Podcasts about Supper

What does Paul really mean when he warns about taking Communion "in an unworthy manner"? For many Christians, these verses have been associated with fear and anxiety about approaching the Lord's Table. In today's reflection, Andy explores 1 Corinthians 11 in its original context and explains why the Wesleyan understanding of Communion is rooted in grace rather than gatekeeping. By looking at what was actually happening in the Corinthian church, we discover that Paul's concern wasn't hidden sin as much as it was divisions, exclusion, and failing to welcome one another. It's an invitation to see the Lord's Table as Christ intended—a place where grace is offered freely to all who come.Join us for our daily reflections. In 10 short minutes, we'll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help us better understand God's Word.You can read today's passage here. Click here if you'd like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST.You can watch this reflection in video form and subscribe to my Substack here.

It's hard to fathom that something as solemn and moving as the Lord's Supper could draw controversy, and yet, in Paul's day, it did just that...and in our day, through differing interpretations of its meaning and purpose, the table still draws dissension. Join Dr. James Boice next time on The Bible Study Hour as he takes a deeper look into the reasons we celebrate this foundational institution of our faith. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29?v=20251111

The Lord's Supper is Christ's gracious gift to the church, His covenant people, given to help us remember His sacrifice, proclaim the gospel, strengthen our fellowship, and anticipate His return. Therefore, we must receive it with faith, love, and reverence.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 It's hard to fathom that something as solemn and moving as the Lord's Supper could draw controversy, and yet, in Paul's day, it did just that...and in our day, through differing interpretations of its meaning and purpose, the table still draws dissention. Join Dr. James Boice on The Bible Study Hour as he takes a deeper look into the reasons we celebrate this foundational institution of our faith.

Culture is loud, identity is fragile, and the church can drift without noticing. We sit down and get honest about what's been forming us lately, from family seasons and ministry travel to what we're seeing in students who genuinely want “the things of old” back, especially manners and respect. That real-life thread sets up a deeper spiritual question: if we say we follow Jesus, what does our life actually reflect?We walk through 1 Corinthians 11 with the kind of pastoral clarity that doesn't aim to impress, but to restore. Paul's warning to Corinth still lands today: when the church absorbs the idols and categories of the world, we stop reflecting Christ and start mirroring whatever we used to serve. We talk Christian identity, image-bearing, and why labeling ourselves by politics, success, status, or any identity above Jesus quietly breeds pride, comparison, and division.Then we move to the communion table, where Corinth's rich believers humiliated the poor and turned the Lord's Supper into something harmful. Communion is meant to pull us back to the cross, back to unity, and back to a serious moment of self-examination. We close with prayer, repentance, and a clear invitation to surrender what we've been carrying so we can live with clarity and peace in Christ. If this challenged you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.Thanks for listening!  Follow us on Facebook or YouTube.

In this Daily Devotion for August 2, 2026, Pastor David Balla walks through Psalm 75:7-9, where God's judgment is pictured as a cup of foaming wine that the wicked must drain to the dregs, a sobering image of God's wrath against sin, poured out fully, with nothing held back.This devotion holds that cup next to another one. In the garden before His arrest, Jesus prayed that this cup of judgment would pass from Him, yet the Father did not take it away. Jesus drank it completely, in your place, so judgment fell fully on Him instead of on you. That is why the cup He later gave His disciples is an entirely different cup, not wrath, but the cup of His own blood, poured out for the forgiveness of sins. There we find true grace, forgiveness, and salvation, freely given through His finished work. Through His redemption we are welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven, and in the Lord's Supper you receive that very cup at the altar, His true body and blood, carrying forgiveness rather than condemnation.Remember which cup belongs to you. The cup of judgment fell on Jesus. The cup you are given is the cup of blessing. Come to that table with confidence.Subscribe for weekly sermons and Daily Devotions.If this devotion has blessed you, consider supporting this ministry: https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphYou can also give directly at https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphHashtags (5)#DailyDevotion #Lutheran #LCMS #BibleStudy #Christianity

In this sermon based on Hebrews 10:19–25, the pastor invites listeners to step boldly through the open door Jesus has made into the very presence of God, explaining how Christ's sacrifice removed the veil and gives believers confident access. He urges believers to hold fast to hope without wavering, to encourage one another toward love and good deeds, and offers practical steps—daily Scripture reading, identifying areas of wavering, and intentionally encouraging others—to live this access out in community. The message closes with an invitation to practice drawing near this week, to partake of the Lord's Supper, and to remember the urgency of Christ's return. --   A Better Confidence Hebrews 10:19-25 Main Idea: Jesus opens the access door to God; let's step boldly through. Introduction Have you ever been somewhere you weren't sure you were allowed to go? What should our response be to the open door? “Therefore…” (vs. 19-21) We draw near to God with full assurance (v. 22) We hold fast to hope without wavering (v. 23) We encourage one another to love and faithfulness (v.24-25)  Conclusion -  Step Boldy Through the Door Every morning this week, read Hebrews 10:19-25 and write down one concrete action you can take that day to step boldly into God's presence. Stop standing far off. Practice drawing near. Identify where you waver. Ask & Act –“ Who can I encourage? How can I do it?” Jesus has swung the door wide open, so step through and discover the peace waiting for you in His presence. Find other Podcasts, Sermon Notes and the Bulletin here. https://www.mvcnaz.org/live Stay in touch with our Church Center App at https://www.mvcnaz.org/churchcenter Contact us through our CONNECT form at https://www.mvcnaz.org/connect   With Pastor Mike Curry.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul confronts the Corinthian church for turning the Lord's Supper into a source of division rather than unity. This sermon reflects on communion as a remembrance of Christ's broken body and shed blood, calling believers to examine how they treat one another within the body of Christ. Following Jesus means self-denial, humility, and love that elevates others above personal comfort or preference. The Lord's Supper reminds the church that Christ's sacrifice binds believers together and calls them to live as one.

The sermon emphasizes the profound personal and intimate nature of the Lord's Supper, contrasting Christ's simple ordinance with worldly pomp. It highlights Jesus' desire to share this final Passover privately with His disciples before His suffering, underscoring that His sacrifice was specifically for them. The message encourages believers to approach the table not with self-righteousness but with a recognition of their need for grace and forgiveness. By partaking in the bread and wine, Christians experience a face-to-face communion with Christ who bears all their sins. This act serves as a continual reminder that His infinite atonement pleads for them before the Father.

Read A Long: I Was There! An Easter StoryBy Karen R Lacy and illustrated by Nayeli Cardona CarlinKarenRLacy.comKaren shares the blurb on the back of the book to give children extra time to find their book or Kindle version for a Read A Long with her.  The Biblical Easter story is shared with children in a way they can understand, from the viewpoint of a fox. Foxy explains to his friends that he witnessed Jesus arrive in Jerusalem. Foxy heard people call Jesus the Messiah and he saw the love Jesus and children shared. He shared miracles and praise for Jesus, the betrayal by Judas. Foxy watched the Lord's Supper, and Jesus loves us so much that He sacrificed Himself on the cross for salvation of the people.Jesus arose from the grave so that we all have the opportunity to join Him in heaven!Children enjoy this beautifully illustrated and adventurous Christian picture book, filled with information that is understandable to children about Jesus and the true meaning of Easter. The recommended age group is six to nine years old.#karenrlacy, #karenrlacychildrensbooks, #picturebooks, #animalstory, #amazonbooks, #animalinteraction, #Christianstory, #Easter, #Jesuslovesus, #Hearose, #fox 

Preached on Sunday the 2nd of August, 2026 followed by the Lord's Supper.Hebrews 7:1-257 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.4 See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is witnessed of him,“You are a priest forever,    after the order of Melchizedek.”18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, 21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:“The Lord has sworn    and will not change his mind,‘You are a priest forever.'”22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.Intro Music by Julius H. from Pixabay Outro Music by PianoAmor from Pixabay

As we look at the sacrament of Communion (The Lord's Supper, The Eucharist) we remember why the Passover meal was to be eaten every year. However, Jesus established a new covenant during that meal with his disciples, establishing that he is the final sacrificial lamb, the final Passover meal for all of us who believe in Him as our saviour. He has saved us from our sins, because he took them upon himself on the cross. That causes us to repent of our sins, to be purified by His blood shed for us, and to live in that new covenant with Him. Have you accepted Him as your Saviour yet?

FURTHER DISCUSSION Remind yourselves why we share the Lord's Supper. What is its significance? How does it help us remember? What are some Bible passages that emphasize Christ's sacrifice for us? How does sharing Communion help or encourage our daily walk with Jesus?

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS:1. What are you most tempted to build your sense of belonging on besides the gospel? How does remembering what Jesus has done change the way you see yourself and other Christians?2. The early church devoted themselves to God's Word, prayer, and the Lord's Supper as their love for God was growing. Which of those areas has been most neglected in your life recently, and what is one practical step you could take this week to grow in your love for the Lord?3. The believers in this passage gave generously to help those in need. Is there a need in our church that God may be calling you to help meet—with your time, encouragement, generosity, or hospitality?4. A healthy Christian community doesn't stay inward—it draws others toward Christ. Who is one person outside the church that God has placed in your life, and how could your love for them point them to Jesus this week?

