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[0:00] Good morning. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus 19. Exodus 19. For those of you who are new or visiting, welcome.

[0:12] My name is BK. I have the pleasure of serving as the lead pastor here at SBC. One of the things that we've been doing for the last couple of months, really, is going over the story of the Old Testament.

[0:25] When most people are asked what is the importance or why does the Old Testament exist, a lot of people really don't give a very clear answer.

[0:39] Oftentimes, we can start off good. We understand the book of Genesis. We understand the book of Exodus. But then we kind of start getting lost in numbers, Deuteronomy, Leviticus.

[0:51] You know, people just have no clue what to make of that. And then they kind of don't know where all the stories fit into the grand narrative. If I can be very clear with you, the end goal is Jesus Christ.

[1:05] It is God's plan. Now, one of the things that we've been working through is we've been just kind of going over the story of the Bible and kind of taking these dives into specific time periods, which really help us understand the story of Jesus and why we desperately need him.

[1:30] We're in Exodus 19. And as you know, this is the passage that God has led his people out of Egypt, and they are now in the wilderness.

[1:45] They've escaped the slavery and oppression of the Egyptian regime, and they are now camped under Mount Sinai.

[1:56] It's been several months since they have been freed. But it's important for us to remember that until this time, God was a distant idea to the Israelites.

[2:08] God had taken their leader Moses into the wilderness for 40 years to reveal himself to Moses. If you remember the story of the burning brush, when God introduced himself as I am.

[2:25] I am Yahweh. I am your God. And now God is going about introducing himself to the Israelites. So what God did is obviously he saved Israelites from the Egyptians through these 10 plagues.

[2:43] And we covered that a couple of weeks ago. And one of the most important points is that God wasn't just introducing himself to Egypt. He's introducing himself to Israel at this time as well.

[2:55] They're seeing God who is an incredibly powerful God who defeats all the Egyptian gods. It gets so frustrating for Egypt that they release the Israelites to Moses, only to regret their decision to follow Moses across the Red Sea.

[3:14] Red Sea comes toppling in, and God's people get to see once again God delivering them from Egypt. As they were in these wilderness, they had no water or food, and God miraculously provides water and food through manna and quail for them.

[3:35] And now, they're at the foot of this hill, and they ask, what now? Up until this time, God has been speaking specifically to Moses, and he's been specifically speaking to his people through actions.

[3:53] They're seeing incredible displays of power. They've come under the understanding that this God that Moses has been designated, the leader of them, is an incredibly powerful God.

[4:10] But now he's about to speak verbally to his people. Last week, I introduced you to the idea that there are seven specific times that God speaks to his people in the pages of Scripture.

[4:29] The first being the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12. Currently, the Mosaic covenant in Exodus 19 to 40.

[4:40] And then we're going to look at eventually the Davidic covenant. The new covenant, which is announced through the prophets. We're going to see how the new covenant is secured through Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

[4:54] We're going to see how God speaks to the new people who live in the new covenant through the epistles of the New Testament. And finally, God's final word in Revelation.

[5:05] Revelation. God speaks. This is significant. That God has chosen a people that he is literally going to audibly speak to.

[5:24] There's four things we need to consider, or four questions that we need to answer when we're considering these passages. The first one is the need.

[5:36] It's to answer the question is, why is God speaking now? Why didn't God speak yesterday? Why didn't God speak tomorrow? But that there is a specific reason why God is speaking in this moment.

[5:50] So we always have the need. The second one is, obviously, what is the content? What does God have to say? The third is, what is the method that God uses to speak?

[6:03] And we're going to see that this is very significant. What is the method by which God speaks to his people? And the fourth one, and it's the most important one for us, once we understand what God is saying, is what does he demand from us?

[6:16] What is the response that we are called to give to God? Because we're understanding this truth that God does not speak for no reason.

[6:28] To put it another way, God does not say something in vain. Think about that for a second. God doesn't waste his words.

[6:40] He doesn't waste his breath. So when we see and read here that God speaks, we need to understand, as we said last week, the first time that God speaks is to Abraham in Genesis 12.

[6:57] He establishes the Abrahamic covenant. Obviously, what is the need? They need salvation. The need up to that point is that man is lost.

