of Luke, which focus on the question of who is this Jesus and seeking to refocus our attention
on him just personally and directly as we look in the gospels at his works and his words.
Luke chapter 7, beginning at verse 18, let's read together.
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him,
sent them to the Lord saying, are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?
And when the men had come to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you saying,
are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?
In that hour, he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits. And on many who
were blind, he bestowed sight. And he answered them, go and tell John what you have seen and heard.
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear,
the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them, and blessed is the one who is
not offended by me. When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning
John. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind. What then did you,
what then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing. Behold, those who are dressed in
splendid clothing and live in luxury are in king's courts. What then did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you. And more than a prophet, this is he of whom it is written,
behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you.
I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the
kingdom of God is greater than he. When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too,
they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the
lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
To what then shall I compare the people of this generation? And what are they like? They are like
children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, we played the flute for you,
and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, and you did not weep. For John the Baptist has come eating
no bread and drinking no wine, and you say he has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking,
and you say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, yet wisdom
is justified by all her children. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would send us your spirit
as we look into your word now, open our hearts and minds to receive from you. In Christ's name, amen.
The atheist Richard Dawkins wrote,
In other words, religious faith is only sustained when people refuse to question, doubt, and think
rationally. Now, some Christians have behaved as if Richard Dawkins was right. I was recently talking
with a friend of mine. He's one of the only Christian faculty members at a small liberal arts
college where he teaches, and he was talking with one of his colleagues, a fellow professor who shared
with him that he had grown up in a Bible-believing church, but no longer identified as a Christian.
And they had a 40-minute conversation about the questions that led this man to distance himself
from and eventually abandon his Christian faith that he was raised with. And at the end of the
conversation, he said to my friend, you're the only Christian I've met who's been willing to seriously
engage with me about these questions. Now, sadly, that's how many people have experienced Christianity.
If you believe in God or the Bible, don't ask too many questions. Don't worry about evidence. Don't
ask for too many explanations. That means your faith is weak. Some Christians seem to resist or suppress
all expressions of doubt or disappointment or questioning. They see no place for doubt in the life of a
Christian. Now, by contrast, there are other Christians who seem to be strangely attracted to doubt.
Doubt and disappointment and disappointment and questioning. They act as if doubt and disappointment
should have a permanent place in the life of every Christian. One such person wrote,
doubt is a healthy part of faith. I am generally suspicious of Christians who claim to be certain
about what they believe. I think religious certainty is one of the biggest problems in the world today,
and I think it is driving people out of the church. But that position has its problems as well.
For one thing, doubts don't just come out of pure neutrality. Behind every doubt or question
is an alternate belief. Doubts emerge from other, often unstated assumptions. For example,
this particular person who I quoted assumes that certainty or confidence in one's faith in God
fosters arrogance. Always or almost all the time.
What does Christianity actually say about doubt and questions and disappointment with God?
This morning's passage speaks to this very issue. In fact, it begins with a question
from John the Baptist to Jesus.
Are you the one who is to come? Or shall we look for another?
This morning I want to look at John's question,
at Jesus' answer,
and finally at our response.
So first, John's question.
Now if you have read through the Gospel of Luke,
chapters 1 through 3, Luke has already introduced us to John the Baptist.
And we see in those chapters that the lives and callings of John the Baptist and Jesus
were deeply intertwined from the very beginning.
Their mothers were even related to each other.
Luke describes their birth and circumcision and naming and growth and beginning of their public ministry.
Jesus goes to John to be baptized by him.
John says,
I'm not the Messiah,
but he points to Jesus as the coming one.
But by this point,
John was no longer preaching in the wilderness.
He was locked up in prison.
We learn that in chapter 3, verse 20.
John had confronted King Herod,
the most powerful ruler in the region.
Because Herod,
Herod had divorced his wife
and married his brother's wife instead.
And John confronted him
about that and many other evil things that he had done.
And Herod decided he couldn't,
the only way to shut him up was to lock him up.
So he put him in jail.
And from jail,
John sent messengers to Jesus to ask this question.
Are you the one who is to come?
Or shall we look for another?
It seems like,
for whatever reason,
John was having second thoughts.
He was doubting.
He was questioning.
Now some commentators have said that can't be right.
How can John the Baptist,
the bold preacher,
be doubting Jesus?
