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Amen, amen. You may be seated. Children, we are ready for Children's Church. You may make your way up to the front here over to this side. I'm so thankful that Jesus paid it all. Amen. He didn't pay part of it. He didn't pay most of it. He paid it all. And because of that, we get to gather together today and sing praises to His name and have hope and joy like no one else on this earth does.
And what a joy it is to come together to celebrate and partake in the Lord's Supper today. Over the last eight weeks, we have been talking about this discipleship pathway, focusing on four different aspects of things that disciples should have a part of their life.
Understanding the fact that all disciples know. They know who God is, who they are in light of that. And that the only salvation we have is in Christ Jesus. So in short, all disciples know the gospel.
But it's not something that we stop there. We don't just start and then that's where it finishes. We understand the fact that all disciples grow in that relationship. And the fact that all disciples should show and be shown the things that God is doing in our life and the lives of those around us.
And then the fact that all disciples go. They take this message and they proclaim it across the street, across the world, to anybody that needs to know, that anybody that needs to hear the gospel message, that salvation only belongs to Christ.
And so as we come to the table together today, we see all of those elements being displayed here as we partake in communion, as we partake in the Lord's Supper.
And we often think of this time as a time of remembering. But what we are remembering is the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. We're remembering what that sacrifice accomplishes in our life.
So in short, what we are remembering is the gospel message. And we're also told in Scripture that this is something that we should do often. And so the gospel, remembering the gospel, is not simply a box that we're checking off and saying that we're done with it, but we're growing deeper into it.
And so as we come to the table, we're remembering those things. But we're also encouraged that we are to proclaim this. Paul in 1 Corinthians reminds us of the fact that in addition to remembering, this is a time of proclaiming, of showing what Christ has done for us.
We're reminded of this when he says this, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
And so what are we proclaiming to those here today and to those that we will encounter in our lives each and every day? What is it that we as believers are proclaiming to them?
That this is a serious matter? Hopefully so. That we should do this as something we should do in remembrance and do this in a sense of reverence?
Hopefully so. But at the same time, it is my prayer that we come to the table, we proclaim, we show the joy that comes from a relationship with Christ.
The Lord's Supper calls us to look to the past as we remember our Savior's sacrifice, but it also calls us to look to the future and proclaim the hope that we have in Christ.
We are told to do this as often as we can, to do this in remembrance of him, to do this as we proclaim. I love how Dr. Aiken, a recently retired professor at Southeastern, he says the Lord's Supper should certainly be a time of careful meditation and reflection, but it should also be a time of joyful anticipation and celebration.
Yes, Jesus died, but he rose from the dead and he's coming again. And so with hearts that remember and hearts that are ready to proclaim this gospel message, ready to proclaim the hope that we have in Christ, I want to invite you to open the Word of God with me this morning to Mark chapter 14, and we're going to read verses 12 through 25.
Mark 14 verses 12 through 25, I encourage you to follow along as I read. This is what the Word of the Lord says, it says this, And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat this Passover?
And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, The teacher says, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?
And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. There, prepare for us. And the disciples set out and went into the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
And when it was evening, he came with the twelve, And as they were reclining at the table eating, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, One of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.
And they began to be sorrowful and to say to him, one after the other, Is it I? And he said to them, It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.
For the Son of Man goes that is written of him, But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
And as they were eating, He took bread, And after blessing it, Broke it and gave it to them and said, Take, this is my body. And he took the cup, And when he had given things, He gave it to them, And they all drank of it.
And he said, This is my blood of the covenant, Which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine Until that day when I drink it new In the kingdom of God.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you for being with us today. Thank you for what we get to experience today. Lord, thank you for the truth found in your word.
Lord, I pray that you give us ears to hear your word And apply these truths to our lives. And Father, we ask all these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. You know, when I read this passage of scripture here, There's many things that come to mind.
But I want to highlight a couple of those this morning. One of the things that I'm quickly reminded of When I look at this passage Is the fact that Jesus is in control.