[7:08] They sinned in the garden. They are frozen out of God's plan. So God is now speaking with this man, Abraham, and he unveils this plan.

[7:19] And this is the content. And he gives Abraham a promise that through his seed, the Redeemer who shall be Jesus Christ will come, and he will make all things right.

[7:32] Galatians 3.16 says, Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offsprings. It does not say, and to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, and to your offspring who is Christ.

[7:53] And God is calling Abraham to a relationship with him. Now what is the method that God used to speak to Abraham?

[8:05] And this is a little bit of a continuation, because we divide it. And it's kind of interesting, because Scripture doesn't say specifically, did God shine a light in the tent of Abraham?

[8:15] Or how did he speak to him in the land of Ur, drawing him to Israel? But Scripture does say, and in one specific point, James 2.23, it says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

[8:32] And he was called a friend of God. God spoke to Abraham as a friend. God invited Abraham in and shared this plan that he had.

[8:49] Jesus does the same thing with the apostles. The apostles believe in John 15 that Jesus Christ is going to overthrow the Romans, and he's going to set himself up a kingdom.

[9:02] But Jesus finally lets them in on the plan. I'm actually going to Jerusalem to die on a cross for you.

[9:13] For mankind, I am the ultimate ending to the story that began in Genesis that was promised to Abraham. And John 15.15 says, No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing.

[9:32] But I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you. God shares his plans with his friends.

[9:45] We will cover this again eventually, but when Israel is suffering in exile, God comes to them through the prophet Jeremiah, and he speaks to them as friends again in Jeremiah 29.11.

[10:05] So he says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, and to give you a future and a hope.

[10:17] So when God comes to Abraham, he comes to him on these friendly terms, and he's asking him, I need you to believe. And that is the response that God requires. Abraham, what do you need?

[10:27] Abraham to ask, What do you need of me, God? And God simply says, Faith. I need you to believe in me. If you remember, this happens in Genesis 12.

[10:41] By the time we get to Genesis 16, Abraham is frustrated. His wife's womb is still barren. He does not have a child.

[10:52] So he decides to take matters into his own hands. He takes this woman, Hagar, who is the midwife to Sarah, his wife, and has a child.

[11:04] In fact, what we see here is the first example in the Bible of someone trying to save themselves by works.

[11:15] He's trying to do a work of righteousness before God by taking matters into his hands. And that's what really trying to do good works is all about.

[11:27] It's about us trying to fulfill God's plans on our terms. Anybody ever been there? Right? You want to push things ahead of the timeline? If I do this, I believe God's going to grant me this.

[11:40] Right? If I give, if I serve, if I can negotiate with God. We're the greatest negotiators in the world. We're always negotiating with God.

[11:52] We want it done in our terms, our ways. You see, it's interesting. One author says, every other religion in the world is about wanting to help God save us.

[12:05] Yet that every other religion in the world is about trying to help God. Does God need help? The creator of this universe? No, he doesn't. But yet, we want to.

[12:18] If I help him, you know what? God owes me something. He owes me that answer to the prayer that I want. He owes me the life that I desire.

[12:30] No. What God is asking from Abraham is to simply respond and believe.

[12:45] That's why Ephesians 2.8.9 says, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God.

[12:56] Not a result of work, so that no one may boast. We're here to wait. God to do it.

[13:15] And what did Abraham do? Romans 4.3 says, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. So when God speaks, there is a need, there is a message, there is a method and a response.

[13:36] So now I want you to turn back to Exodus 19. God's people are waiting at the foot of this mountain.

[13:51] They've been saved by God and they're wondering what comes next. Read alongside with me Exodus 19 starting in verse 3. While Moses went up to God, the Lord God called to him out of the mountain saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the people of Israel, You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

[14:28] Guys, you've seen what I did. I saved you. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my most, my treasured possession among all peoples.

[14:48] For all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

[15:04] It's incredible. So let's go through our four, what is the need, what is the message, what is the method, and what is the response that God demands.

[15:16] First, the need. Here is Israel, three million of them, saved by God from Jesus. Their lot in life up to that point was to be slaves. There was no hope.

