Let me just pray for us as we get into this passage.
Father, I just feel so inadequate of bringing this passage to us this morning.
I feel my words are just not enough.
I feel like there is so much here of your glory and your beauty.
Words are not enough.
And yet I pray this morning, open our eyes to see you.
Open our eyes to see how glorious and honorable and beautiful you are and what you've done for us is.
Let us not go away just going through the motions this morning.
We want to see you in your name.
Amen.
Donald Trump.
I don't know why suddenly everyone started laughing.
We don't normally start a sermon like that.
Donald Trump is in many ways a polarizing president.
Some people love him.
Some people hate him.
Social media has got all kinds of things, positive and negative.
And what we have seen, regardless of the person, is over the last few months in his presidency, the fractures in American society exposed.
And, you know, one organization decided that the way that they wanted to bring healing into the fractured society was they would put on for 100 days, 100 meals,
people from every background, 50, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100.
100 meals on.
Because meals are powerful.
Meals speak of inclusion, welcome, belonging, reconciliation.
Now, I don't know how many people actually showed up to the meals.
Because in our day, just as in Jesus' day, sometimes we don't eat together.
Jews would not eat with non-Jews.
The rich would not eat with the poor.
The CEO would not eat with the cleaner.
Business class doesn't eat with economy class.
But food can unite and food can divide.
Because meals speak.
And today we're looking at one of the most significant meals in the Bible.
And we're following along this series, which is about who is this king that we claim to worship?
This King Jesus.
And we've seen that Jesus is the one who turns upside down our ways of operating.
His glory is the cross.
His majesty is in serving.
And today we're going to look at the Last Supper.
And we're going to look at communion.
To see how this reveals Jesus and what it means to be part of his community.
And how he changes everything.
So we're going to look at this meal which looks back.
And this meal which looks forward.
And in Jesus' days, we come to look at this passage.
Have the bulletin with you.
Jesus says, Jesus is basically, it says, he comes and he reclines at the table with his disciples.
And in Jesus' day, the host of the meal would invite people with special honor to come and eat with him.
It's great networking time.
You know, who you want to eat with determines who you want to associate with.
And so Jesus actually is hosting this meal.
It's not just any meal.
It's a Passover meal.
And it's the night before Jesus is going to die.
It's an emotional time.
And Jesus' last wish is, I want to eat with my disciples.
And this Passover, he says, I've eagerly desired to eat this with you before I suffer.
That means, the last wish that I have, I want you desperately to eat this Passover so that you begin to see what this meal.
That Jews for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years, every single year, would get together with their families.
And they would look back on a deliverance that God had brought for them.
And what would happen?
The father of the meal, he would bless the meal.
And then a youngest child would say, why is this night any different from any other night?
And the father of the house would begin to tell the story of the exodus.
He would say, we were slaves.
We were suffering in Egypt.
And then, as we were trapped, God, by his mighty hand, he brought us out.
He brought us out of suffering.
When we thought we had no future, he came down, he rescued us, and he brought us into freedom.
He brought us into the promised land.
And as he kind of told this story, during the meal, there would be different blessings, different thanks to God.
And then they'd read some psalms, and there'd be some flat bread there.
And he would take the bread, and he would break it.
And he would say, this is the bread of suffering that our fathers in the land of Egypt ate.
Whoever's hungry, let him come and eat.
Whoever's in need, let him come and conduct this Passover meal.
This year we're here.
Next year, in the land of Israel.
This year we're slaves.
Next year we'll be free people.
Every year, that's what they would say.
Every year.
And notice they didn't say, our ancestors were slaves.
They said, we were slaves.
In fact, this meal was not just about their ancestors' story.
This was about their story right today.
Because they were still waiting for freedom to come.
They still felt that gap.
But they were looking back at this identity-forming, shaping moment in the past.
Where God had brought them deliverance.
And they were looking forward to when God would bring them a Messiah.
who would come and bring the kingdom of freedom that they were looking for.
And you know, there'd be four cups of wine, which they would drink.
Which would symbolize this freedom.
And they'd remember that the prophet Isaiah had said,
On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples.
A banquet of aged wine.
The best of meats.
The finest of wines.
Don't we all love a meal?
A good meal?
They're looking forward to a meal.
Because banquets, if you've been to a banquet, it's about abundance.
You don't go and just have a little cracker.
It's about satisfying your deepest desires.