Jesus is in control. It may be easy to miss at first glance, But if you look at this passage, Jesus makes several predictions here. And it reminds us of the fact that he's in complete control of this situation.
Oftentimes, I know for me at least, I'll come to a passage like this, And I'll be reminded of all of these different things that are going on. And it's easy to miss the fact that we serve a Savior Who's in complete control going into the most stressful, The most difficult time of his ministry.
He's in control. And so we see this from several different aspects. But to begin with, Jesus makes predictions about where they will have the Passover meal. And the events, including the men that they would encounter As they lead to the table where they would have this meal.
I want you to listen to verses 13 and 14 again. It says this, And he sent two of his disciples and said, Go into the city, And a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.
Follow him, And wherever he enters, Say to the master of the house, The teacher says, Where is my guest room? Where I may eat the Passover with my disciples.
And he will show you a large upper room, Furnished and ready. There, prepare for us. This passage has several similarities to the passage previously talked about in Mark chapter 11, Where Jesus is getting ready for the triumphal entry.
Remember, he's sending a couple of his disciples in there. And he says, You're going to find a colt. You're going to find a donkey that's tied up. Go ahead and take that donkey and start bringing back it. If anybody asks you why you're taking it, Just say the Lord has need of it.
The master has need of it. And so now we have a similar situation. And in both of these situations, Both have seemingly chance encounters, But ultimately they show us that even in going to the cross, Even in going to Calvary, Jesus is in control.
He understands what is laying before them. He understands those steps that they are going to be taking. But next we see that Jesus predicts that Judas would betray him.
We see this in verses 18 through 21. He tells them, he says, As they're gathered there to eat this meal, He says, One of you is going to betray me. And they're all astonished. And so they begin to go around the room saying, Lord, is it I?
Is it I, Lord? And he finally says, It is the one who is dipping in the cup with me. And so he's recognizing the fact that, That Judas is going to be the one to betray him.
But he also, As you continue reading, Lets them know that the rest of them would reject him. They would deny him. And Peter's even like, Lord, surely not I will do this.
But yes, Peter, Even you are going to deny me. And so we see, Going into that moment, When he would take the sins of the world onto himself, Jesus knew, Those closest to him, Would not be standing there with him, With, During that time.
Yet, He goes anyway. Even in the midst of that hard time, In the darkest time, He knew that this would be something, That he would be going without those closest to him, On earth.
But finally, We see that Jesus predicts, His own death and resurrection here. We see this prediction, Multiple places in Mark's gospel, As long, As well as the other gospels.
But again, Here in verses 22 through 25, We see that Jesus, Is predicting his own death, And resurrection. It says, And as they were eating, He took bread, And after blessing, It broke it, And gave it to them, And said, Take, This is my body.
And he took a cup, And when he had given thanks, He gave it to them, And they all drank of it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant, Which is poured out for many.
Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine, Until the day when I drink it new, In the kingdom of God. And so we clearly see, Especially on this side of the cross, On this side of the cross, We can clearly see, That Jesus is predicting, Not only his death, But also his resurrection.
Throughout these verses, We clearly see, That Jesus is in control, As he makes his way to Calvary. He understands, Very clearly, What is in front of him.
Many times, It's easy for us to think that, The events surrounding the passion, The crucifixion, The events surrounding those things, It seems very chaotic to us. It seems like there's so much going on, That it seems out of control, And for many of the disciples, It may very well have felt like it was.
But for our Lord and Savior, The one who is going to be, Taking the sins of the world on himself, He was in complete control, As he made his way to Calvary.
As he made his way to the cross, He knew and accepted, His earthly mission. And so the cross was not an, Unfortunate event, That seemingly just happened, Out of nowhere.
But it was God's plan, To make a way for us, To receive forgiveness. For us to have salvation, Available for us. But it also means, That we can have complete trust, And faith in God today.
Because Jesus is still on the throne. Jesus is still reigning. He still has our lives, In the palm of his hands. I love how Doug O'Donnell says it.
He says, We can and should believe, That God is in complete control, Of the world, And has your life under his eye, And in his hands. He's got the whole world in his hands, But also, Your issues, And problems, And hopes, And dreams.