[15:28] It's the exact save of being a slave to our sin. There is no hope. But God delivers and you ask, what comes next? Now, do you know from our time in Abraham, God is building a nation.

[15:41] So the first thing he does is he calls this people. And he's got this people now. They have a, they're an independent nation of three million of them. They need to have a leader.

[15:53] That's the next thing that defines a country or a nation. And they have Moses. Now, God is going to give them these laws to follow so that they can be his nation.

[16:06] So the people are God's people. Moses is God's ruler. And the big question is now what? What happens next? How do we act?

[16:16] How do we relate to one another? The people need to be told what God expects of them. They're in this wilderness and they need directions.

[16:27] They need to know what God wants. That is the need. They need to know what next, God. Now, this is the content. And we're going to get into Exodus 12.

[16:38] We're going to read the Ten Commandments. But God is going to give God's people laws. And remember from a couple of weeks ago, there's really essentially two, three types of laws. There's the moral law, the civic law, and the ceremonial law.

[16:55] And it's really important to understand those three types of laws. But today, I'm going to speak more of the moral law and the ceremonial law.

[17:06] And the ceremonial law was about the religious experience, how we relate to God. The civic law is how we relate to one another. And then you had the moral law.

[17:19] I don't know if you guys have seen that picture of why we need civic laws. But there was a great picture posted on X this week about, I guess, it was this one day in 1967 when Sweden decided to drive on the right-hand side.

[17:34] Did you ever see that picture? It's just complete mayhem because the rest of the Scandinavian countries drove on the right side. They drove on the left. So they decided, you know, on this day we're going to become.

[17:46] It was just utter chaos. We need laws, right? We do need civic laws in which to operate. The laws that God gives are all for our flourishing as a society.

[18:02] But when it comes to the moral law, the moral law reflects the heart of God. This is the heart of God. The creator of the universe tells his creation how to act.

[18:15] And if man does not recognize the God of the Bible, then man has no moral restraints. That's why we have civic laws.

[18:27] Because if man has no moral restraints, there's civic restraints. If you steal, you go to jail. So that is why in our society, why people do good, it's not because they believe God is good, and they do so because God tells me to do these things.

[18:46] God has given them a civil law which explains if you do these things, you go to jail. Right? You get fined. So, that is how the world generally responds.

[18:58] And we can confuse that. Wow, that guy's a really good person. They follow the Ten Commandments. But the reality is they do so not because of a love for God and a desire to obey God.

[19:11] They do so because they fear the punishment. Now, for this moment, I want to teach you, talk to you about the ceremonial law. And this is where we find many of the odd laws.

[19:23] Exodus 25 tells us that this is the aspect of the law that is provided for the heart to respond in worship.

[19:36] The ceremonial laws were a teaching that teaches us the heart and how it's to respond in worship. And we read in this text, we read that God provided a place and a ritual that they were to respond to.

[19:55] And let me read to you out of Exodus 29 beginning in verse 42. It said, It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of the meeting before the Lord where I will meet with you to speak to you there.

[20:15] There I will meet with the people of Israel and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will concentrate, consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar.

[20:32] Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God and they shall know that I am the Lord their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt and I might dwell among them.

[20:53] I am the Lord their God. So when God gives these ceremonial laws they're put in place so that we can worship, we can relate to God.

[21:08] It is a heart response done through a ceremony. You understand? You with me on that one? He's introducing these ideas of ceremonies and now today people can get pretty excited about ceremonies.

[21:23] You can go to churches and some people are all over the place. Some churches will turn off the lights to create an atmosphere of worship.

[21:34] Others will light candles. In some of the more liturgical churches they'll burn incense. and those are just means.

[21:44] They're not necessarily wrong but they're means by which they can have this idea before them so that it might create a heart response to God.

[22:01] What's important is Moses didn't invent these things. They didn't call the elders and say come up with all these ways to worship me in the temple.

[22:13] No, God wrote it. God said it. And God gave them a ceremony and he says I want you to relate to me through this ceremony.

[22:28] In case you do not know, we have two ceremonies ourselves in the new covenant that God asks us to relate to him.