What do you do when you're standing before a hungry crowd with nothing in your hands but five loaves and two fish?In this sermon on Matthew 14:19–20, we look at how Jesus took what little the disciples had, blessed it, broke it, and gave it—and the crowd ate and was satisfied. But this miracle points to something greater than a full stomach. It points to the deeper hunger every person carries: a hunger for forgiveness, for peace with God, for a love that doesn't run out.We're honest about the two ways we come to this hunger wrong—either numb to it, having drowned it out with a thousand lesser things, or crushed by guilt, certain we're not worthy to be fed at all. Then we turn to the good news: the same Jesus who fed the five thousand still takes bread and wine today and gives His true body and blood at the Lord's Supper, for the forgiveness of sins. This is grace—not earned, not measured out by our worthiness, but given freely, the way into the Kingdom of Heaven opened by Christ's own redemption and salvation won for you.Come hungry. He still satisfies.Subscribe for weekly sermons and devotions.Support this ministry: Buy Me a CoffeeOr visit: https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphHashtags:#LCMS #Lutheran #Sermon #ChristianFaith #BibleTeaching

In this Daily Devotion for August 1, 2026, Pastor David Balla walks through Psalm 75:4-6, where God speaks plainly to the boastful and the proud: put down the lifted horn, the old picture of strength and status. True exaltation does not come from any human direction, no matter how hard a person searches for it.This devotion points to Jesus as the perfect contrast to every boastful voice. He had every reason to lift Himself up, being God Himself, yet He humbled Himself completely, taking on human flesh and going to death on a cross. Because He laid everything down without resistance, God exalted Him above every name. In that humility we find true grace, forgiveness, and salvation, freely given, not earned by our own effort. Through His redemption we are welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven, and in the Lord's Supper He comes to us humbly under bread and wine, giving His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.Do not search for exaltation on your own terms. Lay your pride down at the foot of the cross, and trust the God who lifted up Jesus to lift you up too, in His own time and way.Subscribe for weekly sermons and Daily Devotions.If this devotion has blessed you, consider supporting this ministry: https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphYou can also give directly at https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphHashtags (5)#DailyDevotion #Lutheran #LCMS #BibleStudy #ChristianitySEO tags (390 characters, under 450)Pastor David Balla, WhiteGandalph, Daily Devotion, Lutheran sermon, LCMS pastor, Bible study, Psalm 75, grace and forgiveness, salvation in Jesus Christ, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord's Supper, real presence of Christ, Christian devotion, daily Bible verse, ESV Bible study, forgiveness of sins, redemption through Christ, Gospel message, humility of Christ, God exalts the humble

In this ep, we talk about why we are not memorialists and how the Lord's Supper spiritually nourishes us as believers.REFORMATORY SHIRTS: https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A7141123011%2Cp_4%3AThe+Reformatory+Podcast&ref=bl_sl_s_ap_web_7141123011JOIN THE PODLUCK: https://www.patreon.com/reformatorypodMukwano Coffee: https://www.mukwanocoffee.com (Use promo code "reformatory" for 20% off your order).Twitter: https://twitter.com/reformatorypod

Pastor Colton preaches over Romans 12:1-5 on July 26, 2026.

In this episode, we're locking in, talking about our favourite miracles, the devil and his body, climate denial, the North Sea, and fascists.Order our bookhttps://themagnificast.wordpress.com/pre-order-now-enough-is-enough-degrowth-capitalism-and-liberation-theology/Get our Winstanley Zinehttps://themagnificast.wordpress.com/zines/Join our patreonhttp://patreon.com/themagnificastMusic by Amaryah Armstrong and theillalogicalspoon

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!In a month full of drinking one thing or another, we finish with the most basic liquid of all. We'll cover whether water can actually save you or whether it just gets you wet; whether the depths of the ocean and all the terrors therein should be enough to make you change your vocation; why I'm not as excited about rain as I usually am this time of year; and how the water outside your habitat can sneak in and destroy both your game and your soul.Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.  

In this episode of Behind the Scenes, host Kevin Van Hall sits down with Rev. Laura Johnson to explore one of Jesus' most well-known miracles: the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14:13-21.As the Small Things, Big Impact sermon series continues, Laura reflects on how Jesus responds with compassion in the midst of grief, provides for both spiritual and physical needs, and challenges his disciples with a surprising command: "You give them something to eat." Together, Kevin and Laura unpack the deeper meaning behind the miracle, its connection to the Exodus story, the Lord's Supper, and what it teaches us about generosity, abundance, and trusting God with the little we have.Could the greatest miracle be more than multiplying bread? What happens when ordinary people offer what they have in faith? And how might small acts of compassion become God's way of transforming communities today?Whether you've heard this story countless times or are encountering it with fresh eyes, this conversation offers practical insight into how Jesus continues to nourish, equip, and send his followers to care for the world around them.Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21Series: Small Things, Big ImpactGuest: Rev. Laura JohnsonHost: Kevin Van HallSubscribe to Behind the Scenes from North Raleigh United Methodist Church for weekly conversations that take you deeper into Sunday's scripture and sermon, helping you discover how God's Word speaks into everyday life.

As we have seen from the previous chapters, there was division in this church. It was made of three different cultures: Jew, Greek, and Roman. Trying to get Jews and Gentiles to mesh together and be one was very challenging for Paul, especially when he was away from the congregation. One would think when the church came together to take Communion, or the Lord's Supper, they would be unified, but they were far from it. The rich were far from it as they hoarded the food and got drunk off the wine while the poor people in the church were left completely out! The issue is their heart. Their heart is focused on themselves and not Jesus and Paul is writing to correct this matter.

“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44–47 NLT) I love new believers. They are the lifeblood of the church. When I have the privilege of speaking to other pastors, I tell them that if they don’t have a constant flow of new believers coming into their congregations, they will become spiritually dead. We can either evangelize or fossilize. Show me a church where new believers are not coming in, and I’ll show you a church that is stagnating. Show me a church that has new believers coming in on a regular basis, and I’ll show you a church that has vibrancy and life. That said, new believers need older believers to stabilize them. New believers’ hearts are full of zeal, but they don’t understand the ground rules yet. They need older believers to teach them. Older believers also need new believers. They need their zeal. They need their passion. They need their excitement to remind them of what they’ve forgotten. Sadly, it’s usually the new believers who want to do the most when they know the least. When we ask people to help out with something at Harvest Christian Fellowship, we often have new believers who come and say they want to help: “I’ll do whatever you need. I would like to sign up for six ministries.” While we’re very appreciative of their willingness to serve, we want them to have a good foundation first so they can be properly trained and equipped to do what God has called them to do. On the other hand, there are older believers who have known the Lord for years, maybe even decades, who don’t give a passing thought to helping out at church. It should be just the opposite. But as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, I want to point out that what’s true for the church is also true for our country. New believers are the lifeblood of our country. Our nation was forged in the flames of revival. And we pray for a new revival to sweep across this country. The description of the church in Acts 2:44–47 serves as a model: “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved” (NLT). In the meantime, every new believer, every decision made for Christ, represents a mini revival. As these new believers commit themselves to the biblical truths and principles on which our nation is built, our nation becomes incrementally stronger, more vibrant, and more attuned to God’s leading. When we share our faith, we’re not only changing lives, but we’re also changing our country. Reflection question: What would it look like in your life to prioritize sharing your faith? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hawk Rock Talk Classic: GenesisHawk Rock Summer continues on and this week we feature a Hawk Rock Talk Classic. Originally released October 21, 2022, it's Hawk Rock Talk: GENESIS!Jason Gore and Geoff “The Real Person” Garlock go deep into the long, strange and surprisingly emotional history of Geoff's favorite band: Genesis.And Genesis is not just one band. It is several completely different bands occupying the same school uniform.There is the strange British progressive-rock Genesis fronted by Peter Gabriel. There is the transitional version with Steve Hackett and Phil Collins. There is the three-man Genesis that filled arenas, dominated MTV and provided the soundtrack to Saturday mornings in the Gore household. Then there is Calling All Stations, which also technically happened.Jason and Geoff work through the albums, explain why recommending Genesis requires a psychological evaluation of the listener and attempt to determine how a band that once wrote “Supper's Ready” eventually became one of the biggest pop groups on Earth.Plus: Phil Collins reluctantly becomes the singer, Peter Gabriel dresses like a flower without warning anyone, Tony Banks remains the irritated backbone of the operation, “Illegal Alien” is launched into space and Jason accidentally begins climbing up on Salisbury Steak.Support 108.9 The HawkListen to more Hawk Rock Talk and every episode of 108.9 The Hawk at 1089thehawk.com.Support the station at patreon.com/1089thehawk.108.9 The Hawk Series Seven premieres on August 17th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dear friends,One of the longest standing debates amongst Christians is, strangely, about one of our strongest illustrations of unity. For the Lord's Supper is meant to be an expression of our unity in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ as we proclaim his resurrection. Yet as long ago as 1 Corinthians was first written, we find Christians divided at this event to such an extent that Paul declared that what they did was not the Lord's Supper.So what is the Lord's Supper about, and what were they doing that so disqualified them from celebrating it?It is an interesting and defining passage on this important activity which is so central to church life.Yours,PhillipFreely available, supported by generosity.If you enjoy Two Ways News, why not lend us a hand? Consider joining our Supporters Club—friends who make it possible for us to keep producing this article/podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

Morning Prayer and the Lord's Supper (The Eighth Sunday after Trinity 2026) from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN)

Who was Jeremiah? What do you do if you run out of bread (or wine) during the Lord's Supper?

Morning Prayer and the Lord's Supper (The Eighth Sunday after Trinity 2026) from Trinity Anglican Church (Connersville, IN)

What is the purpose of the Lord's Supper? Is it simply a church tradition, or is it something much deeper? In this episode of ScriptureLinks Daily Dose of Inspiration, we explore what Jesus meant when He instituted the Lord's Supper and why believers are commanded to continue observing it. We'll examine Jesus' teaching in John 6, His institution of the Lord's Supper during the Last Supper in Luke 22, and Paul's instructions to the church in 1 Corinthians 11 about participating in a worthy manner. Together, we'll discover that Communion is a sacred act of remembrance, self-examination, proclamation, and hope as we look forward to Christ's return. Join us as we learn how the Lord's Supper strengthens our faith and keeps our focus on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

This week, Pastor Nathan Wakefield continues our series on Biblical Theology — The Arc of Scripture. Throughout today's passages, we see that God has always given His people tangible ways to remember His mighty works, culminating in Christ's command to remember His sacrifice through the Lord's Supper.Sermon notes are available on YouVersion Events.Video of the worship service is available for replay.

