would. Well, we are going to spend some time as we always do in prayer. And our prayer focus uh today is actually for this next Sunday.

Next Sunday is our baptism Sunday. We're excited about it. We're going to gather in here on a Sunday evening 5:00.

We're going to have multiple folks that are going to be baptized. We're excited about that. And then afterwards, we're going to conclude with just an ice cream social.

And so, if you are one who has a homemade ice cream maker, whether you still crank it by hand or it's all electric, and we'd love for you to come and share. I'd be happy to sample whatever you bring. So, uh, bring us some, uh, some ice cream to share and we'll have that kind of set up outside in the U, weather permitting here.

And so, we're just, it's just a great day of celebrating, celebrating new life in Christ, celebrating uh, our life together, and just a great summer that the Lord has given us together as school will be kicking in the following week. So, we want to pray for the baptism Sunday. in your worship material, there's some some prompts to suggest maybe the ways to guide you in your praying.

Some of them are straight out of scripture that we're praying for those that follow him in baptism and that that we as a church would would teach them to obey everything that he has commanded. And then kind of two groups, pray for those who do not yet know Christ, some people that you know, love, and care about. and then to pray for some of those that need to take this next step.

They maybe they've they've professed faith in Christ but never been baptized in the way that Jesus modeled and commanded by immersion after belief. And so I just pray for those two groups as well. So with that in mind, I'm just going to invite you, would you just take a moment and and just focus your heart and mind on Christ's presence here?

And as we're going to be taking up the bread and the cup in a little while, would you take a moment and just reflect on the cross? Would you thank God for all that Jesus Christ did on the cross? And as you think about that, would you just take a moment and say, "God, thank you for those who you used to tell me about the cross, about the gospel." [snorts] Would you lift up some names in gratitude of people who helped you to know and to grow in Jesus Christ?

you take a moment now and pray for some of those folks that are near to you that do not yet know Christ. Would you pray for them by name, asking God to move in their hearts, to soften hard hearts, to open closed minds, to remove the blinders of the enemy? as you take a moment and pray for those that it's time for them to take that step of obedience to step into the waters of baptism to unashamedly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ.

Would you pray that God would give them the courage to take that next step? [music] Would you now pray that we as a church could be entrusted with the the stewardship and the disciplehip of new believers? Do you pray that God would show us how to come alongside newborn Christians to help them to thrive as followers of Christ?

[music] Father, how we do thank you for all that the cross reminds us of, points us to. And Father, we pray thanking you for even the the the the picture of baptism. Not only the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, but father the death of our old life separated from you and uh risen coming out of the water to walk in the newness of life.

And father we pray we pray Lord that that you would just move in hearts and lives. We pray father that you would bring many to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. We pray for those that know you that they would stand unapologetically publicly with you in the waters of baptism to declare that they belong to you now and forever more.

And Father, we pray for all that name the name of Jesus Christ, Father, that we would walk in purity. We would walk in holiness. We would walk in a in a loving boldness before you and before others.

and pray, Father, that you would use us to be those who are carriers of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, thank you for just this opportunity to gather to be reminded of the cross. And Father, as we turn to your word and as we in a few moments take up the bread and the cup, Father, we pray that you would be honored in it as we respond to you and your Holy Spirit.

Now speak to us through your holy word. We ask it together in Christ Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, we are uh coming to kind of two Sundays here that we're we're really going to be leaning into some of the the ordinances, some of the the practices that Jesus very specifically gave to his church that we're going to be looking at baptism, as we said, a week from now on a Sunday night. going to talk about it next Sunday morning. Uh but today we're going to look at the Lord's supper or communion depending upon maybe traditions that you are acquainted with and an invitation for all to come to the table.

You know there's an expression that maybe you've heard it. It kind of entered the consciousness of our culture in the mid 20th century. The phrase is never forget.

Never forget. It was a solemn vow coming out of the Holocaust. It it came as as a reminder.

Never forget. Never forget the atrocities. Never forget the the evil.

Never forget the the capacity that humans can inflict such harm on others. Never forget. And there there were pictures.

In fact, as someone told me between the services, their father was actually one of the ones that helped liberate one of the uh concentration camps and he actually had photographs there. And Eisenhower actually told them, "Take pictures because people will not believe it. People will forget." And and it's interesting in our day, even though we have Holocaust museums and memorials and in our country and in other places, and yet still now to our day, there are people that deny that a Holocaust ever took place.