If I suddenly say to you, let's go to a buffet now at the Four Seasons.
Are you starting to salivate?
Okay, steak.
Succulent steak.
Whatever.
You know, you suddenly begin.
Your desires are raised.
Because banquets are about belonging.
They're about security.
They're about satisfying your desires.
It's like the ultimate family dinner with the family you actually want to be with.
That's the kingdom of God.
And he says it's not just for the smart people.
It's not just for the wealthy people.
It's not just people who are very religious.
It's for all peoples.
There will be no business class and economy class then.
North Korea and America will sit down together and eat.
Arab and Jew, CEO and cleaner, Man United fan and Liverpool fan will sit down together at the table.
Well, I'm not sure about the last one.
But anyway.
But you can all come.
In a society where we fracture everything, this kingdom is a kingdom where you belong.
With a host of the meal who is God himself.
That's what they're looking forward to.
And I think that's actually deep down what each one of us every single day are craving.
It's what every politician promises us when we vote for them.
Right?
Security.
A future.
Prosperity.
To make us great again.
A place to belong.
To be proud for ourselves and our families.
And every single politician, whether it's from Nelson Mandela to Chairman Mao to Barack Obama to Donald Trump,
has appeared as a great hope.
And then left disappointment in their wake.
It's why we worry so much about our careers and financial security and about our kids' education,
about finding a spouse, about avoiding loneliness.
Because we desperately desire the belonging and abundance of the kingdom of God.
Do you realize every day you're longing for the kingdom of God?
And yet it always seems to be out of reach.
And Jesus says, verse 16,
I'm not going to eat this meal again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
And fulfilled means this meal today is a little foretaste.
It's a little picture of that meal in the future.
It's going to point forward to that reality.
And I'm going to take you there.
So the meal of the Passover looks back and it looks forward.
But I want to look at the king who reshapes the meal.
Because what Jesus does next,
we kind of don't get this because, you know,
we kind of, if you've been in church a while,
we know communion and we know these kind of things.
But for them back then, what Jesus does next is totally shocking.
He picks up the bread and he breaks it.
And all the disciples are expecting him to say,
okay, this is the bread of suffering.
And he says, he changes it.
He says, this bread,
this is my body,
which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
Take it.
This bread is not to remember the exodus in the past in Egypt into the promised land.
There is a new story which I'm writing right today.
This is a new bread.
There's a new deliverance that you're going to look back on and look forward to.
And the only way you're going to get to that kingdom is through me.
I'm not going to eat this bread again.
I'm not going to drink this wine again
because I'm going to forge ahead a way that you can come and sit at this table.
And so when he says,
this is my body given for you,
he says, I'm giving you something.
The way to that kingdom that our hearts are craving
isn't through getting a better political system
or through distributing wealth better with communism or capitalism.
He doesn't say your main problem is education,
that you need some more morals,
so I'll give you some morals,
some ethical teaching.
He says,
I'm the king of my kingdom
and you are slaves.
You are slaves
and the only way you can eat at my table
is if I give myself for you.
I'm the only way to satisfy the deepest desires of your heart.
You see,
do you see that little word?
It says,
I give myself for you.
Do you see that word for?
That word for means on behalf of you,
in your place.
I am given instead of you.
Because if you think you can make this meal,
this banquet,
the desires of your heart by yourself,
you're really wrong.
Because you know what the Bible story is?
The Bible story and your story and my story
says the reason we don't enjoy that kingdom
is because throughout our lives,
we've been making poor food choices.
Do you know that?
It's because you've been choosing to sit
with somebody else's host of the meal
and not God himself.
Because you know Adam and Eve?
What happens?
Adam and Eve,
God tells Adam and Eve,
he says,
here,
I'm offering you a meal,
tree of life.
And they say,
oh,
I prefer the other one,
tree of knowledge and good and evil.
I want to be independent.
I want to have things by myself.
I don't want you.
I don't want to sit at your table,
God.
And so we dishonor God
and turn away from him.
Mount Sinai,
God gives 10 commandments.
And he calls Moses and 70 elders
to go up and see him.
And do you know what happens
after he gives the 10 commandments?
Most of us miss this.
It says they went up
and they saw God
and they ate and drank.
Do you know God hosted a meal?
And he said,
I want to host you.
And do you know the very next thing
they go and do?
They go down the mountain
and they say,
oh,
Moses is being a little wild.