Sunday Evening, July 26, 2026Given by Tom Groelsema | Executive Pastor, Christ Covenant ChurchA Sacred SupperHeidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 30Watch on YouTubeDownload our mobile app

Heidelberg Catechism—Lord's Day 30

Spiritual Amnesia: Remembering God's Faithfulness That Fuels Praise Sam Choi Download I want to say the saints of All Peoples Church greet you. We were sent out eight years ago from Cities Church, and it's a joy to serve you this morning. We're going to be going through all of Psalm 105. There's 45 verses, and so we're going to pick it apart in chunks instead of me reading the whole passage at one time. I want to start off with Psalm 105:1-5, and I want to invite you to have your Bibles out if you have a paper Bible. If not, use your phones. We're going to go through the text together.Most of you don't know me. That's okay, but I love you, and I've been praying that the Lord would give me a heart to see you as my people, even though you're not my people. That He would give me a heart to feel towards you what He feels towards you, and that I would be faithful to serve you this morning. I'm grateful for my family to be here. Just want to honor them. They're sitting there, and I love them, and I love to do life with them. So we're in Psalm 105:1-5.And if you have an ESV Bible, or you can click on it in your phones, would you read this out loud with me?Psalm 105:1-5, “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered.”Psalms like this have been historically hard for me because it's calling me to do that which I don't feel like often doing. What do you do when the psalmist calls you to praise God, remember His works, and tell of His wondrous works, and seek His face and His presence continually, and you're like, “But I don't feel like it”?Have you ever been in that situation where you got a worship leader, a very peppy worship leader, he's like, “Come on, God's people, let's praise the Lord.” And you're like, “I don't want to.”And so you're in a dilemma. What do you do? Do you fake it? Some of you know how to fake it, like you know the right things to do. E minor plays, you put your hands up because it's the time. The drums are going. You've been conditioned by church. You just know how to go through it, right? Or you're just like, “No, I'm authentic. I'm not going to praise if I don't feel like it.” Right? There's a spectrum in here. The psalmist is calling us to do something that isn't normal. It isn't natural to praise another. It's not. You aren't born with a desire to praise others and thank others. We are born with an inward bent, and so what do we do?Spiritual AmnesiaI want to show you the key to this passage that will free your lips, free your hearts. See, the key to this passage is in verse five. Verses 1-4 give us 10 commands. Sing praises, give thanks, over and over again. And I'm not going to throw law on you, “Hey, guys, have you given thanks this week? Try this week now. If you've only done 5 out of 10, let's go to 6 out of 10, church this week.” Because that won't last. Now, we can shame you, we can guilt you, we can rile you up to have a week of doing it, but you'll forget eventually, and I forget. So what's the key? The key is verse five. “Remember the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles and the judgments He uttered.”Remember, remember, remember.It's repeated a few times throughout the psalm. This is the key that unlocks the rest.The reason why our praise is sparse, our hearts can be full of grumbling rather than gratitude, is because we've forgotten. We have spiritual amnesia.Do you remember what 2021 was like? We were just coming out of the throes of COVID, and my family and I, we live five blocks from George Floyd Square. We just had a contentious election. And on top of that, we had a new church, and one of my good friends was trying to get me removed as a pastor. It was the lowest moment of our life, by far. And my wife and I were brought low. One of my children woke up in the middle of the night regularly with night terrors because there were fires around our home and marches coming around us. Do you remember this time? Something about living here, just this happens a lot, right? You guys are in the news.And during that time, I got a text from a family that I didn't really even know, and they said, “Hey, we'd like to give you $1,000 of spending money, fly you to Anna Marie Island, give you a giant Airbnb that we can no longer use, and bless you.” And that trip was the greatest vacation of all time.My wife and I wept regularly with our Bibles open, worshiping, saying, “God, you see us. You know us. Oh God, you care about us. We're not forgotten. Even though we feel forgotten, we're not forgotten.” And I made some declarations during that time. “God, I'll never forget this. You provide for us. You see us. You know us. You don't forget us.”And guess what I've done?I forgot about that.Have any of you guys been like that where God provides in a supernatural way, and it's so sweet, and you're like, “God, I'll never doubt you again!” Anyone? And then we forget, and then we're anxious again.He provides for you over and over again, and then we forget. This is kind of a problem with God's people: we forget what He has done. What the psalmist is going to try to do is ground our praise in memory, to remember, remember.What do we need to remember? Well, let's look at the next verse, verse 6,“O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,”What do we need to remember? We need to remember the Lord. And what do you need to first remember about the Lord? It's that although you may have forgotten him this week, He has not forgotten you.The psalmist calls us to remember, but what do we remember first? Verse 8:“He remembers…”We all forget. We all can be fickle.The Lord isn't. The Lord, He is our God, and He remembers you, church. He remembers you even when you have forgotten Him, and even go further than forgotten, forsaken Him. He remembers you. That is the ground, that is the foundation, that is the security, you can have this morning. It's not that your memory is like an elephant. I will never forget you, Lord. It's just like Peter's grandpa. Peter's grandpa could forget at times, with dementia, but the Lord did not forget him. And I hope that encourages you this morning because some of us here are going through circumstances that are so painful. There are unmet longings or unanswered prayers where you feel, “Certainly, God, you have forgotten me. You have forgotten me. I don't believe this here. Yeah, maybe it's true for so and so, but not for me. You've forgotten me.” And God wants every one of you people this morning to remember He remembers you. He knows every prayer you've prayed. He knows every trial you've gone through. He knows every unmet longing of your hearts. He knows the anxieties. He knows everything. And you need to know that He remembers you, and He's near to you this morning.So what the psalmist is going to do is he's going to go back into history. David is going to remind us of what God has done through several different acts in Israel's history. Something that is important for you to know is that there's not a single person who was hearing this psalm originally who was at the original events. Why is that significant for you?Because a lot of times when we read God's Word, we can feel like it's distant from us, it's sterile. “Yeah, God, you did that back then, but what are you doing now?”See, when David is speaking to his people, and the context is actually in Chronicles. David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and he says these words, you can see it in Chronicles. And it's a reminder that the stories from the past are our stories.See, nobody was there alive when we were going to read about Moses. No one was there, and none of you were there either. And we can often be like, “Well, yeah, that was just for them.” But one of the biggest burdens I have for you this morning, church, is for you to walk away saying, “That's my God.”Those stories are your stories. Remember Galatians 3. If you are in Christ, all the promises that you are an heir of Abraham's line. Yes, you may be Scandinavian, and you may be a Midwesterner here, and you're not ethnically Jewish, but the same God who walked with Moses and Abraham and rescued His people, that's your God. So as we go through these portraits, if you grew up in church, and you know the Father Abraham and all that kind of stuff, the temptation is you're going to be like, "Yeah, I know." But that is your God.Oh, church, fight for your heart this morning. Be like, “Wow, He did that? He did that? That's my God?” That's what I'm going to try to model for you as we go and exalt over each of these stories. And so what I'm going to do is what David tries to do. He tries to remind a forgotten people what God has done and who He is, and who He is for us. So the first one we're going to look at is that God is a fierce protector, if you're a note-taker, from verses 12-15.1. God is a fierce protector.Verse 12,“When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,14 he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,15 saying, ‘Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!'”Okay. So we see a lot of things in this passage, and I don't want to oversimplify, but God is a fierce protector over his people. Think about God's people at this time. They are small. They're vulnerable. They're a remnant. They're barely a blip, and they're traveling through foreign territory. They don't have an army, really. They're cooked. They have no hope of making it as a nation, as a people, and yet God jealously fights for his people. He fiercely protects his people.Think about Abraham and Jacob, or Abraham and Isaac, with Abimelech and Pharaoh. God is able to stop the abuse of Sarah. It doesn't matter how powerful the person is, God is greater still. He fiercely protects his people, and some of you need to be reminded of that. We're exiles, church. Don't forget, this world is not our home. If you feel like you're an exile, you're a remnant, you're a sojourner … good!You're remembering one of your identities. And so when we're here and we have these protesters outside and the world who doesn't love Christ and obey him pushes against us, this is a reminder this is not our home, and yet we have a fierce protector over us.Any of you parents here, you guys are fierce protectors of your children, right? You know that any desire you have to protect your kids is just a shadow of how God feels towards his kids?You care about protection because God cares about protection. Being made in the image of God, you are just reflecting what he's like. And so if you think that you care about your kids, infinitely more your Heavenly Father cares about you, church. He's a fierce protector. Oh, church, put your hope in him afresh, that you are protected by him!One of my children recently said to me, “Dad, do we need to live here? It's hard to live here. It doesn't feel safe.”And that's heartbreaking to hear that from your child. But you know the safest place is to be in God's will, no matter what happens. You can move out into the boonies, in the most safe, conservative area with the most amount of cops, and die if you're out of the will of the Lord. And you could be right in the firestorm of everything, and you are untouchable until the Lord says, “It's time to go home, son.”Do you believe the Lord is a fierce protector over you? Or are you anxiously trying to control and protect your life in a perfect way where you actually don't need him? Remember the Lord, he's a fierce protector. Now, how does he protect? The next portrait we want to see of God is that he's sovereign over all things, even hard and evil things.2. God is sovereign over all things.Let's look at verses 16-25:“When he summoned afamine on the land and broke all supply of bread,17 he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.18 His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron;19 until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.20 The king sent and released him; the ruler of the peoples set him free;21 he made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions,22 to bind his princes at his pleasure and to teach his elders wisdom.”Let's stop right there. We'll continue in a moment.This is an amazing reversal. Think about it. This is the superpower of the world, and you've got a guy (Joseph) who gets betrayed by his brothers, and God sends him ahead of time through great evil and trial so that he could bring salvation to the rest of the world when a famine is coming. This is amazing. He goes and he starts as a slave, goes to prison after a little psych-out where it looked like he was going to be good, and then over years of languishing in a prison, when you think he probably said, “God, have you forgotten me? I'm in a prison. I didn't do anything wrong. Yeah, I was annoying to my brothers and a little arrogant, but I don't deserve prison. Oh, Lord, have you forgotten me?”And the Lord elevates him in due season to be at the right hand of Pharaoh so he could bring salvation to his people when the famine hits. And there's a lot to learn there, because remember: what his brothers did to him was evil, was wrong, and that's why when Joseph meets his brothers, what does he say? He says, “What you meant for evil, God meant for good.”And I want to remind you of that. There's a lot of evil done towards us and evil we do, and God is working it for good. And oftentimes, I think when we hear stories like this, we think super American individualistic. What I mean by that is like, yeah, yeah, this situation is bad, and somehow he's going to work it good for my life. Yes and amen, but so much more than that. God is never doing one thing. Your suffering isn't meaningless. He's actually working in that great evil against you to bring about good, not just for you, but beyond you.He's writing a greater story, a grander story, for all kinds of people, not just you. So your suffering isn't meaningless. Joseph probably thought this was meaningless, but God had purposes to save the entire world through this. This is amazing. What a reversal. But then let's keep reading, because then it gets crazy…Verse 24,“And the Lord made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes.25 He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.”Okay, let's talk about this just for a moment. I'm not going to, in a few moments, try to explain how God's sovereignty over all things harmonizes with human free choices, but let me say a few things and then for the rest you can email me at jonathan@citieschurch.com. He's on vacation, you could flood him with really hard questions. Don't do that. So oftentimes in scripture, we have two different lenses when we see things that happen. So we have on the ground. On the ground, Egypt is nervous and scared and anxious about this people group that is growing among them. “Maybe they'll turn against us.” Those are all normal human thoughts that they thought until Pharaoh was like, “Okay, let's subject these people, because they could turn against us, and that's not going to be good.” So Pharaoh wanted to subject Israel, God's people, the Hebrews.But then sometimes in scripture, like Psalm 105, you kind of zoom out 30,000 feet and you get God's divine perspective. He was working in that without violating Pharaoh's desires or the Egyptians. They wanted to subject them in an evil way, and yet God is somehow sovereign over that. That's a mystery that many have spilled much ink over. But both are true in scripture. And so in Psalm 105, we are looking at the larger view. Whenever you confuse those views, that's where a lot of times problems come. But I want you to notice that even in doing that, God is setting up something greater. Because if he didn't set that up, his people wouldn't be able to plunder the Egyptians and leave with great triumph and bring judgment on a very wicked world. And let me make this point now. I said that God is sovereign over all things, even evil things. And you know who has a problem with evil things? Not just you. God does. Any sense of justice you have is just a mere echo of God's divine wrath and righteous anger towards wickedness and injustice. And so make no mistake. Yes, God is sovereign in all things … but the next section, God is a righteous judge. Let's look at verses 26-36.3. God is a righteous judge.Verses 26:“He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.27 They performed his signs among them and miracles in the land of Ham.”Let's stop there. I'm not going to read the rest of that section because it's a little longer, but why don't you just look at it briefly. What is he doing here? He's turning waters into blood. He's throwing frogs at them … like crazy. Flies, gnats, hail, lightning, and it all culminates in the striking down, in verse 36, of the firstborn. Egypt was a wicked nation. They were a wicked nation, and they oppressed peoples greatly. They subjugated God's people for 400 years. God is not okay with that. And Egypt put a lot of hope and trust in their different gods. They had gods for this, gods for that, and what Yahweh is doing, God is systematically going down the line and showing that, “I reign over that. I reign over frogs. I reign over water. I reign over every single thing.” He puts them in their place because God will have no other gods. He will not share his throne with another. And so let this give you hope when you feel like there's injustice done. Who is making it right? Know that the Lord is a righteous judge. Yes, the timing may not be what you would choose, but if you saw his perspective, you would understand his timing. The Lord is a righteous judge.Church, you don't need to be the judge. You don't need to retaliate. You don't need to have vengeance. The moment you take it in your hands, you are forgetting that the Lord is a righteous judge.Someone needs to remember that. Someone has wronged you greatly, and you feel the burden of taking it into your own hands, or you feel the burden that you can't forgive them because if you forgive them, they're going to get away with it. Don't forget the Lord is a righteous judge.But he doesn't just judge Egypt. He's seen 400 years of unmet prayers and longings from his people. 