Never forget. Here in the United States of America, we took up that phrase almost 25 years ago now, September 2001. If you were alive, then probably somewhere in your consciousness is burned images of planes hitting those towers in New York City.

And part of the rallying cry is to never forget. Never forget. And if you find yourself in New York City, it is worth a trip to the 911 memorial to the museum there just to help to never forget.

Jesus knew it was important for [clears throat] us to never forget some things because forgetfulness erodess faith. Forgetfulness erodess faith. But remembrance strengthens it.

And that's one of the reasons in the Old Testament and into the New there's why why does he have do these ceremonies? Why why Passover? Why all of these things?

Because God knows God knows in us there's a tendency to forget. And forgetfulness erodess faith. But remembrance strengthens it.

And to help us to remember, Jesus gave us a couple of particular things. But interestingly enough, Jesus, as far as we know, has recorded in the scripture, never asked his disciples to remember his birth. Now, it's obviously recorded in scripture for us, so it's it's important, but we tend to make a big to-do about Christmas, right?

Not totally inappropriate, but that's not what he said. Never forget. He did say remember remember his death and remember his resurrection.

And to try to sear that in our memories, he gave the church two visible symbols, two ordinances as they're sometimes called as he ordained them or ordered them as reminders of his death. And one of those we're going to take up today, the red in the cup. and the other next week in baptism.

See, baptism, you could think maybe oversimplifying a little bit, but it symbolizes the beginning of the Christian life. It's it's what you do at the start of your Christian life as a new believer. It is something you do and when it is done right in the right way, in the right order, you do it one time.

It is it is at the beginning of the Christian life. But the Lord's supper symbolizes the continuing of the Christian life. It's something that we are to continue to do.

We are to repeat it along the way. All of these point us to our need to remember. And so what I want us to do as we get ready to take the bread and the cup is just to to look at what Paul had to say in 1 Corinthians 11 about what this time is about.

And the Lord's supper or communion, whatever you want to call it, is a time for several things. And we're just going to draw them out of the text. It is first of all, a time obviously for commemoration, for commemoration, for remembering.

Verse 23, for I received from the Lord, Paul wrote, "What I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." When you come, it is it is about remembering. It is about remembering the life, the death, the the the sacrificial gift of Jesus Christ. Now many folks will say, "Hey, Jesus, yes, Jesus was a great teacher." And Jesus was a a moral person.

Jesus maybe he was a a great philosopher, but Jesus said, "Don't just remember my teaching. Don't even just remember how I lived, but remember how I died. Remember how I died and why I died." Every time we take up the bread and the cup, it's a call.

Never forget. Never forget what Jesus did for us. One of the greatest preachers, at least English speakaking, was probably a man by the name of Charles Spurgeon.

It said that upon his deathbed, his last words were these. Jesus died for me. Jesus died for me.

of all the things that he had studied, all the things that he knew, all the things that he had preached, what it came back to at the very end was Jesus died for me. [snorts] As we come to the table, it's a time for remembrance, for commemoration, but also a time appropriately, I think, for appreciation. It's a time of thanksgiving.

A time when we we give thanks to God for for Jesus, that broken body and that shed blood, for the love that motivated it, for his willingness to to give up the glories of heaven and come and enter into the brokenness of this world and not just enter in, but to to fully experience it and yet to redeem it, to transform it. We talk about [snorts] the passion of the Christ. It's the suffering of Christ and and it kind of breaks our hearts.

I don't know if you've ever just if you saw that movie, it was that was done a few years ago. I mean, just the the depictions of the suffering. It's just it just breaks your heart.

And yet, it's also that which saves our souls. And we bring to the table appropriately an attitude of gratitude that Jesus was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate gift for our sins. Some of you maybe are old enough to know the name or remember the name of Andre Crouch.

Andre was a contemporary Christian artist of his day. Perhaps one of his best known songs was My Tribute. You can find it online even today.

Here are some of the words of that song and it just seemed appropriate. How can I say thanks for all the things you've done for me? Things so undeserved that you gave your life to prove your love for me.

The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to thee. How can I express my gratitude for everything that Jesus has done for me?

the bread and the cup reminding to be grateful, commemoration, appreciation. But Paul says it's also a time of proclamation, of proclamation. Just continuing to follow his letter here into verse 26.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. You make proclamation. We are in some sense listening to proclaiming a sermon when we take the bread and the cup.