We've got to build a golden calf.
We've got to make an idol.
And then do you know what it says?
It says,
and they sat down
and they ate and drank
and they played together.
And basically what it means is
they decided,
oh,
God made a good meal
but actually
we want to have a different meal
by ourselves
doing our thing
so we indulge.
We get instant gratification
for myself.
Indulge myself
with what I want.
Let's comfort eat.
Let's do sexual immorality,
drinking,
all the kind of things
because I want to sit
at a different table
because I want to exalt myself.
I don't want to exalt the king.
I don't want to honor him.
I'm going to have a different meal.
And you know,
when God says,
sees these
throughout scripture,
do you know what he says?
He says,
if you honor me,
you will receive honor.
But if you dishonor me
and turn to another table,
do you know what you experience?
You experience shame.
Adam and Eve,
shame.
The people of God,
shame comes on you
because we were made
for the glory that comes from God
and to honor him.
And when we turn away
and find honor
in any other things,
what we try and do,
we get shamed
and then we try and cover
over our shame.
We try to boost
our own egos up.
Trying to make ourselves
feel better about ourselves.
And when we do that,
we end up shaming other people.
Because do you know
what humanity's meal table
looks like?
In Jesus' day,
it looked like this.
Religious people
keeping in their own little circle
and then a sinful,
shamed woman
who'd made some poor choice
in her life
comes along
and they're like,
you're not going to sit
at my meal table.
Crowds come along.
They're filled with hatred
because they see
this corrupt tax official
called Zacchaeus.
And they're like,
Jesus, ignore him.
Don't worry about him.
Worry about me.
They wouldn't forgive
or reach out to him.
But do you know
what Jesus does
to both that woman
and Zacchaeus?
He says,
Zach,
come down.
I want to grab dinner
with you.
Because the way
Jesus does meals
is different
from the way we do.
Because we shame
other people
to make ourselves
feel greater than us.
You know,
isn't that the way
families and offices
in Hong Kong work?
You know,
a teenage girl
becomes pregnant
through a poor choice
and what happens
as a result,
the family feels shame.
They can't tell
their relatives
so they end up
excluding the girl
and pushing her out.
They punish her
for bringing shame
on the family.
You know,
I think we all do this.
This is humanity's meal table.
I remember
when I was
at secondary school,
I was not,
there was a kid there.
He was socially awkward.
And everyone made fun of him.
No one wanted
to befriend him.
And I knew
that I should go out
and befriend him.
But what I did,
I discovered
that all my friends
were laughing at him.
And so I joined in
with laughing at him.
Because what I saw
was I wanted to belong
to this community.
And if it meant
that I would shame
the other guy,
then I would do that.
Do you ever
laugh at people's jokes
when they're laughing
at someone?
Do you ever gossip
to make yourself
feel better?
So there's this division
in society
in your offices.
That's what we do
in our little community
in our meal table.
And when Jesus says,
this is my body
given for you,
he's saying,
I hate the way
that your meal table works.
I don't accept that
at my table.
In fact,
I'll remove
from my presence
anyone of us
who is self-glory seeking
because we want
to boost ourselves up
to cover our shame.
You can't sit
at my table.
And God made a way
for the people,
a temporary way
in the Old Testament
for the people
to approach God.
Once a year,
the Day of Atonement,
two goats
would be brought
to stand
in the place
of the people.
And the priest
would kill one goat
and the blood
would cover
over the shame
of the people.
And then he'd take,
he would take God's anger
at them
and then he'd take
another goat.
And what he'd do
with the other goat,
he would lay his hands
on them
and he'd confess
all the shameful things
the people had done.
And then they'd release
the goat
and the goat
would be excluded
out of the camp,
out on the side,
taking all the shame away.
He was substituted
for the people.
And Jesus says,
I am your substitute.
I am that goat
who your sin,
your shame,
the way that we have
tried to honor ourselves
and rejected other people,
it was put onto him.
It was put onto him.
He pushed out
and excluded
on the cross.
God's anger
at our sin
was placed on him
on your behalf.
He was excluded.
He was shamed
on the cross,
humiliated,
so that we could be
accepted back
to his table.
Amen.
You know,
generals,
people in great places
of honor,
when you're a soldier,
when an army goes out,
a general normally
stays at the back
and just sends out
his troops.