No, he must have been asking this question
simply for the sake of his disciples.
That they could be reassured
of who Jesus really was.
But I think the most natural way
to read John's question
is as a genuine question.
John's disciples had reported to him
the things that they had seen Jesus do so far.
What we've looked at over the last three chapters,
the blind receiving their sight,
the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear.
And perhaps John was thinking,
okay,
that sounds all well and good.
But I thought that
one mightier than I was coming
to clear the threshing floor
and gather the wheat into God's barn
and burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire.
What about God bringing his judgment,
righteous judgment
on an ungodly government
and a corrupt religious establishment?
What about the Messiah delivering me
from the clutches of wicked King Herod?
I don't hear about any of that happening yet.
Jesus,
are you really
the coming Messiah?
Or is there somebody else coming after you?
Should we be on the lookout
for someone else?
You know,
sometimes
loyal and self-sacrificial servants of God
experience doubt
and disappointment
and depression.
The prophet Elijah did.
Right after his dramatic showdown
with the prophets of Baal,
a victory,
he ran away
and went into a cave
and wanted to die.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
the courageous German pastor
who resisted the Nazis
and protected the Jews
and trained underground church leaders
and even joined in a plot
to assassinate Hitler,
wrote a poem
when he was in the concentration camp
entitled,
Who Am I?
This is what he wrote.
Who am I?
They often tell me
I would step from my cell's confinement
calmly,
cheerfully,
firmly,
like a squire
from his country house.
Who am I?
They often tell me
I would talk to my guards
freely
and friendly
and clearly
as though it were mine to command.
Who am I?
They also tell me
I would bear the days
of misfortune
steadily,
smilingly,
proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
Am I really all that
which other men tell of?
Or am I only
what I know of myself?
Restless
and longing
and sick
like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath
as though hands
were compressing my throat,
thirsting for words
of kindness,
for neighborliness,
trembling
in expectation
of great events,
powerlessly trembling
for friends
at an infinite distance,
weary
and empty
at praying,
at thinking,
faint
and ready
to say farewell
to it all.
Have you ever been there?
Everybody around you
looks at you
and says
you're so strong
in God's word,
you're so devoted
to the Lord,
you're such a servant
of God's people
and on the inside
you feel like
you're about to break down.
You feel weary
and worn out
and short-tempered
and cynical.
Some days
you look around
and don't even quite know
what to believe anymore.
Doubt and disappointment
can be provoked
by all kinds of things,
whether it's
simple physical tiredness
or grieving a loss,
boredom and idleness,
spiritual attack,
harboring unconfessed sin,
all kinds of reasons.
Sometimes it's
when we feel strongest
that we're most
spiritually vulnerable.
After all,
the Bible warns us
pride goes before a fall.
And sometimes
it's when we feel weakest
that our faith
is being refined,
sometimes unbeknownst to us.
What do we do
when we're in the midst
of doubt,
disappointment,
or depression?
Well, sometimes I think
we hold on to those things.
We sort of turn them
over and over
in our own minds.
We simmer
and marinate in them.
We can even become proud
of them.
We see these things
as a badge of authenticity
that distinguishes us
from more simple-minded believers.
If we're honest with ourselves,
we'd be afraid
to let those things go.
Sometimes we hide
our doubts instead.
We feel that doubt
is inherently shameful,
so we avoid
revealing our doubts
and our disappointments
to fellow Christians.
We especially resist
voicing any doubts
to a Christian leader.
Perhaps we share
our doubts
and disappointments
with unbelievers
or unorthodox believers,
thinking that they
will be more sympathetic.
But those are not
healthy responses
to doubt
and disappointment.
Look at what John does here.
He sends messengers
to Jesus.
Despite the prison walls,
despite the geographical distance
separating him and Jesus,
he finds a way
to communicate his questions
and bring his doubts
to Jesus.
There's no one
more sympathetic
and no one
more wise
than Jesus.
So bring your doubt
and your disappointment
and your depression
to Jesus
through prayer
and through fellowship
with his people.
There's John's question.
Are you the one?
Or shall we wait?
Now let's look at Jesus' answer
in verse 21 to 28.
Notice how Jesus
responds to John.
He does not rebuke
or shame him.
He does not say
stop asking such questions.
You should know the answer,
of course.
Look instead
at how he responds.
Verse 21.