And by the way, parents, grandparents, one of the greatest sometimes teaching opportunities is around the Lord's supper for a child, right? Just like, wait, what does this mean? There's the Old Testament Hebrew question.

What does this mean? What do these stones mean? What does the Passover mean?

What does it mean? or why can't I have the bread in the cup? Well, honey, it's because it's for believers.

It's for those who have entrusted their life to Jesus Christ. Those who have followed him in those first steps as a as a follower in baptism. It's those who have have looked to the cross, the broken body, and the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

And the one who who lived and died and was buried is resurrected. ascendant is coming again someday. And just even in these moments, you have a a teaching opportunity, an opportunity to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ that the table brings us back to the foundation of our life in Jesus Christ, proclaiming the good news of what Jesus has done.

But Paul also says, "As you come, it is appropriately a time of examination." A time of examination. Verse 27, "Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup." The word examine means to to prove or to to to qualify.

In some sense, it's that sense of what what does it look like? What does it look like to qualify to take the Lord's supper? Well, two things.

One, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you accepted his payment on your behalf? Have you surrendered your life joyfully to him not only as the the forgiver of your sin but the rightful leader and lord of your life?

That that is what positions us to have an invitation to come to the table. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as savior and lord? Secondly, are you willing to be honest with any sin in your life and take care of that sin in the way that he has prescribed before you take the supper?

It doesn't mean you you become perfect, but it means that that anything that that he brings to your awareness, and we're going to carve out some space in our service today for you to do that. Anything he brings to your awareness, I'm going to deal with it as he has prescribed. There are three things that we can do with any sin in our lives as we come to the Lord's table.

The first is identify it. To identify it. And this is not an invitation to to engage in morbid introspection and try to think of everything you've done over the past 20 or 30 years or drag up some things from the past, but just just to come before God and say, "God, is there anything is there anything that's hindering my fellowship with you, my relationship with you?

Father, I I [laughter] I care so much about that. I I don't want that to be a barrier. So Lord, please show me.

Bring it to my consciousness. Help me to identify that which I'm stumbling over. That which is keeping me from life as you intended for it to be.

We start by God graciously and it is an act of his grace to identify anything in our life that is keeping us from the fullness of life in him. And then as you identify it, you rectify it. How do you rectify it?

Well, not by saying I'm going to I'm going to like do 10 good deeds to make up for this. No, there's only one way. First John 1:9 says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Sometimes people use that in sharing the gospel, but but in context, it's it's actually written to Christians. It's written to those who are already followers of Jesus Christ because there's a there's a continual need to to clean up anything between us and the father to stay close and to stay clean before him. And the only way to rectify it is how our sin is forgiven in the beginning.

And that is to turn to Jesus, to confess, to speak about it, to see it, to think about our sin the same way that he does, to agree with him about [clears throat] it. I don't rationalize or justify or explain away. No, I I come and I I plead the Lord, cleanse me because of what you have done in Jesus Christ.

Lord, forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. And as you do, you're free to begin to purify it, to purify it, to to make sure that your your heart is clean before the Lord. to to to come with as much as you can a a a purity of heart and mind.

Now, don't mishar what I'm saying. Paul is not saying here that you have to be perfect to come to the table. I I've been around enough to have had enough conversations with people that sometimes they come to this and it's hard.

And I've had people say countless times, "Oh, I I couldn't take the bread or the cup today because of that's not the point. The point is not for you and I to hang on to our sin and not take the cup, right? The point is to come clean and to be cleansed.

The point is not to hang on to my sin and refuse the cup. The point is to to release my sin, to turn away from my sin and [laughter] come and accelerate again the cleansing and the new life in Jesus Christ. That that there is a purity that comes as we we come before him.

The purpose is is not to heap guilt upon us. The purpose is to call us. Use this as an opportunity to get right with God.

I often say life works best when it's aligned with God's design. This is an opportunity to bring my life back into full alignment. Alignment with his good will and way.

It is a time of examination, but it's also a time for consideration. Consideration is we we think not only of ourselves, but we think of others. Skip down to verse 33.

Paul is rebuking them. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home.