And if they die
and they suffer
and they're in the midst
of the battlefield,
the general then
just sends more troops
until finally
all the ammunition
of the enemy
is used up
and then the general
comes in
and says,
wow,
what a great victory
I have won.
but Jesus
comes himself.
He comes himself.
He leads
the battle lines
where no one else
would
for you,
for you.
Sometimes
we have the impression
that God the Father
is kind of angry
at us
and Jesus
is kind of
just protecting us,
you know,
from Jesus.
Okay,
try not to hurt them
too much.
But the next verse
says this,
verse 22.
The Son of Man
goes as it's been determined.
The Son of Man
goes as it's been determined.
You know,
sometimes bad stuff
happens in our lives
and we wonder,
is God trying to punish me?
Ever felt like that?
Verse 22
is a powerful verse
because it says,
this is a grammar form.
Okay,
I'm going to give you grammar.
Grammar,
which says,
it's called a divine passive,
which means,
it's Bible speak
for saying,
the whole Trinity,
God the Father,
God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit,
were all sitting around
a meal table
plotting
and planning
how they could take you
and me
out of this place
of exclusion,
not being at his meal table,
and he said,
how can I bring you
to myself
so you can enjoy
the fellowship
that we have?
And the only way
they could do that
was if that goat,
if Christ came for you
and took
that exclusion,
he was excluded
so you never have to be.
So God will never punish you
if you turn to him
because he's already
taken the punishment
on himself.
That's how much God
desires you
to eat at his table.
that's the king
that we remember
at communion
for you.
How are we doing?
Okay,
third thing.
So we've seen the meal,
it looks back
and it looks forward.
When Christ comes,
he said,
actually this meal
is all about me.
It's all about
what I've done.
There's a new time
to look back on
and a new thing
to look forward to.
third thing.
The disciples
right in the midst
of this emotional
kind of tear-jerking moment
where Jesus is talking
about the suffering
on the cross.
It's like the closing speech
of the movie
where he's describing
his sacrifice for them.
You can hear the violins
in the background.
And the disciples
are moved
and touched
by what Jesus
is going to do for them.
Are they?
Look in verse 24.
What do they do next?
They're arguing.
A dispute arose
among them
as to which of them
was to be guarded
as the greatest.
And they're going,
okay,
if Jesus is the king
of God's kingdom,
I want to make sure
I'm on the top table.
And Peter's going,
well,
I should be there
because I've walked on water.
And, you know,
Philip's going,
yeah,
but you fell in.
And they're kind of,
they're fighting
against each other
and totally wrapped up
in themselves.
They've missed everything
Jesus has said.
And what are they
trying to do?
They're trying to elevate
themselves
like everybody else
in society.
And I love this.
What does Jesus do?
Jesus doesn't go,
you stupid,
insensitive idiots.
I'm having a moment here
and I just need
a bit of support.
He doesn't say that.
He says,
he draws this distinction
between the way
everyone else works
and the way he works.
He says,
the kings of the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them.
That means,
in the world,
if you're the leader,
you show your power
and your boss
by telling people
what to do,
by making sure
you're in control
of everything.
That's what it means.
Use force if necessary.
Okay?
Sometimes that may be
your boss.
But those in authority
are called benefactors.
And he says,
okay,
there's another way
people try and control
and boost their ego.
They either try and control
things or
they try and show
how generous they are
to everyone
so that you think,
oh,
aren't they amazing?
You know,
in ancient Rome,
every building
that was built
was built by a benefactor,
a rich person
who donated money
and then made sure
that they had
their name on a plaque
just to show
how generous we were.
We do that in Hong Kong
as well.
I mean,
we even have one
on the wall here.
Now,
now,
I'm not questioning
the motivation of her,
but actually,
what Jesus is saying
is often in our society,
the way that we do that
is we try and,
you know,
TVB,
have you seen on TVB,
they have,
there's charity donations
and they bring the big check
and they show,
okay,
look how great I am
and then you put your name
on there
and we try and get honor
in our society.
And Jesus says,
that's the way
other people do it
but not so with you.
But not so with you.
You see,
society's all about
boosting ourselves up,
trying to boost
our own image
because we feel shamed
and we try and make
ourselves high.
But Jesus says,
I'm reshaping you
in my image,
not the image
of our society around.
I'm going to change
the honor
so that you live
for my honor
and you live for honor
in my eyes,
not in honor
of the eyes
of the people
around you.