He does a bunch of miracles
right in front of their eyes.
He shows John's messengers
some of the visible
fruits of his ministry.
You learn who Jesus is
by seeing what he does.
And there are many people
even right here
in this room
who can testify
to the transforming
and healing power
of Jesus Christ.
Where Christ is
we will see his
actual and visible work
in people's hearts
and lives.
Not always in the form
of miraculous healings
but real fruits
of the spirit.
Real change over time.
Sometimes it's two steps forward
and one and a half steps back.
But it's real change
that wouldn't be happening
in your life
or in other people's lives
apart from Christ
and the Holy Spirit.
And sometimes
when we're doubting
or disappointment
we can be encouraged
by looking around
at our brothers and sisters
and seeing God
at work
in their lives.
Verse 22.
Jesus lists
the work of mercy
he has done.
Sort of summarizing
these last three chapters.
but these words
are also a fulfillment
of Isaiah's prophecies.
And John
well versed in the Old Testament
would have recognized that.
Because Isaiah prophesied
that in the day of the Messiah
exactly these things
would happen.
For example
Isaiah 35
5 and 6
says
Then
the eyes of the blind
shall be opened
and the ears
of the deaf
unstopped.
Then shall the lame man
leap like a deer.
Isaiah 26
says
Your dead shall live
their bodies shall rise.
Isaiah 61
1
The spirit of the Lord
is upon me
he has anointed me
to bring good news
to the poor.
What Jesus is saying
is I'm the promised Messiah
the one of whom
the scriptures
have foretold.
Jesus reminds John
that the Bible
has a storyline
and Jesus is the climax
it leads up to him
and sometimes
that's helpful
when we're facing
doubts as well.
To see God's purposes
God's faithfulness
in the past
to see that
God led his people
in the Old Testament
through a wilderness too.
And God's people
waited
hundreds of years
and many of them
died without seeing
what was promised
but God was faithful
to his promises.
It's helpful for us
to look back
and see
God's faithfulness
in the scriptures.
Verse 23
Jesus gives a challenge
blessed is the one
who is not offended
by me.
Another translation
in the NIV says
blessed is the one
who does not stumble
on account of me.
You might say
blessed is the one
who is not turned off
by me.
What's Jesus saying here?
Well it seems that John
most likely
had expectations
about Jesus
that needed
to be revised.
He was expecting
Jesus
to bring salvation
and judgment
all at once.
Jesus was operating
on a different timeline.
Yes there would be
a future day of judgment
but now Jesus was here
to bring God's mercy
his saving grace
to a broken world.
Sometimes our doubts
and disappointments
are rooted in
sincere
but misguided
expectations
about what God
is going to do
and when he's going
to do it
and what part
I'm supposed to play
in it.
And sometimes
our doubts
and disappointments
are God's means
instruments
that he uses
to reshape
and refine
and refocus
our expectations.
Sometimes we can be
offended
by the mercy
Jesus shows.
Isn't that what
Jesus has been doing?
Showing mercy
to all kinds
of people.
Teaching his disciples
love your enemies
do good to those
who hate you
bless those
who curse you
pray for those
who abuse you
be merciful
even as your father
is merciful.
God the father
is merciful
every day
to people
who hate him
and curse him
and abuse his blessings
and he calls us
to be merciful
like him.
That's a hard teaching.
Right?
Many of us
would be offended
by that
if we take it
seriously.
Now it doesn't mean
we shouldn't set
appropriate boundaries
when relationships
turn toxic
but it does mean
we should pray
for people
even those
that hurt us
and pray
for an open heart
toward reconciliation.
Perhaps we're offended
when others seem
to receive more mercy
than we do.
Imagine John
sitting in prison
and he gets
this report.
Jesus heals
the lame.
He gives sight
to the blind.
He cleanses lepers.
He raises the dead
and I'm still here
in prison.
Okay Jesus
I can see you're there
for somebody else
but what about me?
Jesus said
blessed is the one
who's not offended
by me.
In another place
he says
don't be envious
because I'm generous.
You see
the salvation
that Jesus brings
is by his grace alone.
It's not something
we earn
or deserve
by our works.
We can't deserve it.
We can't earn it.
We can only receive it.
And some people
are offended by that
because it means
it humbles us.
The only way
we can receive it
is to humble ourselves
and lay down our pride
and acknowledge
we don't deserve it
and we can't earn it.