So that when you come together, it will not be for judgment, but about the other things, I will give directions when I come. The Lord's supper is not just about me and the father, but it's it's me and others. It's it's the body of Christ.

Even as we reflect on the broken body of Jesus Christ. Now the church in Corenth had tons of problems. One of their problems was around the observance of the Lord's supper.

They [snorts] pro wouldn't have done it like we do it here. We're sitting in rows and we'll take a little morsel of bread and cup at the end of a service. Oftenimes when they did it, it was connected to a meal.

Sometimes they even call the love feast. But the problem was as people were coming to Christ and there were radically different socioeconomic classes. Sometimes the the rich people would bring all of this food, they would come early and they would feast, sometimes in excess, not only in eating but in drinking, right?

Uh and then when when the laborers showed up with when those of fewer resources showed up, not only was there not food to share, but but the the the spirit of of coming before the Lord's table had been totally broken. And and Paul just jumps on him. He says, "How dare you?

How dare you come? If you're hungry, if you're that hungry that you can't wait till everybody gets there, eat at your house first, right? you know, have breakfast before you show up at the service, okay?

But when you come, you don't just look up, but you look around. You look around. Look around because Jesus died for the person in front of you and beside you and behind you and the one who's not in that seat yet, the people who were in an earlier service.

And the table reminds us it's not just about us, but it's about the body. And so as we come to the table, we not only consider our relationship with God, but we have consideration for others. And it may very well be that part of that table time is that God brings to our mind somebody that needs our love, our prayer, a a specific caring action on their benefit, consideration, but then one more.

Coming to the table is a time of anticipation. Anticipation. Verse 26, we read it earlier.

You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Until he comes. That when we come to the table, honestly, obviously, we're looking back, right?

And we're looking back. We're remembering the the cross. We're remembering that moment.

We're remember remembering Calvar's cross. We we look up and we we look up with gratitude. We're invited to look within.

But we're also called to look forward to look forward to to that time when Jesus, the ascended one, is coming again. Coming to to abolish sin. Coming to set things right.

Coming to establish the fullness of his kingdom. Very often when on Sunday morning when we're we're getting ready and we're prepping for worship, we'll have music going through the house. I just would like to have worship music on before we come.

It's just a way to kind of set our hearts and minds to that. And and today we had some CC whinings going in the house, right? CC was filling the house.

So his song and one of those songs is come Jesus, come Jesus, come. Oh, come to the table. You look, you say, God, we're going to keep taking that bread.

And we're going to take keep taking that cup until until we come to a different table, a banquet feast in your presence. We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. But as we think about the table, as we think about the cross, it's appropriate for us to ask why.

Why the cross? Why? Why is it so important for us to remember this?

And people have obviously written dissertations on this. But I I want us to just think of two simple statements today and answering that question. The first is God's holiness demands it.

Why the cross? Because a holy God cannot overlook sin. A holy God cannot compromise with sin.

A holy God must righteously, justly punish sin. The holiness of God demands justice be done. That righteous punishment.

The wrath of God against sin is to be rightly justly expressed. The holiness of God demands it. But the love of God provides it.

The love of God provided it to save us from our sin. Why the cross? The cross was God's provision.

the God's provision that that his holiness, his righteousness, his justice could be fulfilled and his love, his forgiveness, his grace could be offered on the cross. Jesus crying out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" absorb the full wrath of our righteous, just, holy God against sin so that he could extend to us forgiveness, healing, life abundant and eternal, a new identity, new purpose and new hope. That's why the cross.

And so, how should I respond to the cross of Jesus? This perfect meeting of of God's love and God's justice. Well, Paul, when he telling the Ephesian elders of looking back on his his ministry, he he summed it up about his testifying.

He said, "Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks." Didn't matter their background. I've testified to the same thing. Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

How do I respond? Repentance and faith. Repentance.

It's it's a heartfelt sorrow for my sin. I It breaks my heart because it breaks the heart of God. But not just a sorrow, but a renouncing, a renouncing of it, a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.

that when God begins to stir in our hearts, when we see the magnitude of our sin, we don't want to toy with it. We can't entertain it. We turn from it.

We begin to forsake it. We begin to to walk in obedience to Christ. But that's partnered with two sides of the same coin.

The other side is faith. That faith is a personal trust. a personal trust in Jesus Christ in his life, his death, his burial, his resurrection, for the forgiveness of sins, but also for eternal life and the guidance and empowerment for daily living.