400 years, generations without wages and without provision. So the next portrait we see is that God is a lavish provider.4. God is a lavish provider.Not just a provider, a lavish provider. Look at verse 37. “Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.39 He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by night.40 They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river.42 For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.”Church, have you let this become a fairy tale for you? Have any of you guys been in the desert or in a desolate place?And can you imagine if we were hiking together and all thirsty, and I'm like, “Hey, guys, watch this.” And I just hit a rock and water came out. That would be insane. That'd be the craziest thing you ever saw in your life. And yet we see that and we're like, “Yeah. That's cool. That happened. I saw it in Prince of Egypt. It's a good movie.” Right? That's your God! He did that!They were starving and God gave them manna. Just appears on the ground, they got to collect. They wanted protein, because they didn't want to be vegans, and God sends them quail.That's crazy, church. That's our God. He provided for them. That's your God. He covered them at night. He led them through the day. That's your God.Why do I keep saying that's your God? Because sometimes we forget that that same God who did that is the same God who knows you intimately and walks with you right now. Those stories are your stories, church. That's your story. That's your God. That'‘s your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, whatever grandfather. They went through that. That's your family lineage. That's your heritage. And so some of you, your bank account is low. You're in massive debt up to your eyeballs. You're struggling with so many anxieties and pressures, and you're worrying, and you're wondering. God is a lavish provider. Oh, Church, put your hope in Him. Put your trust in Him. If He could provide then, He can infinitely provide more for you now. Amen? Amen. Now, God needs to provide a lot of things. We have things that we need, and He cares about them. But there's something that we need most, and let's look at this last portrait, the singing Savior. 5. God is a singing Savior.Look at verse 43,“So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing.”Now, what we see in Exodus is that when the peoples were delivered from Egypt, Miriam led God's people with a tambourine and a song she wrote, and people were singing, right? But the Hebrew right here is ambiguous about who's actually singing.And when I hear this language, it reminds me of another passage. Would you turn with me to Zephaniah 3:17? If you're not familiar with your Bible yet, it's in the end of the Old Testament. It's one of the sweetest passages, and I want you to hear the parallel language that you hear here. One thing I want to remind you is that anything that we do on this side of eternity that's from the will of God, it's just a shadow and echo of God's heart and what's going on in heaven. When you see someone come to faith and you rejoice, what's going on in heaven? There's a party. It's an echo. So as Israel is rejoicing, what they don't know is that there is another one rejoicing, too. Read with me if you have your Bibles right now, Zephaniah 3:17,“The Lord your God is in your midst. A mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you with loud singing.”Write that on a note card, tape it on your mirror, and brush your teeth every morning. And stare at that. The Lord sings over you like an embarrassing father who delights in his children.The Lord doesn't just save begrudgingly. He delights to save. It brings him great joy. Yes, God is a righteous judge, but he does not delight in the death of the wicked. But God delights to save. He sings. He's a singing Savior. So the greatest need that we have is met in Christ, that Christ saved us. Christ Jesus died for us, and He delights to save His people. Remember that. He delights to save you. It wasn't a duty. It wasn't begrudging. It was His joy, and He sings over you. For some of you, the reason why you don't praise is because you've forgotten that He delights over you, and so this whole Christian thing is just so regimented and so just religious and going through traditions. The Lord sings over you, church. Now, I want you to notice something. The next verse. The next verse is another thing that He provides for us richly, and it's also connected to verse 11.“And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the people's toil." So the Lord provides for His people not just a temporary residence, but in Christ, if you are in Christ, church, you get to inherit the entire world. And the ultimate rest that we have is that we get Jesus. Oh, if you're weary, if you feel displaced, if you're longing and you feel like this earth is not your home, something's wrong, nothing's satisfied, your ultimate destination is Jesus forever on this redeemed world. And Israel gets it in parts, but not in its full. But for us who are in Christ, one day we'll inherit everything, and the greatest inheritance is that we get Jesus. It's the greatest need we have. So if you feel like, man, this world is just not enough, it's not cutting it, it's because you were made for another. You were made for the land that has Christ at the center. Now, if God's people are saved, set apart, rescued, what should be the result of that? Let's look at verse 45,“that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws.Praise the Lord!”This is so important. If you haven't been listening, please hear me right now. This order is super important. What comes first, obeying or saving? What comes first, obeying or saving? I'm not trying to trick you. Saving. No, it's obeying. Just kidding. No, it's saving. Saving is first!He brought them out of Egypt. He brought his people out of slavery so that they may obey. That order is the difference between Christianity and not. You are not saved because you obey, but because you are saved, you will obey. This is important here. Another sign of our spiritual amnesia is that you don't obey because you forgot what the Lord has done, and some of you, you don't obey because you're not saved yet. So I just want to say this to you. I don't know you. I only know a few of you. If your life is not one where you're progressively becoming more like Jesus and obeying him more and more in all the stuff of life, then you should have insecurity if you are actually his. And if that's you, come, pray with someone today. Wrestle with it. Examine your heart. Do I actually know the Savior? Because you can't know the Savior and the Savior not change you. You can't. It's impossible. There is no category in scripture, except the category that we have in the West, that you can know Christ and stay the same. Will it be perfect? No. Will you stumble? Yes. Will you still sin? Yes. But over time, will it be true? Yes. Not fully, but truly, over time, Christ will transform you. So if you are not obeying Jesus in every area of your life, oh church, remember the Lord who saved you. Remember the Lord who loves you and sings over you. Don't forget the order. You're saved and set apart to obey. And what does God want to do when we obey? What is he trying to do? Because when we obey, Jesus is taking us by the hand and showing us how to truly live the life he wants us to live, truly be human, truly live the life of abundance he's called us to live. And when we do that, we reflect his heart and his character to the nations, to our neighbors, to our coworkers. God is calling you to show what he's like in your obedience. He has purpose behind him setting you apart to be his.Tell of His Wondrous WorksSo we've gone through the whole psalm, and I want to end with a few points … Look at your life. Is your life characterized by one of praise and gratitude and seeking his presence and his face continually? Ask your friends, ask your spouse, ask your kids, ask people who know you. Does that sound like me? Or am I slow to speak of the things of the Lord? This is something that can be cultivated over time. So I want to challenge you, Cities Church, to practice this habit. Practice it for those who have families, fathers and mothers.Practice telling of his wondrous works to each other. It's not something that can always be natural, but you can grow in it.My wife has us set aside a jar every November to write down things that God has done this last year, and then we read it out loud the week of Thanksgiving and praise the Lord. That's a little simple habit you can try to bring into your life.For those of you who are in community groups, and I hope all of you are in community groups, don't turn this building into just a service where you come and you're like, "Feed me, ah," and you just get your goods and then you go and you leave to do something you want to do. Cities Church is a family to belong to, and Sunday services are absolutely essential, but they're not sufficient for full formation to follow Jesus and become like him. So fight to be in a community group if you're not. And if you're in a community group, regularly have times where you can take time to say, “What has God done? Let's tell of his wondrous works.”And you know how sweet it is to be part of a community who does this? Because check this out. There will be seasons where your heart is cold and someone else is buzzing because God has done great works. And they share, and you hear, and your heart gets warmed, and you're like, "Oh, yeah, the Lord!" You know what that's like? And guess what? Maybe a season or two later, you guys switch spots. This happens a lot of times in marriages.And this person who used to be burning hot have gone through some fiery trials, and they're struggling, they're languishing. And then you're like, "Brother, do you remember?" "Sister, do you remember what he did for you?" You can remind people of his wondrous works and how he worked in their life, and how he worked in your life. How sweet would it be to be part of a church family where you could do that for each other? Older saints in here, go out of your way to share: "Hey, son, come here. Let me tell you something about what the Lord has done.”Younger saints, talk to older saints. Tell me stories of God's faithfulness. Stir up my faith. Build my faith. I want to exhort you that today, over lunch, share of something the Lord has done in his wondrous works. Stir each other's faith. And if you're like, “I can't remember anything”, pray. We planted a church this last year, and they're going through this discipleship curriculum. One of the first things that they do is they do an inventory of three moments where God really showed up in your life, to write it down, so that you can share it with others. And the whole group was like, "I don't know." But then when they actually sat down and were quiet, they're like, "Oh my goodness, God has done great works." We forget, don't we? Church, you have a treasure trove of stories of God's faithfulness for you, but we forget. So write them down. Rehearse them, share it with your kids. Tell it with your neighbors. Tell it with your coworkers. May the Lord open up our mouths and share.And so church, it's been good to be with you, and I want to remind you, the Lord has not forgotten you.You may have forgotten him, and I forget him too, but the Lord has not forgotten you. And that is the great confidence you have.Remember, you have been saved. That leads to obeying. You don't obey to get saved. Remember that the Lord is a fierce protector over you, and that even in the hardest moments of your life, he is sovereign even over that thing.God is a righteous judge and he will redeem and make all things new, and he will right every wrong.And that God is a lavish provider. He can redeem the years the locusts have stolen in your life, no matter how painful or how impossible. He is the God who can give you water out of a rock.That is your God, church. That's your God. Don't you sleep on that. That's your God. And he's the God who saves you with joy and gladly sings over you. And if you don't know this savior, oh, would you talk to someone this morning? Would you not leave if you don't know the sweetness of this savior who delights to save? The righteous judge who judged himself so that you could stand free. Would you come? I'd love to pray with you, and I know there's a number of people here who would love to talk with you. Let's pray.Father, thank you for who you are. And Lord, we confess many of us have forgotten you have been far kinder and better to us than we remember. Sometimes our hearts can be filled with grumbling and amnesia where we forget. And so God, we recenter our hearts, and we look back at your faithfulness, not just to God's people from all generations, but our own lives. I pray for a special gifting over Cities Church that we would grow to be able to tell of his wondrous works. That you would loose our tongues to be able to share. So many in this room have great stories of your grace and your kindness, but they forget it or they're timid, and would you loose their tongues so that this whole church will be full of praise and thanksgiving and gratitude. Oh, God, may we seek your face continually, seek your strength continually. Oh, God, we need you. And Father, if there's anything that I said that was in error, either in manner or in content, would you please correct me and let no one here remember. But God, all that is actually from above, that is from your Word, let it deeply shape us. Let the Word do its work in our hearts. And God, as we transition to the Lord's Supper, help us be freshly reminded that this table is a reminder that you are the Savior, and you delight in us. And you save us, not because we obey, but that it leads to obedience.Let everyone be freshly reminded of the sweetness of the gospel of grace. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Audio Transcript Beautiful singing. So I've not met you. My name is Aaron, and I'm the preaching pastor here and glad that you're with us today, this last Sunday of July. And so if you have a bow with you, if you'd open up to the book of Exodus today, our texture study is going to come from Exodus 12, verses 21 through 28. Although we're going to be spending our time in all of Exodus 12, this will be our primary spot is 2128. And if you don't have a Bible with you, if you're not, there are Bibles scattered throughout the pews. If you want to find your way to Exodus, essentially on page 31, our text, if you want to open there, and then as you open your Bibles, please do keep them open. And so if you're visiting with us, so we do a style of preaching called expository preaching. And so we're going to spend a lot of our time just in the text and kind of throughout the sermon. I'm going to be pointing us back to the text. And so I want us all to see what comes from the text. And so please do keep the Bible open. So Exodus 12:21 through 28. So please hear the words of our God. And then I'm going to pray and then we'll get to work. So the Bible says that Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin. Touch the lentil and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of the house until the morning, for Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians. And we seize the blood on the lintel and on two doorposts. Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter into your home and your houses to strike you. You shall observe this right as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come into the land that the Lord will give you as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? You shall say, is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover. For he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians, but spared our houses when people bowed their heads and worshiped, then the people of Israel went and did so as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. So they did. That's God's word for us this morning. Would you please pray with me? Lord, we're here because we want to hear from your word. Lord, we know that your word tells us that through the folly of preaching that you indeed do speak. You speak through your word, through the power of your holy spirit. And so God, in this time, that is our desire, that is our ask, that is our request indeed, that you would speak. God, please keep me from error. Please keep me from stumbling. Help me to speak only that which is true. Please help the congregation just have good listening ears to hear what your spirit is saying to us today. Pray this out in Jesus name. Amen. So this morning, as we gather together, we do so. It's a slight detour what we had planned at the start of our summer preaching schedule. So at the start of our summer, the original plan was to have this sermon series that we've had been working through in Exodus. The sermon is the beginning part of the life of Moses. And we're up to the plan was to the start of chapter seven, which is where we were last week, as Moses and his brother Aaron approached Pharaoh for the second time to tell Pharaoh to let God's people go, as Pharaoh was holding God's people in bondage as slaves. From there, then the original plan, starting this week, and to go back into our study of the Gospel of Luke, which is a study that we've been working through for some time. However, today, and actually the next few weeks, there's going to be a little bit of a detour from that plan, which the detour has actually been on my mind for, I guess, a few weeks now, particularly when I was away on vacation, where I thought it'd be good for us as a church just to spend a little bit more time in the life of Moses, doing so in ways that relate to our church pillars, which you can see in the banners behind me. Worship, connect, grow and go. And I thought it'd be good for us to do this again just for a few reasons. So, first, we haven't done this in a while. So it's been actually well over a year since the last time we took time to, like, intentionally think through our church pillars in a sermon context. So we're probably due to do this again. Second, the fall approaching typically brings a little bit busier time in church life. So I actually thought it might be good for us to maybe refocus a bit as a church before things get busier. Third, as a church, it's actually really easy to detour on the things that God would have us to do. So we know this, the busyness of life, the challenges of life, the disappointments in life, the frustrations in life, the false hope of life, even sometimes like the successes of life, which we'll be talking about more just a bit. These things all have a way of, like, detouring us from the things that God would have us to do. So I thought it'd be good for us just to refocus a bit, to hopefully stay focused on the things that God would have us to do. Which, by the way, the reality of losing focus, being distracted, forgetting the things that God has done, things that God would have us to do. This is actually very present in our passage today where we see in the text today, God instituted things within, like the calendar, as a means to help his people actively remember, to help them to not, like, detour away from him, the things that he would have them to do and not do. So starting today and over the next couple weeks, what we're gonna do is continue to look at Exodus stories about Moses. I think give maybe some fleshing out of our four church pillars that hopefully we can learn from and apply to our own lives. So today, from our text, the primary pillar we're going to focus on is that of worship, which for us not only is our first pillar, but this is the most important and most Central of the 4. This is the pillar that actually meant to be like, the fuel, the motivation that leads into the other three pillars. Now, before we get into the heart of our passage today, just for a few moments, let me just remind us where we left off last week in chapter seven. And after that, I was going to give you some, like, flyby details in Exodus and what happened from that passage where we left last week in chapter seven to our text in our today in chapter 12. So just where we left off last week, we started that first. So as mentioned for a second time, Moses and his brother Aaron, who was like a prophet to Moses, went before Pharaoh to tell Pharaoh yet again, for a second time to let God's people go, where they also performed a miracle before Pharaoh, turning a staff into a great serpent. Whereas when last week, as Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh. So for a second time, Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and refused to let God's people go, which we talked about a lot last week. This had to be, at least in some ways, if not a lot of ways, hard for Moses to grasp and accept. I mean, God already had promised to free his people God even told Moses that he was going to be the deliverer. Moses is now doing the very thing God would have him to do. However, at least not yet. In chapter seven, freedom did not come. So one of the things we talked about a lot last week, for Moses, this had to be hard for him to grasp and accept. In this reality. This actually is true for much of his life, where often Moses would do the very thing God would have him to do, instruct him to do, only for the things to not work out in ways that Moses necessarily would want him to do, where over and over again, at least in the moment, things did not work out the way Moses hoped. And for us, this actually is part of the reality of our faith. Yes, we can do the right things, the very things that we know God would have us to do, but according to his secret will, things might not work out, at least not according to the timeline that we might have. That's where we were beginning of chapter seven last week. And then from there, over the next few chapters, which maybe you can read through this week, we see almost like this cyclical pattern on display where the Lord would continue to send Moses, his brother Aaron before Pharaoh, where Moses would continue to tell Pharaoh to let God's people go, where that message would be accompanied by signs and wonders. Yet God would continue to harden the heart of Pharaoh as Pharaoh refused to let God's people go. He even though in the cycle, even though there's these great signs and wonders, even though God did all these things, Pharaoh would still refuse to let God's people go. Now, if you've read through Exodus before, you remember that these series of signs and wonders were found in a series of plagues of judgment on Egypt. Was there a series of plagues that not only testified to God's power and God's glory, but it does seem, although this is debatable, it does seem that with each of these plagues, which were 10, that each of these God was like systematically defeating the many gods of Egypt. Let me just give you a few examples on this. So the first plague, you may remember, this is the Nile river turning to blood. And this seemed to be the Lord taking an attack on the Egyptian God who, like, watched over the Nile. Then the second plague involved, like frogs, like, overfilling the land of Egypt. And it seemed like this is the Lord, like, attacking Egyptian fertility God, who was resented as a frog dropping down, like to the ninth plague, which involved darkness over the land. This seemed to be the Lord attacking, defeating Ra, the Egyptian sun God, and the 10th plague, which we'll be talking about in part in our text today, involved the death of the firstborn of the land, which included the death of the son of. Of Pharaoh, with Pharaoh himself being revered like a godlike figure. As mentioned, there's a little bit of debate on this if this is actually what's happening, but it does seem that if you look at the 10 plagues, it does seem to be a direct correlation between the plagues and one of the many gods of the land. Okay, now just a couple of quick things I want to mention before we get to our text. So if we go back in as it relates to worship, this pillar that we're focused on this morning. So worship was really always at the heart of God. In the Exodus, he would free his people from the bondage of slavery so that they might worship him. And we don't have time to work through all the places that we see this, but really from Exodus 3, where God came to Moses and revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush of the great I am, where at that scene, the Lord also commissioned Moses to be the deliverer of the people. At that scene, worship was at the heart of God so that through his deliverance, through the freedom of his people, they might worship him. And this continues on from like the first time Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh, they commanded Pharaoh to let God's people go. Why? So that they might worship the Lord. Then each of the plagues in this sickle event that continued to happen over and over again, Moses and Aaron continued to approach Pharaoh to tell them the same basic message. The purpose is why? So God's people might be free to go and worship him. So worship is at the heart of Exodus, including at the heart of our text today, as worship is always at the heart of our God. Thus, if we're going to follow our God, worship will be on our hearts as well. Okay, so that is an introduction. Maybe fill in some of the gaps for us. Let's look back at the passage. Our passage day involves, like, what took place right before this 10th plague and the death of the firstborn of the land. Well, our text today details some really important information, not only for the book of Exodus, but really for all of scripture. Because our text today involves the Passover. Our primary text today starts in verse 21, but just give maybe just a little bit more context if you want to look up to some of the details in verses 1 through 20 of chapter 12. In those verses, we see God came to Moses to let Moses, let the people know that they were to get ready. Because the long wait of waiting upon the Lord to free them from slavery, the long wait was about to be realized. Freedom was about to come. The Lord's patient timing had now arrived. In the preceding verses, the Lord let Moses know that this freedom from bondage was going to change really everything for his his people, including their calendar, where from the day that they were freed, it was gonna be such a monumental work of God that salvation. So going forward, that day of deliverance would be the first day of the first month of their new calendars. Making this new calendar centered on this salvation from slavery, which would be a marker that they were to never forget, but to always remember the salvation of their God. Furthermore, starting the start of chapter 12, the Lord gave to Moses some instructions on how this freeing would take place, which I'm guessing is not maybe a way that Moses would have expected, particularly as he witnessed the power of God on display all throughout Exodus. Because the Lord let Moses know that this freeing that he was about to do to bring salvation for his people would actually come through a Passover lamb. With the lamb being like one of the most gentle creatures in all creation, yet all powerful God would bring about his glorious salvation. How through a lamb. And how the Lord would do this would be on the night of freedom, the night that all this things is about to take place. Yes. God would send a destroyer who would come to bring judgment, which is destroyed here mostly as like a death angel. The death angel, yes, would come into the land, would take the life of all the firstborn from the greatest of the land, including Pharaoh's own son, to the least of the land, to even the firstborn of all the cattle. That is, unless the home had a Passover lamb who provides salvation of death and judgment. So in this dialogue between the Lord and Moses, Moses informed on the night that the death angel was to come, the people of God were to enjoy like a meal of fellowship together. A meal that they were to eat in haste, even instruction how they eat this meal, and they eat this in haste because of how quickly salvation was about to come for them. And this meal was centered on this, on this Passover lamb, which was a lamb that was to be a lamb without spot and blemish. This guy's people fellowshipped around this lamb. They were to take the blood from the lamb and cover the sides of the front door with the blood. So on the night that the death angel came, as they saw the death angel saw the blood of the lamb, death would pass over the home. So God's people not only could be saved from judgment, but through the blood they would be set free to eternal or to a land that is to come, which we'll talk about more in just a bit. By the way, let me also mention the yearly calendars not only were to mark this night of the passover lambs, the calendar to mark the start of the calendar, mark this night, but in the beginning of chapter 12, going forward each year, God's people, from generation to generation were to continue to celebrate this Passover meal together so that they would actively remember that which the Lord had done for them and how salvation was found through the blood of the lamb. So in a very real way, on that night, the Passover lamb died so that they could live being set free. And the theme of our sermon today, be set free to worship the Lord. So with those instructions in the preceding verses given to Moses and the Lord, now in Our text, verse 21, if you're going to take your Isaiah, we see that Moses took that which is given from the Lord. So now he can convey that information to the people. So in text we read that Moses called all the elders of God's people together to tell them, hey, this is what is about to take place. This is how the Lord was finally going to free us. Through this blood of the lamb, Moses instructed the elders to go select lambs from the midst of their flocks. In doing so, according to the clan that you are from, as you go to the flocks to select a lamb, this Passover lamb that you're. The Lord then instructed in the text that this lamb that was slain, that they do next is take a bunch of hyssop. Hyssop is kind of like a. Like a bushy shrub. And this hyssop is to act almost like a sponge or a brush by which they would take the hyssop and dip it into the blood of the lamb that was just spilled, that was collected in a basin, our text tells us. And with the blood of the lamb now on the hyssop, they're then to touch the lintel, which is the top beam of the door, to put blood there. And they're also to put blood up and down on the two sides of the door. So in a very real sense, the home would be covered by the blood. And on that night when the death angel came, because of the blood, they were safe. Verse 22, because they were safe in the blood of the lamb, we read that none were to go out of the house until the morning, which for me is probably not instruction. I would need. Right. Death angels, come in. I'm going to stay safely behind closed doors, behind the blood. No interest nor curiosity was taking place outside. But obviously for some, maybe more curious in nature than me, might be tempted to see what was happening, maybe in a real sense, wanted to see death. This is a real instruction for them. Yes, you might be curious, intrigued, what was taking place that night. But you must fight against temptation. You must stay covered by the blood until the morning. Because if not, if you give in to your temptation, you will perish. But in verse 23 of our text, in this last and most terrifying of plagues, for the Lord himself will pass through to strike the Egyptians, those not covered by the blood, but where the Lord sees the blood on the lentil on the two doorposts, the Lord himself will pass over the door. And he will not let the destroyer, the death angel, enter into your house to strike you. Meaning as real and as powerful as death is, this death angel was even death was under the authority of the Lord, where, under the authority of the Lord, death would strike only those who, according to the will of God, were being judged that night, where death would pass over according to the will of the Lord, those who would live as life and death ultimately are in the Lord's hands. Now for us, let's just hit pause here just for a second, just to consider what an incredible and awesome, albeit terrifying night this must have been for God's people. So let's just try to put ourselves in their shoes and just kind of think through some of what has already taken place. So for a very long time, God's people, the shoes they were in were the shoes of slavery, doing hard labor, doing many things that were just not pleasant at all in life, where for years and years they're praying, pleading to the Lord to come and set them free, only for Moses to show up. But as he shows up, he basically tells us, hey guys, I am the answer to your prayers. I am indeed the long awaited deliverer who God would use to free you from slavery. Yet as we remember in our study, as he showed up, chapter five. For God's people, things actually went from bad to worse as Moses approached Pharaoh for the first time. Pharaoh became so annoyed at Moses that he ended up punishing the people by demanding that not only we continue to make bricks as slaves, but going forward, they'd also now have to start to like, collect the straw for their brick making work. And from there, all these terrible, terrifying plagues fell upon the land, which some of these actually affected God's people as well. These terrifying plagues came, and at different points, they actually kind of looked for God's people, that Pharaoh was going to finally let them go, only for Pharaoh to change his mind as the Lord continued to harden his heart to keep God's people in slavery. So from chapter five, when Moses showed up until our text today, which just covers a lot of time here for God's people, this is an absolute roller coaster of emotions, ups and downs, twists and turns, hopes, disappointments, and all of it is leading to this, this one big, awesome, terrifying night where Moses had just let them know through the elders, death is going to enter into the land. However, even through death that is about to come, their salvation would also come. And it would come from all things through a blood of a lamb, as through the lamb, salvation would come through judgment. Now for us to put ourselves in their shoes. Imagine knowing all this history and now getting this message from Moses, from the elders of the clans that salvation was coming through the blood of a lamb. Well, keep going to text verse 24, if you want to take your eyes there. As he got this message of salvation through judgment by the blood of the lamb, we see they also get some more instructions and how it passed down the Passover. And because they get more instructions again here, I think this stresses just how important this passing down was to the Lord. Verse 24, God's people will continue to celebrate this meal each year as a rite, as a statue for you and your sons forever. Meaning this is not just something they were to celebrate on the day they were set free, on that night as they celebrate the meal together. This is something that God's people from generation to generation would continue to celebrate, to continue to remember all of their days. By the way, if you read through the Old Testament over and over again, Scripture actually is pointing God's people back to this very night, this salvation from the Lord as a means to draw them