Yes, We love to see the fact, That he has the whole world, In his hands. But what that means, Personally for us, Is yes, He has the whole world, In his hands, But he has you, And me, In the palm of his hands.
He has each, And every one of us. He cares for the world, But he cares for you, As well. And so as I'm thinking of that, It reminds me of another, Beautiful truth, That we see in this passage.
A passage that is, That is easy, A truth that's easy for us to overlook, But, And it's simple, But yet, It is so powerful, If we will take a moment, To stand in awe of it.
And it is the fact, That not only is Jesus in control, But Jesus loves you. I am sometimes, I can get very focused, I know just at least me personally, I can get very focused, On all the details of prophecies, All the fulfillments, All the predictions, In fact, I can remember in seminary, I loved it when our professors, They would make these connections, Between the Old Testament, The New Testament, How all of these prophecies, Were being fulfilled, Highlighting the fact that, We see, We have one story of scripture, That we have this meta narrative, That is working its way, Through history, Understanding that God is in control, He's working in all these different places, And it's really easy, To just be amazed, At how all of those things, Fit together.
But we've got to make sure, That we don't miss, The forest for the trees, Because what all of those things, Remind us of, Is a beautiful, Beautiful truth, The fact that God loves us, The fact that even in our sin, Even when we were dead, In our sins and trespasses, God made a way for us, We need to stand in awe, The fact that Jesus loves us, That he loves us, And I love what Luke describes, In his account of this same story, This same time, This first Passover meal, This Lord's Supper, Luke says this, As they came together, Jesus said to them, He says, I have earnestly desired, To eat this Passover with you, Before I suffer.
So as Jesus is getting ready, To go to the cross, He's there with his closest friends, And he says, I have earnestly desired, To eat this Passover with you, I've been looking forward, To having this time with you, And in doing so, We are reminded very clearly, That Jesus, Over and over again, Throughout scripture, Reveals that he loves, Being a part of the ordinary, He loves being a part of our lives, Having a Passover meal, With your friends, Was about as ordinary as it gets, For a group of Jewish friends, Jesus doesn't just want, Your Sunday mornings, He doesn't just want, Those times when, When you have an encounter with him, Whether it be through a quiet time, Or singing, Or whatever the case may be, He doesn't just want those times, He wants your everyday lives, Because he loves you, And I am convinced, That sometimes, The greatest theological truth, That we can know,
Is that God loves us, I think the greatest theological truth, That we can know sometimes, Is the fact that, Because of Jesus, What he accomplished on the cross, We can look to the cross, And see the fact, That we have a heavenly father, Who loves us, Because that truth, Changes everything, That truth gives us hope, In the midst of life's greatest challenges, That truth gives perspective, On all the difficulties, And circumstances that we face, That truth gives us joy, Like nothing else can, And so this morning, As we prepare to take communion, As we prepare to take the Lord's Supper, I want you to stand in awe, Of the God that we serve, I want you to be amazed, Of the fact that we can look through this, And Jesus knew exactly, What was ahead of him, He knew exactly, What he was going to be encountering, And yet, He went through it anyway, He was in control, But it also reminds us of the fact,
That as we look to the cross, As we remember, What was accomplished on it, It reminds us of the fact, That Jesus loves us, That he desires a relationship with us, That he doesn't just want, Our time here once a week, When we gather together, But he wants to be, A part of our lives, Each and every day, And so let's go to the Lord in prayer, Father, As we prepare, Our hearts for communion this morning, Lord let us do so, Being reminded that you are in control, Let us do so, Being reminded of the fact, That you are in control, That you knew exactly, What was ahead of you, And you went to the cross anyway, So Lord we thank you for that, We thank you for the fact that, You took our sins, Paid for them on the cross, You paid all of it, And so Lord we thank you for that, And so Lord I pray that this morning, As we prepare our hearts and minds, For communion Lord, That you would remind us, Not only that you are in control,
But the fact that you love us, And so Lord we thank you for that hope, And we ask all of these things, In Jesus precious name, Amen.