I I shared with an earlier service, you know, one sometimes I'm a little concerned about how sometimes we share the gospel and how people perceive it. It it almost becomes a a a pray prayer to get your keep me out of hell card, right? That's a part of it, but it's a woeful woeful misunderstanding.

The gospel is a call to radically reorient our life back to reality. It it it's a call to repent and trust to follow Christ. And we can only do that when we experience his cleansing.

We can only do that through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. But it's not just pray a prayer and here's your get out of hell free card. It's it's a radical reorientation of life back to the reality of God is central.

It is a turning from a life operating with me as the center and beginning to operate more and more with God in his rightful place. And it's all made possible because of the grace of Jesus Christ, because Jesus paid it all. And so I ask you today, has there been a moment in your life when you've genu genuinely repented and placed your faith, your trust in Jesus Christ, not just to be the forgiver of your sin, but to be the rightful leader and Lord of your life.

CS Lewis puts it so eloquently to have faith in Christ means of course trying to do all that he says there would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you've really handed yourself over to him it must follow that you are trying to obey him but trying in a new way a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because he has begun to save you already.

Not hoping to get to heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of heaven is already inside you. It's about a life that's been radically transformed in Christ Jesus. If you're in Christ Jesus, you're a new creation.

Scripture says, "Behold, the old has come, the new has come." And new people walk in new directions. Remembrance fuels and feeds our faith. Forgetfulness erodess it.

Some of you may know the name in the history of our country of Captain Eddie Rickenbacher. Captain Eddie was well known for several things, but there was one incident that powerfully stood out in his life. Paul Harvey talked about it years ago on his radio program.

Let me read some of Paul Harvey's words. It's gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern sea coast of Florida. Every Friday night until his death in 1973, he would return walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp.

The seagulls would flock to this old man and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before in October of 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacher was on a mission in a B17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But there was an unexpected detour which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life.

Somewhere over the South Pacific, the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low. And so the men ditched their plane in the ocean.

And for nearly a month, Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, the weather, the scorching sun. They spent many asleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. [clears throat] The largest raft was 9 by5.

The biggest shark 10 ft long. But of all the enemies at sea, one proved the most formidable. Starvation.

Eight days out. Their rations were long gone and destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them.

And a miracle occurred. In Captain Eddie's own words, Cherry, that was B7 pilot, Captain William Cherry, read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat.

And with my hat pulled down over my eyes, to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off. Something landed on my head. I I just knew.

I knew it was a seagull. I don't know how I knew, but I just knew. And everyone else knew.

And as I peered out from my hatbrim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at the gull because the gull meant food if I could catch it. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestine were used for bait to catch fish which kept them alive.

The survivors were sustained. Their hopes were renewed because of a lone seagull uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land offered himself as a sacrifice. You know that Captain Eddie made it.

And now you also know that he never forgot. Because every Friday evening about sunset on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida sea coast, you could see an old man walking, white-haired, bushy eyebrowed, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls.

to the remember the one which on a day long past gave itself without a struggle like mana in the wilderness. I think of that story often when I see a seagull. He never forgot.

He never forgot. And that's what the table calls us to do. Never forget what Jesus Christ has done.

And so as we prepare to come to the table, we're just going to carve out a little space, a little space for personal preparation. And the scriptural precedent for this is Psalm 139 123 and 24. Search me, oh God, and know my heart.

Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Now, there's some bullet points there that you can review if those will be helpful to you. But this is what we're going to do.

We're just carving out a little space. And there's going to be a little bit of music in the background because silence sometimes makes us incredibly uncomfortable. But we want you to be still.

And there's freedom in these moments. freedom to sit, freedom to stand, freedom to come, to kneel, whatever posture is appropriate. But would you just spend the next few moments and just pray this prayer?

It's not a morbid introspection, but it's just saying, God, I really don't want there to be anything hindering my relationship with you. and just invite him to see if there's any grievous way to turn from it and to lead you a new and aresh in the way everlasting. Let's just spend some time in his presence.

>> [music] >> Father, [music] we thank you for the cross. We thank you for the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Father, we thank you that in your wisdom, you've given us this reminder, this symbol, this thing that we can continue to come back to to never forget.