And we have to
open our hands
and receive it
as a free gift.
But when we accept
that salvation
by grace
Jesus says
we're blessed.
We're at peace
with God.
We can have joy
from the Lord.
Jesus is a merciful
Messiah.
That's the first part
of his response
to John
is emphasizing
his mission
of mercy.
But then Jesus
turns to the crowds
in verses 24 to 28
and he asks them
a question about John.
What did you go out
into the wilderness
to see?
He repeats this question
three times.
Right?
Not a reed shaken
by the wind.
Not a weak
and wavering
individual
driven by the trends
of popular opinion.
Not a man
dressed in soft clothing.
Overprivileged,
overprotected,
and overindulged.
But a prophet.
In fact,
the messenger
prophesied by Malachi
who would prepare
the way
for the coming
of the Lord himself.
Jesus is a merciful
Messiah,
but John
was a messenger
of repentance.
John was a prophet
in the line
of Elijah.
He spoke the truth
without apologizing
for it,
without mincing words,
without beating
around the bush.
He called people
to repent,
to confess their sins,
and be baptized
in the Jordan River.
That was a dramatic
public symbol.
It means I need
to start all over again.
I'm going to leave
behind my old way
of life
and start something new.
And John didn't just
talk about forsaking
sin in general.
He called people
to repent
of particular sins.
So John told
the tax collectors
who were notorious
for fudging the numbers
to their own benefit,
don't collect any more
than you're authorized
to.
He told the soldiers,
notorious for abusing
their power,
don't extort money
from anyone.
By threats
or false accusation,
be content with your wages.
He told Herod,
who did whatever
he wanted to do
and expected others
to get in line,
repent,
you're committing adultery.
John was willing
to get in people's face
and confront them
about their sin.
He called people
to repentance
and warned
of God's coming judgment.
He said,
even now the axe
is laid to the root
of the trees.
Every tree,
therefore,
that does not produce
good fruit
will be cut down
and thrown
into the fire.
Now,
in some ways,
Jesus and John
might seem like opposites.
John preaching
about sin
and repentance
and warning
of God's coming judgment.
Jesus proclaiming
good news to the poor
and healing
all kinds of people.
John,
the solemn ascetic
living in the wilderness,
subsisting on locusts
and wild honey,
eating no bread,
drinking no alcohol,
teaching his disciples
to fast.
Jesus,
the joyful king
who spent most of his time
in the cities,
eating and drinking
with tax collectors
and sinners,
speaking of himself
as the bridegroom,
his disciples
as wedding guests
and his ministry
as new wine
in new wineskins.
You might think,
that looks about
as different as can be.
But Jesus spoke
very highly of John.
Jesus did not criticize
anything about
John's ministry.
Among those born of women,
none is greater than John,
he said.
Jesus absolutely affirmed
John's ministry
as a messenger of repentance.
And yet,
he said,
the one who is least
in the kingdom of God
is greater than he.
Verse 28.
You might say,
what does that verse mean?
Well, it means that John
was a transitional figure.
The messenger
going before the Messiah.
Sort of like the torchbearer
of the Olympic Games.
Leading the way,
heralding the greatness
and uniqueness
of what is to come.
But of course,
once the Olympic Games begin,
the torchbearer
fades into the background.
Or it's like the first emissary
of the Allied Liberation Forces
announcing to the inhabitants
of a Nazi concentration camp,
you are no longer
under Hitler's dominion.
A new kingdom has arrived.
A new regime is in place.
John was preparing the way
for the Lord,
announcing the coming
of the king.
His role was unique.
His role was important.
But Jesus had come
to establish God's kingdom
with authority.
And once the king
had arrived,
in particular,
once his kingdom
would be established
through his own death
and resurrection,
John's role would fade
into the background
like a candle
fading into irrelevance
before the rising sun.
So Jesus answered
to John's question.
Jesus is the merciful Messiah.
John's the messenger
of repentance.
Now how do we respond
to both of them?
In verse 29 to 35,
we see two responses
to John and to Jesus.
And interestingly,
we don't see
half the people
taking John's side
and half the people
taking Jesus' side.
What we see is
half the people
take neither side
and half the people
take both of them.
Verse 29 and verse 35,
we see a positive response.