You see,
we say,
I'm not respected
by my boss enough.
He's not seeing
my full potential.
I should be more elevated
than I am.
And you've been working
for six months
in the company.
And Jesus says,
yeah,
that's how other people
around you will think.
But not so with you,
Watermark.
The greatest among you
will become
as the youngest.
We lash out angrily
at our kids
when they disrespect us
and don't do
what we want them to.
Because we desperately
want to gain control.
We want to be respected
even by our kids.
But Jesus says,
anger is not so
with you
because you belong
to me.
And we go,
yeah,
but how can I do that?
Like,
because that's natural
for me to want
to boost myself.
It's natural for me
to want these things
because we're natural
self-glory junkies.
And Jesus doesn't say,
okay,
here's the three rules
that you need
to stop being,
thinking of yourself
so much.
He says,
here's how you get
reshaped.
Look at me.
Remember me.
The one who reclines
at the table
in the place of honor
who has every right
to be served
is me.
But I am among you
as one who serves.
when we take communion,
we're looking again
at who Jesus is.
We're saying,
because we're all
like those disciples,
we constantly struggle.
We're trying to get honor
from everyone else's eyes.
And then we come to church
and we just take communion
and we don't realize
that one of the major reasons
we don't share the gospel,
people,
one of the major reasons
why we struggle to share
our faith
is because we don't want
to be shamed
by other people
because we crave
their honor in their eyes.
And we need to take communion
regularly to remind ourselves
of a king
who was willing
to be shamed for us
so that he might honor us
because the king
has served us.
I don't know if you imagine,
you imagine Xi Jinping
hears about a waiter
who has been
trying to discredit
his regime.
Xi Jinping decides
to come down
to the restaurant
with his troops
to pay a visit
to this guy.
Probably wouldn't happen
but he'd just send
the people in front.
And he comes down
and he sees
this waiter in front of him
who's been trying
to oppose him.
Imagine what the waiter
feels at that moment
when he sees
Xi Jinping,
a man of huge honor,
authority,
and power
in front of him.
How would you feel?
Probably terror
if you know
that you've actually
been trying to fight
against him.
And what would happen
if she comes in
and says,
okay,
Walter,
let's call him
Walter the waiter,
Walter,
sit down.
I'm going to serve you.
In fact,
I prepared
an amazing banquet
for you.
In fact,
I did it myself.
I've spent
the last 10 days
trying to prepare
this for you.
What's the waiter
going to be thinking?
You're probably
going to poison me
or something.
And if at the end
of the meal,
and it's an incredible meal,
you know,
and he's there,
he's serving him,
and then he says,
and I want you
to come for me
to dinner every week.
What's going on
in that waiter's mind?
His perception
of the king,
the emperor,
the president,
whatever,
has got to change.
But I think
what we'd be thinking
is that's not
the way things work.
That's just unrealistic.
It doesn't work
in the world like that
because people
who've got power,
they don't come down
and think and serve you.
What they do
is they serve themselves
and they use you
to get what they want.
Isn't that how
many bosses work?
But Jesus is saying,
yeah,
that's how honor works
in the world,
but that's not how
honor works in my kingdom.
Because I'm a different
kind of king,
I come and serve.
Xi Jinping may have
the authority
to govern a nation.
He may have the authority
to imprison you
or execute you,
but I have more authority
than he has.
I hold galaxies
in my hands,
I have the power
of life and death
over every single person,
including the greatest presidents.
I'm in control
of history
from the first
to the last.
If you go from
the end of the universe
to the other end,
billions of years,
millions of light years,
that's just a step
for me.
And yet I know
every hair on your head.
And yet I know you.
And yet I've come
to serve you
personally.
There is no world leader
who will go
and do that for you.
There is only one
who will.
That is Jesus Christ,
the king
of an alternative kingdom.
And he honors you.
Did you get that?
He honors you
because if you read,
you read down
and he says
to his disciples,
I'm assigning you.
His disciples
who have just been
all about themselves,
who are just so like us,
he says,
I'm assigning you,
I'm giving you
a kingdom
what my father gave me
so that you may eat
and drink at my table
in my kingdom
and sit on thrones
judging the 12 tribes
of Israel.
What he's saying is
we sometimes think
Jesus died
just to forgive us
our sins.
He did,
but he did more than that.
He died to take
your shame
and to give you honor
at his table
so that you would see
that he is the one
that you are to honor
as the host
in all of your life.
No matter what other people
think about you.
You see,
when he steps down,
if Xi Jinping did that
and stepped down
and served someone
who was a rebel,
what do you think
the troops around
would think about him?
Would he go up or down
in their estimation?
He'd go down, right?
Because they're thinking
you should be executing
this guy.
But Jesus comes down
and he takes the shame
of everyone else
around him.
He takes the shame
and he removes it
so you don't have
to live in shame
but he brings you
to honor at his table.
That's where he's taking you.
That's what he's done
for you.
At communion,
we look back
to what he's done
and we look forward
to where he's going.
Jesus' command.
Someone once said this.
Jesus' command to repent
could be paraphrased.
Stop trying to accrue honor
through that group
and join my group
to obtain the glory
of God's kingdom.
freedom.
Because if that waiter
was criticized
for not doing something
well by his boss
or he felt like
he didn't get the respect
that he deserved
at his work,
he could turn around
and that would sting
but he could turn around
and say,
yeah,
but I'm having dinner
with the president.
So,
that's just small.
When his kids disobeyed
and refused to listen
to his command
and he was tempted
to get angry,
and lash out at them,
he could say,
yeah,
but I'm having dinner
with the president.
I don't need to crave
my kids' approval
or approval
from other people.
I don't need that
because I've got
a meal with the president.
And Jesus is not just
like an ordinary president.
He's the king
of the universe
and he invites you
to eat with him.
That's where he's taking you.
So,
do you see,
when we come
to this meal,
we have a different
honor system
with a different king
which means this.
When we look back
at the cross,
we realize
all the different ways
I'm trying to,
my shame in life,
the things I've done wrong,
I come to communion
and I realize
he did it for me.
He's taken it.
Like that goat,
it's gone.
I don't have to live
in shame.
But I realize
that where I'm living
for my own honor
and my own glory,
I need to repent
and say,
man,
I don't want to eat
at the table
of shame.
I want to eat
at the table
of your honor
where actually
I receive honor
because you are
getting honor.
I live for your eyes only.
When we take communion
then as a community,
we are to then
be a little picture
where those divisions
in society
are broken down
where you can come
regardless of whether
society says you are great
or society says
you are small.
Whether you feel
like you've done enough
or you feel like
you've never done enough.
Whether you feel
like you're a good enough
Christian
or you're not
a good enough Christian.
You can come
because he invites you
because he did it
for you.
And so we are meant
to be as a community
a little glimpse
of the kingdom of God
that he's creating.
It's the last thing.
We look back,
Passover,
look back
to slavery
and freedom.
Christ says,
I am now
the one
who gives you
from the slavery
to your shame,
the slavery
and brings you
to freedom
just like Yiddish ed.
we see the king
who brings us together
in this new family.
Last thing
I want to share.
There is a challenge
when we come
to communion.
A challenge
and encouragement.
Here's the challenge.
Communion
is really serious
because
in 1 Corinthians 11
Paul says,
some of you
have become
judgmental.
Some of you
have been creating
divisions,
little cliques,
gossiping,
backbiting against
other people
in the church.
You've been forming
the rich over here,
the poor over here.
And what he says is,
you're making
a mockery
of what Jesus
has done for you.
You're not
taking communion
when you hold on
to trying
to self-righteously
look down
on other people.
You come
with judgmentalism,
with unforgiveness,
with bitterness
in your heart.
Some of us,
we feel like
we've been disrespected,
we've been hurt.
There are things
which have gone on
where we have felt
the anger
inside of us
and we have not
forgiven other people.
And we don't even
want to.
God says to us,
don't take communion
until you come
to me.
Because
what I want
to do in your heart
is I want you
to get onto
that journey.
And it's a journey
of forgiveness.
Maybe it's your spouse,
maybe it's a boss,
maybe it's your parents.
But first of all,
come and remember him.
Remember what he's
done for you.
Remember how he
honored,
oh, he's got the
greatest glory
and honor.
He came and died
for you
to honor you.
Remember him.
Let that melt
your heart
to bring forgiveness.
And as you do
and you come up
and take communion,
you can receive
forgiveness.
And if you're
wrestling with some
stuff in your life,
we have people
who can pray
for you.
Don't deal
and leave
without God
working in your life.
And you beginning
to come free
from shame
and guilt.
Amen.