back to worship. Verse 25. On that day when you come into the land that the Lord will give you, which the land that they're being saved too. So not only were they being saved from the judgment, saved from slavery, but God's people are also being saved to a land, a land in the text, a land that God promised to give to them, which we know is a land flowing with milk and honey. And as he entered into that promised land, even then the salvation of God found in the blood of the land, even then this right was to be on their minds, which only continues to stress the importance of this salvation. Where Even then, this rite in the text, this statue, this service, even then is one you are to keep and observe. Now, this here, the Lord telling his people that to keep this service even as they enter into the promised land, this incredible land flowing with milk and honey. I think this is actually the Lord like, maybe already addressing a real challenge that would be before them, which is the challenge of, like, things working out. We're in this challenge. There's a real temptation. When things like work out for us. Do you think that we actually no longer need the Lord or temptation maybe to put the Lord on the back burner of our life? And I do think for us, we know this challenge in our own lives, where, when things are kind of going well, how quickly it is to lose track of dependency, depend upon God. Where, when things are going well, whatever that well thing is, that can quickly become like our priority, where we maybe try to fit the Lord around that priority rather than making him the priority, keeping him the priority for us. Yes, no doubt there are challenges our faith when things do not work out the way that we hope, which say it earlier, this is true for much of Moses's life. But at least for me, from my own experience, there are often more challenges to my faith, more challenges to my dependency upon the Lord. When things are going well, keep going. Verse 26. When the children, the next generation, who are not present on this night, when they say to you, as you remember this Passover, what do you mean by this service? Why is it that we're celebrating this meal over and over again? What's the big deal? What's its purpose? Why the lamb? Why the blood? Verse 27. As they come with you with those questions, you are to say to them, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover. You are to teach them that we do this, to remember, to never forget the night that the Lord passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, where on that night he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses. Just a couple quick thoughts on this here. First, the question the children ask. What do you mean by the service? This is actually an obvious and legitimate question here. The generation that came after, they weren't there on that night, they did not have firsthand experience of how God redeemed his people. So it's not like, just like innately, they would have known all this. They would have needed someone to tell them, to explain to them the why, the what, the how that they were doing. They would need someone to come to them with, like, beautiful feet to pass on the Story of salvation through a lamb, which in the context here specifically was their parents. And for us just explaining to the children, this actually is the heart of like evangelism, discipleship. None of us just innately know all these things as you're saying earlier. We're all like on this hell bound race. So we need someone to have to explain things to us, just like someone had explained things to us. So as we learn about the things of Jesus Christ, now in turn we pass down that which we received. And with beautiful feet we explain things to others. We explain all the things that we know that is true and believe about our God and ultimately the redemption found in Lord Jesus Christ. Something kind of tied to this. So there's a phrase, but there's a time actually use, times we actually use here. Basically it says like one generation like believes the Gospel, which is the good news found in the redemption of Jesus Christ. But without like proper evangelism and discipleship, what can happen is the next generation then starts to like basically assume the gospel and then inevitably the following generation forgets the gospel. And this is such a true statement, not only because what we see this in church history proves to be true, but even in the Old Testament people of God, where over and over again one generation would believe, but the next generation would kind of assume before the following generation would just kind of forget about things all together. Only for the Lord to have to do some type of gracious work or maybe some type of work of judgment to bring his people back to himself. So this here in the text of needing to answer the question to the next generation to teach them about the salvation from our God church, this actually is really important. This is something that ought to be a real high priority for us as a church. For us, this is something we can't get detoured away from doing. Back to the text, the end of verse 27, after the Lord gave to Moses all this information from the Passover meal, this discipleship command to teach the next generation. We see the hearts of the people were soft before the Lord. And in the text the people like bowed their heads and they worshiped him, which hold on to this, we'll come back to this at the end. Verse 28. As the people had their hearts soft, soft before the Lord worshiping the Lord, then the people of Israel went and did so as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. So they did. Which here just kind of notice how basically the same thing is said twice in the text. Went and did so, and then at the end, so they did. I think this is emphasis on the obedience of God's people, whose hearts were soft, whose hearts were stoked to worship, where they were joyfully willing to do the things that God would have them to do. Now, this is where we ended our text today. But I do want to finish off the story this in chapter 12, starting at verse 29, if you want to keep going or keep looking there. So according to what God said, at midnight that night the death angel came and indeed struck down the firstborn of the land from the son of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the cattle, where, according to his word, only those who were saved on that night were the ones who were covered by the blood of the lamb. And after this final plague hit, finally, at least in the moment, the heart of Pharaoh softened to the point that he would let God's people go. The text tells us that 600,000 men, not counting women, children, were set free that night, bound for the promised land, where they left actually by plundering Egypt on their way. And as the people of God headed out, they did so still with soft hearts, still with hearts of worship. At the end of Exodus 12 tells us that they desired to obey God to keep the Passover from generation to generation. We're in verse 50, similar to verse 28, to further emphasize the soft heart to follow and obey God. We see in verse 50 all the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded. Moses and Aaron is on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their host. And that's actually we're going to end in our text today. But before I end, I do want to give you some organized thoughts from this text as it relates to worship and how I wanted to do this. Just maybe try to answer a few questions on like the why, the how and the what of worship. Okay, so some thoughts here. So let's start out with the why. And I do think it's always most important for us to get the why right before we move on to the what and the how. This is really important as a church. We must get the why right of worship. So some of the whys of worship, as I start to answer some of the whys, I do want to mention again, worship was at the center of why God desired to free his people from slavery in Egypt. Now, yes, the desire of God is also one that was tied to, like God's love, where in his love he would do this for his people. This desire of God to free his people also is one that's tied to his promises, where in his word, God promised indeed he would free his people. And we know God is a God who makes and keeps promise. But even those realities are ultimately tied to worship. We're to say it again, throughout the story of Moses that we've been looking at this summer. God would free his people. Why? So that they could worship Him. So for us, why? This is why. This is why we exist, to worship God and why we should worship God. Well, we see throughout Exodus, throughout Scripture, because our God is the one who is worthy of our worship. Because our God is the one who is glorious in all who he is, as the great I am, which is Exodus 3 in all that he does, including his great salvation. And so for his glory, the Lord is calling us to worship. That's a real why of worship. Why? Worship is always at the heart of our God. Why? Because he's worthy of it. Because his glory actually demands us to worship Him. Very much tied to this why worship? This also is our design. So God created mankind to worship him, to keep him at the center, at the priority of our life, where all that we are to do in life, even the roller coaster relied in life. Big things, little things, even little things like eating and drinking, they all are to be done in worship of him, to bring glory to our God friends. That's actually why we exist. This is part of the why of worship. This is where we find joy, we find meaning, we find purpose is in worshiping our God for us as church. This is why worship is not only a pillar, but the pillar, the most important pillar. Where our desire as a church is to joyfully pour out our lives in the worship of our God, knowing that is where our meaning, that is where our purpose is found. However, unfortunately, tragically, sinfully, we know this as individuals, even as a church as a whole. This is something that we can easily detour from where there's so many other things that can get us sidetracked. So many other things like pull at our hearts in worship. We start to worship other things other than God. And if we do that, if we detour from our worship of the Lord, we must be quick to repent, to get this right, to put and keep God at the center. Because if we miss worship, the why of worship, everything else is a house of cards that will not stand so for us. Even this morning, if you know, like the worship of the Lord, if it's not at the center of your life, where any like somehow you detoured and you're trying to put your hope in other Things repent come back to him. Which actually leads the next question relates to a how question. And the how question, I'm not referring to like, you know, some type of posture. Like, this is how we do it. This is how we worship. By this posture, rather the how here, I'm actually referring to, like, how is it even possible for us to come to God in worship? And this actually is a pretty important question for us to know and understand. Because we actually all are sinners. And like Pharaoh, even by birth, by choice, we actually all have hard hearts. And because we are sinners with hard hearts before God, we can't approach Him. We can't come to God on our own because God is like, perfect in all that. He is perfect in his holiness, perfect in his glory. So we can't, like, just like waltz in and try to approach the Lord in worship, like, just kind of on our own. And likewise, it's not like we somehow can, like, worship our way to God. So this is actually important question of how that we must know. So, like, how is it that we can actually worship God as sinners? Well, in the text today, we need the Lord to act on our behalf. Our text today, the Lord acted through the blood of the Lamb, so that his people would be saved from judgment, that the Lord would pass over so they'd be set free, that they might worship him without the blood of the Lamb. They'd been bound in judgment as sinners, rightfully. And for us, as real as the blood of the Lamb was in Exodus 12, as real as it was the salvation of God bringing his people out of slavery, the blood of that Lamb. That salvation in Exodus 12 is ultimately a pointer to a better, more spotless lamb that was to come, an even better salvation. The Lord provided for his people a better Lamb, the Lamb of God, as God himself came to us in the person of the great God man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world, which Jesus did by willingly, joyfully laying down his life for his people, which he did on a cross where the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, spilled His blood for us, where he died in our place, so that through him, through Jesus, him alone, we'd be saved from judgment. We'd be set free, bound for eternal promised land that is to come. So that through Jesus, friends, that's how we can worship God. It's only through him, through us putting our faith in him, trusting in him, in the blood of his eternal covenant. It's us calling upon the name of Jesus as our Lord, as the One who died for us, only to rise again from the dead on the third day. Which, by the way, is why, as a church, why we say the wooden cross and empty tomb mean everything to us. Because without it, without Jesus being our true Lamb, we would still be in the bondage of sin and there would be no possibility for us to worship God. We can only come to God the Father and worship through him, by the way, because Jesus Christ not only died as the Lamb of God, but because he rose again on the third day, which was a Sunday. Now, our entire calendar is actually marked with Sunday being the first day of the week, which is actually a unique and special day by which we were to gather together as a church body and worship, where we gather together not only to worship the Lord, but we do so in ways that we're sitting under his word, where we sing his praises, where over and over again, we celebrate the new Passover meal, the Lord's Supper, to help us to remember, to never forget what Jesus has done for us actually leads to the what of worship. So what should our lives look like if we're going to spend worshiping God? Well, in the text, the heart of worship, our lives will look like having soft hearts before God. Soft hearts that are like, joyfully obeying all the things that God would have us to do, doing all the things that God has to do, and not doing the things that he would not want us to do. And these things change from being burdens or maybe even options. But when we're worshiping the Lord of soft hearts, all these things now become like the desire of our heart, where we want to do the things that God would have us to do, which is true of God's people in the text. So for us as a church, some of the things it looks like all includes not forsaking, meeting together on Sundays, which is a habit that's easy to get into. But like God's people, we're to celebrate the Passover each year. Now, as God's people, we are to celebrate Jesus death and resurrection. Each Sunday we set our hearts to serve him, to serve others, not out of duty, but out of delight, because our hearts are soft to worship. And I know for various reasons it can be challenging at times, but at the heart of worship, these are challenges we seek to overcome. In our language, this is very much tied to the pillars of connect and grow, to come to be around God's people week after week after. Furthermore, what. What are we going to do if we're Going to worship God tied to our pillar. To go in the text, what we will do say we're going to pass down the message of our faith from generation to generation. This is, this is part of our worship. We're engaging our lives in evangelism and discipleship. Word of a heart of worship. We're explaining to others the tenets of our faith. Centering on the salvation of God found in Jesus Christ is one not only we celebrate today and hopefully every day, but the one that we'll celebrate and worship even as we enter into the eternal promised land that is to come, where forever and ever our worship will be to the Lamb who was slain, the one who is worthy. So yes, today a little bit of a detour of what was originally planned. But my hope is that this detour actually keep us on track on that which is most important to us as a church family, which always starts, always ends with worship. Through Jesus we are set free, forgiven of our sins, bound for the promised land so that we might worship him all of our days and all the way throughout eternity. As I close, if you know, for a host of different reasons, maybe you've detoured in your own life from this worship of Christ. So may the chorus of the song that was actually popular a few years back when I first made Christian, may this song, by the grace of God, be a true of you today. Just simply says I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about you. It's all about you, Jesus. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for Jesus who is the true lamb of God, who came to take away the sin sins of the world. And Lord, this morning we confess again that without Jesus there's no way we could come to you in worship because of our hard hearts, because of our sin. Lord, thank you for your grace and your kindness, your mercy on us to help us to trust and to believe. And Lord, I do pray that today all of us that have hearts to worship Jesus. And Lord, I pray for those here maybe have yet to trust in Jesus, who've yet to have their lives covered by the blood, that today that you would do that in their life, that you would take out a heart of stone, but put in a heart of flesh that is now soft towards you. And Lord, I do pray that you'd help us to keep the worship of you always at the center of all that we do. Pray us on Jesus name, Amen. The post The Passover – Exodus 12: 21-28 appeared first on Red Village Church.