And Father, I pray that remembrance even now would strengthen faith. And Father, as we come before you now, following the the example in scripture, Lord, we pray we pray, Father, that you would find in us lives ready to be fully aligned and submitted to you. Lord, we pray this together now in Christ Jesus' name.

Amen. Scripture tells us that in that upper room, Jesus prayed even as we did. And then he took the bread and he broke it and he gave it to them.

He said, "This bread representative of his body which is broken for us. Do this in remembrance of me. Would you take now the bread and in remembrance of him, let us eat.

We want to continue to worship before we take the cup. They would have taken the cup. This is after the supper.

So, I'm going to invite you to stand with me right now and just in appreciation, in celebration, in worship of of God's grace and goodness of the cross of Jesus Christ, let's worship him with our lips before we partake of the cup. Let's worship him together. two.

[music] I [music] was a rich. [singing] I remember who I was. I was lost.

[music and singing] I was blind. I was running out of time. Sin [music] separated [singing] the bridge was far too wide.

But from the far [singing] side of the chasm, you held me [music] in your side. So you made way [singing] across the great divide. left behind [music and singing] heaven stone to build it here inside.

And there [singing] at the cross, you paid the debt I owe. Broke [music] my chains, [singing] freed my soul. For the first time [music] I am owed.

Thank you [singing] Jesus for the blood of life. Thank [singing] you [music] Jesus. It has washed me white.

[singing] Thank you Jesus. You have saved [music] my life. brought me [singing] from the darkness into glorious light.

[music] You took my place, laid inside [music and singing] my tomb of sin. You were buried for three days, but then you walked right out [music] again. And now death [singing] has no sin and life has no end.

For I have [music] been transformed by the blood of the lamb. Thank you Jesus [music] for the blood. Thank you Jesus.

[music and singing] He has washed me. Thank [music] you Jesus. You have saved my life [music and singing] from the darkness into [music] there stronger than the one worth.

[music] Because the sons and daughters [music] we are answered by your father. [music] There is no stronger [music] than the one who wore [music] [music and singing] [music] >> [music] >> Thank you Jesus. [music] Thank you Jesus.

[music] Thank [music] you Jesus. You have saved my life. You brought me [singing and music] from the darkness into glorious light.

Sing >> glory [music] and glory [singing] to his name. [music] Yes, Lord. and glory [singing] to [music] his name, the only name.

[music] Then [singing] to my heart was the blood [music] of [singing] life. Glory [music] to his [singing] name. And after the supper, he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Let us drink." The New Testament records for us that in that upper room after the supper after taking that last cup, they sang a hymn and they departed that place. We're going to follow that scriptural precedent.

But as you go today on your way out, we encourage you, we always take up a benevolence offering connected with our celebration of the Lord's supper. If God would so prompt you to to contribute to the physical needs of of people in our church family, in our community, please see those baskets on the way out. Place your deacon ballots there.

But for many of you here, there's a next step for you to take. And that next step may be to to come to Christ. It may be to to it's time to be baptized.

Whatever. Get in a group to serve. whatever that is, before you walk away as a part of these moments, go to one of these next steps areas in either lobby and let some of our pastors talk to you about your next step.

Let's worship our God together as we close. What can wash away my [singing] s? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[music] What can make me whole again? Nothing [singing] but the blood of Jesus. Oh, [singing] preious [music] is the flow that [music] makes me white [singing] as snow.

Oh no, [music] other [singing] fountain I know. [music] Nothing but the blood of Jesus. [music] [singing] for my part.

In this I see nothing [music and singing] but the blood of Jesus [singing] for my cleansing. This my plea. Nothing [singing] but the blood of Jesus.

[singing] Oh, [music] preious is the flow [music] that [singing] makes me white as snow. Other [singing and music] found I know nothing [singing and music] but the blood of Jesus. [music] Nothing [singing] can force sin atone.

Nothing [singing] but the blood of Jesus. [singing] was not of [music] good that I had [singing] done. Nothing but the blood [music] of Jesus.

[singing] Oh, precious is [singing and music] the food that makes [singing] me white as snow. [music] [music and singing] I know nothing but the blood of [music] Jesus. Amen.

Amen. >> We thank you for being here with us this week. May the Lord bless you and keep you as you go, remembering what Christ has done on the cross for you.

We'll see you next week, church. Yeah. Heat.

[music] Heat. [music] >> [music]