When the people
heard this
and the tax collectors too,
they declared God just
or they justified God
having been baptized
with the baptism of John.
They had responded
to John's call
to repentance.
They had taken
his warning of judgment
to heart.
They had heeded his words
and so they also
welcomed Jesus' ministry.
Verse 29,
I think,
helps us understand
verse 35.
Wisdom is justified
by all her children.
It's the same verb,
justified.
Now throughout the Bible,
wisdom is always connected
with the character of God.
And the children of wisdom
are people who live
according to God's wisdom
or according to God's ways
and his character.
In this case,
those who receive
John's baptism
and receive Jesus' ministry
are the children of wisdom.
And so just as
in verse 29,
it says the tax collectors
and the people
declared God just.
That's the same thing
verse 35 is saying.
Wisdom is justified.
Wisdom's ways
are proved right
or declared right
by all her children.
All right?
Those who receive
the ministry of John
and Jesus
declare
God is righteous
in calling us
to repentance
and God is faithful
to his promise
in bringing
his mercy
through the Messiah.
So we see
those people
receive both.
Verse 30,
by contrast,
we see the Pharisees
and the lawyers
rejected both.
And in verse
31 through 34,
Jesus exposes
their hypocrisy
in doing so.
He says,
you are like
fickle children.
What you want
is always changing.
You're never satisfied.
Right?
When Jesus arrived
playing the flute
as it will,
summoning people
into the joy
of God's kingdom,
they didn't dance.
They didn't rejoice.
They didn't join in.
Instead,
they rejected Jesus
and labeled him
a glutton
and a drunkard.
When John came
singing a dirge,
speaking about
God's wrath
and judgment
and calling people
to repentance,
they didn't
mourn over their sin.
They didn't repent.
Instead,
they labeled him
a fanatic,
demon-possessed.
Jesus says,
you're never satisfied.
No matter what
they look like,
you're always
finding fault
with the servants
of God.
You see,
there's a kind
of doubt
and questioning
that is honest
and sincere.
There's a kind
of disappointment
and depression
that God's servants
may,
and usually
sometime in their lives
do,
experience.
That's what John the Baptist
was experiencing
at the beginning.
He had some
misguided expectations.
He was in a very
difficult and stressful
personal situation
and so he had
some doubts
and disappointment.
Jesus says,
no worries.
Jesus doesn't
rebuke or condemn
or shame him.
He responds
to his question
with mercy
and with encouragement
and even publicly
commending him
for his faithfulness.
But there's also
a kind of doubt
and questioning
that is not
fully honest
or sincere,
which we see
in the Pharisees
and the lawyers.
They were unmoved
either to joy
or to tears.
They were indifferent,
complacent,
apathetic,
dismissive,
impossible to please.
They were always
finding fault
with God's servants.
One's too strict,
the other's too generous.
because really,
they didn't want
either John
or Jesus
to interfere
too much
with their lives.
They thought
they were pretty good
as they were.
And so they would
always find a reason
to doubt
and reject
God's messengers.
And Jesus says
that kind of doubt
and questioning
is just sinful
and it leads
only to spiritual death
and destruction.
So three applications
as we close.
Number one,
God's servants
may have different gifts
or emphases
in their ministries.
The Apostle Paul
speaks about spiritual gifts.
In Romans 12,
he refers to some
who have the gift
of mercy
and others
who have the gift
of prophecy
or exhorting.
Some of you
might be more like John.
You can point out
what is wrong
in the world
and what needs
to change
in the church.
You can speak
the truth
with boldness
and you don't really
care what people think.
That's a gift.
It can also be
a liability
if you don't learn
to use that gift
with appropriate
gentleness
and love
in an edifying way.
Some of you
might have
the gift of mercy.
You can come
alongside people
who are troubled.
You can come
alongside someone
who's weak
and practically
help them.
You can listen
to someone
who has an anxious
heart.
You can be patient
and forbearing
with difficult
personalities.
That's a gift.
It can also be
a liability
if you never
speak the truth
and always
refuse to confront
even when that's
called for.
But here's the thing.
God's gifted
us all differently
but through Christ
we're all
on the same team.
And so we need
to bear with
one another
and learn to work
together even if
we rub each other
the wrong way
sometimes.
We need to try
to use our gifts
for the edification
of the body
in a balanced way
but we also need
to bear with
one another
and receive
one another's gifts
and realize that
God has given
each of us
different gifts.
second application
John the preacher
of repentance
and Jesus the merciful
Messiah are on
the same team.
You can't have
one without
the other.
You can't fathom
the magnitude
of God's grace
in Jesus
until you have
taken to heart
God's law
and its demands.
You can't fully
enter into the joy
of Jesus' kingdom
without being serious
about turning to God
for the grace
to help you
change.
That's what the season
of Lent
is about.
The season of
leading up to Easter
that we're in right now.
Traditionally
it's a time
of preparation
of fasting
and prayer
confessing our sin
seeking reconciliation
with God
with one another
preparing to share
in the feast
of Christ's resurrection
with fullness
of joy.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
wrote this
grace is costly
because it calls
us to follow
and it is grace
because it calls
us to follow
Jesus Christ.
It is costly
because it costs
a person his life
and it is grace
because it gives
a person
the only true life.
It is costly
because it condemns
sin
and grace
because it justifies
the sinner.
Above all
it is costly
because it costs
God
the life of his son.
You were bought
at a price.
What has cost
God
much
cannot be cheap
for us.
Above all
it is grace
because God
did not reckon
his son
too dear
a price
to pay
for our life
but delivered
him up for us.
costly grace
is the incarnation
of God.
God
becoming flesh
in Jesus Christ
taking on our sin
bearing it
on the cross
being
just
in bearing
the punishment
of our sin
and being merciful
in offering us
a new life
in Christ.
So our final
application is to
take communion
together
with repentance
and with joy.
when we come
to the Lord's table
there's a call
to repent
to confess
our sins.
The apostle Paul
gives a strong
warning
whoever eats
the bread
or drinks
the cup
of the Lord
in an unworthy
manner
will be guilty
concerning the body
and blood
of the Lord.
Let a person
examine himself
then
and so eat
of the bread
and drink
of the cup.
What that means
is this
if you are
living
in unrepentant
sin
that is
if you know
you are living
in a pattern
of disobedience
to God
and you have
no intention
or desire
to change
then don't
take the bread
and the cup
because you
can't feast
on Christ
if you are
refusing
to turn
to him.
Let a person
examine himself
Paul says
as the bread
is being
passed out
pray with the
psalmist
search me
oh God
know my
heart
test me
and know
my anxious
thoughts
see if there
be
an evil
way in me
and lead
me in the
way everlasting.
But taking
communion
is not only
an opportunity
for repentance
and self
examination
it's also
an invitation
to partake
with Christ
in his
joy.
Because through
what the
communion
table
reminds us
is that
through
Jesus'
death
on the
cross
our sin
has been
paid for.
The price
has been
paid.
We don't
take the
bread and
the cup
because we're
good enough
or because
we've done
enough.
We take
the bread
and the cup
knowing that
he is
good enough
and what
he did
on the
cross
for us
is enough.
And in
response we
say take
me Lord
I'm yours.
You are
mine
and I
love you.
And we
can know
the joy
of forgiveness
as we
take the
bread remembering
his body
and take
the cup
remembering
his blood.
Jesus
described his
kingdom as a
great banquet
where the
poor and
the doubting
and the
disappointed
and the
depressed
can come
and find
rest and
peace and
joy and
feed on
the bread
of life
for this
life and
the life
to come.
Finally
if you're
not a
Christian
consider the
invitation of
Christ to
you.
Instead of
taking the
bread in
the cup
today
consider
taking
Christ.
If you
have many
doubts and
questions
feel free to
ask them.
There's no
shame in
doing that.
prayer.
But also
consider what
is holding
you back
from
surrendering
to
Christ
and
trusting
him.
There's
some
prayers in
the center
of the
bulletin
that you
can look
at and
read through
as the
bread and
cup are
being passed
out.
One's a
prayer for
those searching
for truth.
Another is a
prayer of
belief.
Perhaps one
of those
prayers you
would want to
read them
and perhaps
even use
those words
to pray.
As we
prepare to
share communion
together let's
pray.
Lord we
come to you
today
even with
our doubts
our questions
our disappointments
we pray that
you would feed
us with the
bread of life.
We thank you
Lord for your
mercy.
We thank you
Lord for your
righteousness.
We thank you
for the cross
of Jesus
Christ.
And that is
our hope.
In his name
we pray.
Amen.