The return of Christ—envisioned by John as the wedding supper of the Lamb—will mark the start of the perfect, loving union of Christ and his bride, the church, going on forever. Idolatry is the battle for your heart. And the steady pull on our hearts toward misdirected worship is a real temptation in our current age. But the Wedding Supper of the Lamb will finally bring an end to the battle for your heart. Hallelujah! Read More...

Remembering and Proclaiming Jesus What amazing words we just sung to help us remember and proclaim the cross, remember and proclaim Jesus. And now we’re going to follow Jesus’ command to remember and proclaim him by taking a piece of bread and a cup of juice. These things are not magical. They don’t make us right with God, but they point us to the one through whom we are made right with God. They’re physical reminders of Jesus and what he accomplished for us with his body and blood. We’re going to read part of Philippians 2, the same passage that Eric read for us earlier. Philippians 2, starting in verse 5, Paul writes: Have this way of thinking in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. The Heights from Which Christ Descended First, to understand Jesus’ humility, we have to look at how high he was, the heights from which he descended. Before Bethlehem, before creation, before time itself, Jesus, the Son, was and always has been God. Jesus didn’t begin at the manger. He had no beginning. He always has been the eternal Son. And yet, he did not use his equality with God to his own advantage. What this is saying is that he has always inherently possessed every right and all authority, but Jesus used his position for the good of those he came to save. Paul summarizes this when he says that Jesus emptied himself. Jesus didn’t empty himself of his godness. He didn’t lay aside any of his deity. Instead, Paul explains what emptying looks like. It looked like taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of man. The eternal Son became truly human without ceasing to be God. He became truly human and never sinned. The one whom angels worship became a man, took the form of a slave. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus is described in those terms. Paul was grasping for what could be the lowest, most humble, most shameful class that he could describe. This great humbling that Jesus took, it’s more humbling than a king becoming a slave. It’s God the Son stooping from divine glory to live among us as a man. There could be no more humble act, it would seem. Obedient to Death on a Cross But look what Paul goes on to say. Jesus went lower still. He didn’t merely humble himself to become a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death in the most humiliating manner possible, death on a cross. The one who commands creation obeyed his Father. The one who possesses life submitted to death. The death he died on the cross was painful, it was shameful, it was cursed. It was the death of slaves and rebels. Think of the one who died there, that kind of death. The highest one willingly went to the very lowest place to hang naked before a watching world, and even worse still, to be judged by God the Father for sins not his own. Why? Not because he lacked power or honor, but because he used his power to love and to save. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. At the cross, Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, though he wasn’t one. He had no sins of his own, but as he died there, he carried mine. He carried yours if you would trust in him. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. He became a curse for us. The wrath of God, the right wrath of God against my selfishness, my grumbling, my rebellion, fell on him. The Risen Lord We Proclaim Verse 9 goes on: Therefore, also God highly exalted him. The one who died the shameful death of a slave is now the risen Lord. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And it’s this Jesus who we proclaim and remember until he comes again. Why This Section Is Here in Philippians Let’s step back and think, and this is a really helpful thing to think about: why is this section here in Philippians? Paul is teaching us good theology, but why? Consider the commands that surround the explanation of Jesus’ humility and obedience. Paul doesn’t merely tell us of Jesus and his death and his godness to make us marvel, though we should. Paul is writing to a church tempted by selfish ambition and grumbling. Think of Euodia and Syntyche, chapter 4. Think of the very command that precedes this. I see that same tendency to selfish ambition and grumbling in me, and you do too. That is the most natural human thing. I want to rise the ranks. I want to get more prestige. I want to get more honor. I want to climb the ladder. And Paul says in verse 3: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself. Or in verse 14, obey: Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God. Church, do you get this? Remembering Jesus rightly must change how we treat one another. It must change how we relate to God. God’s children, which it says in verse 14 you are when you respond this way, God’s children by grace alone through faith alone, should bear the family resemblance to God’s Son. So be who you are. Remember Christ in his sacrifice, what he paid, and the example he gave. Examine Yourself and Come to Christ So as we take the bread and juice, let’s make sure we’re doing it rightly. This is the very context in 1 Corinthians 11 when Paul tells us to examine ourselves. What was the church there doing? They were coming to the meal with their thoughts on themselves, selfishly grasping. And Paul says it’s not the Lord’s Supper that you’re taking. You’re doing something else altogether because they weren’t remembering Jesus rightly. Taking the bread and juice must have effects in our life. It’s a contradiction to praise Christ for not grasping his rights while we clutch our own. It’s a contradiction to praise Jesus for humility while being proud and selfish. It’s a contradiction to worship him for serving while we refuse to serve, or to praise his obedience while we defend grumbling or remain in disobedience. So examine yourself. Look for where your life isn’t in step with the gospel. And you know what Paul says? He doesn’t say, “Examine yourself, and then let the bread and juice pass if you haven’t had a good week.” He says, “Examine yourself. Remember Jesus. Confess your sins where they’re there. Turn from them. And so eat and drink.” So if you are a Christian, look to your Savior. He is your only worth, your only merit before God. And look at your life and get your life in alignment with who God saved you to be. And then eat and drink. But if you have not trusted Christ, just let the elements pass when they come. But please don’t leave without speaking to me, or the person who brought you, or anybody here. There will be people available after the service to talk and to pray with you about how you can be reconciled to God through Jesus. As your heart is prepared, take the bread and juice on your own. The post Communion Meditation: July 26 2026 appeared first on Grace Bible Church.