[22:40] They're called baptism and communion. When you become a new believer God asks you to be immersed in the water to reflect his life because you are now taking on the life of Jesus Christ.

[22:57] The baptism, the immersion in the water is a symbol of dying with Christ and then coming out of the water is being raised in Christ and communion which we will be participating in today keeps the promises of God at the forefront of our minds.

[23:19] Better yet, it keeps Jesus at the forefront of our minds. It reminds us what this is all about. I'm not just here teaching you a moral ethic so you can live better in this world.

[23:32] world. This is how God calls us to worship him and he's the one who told us to do these things. These weren't the apostles ideas. This wasn't the early church fathers who got together and said well you know we don't want to sacrifice cows anymore because that's really mean and it gets really confusing of trying to determine which dove it is on which day and all these type of things and hey let's just make it really simple.

[23:57] let's just have communion and baptism. No, no, no, no. These were the things that God specifically calls us to do. So the ceremonial law is how God wants us to walk before him and the moral law essentially says I want you to be perfect.

[24:23] I want you to be perfect. There's an outward as you know baptism does not save communion does not save but it is a reflection of an inward reality.

[24:38] You with me on that one? That's what it reflects. It means that I have been saved. I have been redeemed. Lord Jesus Christ is my savior. The moral law is something we do inwardly.

[24:53] I'm going to put this verse up on the screen. Deuteronomy 4 7. This is an incredible verse. This is God simply asking for what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us.

[25:13] Whenever we call upon him and what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today.

[25:28] This is incredible. We have a bonafide way that the God of all creation has given us in order to relate to him to worship him.

[25:42] We're not left to guess. We're not left to make it up. We're not left to form a council of Squamish and determine how the people in Squamish are going to worship the God whose handiwork we see very clear here.

[26:00] For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him. Memorize this verse.

[26:16] Put it on the mantle of your house. Put it on a recipe card and put it in your Bible when you're going through those hard times. Does God hear me? Yes, you do have a God who is here.

[26:29] He is to be called upon. Our God is close to us and whenever we call upon him, he is so close that he walks with us among us.

[26:44] The moral laws God says these simply say here this is how you are to be. And I give you these statutes to show you how you are to be so that you may be without excuse.

[27:03] So when God speaks to God's people the need is great they don't know what to do how do we relate to God and now God reveals that what it is it's that the message is you have a ceremonial law and you have a moral law you have a way to walk before me and you have a law to tell you what kind of person I want you to be now the third one is the method what is this method that God uses what is the method by which God speaks and as we're going to read here it's very different than the way God spoke to Abraham Exodus 19 16 in your Bibles on the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast so that all the people in the camp trembled then

[28:07] Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly and as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder Moses spoke and God answered him in thunder what is God communicating here in this method I'm God I come from heaven with fire and I burn I'm in charge not you I'm the authority not you I'm the one who makes the call here why because

[29:12] I am God it's interesting that God doesn't descend upon them and says let's have a nice tea time Exodus 20 answers the question are they listening Exodus 20 verse 18 says now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning just notice that you saw the thunder we know we hear thunder but they saw the effects of the thunder it's like a thunderclap coming above anybody who's ever been around military jets when they fly over with that sonic boom it shakes everything below you this is far greater than any sonic boom this is this thunder and the trumpet of the mountain smoking the people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off and they said to Moses you speak to us and we will listen but do not let God speak to us lest we die they're not rejecting

[30:18] God they're so fearful of God that will say you know what we're okay with you being God's mouthpiece you go up in that mountain he can tell you everything and we will listen we swear we will listen listen we know methods of communication change we talk to our friends far differently than we talk to our wives we might talk to someone in danger we would speak quite differently I remember when I was in university one of my friends it was this chaotic thing we were being young and stupid and some guys had bashed our car and wanted to have a fight and we thought we were all strong baseball players so we had baseball bats and balls let's go to battle and of course the gang member came out with a gun and the only thing I remember from that time is me yelling and I'm sad to say expletives he's got a gun he's got a gun and my friend who was trying to be a tough guy

[31:22] I didn't say hey Steve my buddy come on back to the car we're not going to have a fight I just was yelling he's got a gun he's got a gun when we communicate differently in different ways God here is laying down the law God here is establishing his right to direct them God is establishing his authority over him because we know if there is no authority behind the law the law is meaningless if any of you guys know police officers we have former one here he will know it's called the broken window theory you guys ever heard of the broken window theory it's in a neighborhood and it's the idea that if the police don't arrest people who just break windows and empty buildings or don't arrest people who who jaywalk or spread graffiti or clean up the litter or people who do litter it shows that they don't care it's a message to the community that we don't care for that community then that community begins to think no one cares for us there's no authority

[32:32] I'm going to do what I want so there's a lot of these policing laws they seem small but their effects are quite great I grew up in the age of the wooden spoon anybody remember the wooden spoon anybody experienced the wooden spoon I'll be honest with you when my mom said I was getting the wooden spoon I had no fear okay mom that's fine mom did I tell you how great dinner was today oh man that ham and bologna sandwich that was like the best ever mom did I ever tell you how pretty you look like in those blue curlers oh they're just so great mom they bring out your eyes no fear but when my dad said you're getting the wooden spoon it wasn't the wooden spoon you know what was the easiest piece to grab the belt there was no negotiating right you knew you could negotiate with mom with dad not a chance

[33:36] God simply says here in Exodus 19 if your cow even crosses the threshold and it goes onto the mountain it dies that's how serious God is if evil is not punished then all is lost so that is the method and of course we come to the response how is Israel supposed to respond obedience there to commit themselves to the Lord God has promised that they will be his people amongst all the peoples of the world another text says you will be the apple of my eye and I believe we still see this today whether they reject

[34:38] God or accept God God still protects his people God says here is the law if you want to continue in this relationship you must do it now any of you here know that there is a major problem they can't obey it the fact of the matter is they don't even have the ability to obey it and the question is a lot of people start to think well the law is bad the law is wrong no no no God gave the law could anything bad come from God no this law is great this law is perfect so how do we rightfully relate to this law what's interesting is that God gave a promise before the law and because of the law the promise does not change Galatians 3 17 says this is what

[35:39] I mean the law which came 430 years after when he's talking about Abraham does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God so as to make the promise void so what he's saying if you do not follow this law this law does not take away from the Abrahamic covenant that I gave you that I promised you but it's certainly going to affect how you and I relate to one another for some of you with broken families whether it be distant children or distant parents or uncles or aunts there might be a love there but you know that something is broken between the two of you something was broken verse 18 for if the inheritance comes by the law it no longer comes by promise but God gave it to Abraham by promise so what is the purpose of the law and Paul actually answers that in Romans 3 20 he says for the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin what the law did is demonstrated to the people of Israel we need

[37:02] God I need God I need God I'm going to try but I need God it's this constant reminder that they need God so the first function is it reveals sin and it reveals my need for God's grace the second purpose that we tend to forget is that God's holiness which is expressed through the laws reveals to us who God is God is beautiful he's perfect he's the creator of this world see the law shines the light on why we need God's grace but it also shines the light on God you see this grace that has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ is the means by which we obey the law it enables us to obey the law grace gives us the ability for the relationship with him and it also gives us the power to obey him one writer writes in relation to law and grace the law reveals

[38:29] God and grace gives us the ability to follow God the law says you shall do this grace says I will do this in you and through you in the law obedience is required but under grace faith is the sole requirement but here's the catch if you do not have faith in Jesus Christ he can't be the grace that you need you actually need to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior you need to call out to God with the recognition that you have broken the law that you cannot fulfill the law and that only Jesus Christ can and what you're actually asking is to switch places with

[39:30] Jesus you see that act that Jesus Christ did on the cross was called a substitution theologians call it the great exchange Christ dies for all our sin he literally takes on our sin and gives us his righteousness so now we are before Jesus Christ he sees us as his son not as the broken man that I am or the broken man or women you are he sees us as his son or daughter this is the good news of the gospel my friends galatians 4 read through 1 to 7 and he tells us something here that's so very important that draws a very clear distinction between what we read in the old testament and the new testament he says

[40:35] I mean that the heir as long as he is a child is no different from a slave though he is the owner of everything so a owner or a child of a king still acts like a servant because he cannot rule but he's under guardians and managers until the date set by his father in the same way we also when we were children were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world but when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son Christmas born of a woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons and because you are sons God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba father what he's saying is in the old testament that's when we were children we were little babies they didn't have that full understanding until that time of the new covenant and what happened with the fulfillment of

[41:45] Jesus Christ now we walk very differently than those who walked before the cross they walked as children but we walk as let's just say older children under the king you with me on that one they're still God's king children but they're babies they didn't have an understanding but now we do why but when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son verse seven so you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir through God this is where we need to be very very Baptist amen do you understand this is the greatest news of all time amen

[42:49] God reveals himself on Christmas day they long for him living under the law under the sacrificial systems till a time where they no longer had to they could live in this peace that now God brings them and how do we commemorate this we don't go to a temple and offer blood sacrifices we actually come together as a people and have communion that's what today is all about is that we are now sons and daughters of the king he's revealed his plan to us which makes us friends of God we do not stand far off wondering what my relationship is with

[43:50] God we stand firm walking in the light that we are a new creation and a son of the king amen so this morning we are going to celebrate communion it's kind of a couple of rules we go by and these are not man made rules but these are certain rules that we learn from scripture we usually take a time to confess our sins because it's all about a vertical relationship with God that's what Christianity is just do a heart check where's my walk with Christ am I being obedient to him am I walking in the newness of life or am I still walking in the ways of the world if you're still walking in the ways of the world more so than walking in the light of Christ there's a brokenness going on in that relationship and it begins to be fixed by simply saying father forgive me

[44:55] I repent which means I'm turning away from that life and I'm turning towards you I want to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit now what's interesting when we have this vertical relationship we also have this horizontal relationship with one another and we cannot be sincere worshippers of Jesus Christ if we're angry or frustrated with one another and this is where you don't come to a pastor or a priest and confess your sin you go to the one that you have offended and confess your sin to them hey man I've had a really bad attitude toward you you you know x amount of days you said something and I thought that was kind of an insult towards my kid I know my kid poured coffee all over you but that's okay you know it can be a matter of different things but it's your heart are you responding in the way that you need to so if that relationship is broken

[46:00] I ask that you would actually avoid this table and go fix that with your brother so you come here or sister women sin too that you guys can fix that relationship and you can come here with a right heart before the Lord you love God and you love others this is what church is all about it's about coming together with a bunch of let's be honest we're a bunch of odd balls right we're all over the place we've all got different likes and dislikes people here apparently like driving bikes down hills I don't get it but you guys do it and you love it and I still love you for it you know we're just all different God's created but he's created us to be this one unit that he uses this term family which actually becomes thicker than blood it was born of a spirit because someone died that we could be a family that Jesus Christ died for the church and that's a moving thing so

[47:05] I'm just going to give thanks right now and then what we're going to do is come up in the middle aisles if you're an unbeliever please do not partake just witness this because this is people who are coming who are claiming to be followers of Christ and they're using this as a reminder of it when you have not taken the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal savior it's a useless act because you're not commemorating anything so then we ask you to sit quietly with the emblems pray offer your prayers and thanksgiving to God and then I will come up front and I will give thanks for the bread and the wine that is in the juice you with me on that one are you okay so let me just pray at the end here dear Lord holy heavenly father we thank you for the God that you are the fact is the matter is oh father we are not distant from you that you've called us to a living relationship this isn't a relationship which is manifested in us worshiping statues it's not a relationship that is created by making tabernacles it's a relationship that is personal that when

[48:36] Jesus was leaving he assured his disciples that we would be indwelt by the Holy Spirit which seals us until the day of redemption to trust him so father if we have anything that has we've sinned against you we repent of it now and if we've sinned against a brother or sister in

[50:01]  Christ oh father we we want to come and seek forgiveness as well from those we've hurt and those we've sinned against we want to be able to come together as a church with no animosity or hurt but just a loving concern for every soul that is here so God I thank you for the God that you are and I thank you for this opportunity we can come and have communion in memory of you and all of God's people said Amen Amen