Grace Community Church at Deerfoot

Send us Fan MailThe table is where we learn who we are, who we belong to, and whether we are wanted. That is why the Bible keeps returning to meals, invitations, and seats, and why communion still hits so deep when you let it. We start with a simple question: have you ever felt like the kind of person who would never get the invite?We walk through Jesus at Passover, sharing bread and wine with his disciples and announcing a new covenant. Passover is not just history, it is a lived story of rescue, marked by unleavened bread, bitter reminders, and the cost of deliverance. Then we follow Jesus to Gethsemane, where the “cup” becomes real suffering and real surrender. That tension matters because it shows communion is not a sentimental ritual. It is anchored to the cross, where Jesus chooses to be broken and poured out.From there, we connect the blood of the lamb, the doorframe, and the meaning of sacrifice to what happens when we take the Lord's Supper today. Communion is remembrance, but it is also participation: a practiced humility that says, I do not deserve the seat, yet God made a way. If you have been carrying shame, doubt, or the sense that faith is for “better people,” this conversation reframes the gospel as an open invitation purchased at a real cost.If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs the reminder, and leave a review so more people can find the message. What part of the table invitation do you struggle to believe?

In this Daily Devotion for July 26, 2026, Pastor David Balla examines Psalm 74:10-12 and asks the honest, painful question every believer faces: how long will God let evil go unanswered? "My King from of Old" walks through the psalmist's raw complaint before turning to the comfort of who God truly is, a King who has reigned over every trial, past and present. This devotion names our fear and doubt honestly, then points beyond ourselves to the cross, where Jesus endured the very scorn this psalm describes and worked salvation for sinners once and for all. You will hear how God's grace meets us in our weakness, how redemption was accomplished at Calvary, and how the Kingdom of Heaven breaks into our present suffering with real, lasting hope. We also touch on how Christ continues to deliver His forgiveness to His people today, body and blood, in the Lord's Supper, a living reminder that salvation is a present gift, not just a past event. Whatever you are waiting on God to answer, this devotion will anchor you in His unchanging kingship and steadfast love.If this devotion encouraged you, consider supporting this ministry.Subscribe for weekly sermons and daily devotions delivered straight to your feed, and join us as we walk through God's Word together, one day at a time.Support the channel: https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalph#DailyDevotion #Lutheran #LCMS #BibleVerse #ChristianFaithHashtags

What do the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price really teach? In this Christ-centered Lutheran sermon, Pastor David Balla proclaims the biblical distinction between Law and Gospel, revealing that these parables are not primarily about what we sacrifice for God, but about what Christ gave to redeem us. Jesus is the One who sold everything to purchase His treasured possession—His Church.Drawing from Matthew 13:44–46 (ESV), this expository sermon explores God's grace, salvation by faith alone, Christ's atoning death, redemption, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the priceless gift of forgiveness. Discover how your worth is not found in possessions, success, reputation, or achievements, but in Christ, who gave His life on the cross and continues to deliver His saving gifts through Word and Sacrament, including the Lord's Supper.This sermon is rooted in Confessional Lutheran theology (LCMS) and is ideal for Christians seeking faithful biblical preaching, verse-by-verse exposition, Gospel-centered teaching, and deeper understanding of Jesus' parables.Support this ministry: https://buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphWebsite (plain text): buymeacoffee.com/whitegandalphSubscribe for weekly sermons, Bible studies, and daily devotions that proclaim Christ crucified for sinners.Hashtags#Matthew13 #LCMS #LutheranSermon #LawAndGospel #KingdomOfHeaven

Dr. William Lane Craig evaluates competing views of the Lord's Supper — transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and the Reformed spiritual-presence view — before defending his own position that the Lord's Supper is a memorial ordinance rather than a sacrament. He argues transubstantiation lacks scriptural support, showing that Jesus' words of institution and the "bread of life" discourse in John 6 use the same kind of symbolic, Semitic imagery found elsewhere in Paul (the rock as Christ, Hagar and Sarah as the two covenants) and throughout John's Gospel (new birth, living water, spiritual food), where literalistic readings are consistently shown to be misunderstandings. He also contends that a literal eating of Christ's body confuses the nature of his physical, humanoid resurrection body. He extends similar objections to consubstantiation, adding that it improperly mixes Christ's human and divine natures in violation of Chalcedonian Christology. Turning to the Reformed view, he argues that Christ's spiritual presence in the Supper is real but no different from his presence in prayer, worship, or fellowship generally, concluding that the Supper is best understood as a memorial in which believers remember Christ's death, examine themselves, confess sin, and commune with him spiritually.

Rethinking Communion: Social Dynamics and Inclusive PracticeIn this episode, we explore the social and communal dimensions of communion, examining how historical practices, theological interpretations, and contemporary church culture influence our understanding and celebration of this sacred act. Join us for a biblically grounded, socially aware perspective that challenges traditional boundaries and invites an inclusive approach to the Lord's Supper.Key TopicsThe original context of early Christian meals and their social significanceHow Roman social hierarchy influenced the Corinthian church's practice of communionThe distinction between private morality and social morality in communionThe metaphor of the body of Christ as a symbol of unity and equalityThe importance of discerning the body, both Christ in the elements and the church communityCritique of common practices that divide or shame participantsThe cultural transformation of communion from a shared meal to a ritualistic, individual-focused eventPractical ideas for more inclusive and community-focused communion celebrationsCHAPTERS:00:00 - Introduction and the significance of social dynamics in communion02:10 - The context of early Christian meals and Roman influence05:55 - The division of social status and its impact on the Lord's Supper09:45 - Interpreting 1 Corinthians 11: the meaning of unworthy manner14:50 - Community examination and practicing worthy participation20:06 - The biblical symbolism of the body of Christ and social equality26:40 - How divisions undermine the purpose of communion32:43 - Practical implications for church practice and inclusive communion36:36 - The role of non-believers and open invitation45:12 - The church as a gathering place that reflects social hierarchies47:33 - The importance of authentic community and simplification of practices51:50 - Closing thoughts and encouragement for a more inclusive approachAs always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.Our Merch Store! EtsyLearn more about the Voxology PodcastSubscribe on iTunes or SpotifySupport the Voxology Podcast on PatreonThe Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology RadioFollow us on Instagram: @voxologypodcast and "like" us on FacebookFollow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerreMusic in this episode by Timothy John StaffordInstagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy