12 through 49. That's page 862 in the Pew Bible. Go ahead and turn there with me. Luke chapter 6
verses 12 through 49. We're looking this morning at a large block of Jesus's teaching.
People will often acknowledge that Jesus was a great moral or spiritual teacher,
but how often have we actually taken a close look at what he actually taught?
Well, that's what we're going to do just here in Luke chapter 6. Since this is a long text,
I won't read it all at first like we normally do. Instead, we'll just kind of walk through the text
this morning section by section, and we'll see together here what Jesus taught. So let's pray
as we turn to God's word, and then we'll pick up in verses 12 through 16. Let's pray.
Our Lord Jesus, indeed you are a good shepherd. You lead us, you feed us,
you protect us. And we know that you do that all by your Holy Spirit through your word. So we ask,
Lord, that you would indeed teach us and shepherd us and guide us this morning as your church,
as your flock, as we gather around your word. Hungry, Lord, to hear a word from you.
Lord, wanting to know what direction our lives as your people should take. God, thank you for the gift
of your speaking word, of your speaking voice that continues to be the Lord of the church today.
Lord, we acknowledge you as such. Pray that you would meet with us this morning
and guide our thoughts as we walk through this text together. For your sake, amen.
Amen. All right. Luke chapter six. Let's start with verses 12 through 19.
In those days, he, Jesus, went out to the mountain to pray. And all night, he continued in prayer to God.
And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them 12 whom he named apostles.
Simon, whom he named Peter and Andrew, his brother, and James and John and Philip and Bartholomew and
Matthew and Thomas and James, the son of Alphaeus and Simon, who was called the Zealot and Judas,
the son of James and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a
level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and
Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured and all the crowd sought to touch him
for power came out from him and healed them all.
Now, before we dive into the block of Jesus's teaching, starting in verse 20, we have to get
this context that we just read because Jesus isn't just going to sort of lay out some general
moral and spiritual principles here. No, he's doing something much more specific. And what is that?
Well, think of it this way. One writer put it this way. He said, imagine you're a school teacher
and you're out on the playground after school and a large crowd of kids are there and they're
throwing a football around, a whole group of them. And then you walk over and you start counting them
off. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11. And you gather them in a group.
Well, what have you just done? What are you doing? Obviously you just counted off a football team,
right? There they are. 11 players. You're ready to go. You're organizing a team. You're starting a game
time to turn this mess into an actual organized sport.
And you see, when Jews, when Jesus chooses out 12 of his disciples and gives them a unique role as
apostles, you see, it would have been just as clear to his contemporaries, what he was doing as that
playground example is to us. Of course, he wasn't sort of putting together a football team or a sports
team. No, Jesus was reestablishing and renewing the people of God.
12, of course, wasn't just a nice, even number. It was the number of the ancient tribes of Israel.
Jesus appoints 12 apostles as a sign of what he's come to do, that he's come to renew God's people,
that this group of 12 is going to be the seed, the representative start of the new people of God
around him and his ministry. And in renewing God's people, Jesus is going to bring God's blessing
to the world. And sure enough, in verse 17, that's exactly what happens, isn't it? He brings the 12
down with him and along with a great crowd of his disciples, they minister to the multitude of the
people who've come at this point in Luke's gospel from all over, Jews and Gentiles.
Now, as we approach a passage like this, it's sometimes good to ask, who are we?
Who are you and I in a passage like this? Where are we in this story?
Well, I hope you would agree that we're obviously not Jesus in this story, right? Okay. And you know,
we're not even the 12, really. They had a unique role in redemptive history.
But we are like this large crowd of disciples gathering around Jesus in the 12, ready to hear
his instructions to us, asking and learning from Jesus, what does it mean to be his people, to be
on mission with him? How are we to be his followers? How are we to be the church that Jesus at this point
in his ministry is launching out? That's where we are. Or maybe some of us, maybe we're not quite in
the group of disciples yet. Maybe some of us are in the multitude, curious about Jesus. You've heard
some rumors about him. Your friends seem to keep talking about him and they keep coming to this
weird thing called church. So you've decided to come along and listen in. And you're considering
for yourself whether you too will take up his call to follow him, to be a part of his new people.
So the teaching here in Luke six, then when we put it in context, is really about what it means to be
the church called by Jesus to head into the world after him on mission, to be the renewed people of
God. And so then as we do the same, even today here in New Haven, what does it mean? What does Jesus
have to say to us as Trinity Baptist church? What does it look like for us to be the church on mission?
That's what Luke six is about. And the first thing that Jesus has to say to us in this regard,
as we think about being the church on mission, following Jesus, our King, the first thing that Jesus
says to us is, don't be afraid to lose everything. Lose everything. This is verses 20 through 26. And he
lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said, blessed are you who are poor for yours is the
kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you
who weep now for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and
revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the son of man. Rejoice in that day and leap for
joy for behold, your reward is great in heaven for so their fathers did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now
for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all
people speak well of you for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
Not a bad way to grab attention at the beginning of a sermon, is it?
Now to understand what Jesus is saying here, notice first his audience. Who is Jesus speaking to?
Not just anyone who happens to be poor in verse 20. No, he's speaking to his disciples,
to those who have already responded to his call to follow him. And notice second in verse 22,
why they're in this condition. Why are they poor and hungry and sorrowful and rejected?
Verse 22 says that it's on account of the son of man.
So Jesus is painting a picture of discipleship here. That to genuinely follow him, to really be
the church, to be his people on mission is going to be genuinely costly.
But Jesus says, if you're poor and hungry, if you become sad and rejected on my account,
if you find that following me puts you on the margins, socially excluded, financially strained,
emotionally taxed, if that's true of you because you're following me, then in reality,
you're blessed. You've got the good life. In other words, if you have me, even though you have
nothing else, the reality is you ultimately have everything. Yours is the kingdom of God.
And then Jesus puts it in stark relief for us by flipping it around. Let's say you have everything
worldly speaking, wealth, food, laughter, acceptance, and yet to hang on to those things,
you forsake him. Instead of him pushing you to the margins of society, you push him to the margins
of your life. In that case, Jesus says, woe to you. Which was how the Old Testament prophets would
announce the coming disaster of living apart from the living God. Woe to you.
And so you see, friends, the church on mission, you and I, we are meant to have a whole new set of
priorities. No longer does financial security or relational comfort or social acceptance drive our
decisions. That's not our agenda anymore. We can hold those things with a loose grip. In fact,
we can even give those things up for the sake of being faithful to Christ and his kingdom.
And I hope you see that that means we will treat others very differently. How we treat others will
be very different. After all, if worldly status and wealth aren't what matter in God's kingdom,
if that's not what drives our agenda, why would we end up then showing favoritism toward those who are
more wealthy or socially connected? In fact, Luke's gospel has shown us more often than not
that it's the socially marginalized whom God seems most often to call and to use.
Just think of the first two chapters of Luke's gospel. Who does God choose to work through?
You ready? A barren woman, a poor virgin, a bunch of working class shepherds out in the fields,
an elderly man, an elderly widow. That's just the first two chapters.
Through whom does God's kingdom break into the world?
Not exactly the rich and powerful, are they?
Friends, God often delights to display his grace and power through human weakness.
Not many of you were wise or powerful or of noble birth when God called you,
Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1,
so that our boast might not be in ourselves, but in the Lord.
Now, of course, that's not to say that being wealthy or socially connected is a bad thing.
Because, friends, we all have to admit that compared to the rest of the world,
all of us sitting in this room are fabulously wealthy.
Are we not?
Abraham and Job, Old Testament saints, were both wealthy men.
What is Jesus showing us?
He's showing us that these things aren't ultimate.
They aren't the driving and deciding factor in God's kingdom.
They don't drive our agenda.
And they don't drive who we favor.
If following Christ, if being the church means giving up wealth and social status,
giving it away so that others can flourish,
if being the church means giving up wealth and status for Christ's sake, for others' sake,
then so be it.
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
But that is much easier said than done, isn't it?
Of course, there are many parts of the world today where allegiance to Christ does result in very obvious poverty and hunger,
in being disowned from one's family,
fired from your work,
even physically persecuted.
But even for us here in our part of the world,
what if your commitment to Christ in your job field, in your workplace, for instance,
also means walking a very narrow road?
Maybe there are widespread practices in your particular field that you won't engage in.
Maybe you're in the medical field,
and you won't perform procedures that compromise the dignity of human life,
whether at the beginning or at the end.
Maybe you're in the business world,
and you won't round the numbers to make things look just a little bit better at the end of the quarter.
These are incredibly hard decisions to face, aren't they?
When everyone around you, supervisor included,
is simply expecting certain actions, certain behaviors, certain attitudes,
because this is how the world works.
And to go against the grain means not just that your reputation is at stake,
and whether people invite you to happy hour after work.
To go against the grain could possibly cost you your very job itself.
And might even come to a crisis point,
where we have to decide between faithfulness to Christ
and the prospect of rejection, exclusion,
maybe even hunger and financial loss.
And friends, it's at moments like these when we need to hear
the comforting voice of our Savior saying,
blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
blessed are you who are poor,
and hungry, and sorrowful, and rejected on my account.
For you will be full,
and you will laugh,
and you will be in my kingdom.
Even if you lose it all,
you are a part of a kingdom that cannot fail.
And whatever you lose here for his sake
will be nothing compared to what you gain on that day.
So Jesus' words here are meant to actually be a comfort
and an encouragement to us.
That even if discipleship is costly,
don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid even to lose everything.
That's the first thing Jesus is teaching us here.
But he doesn't stop there.
If following him means rejection or exclusion,
how are we going to respond to those
who reject and exclude us?
How should we treat those
who will inevitably come against us,
possibly even hate us on account of Christ?
And that's why Jesus continues his second big point
in verse 27 with the word, but.
You'll be rejected,
but here's how you're going to respond.
But I say to you who hear,
love your enemies.
Do you see what Jesus is saying?
What does it mean to be the church on mission?
Not just to lose everything,
but then to love those who take it from you.
Look at verses 27 through 38.
But I say to you who hear,
love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who abuse you.
To the one who strikes you on the cheek,
offer the other also.
And from the one who takes away your cloak,
do not withhold your tunic either.
Give to everyone who begs from you.
And from one who takes away your goods,
do not demand them back.
And as you wish that others would do to you,
do so to them.
If you love those who love you,
what benefit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what benefit is that to you?
For even sinners do the same.
And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.
But love your enemies and do good and lend,
expecting nothing in return.
And your reward will be great.
And you will be sons of the Most High,
for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Be merciful, be merciful,
even as your Father is merciful.
Judge not, and you will not be judged.
Condemn not, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Give, and it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over will be put into your lap.
For with the measure you use,
it will be measured back to you.
So this section of Jesus' teaching
breaks down into two parts.
First, the command.
Second, the motivation.
The command's obviously found in verse 27 through 31, isn't it?
Love your enemies.
And then, lest we're uncertain what that looks like,
if it just sort of means
having a nice fuzzy feeling in our heart,
Jesus immediately gives us some examples.
Think of someone who hates you.
Do good to them.
Think of someone who's cursing you.
Bless them.
Who's abusing you?
Pray for them.
Who's slapping you on the cheek
because they're so offended by you?
Who's taking the clothes off your back?
Who's greedily demanding your goods,
even forcefully taking them from you?
How should you respond?
Our natural response is to retaliate, isn't it?
You hate me, I'll hate you.
You hurt me, I'll hurt you.
We pay them back.
It's justice, right?
But no, Jesus says,
that's not how you're going to respond.
You're not going to be a victim
and get sucked down into the cycle of retaliation.
You're actually going to break the cycle.
In exchange for their evil,
you're going to return good.
Now, this doesn't mean
that you should never remove yourself
from physical harm or abuse.
Think of the example of the Apostle Paul.
Paul was often secretly snuck out of town
to safety, wasn't he,
when he was in danger
of being harmed or persecuted.
So it's okay to remove yourself
from being physically harmed.
And it doesn't mean
that the right response
to someone harming you
can't be involving the police
or the legal system.
Again, the Apostle Paul's a helpful example.
When necessary,
Paul used his legal status
as a Roman citizen
to help fledgling churches
to get protection under Roman law.
from physical harm
and legal persecution.
So, physically removing yourself
from an abusive relationship,
involving the legal authorities
when necessary,
these are completely
legitimate,
Christ-like responses.
But,
in line with what Jesus
is commanding us here,
as far as we are able,
even if we decide
to respond in those ways,
it should never be done
with a spiteful heart,
an attitude that makes
the other person
want to pay.
What might that look like?
Just this week in small group,
someone mentioned
how at work,
a colleague of hers
had been sending text messages
around the office,
basically maligning
her character
for no good reason.
And these messages
eventually fell into the hands
of their mutual supervisor.
Oops.
And the supervisor
was actually ready
to fire the person
who sent the messages.
So, they called
our small group member
into her office
and said,
look,
what this person done
is a terminable offense.
Do you want me to fire her?
Now, what would you have done?
What would it look like
for you to bless those
who curse you
in this instance?
Well, I think by God's grace,
she decided to not recommend
the supervisor fire this person.
And rather,
she showed
radical mercy.
How about you, friends?
Is there a neighbor
or a roommate
or a family member,
a spouse,
maybe even a fellow church member
that Jesus is calling you
to show this kind of radical
mercy toward?
Of course, at first,
this sort of behavior
always seems impractical
and absurd and weak.
And yet,
doesn't the 20th century
show us examples
where the church acting
in this kind of weakness
is actually true strength?
Martin Luther King Jr.
stands up to racism
and segregation in America.
The truth and reconciliation movement
in South Africa
responds to apartheid.
Not through violence
or retribution,
but through actions
that stop the downward cycle
and even reverse it.
We see the power
of this sort of response
in the earliest days
of the church as well.
After Stephen gives
his groundbreaking speech
in Acts 7,
do you remember what happens?
Jerusalem doesn't repent
and the leaders
don't all become Christians.
No, what do they do?
They grab him
and they drag him out of town
and they pick up stones
to execute him.
And Stephen responds
not by cursing them,
but by praying.
Do you remember
what he prayed?
Lord,
do not hold this sin
against them.
Just as Jesus commands,
Stephen prays
for those who persecute him.
And what's the result?
A young,
zealous Pharisee
named Saul
is present
approving Stephen's death.
But in no short time,
Jesus will reveal himself
to Paul.
And what Saul
originally witnessed
in Stephen,
Saul comes to taste
for himself
when he finally
gets a glimpse
of the risen Lord.
He comes to a personal
knowledge
of Christ's mercy
and grace.
You see,
Stephen's radical love
became part
of what actually
converts
the church's
greatest missionary
and theologian,
the apostle Paul.
So what's the command?
Love your enemies.
And what's the motivation?
Again,
Jesus mentions
a great reward
in verse 35.
And in verse 38,
that great reward
is described
with an image
from the marketplace.
A giant heaping
measure of grain
that's been shaken
and pressed down
and it's spilling over
and then poured
into your lap.
In the ancient world,
you would sometimes
fold up sort of
the front layer
of your robe
to create a bit
of a carrying sack
and then they would
just dump stuff
into it
and you could
carry it home.
That's what Jesus
is talking about here.
That's the image
he's using.
And isn't this
a very earthy image
for what heavenly reward
will be like?
Grain
spilling over
the edges
of the cup,
weighing down
your robe.
It's no surprise
that Jesus uses
such an earthy image
because what do we know
about the kingdom of God?
The kingdom of God
holds out
a new creation,
friends.
It's not leaving
behind this material life
but it's God
eventually healing it
and transforming it
and transfiguring it
in the way
it was always
meant to be.
You see,
living against
the grain now
is really living
with the grain
of the age
that's coming
and cannot be stopped.
I didn't even
intend that
to be a pun
by the way.
The grain
of the...
Never mind.
But in addition
to the great reward
he had something
even more
in verse 35.
What does he say?
He says,
you will be
sons of the most high.
In other words,
your status
as the children
of God
will be confirmed.
Your family likeness
will come shining through
just as God's kindness
extends
to the ungrateful
and evil
so you
when you love
your enemies
will be acting
like the children
of God
that you are.
Of course,
Jesus isn't saying
that these actions
are going to make you
sons and daughters
of God, right?
Only the gracious
regenerating work
of the Holy Spirit
can do that
as we respond
in faith
to Christ's death
and resurrection.
However,
as those who have been
made God's children
there's a deep joy
that comes
in pleasing
and in resembling
our Heavenly Father.
What's the motivation
to love our enemies
in this radical
non-reciprocal way?
that we get to be
like our Heavenly Father.
That we get to be
imitators of God.
That we get to display
His character
and mercy
to the world.
That we get to
participate a little more
in His being
and likeness.
That we get to live out
the life of the sons
and daughters
that we are.
So this is Jesus'
second point.
What does it look like
to be the church?
Don't be afraid
to lose everything.
And then
even to love those
who take it from you.
But Jesus isn't done.
There's one more thing
we need to get straight.
And perhaps you've already
started to feel it.
I have walking through
this passage again
this morning.
Listen to what Jesus
is saying.
Blessed are you
who are poor.
Love your enemies.
Friends, I don't know
about you,
but hasn't your heart
been saying,
but I don't want
to be poor.
I don't want
to love my enemies.
That's a bridge
too far.
But Jesus' sermon
ends without any
possibility of letting
us off the hook.
He ends with actually
three interlocking
parables or images
that drive us
to the very end
of ourselves.
And that becomes
the last point.
Lose everything.
Love those who take it.
And through it all,
humbly acknowledge
your need
for grace.
Let's pick up
in verse 39.
Jesus starts
bringing things
to a conclusion.
He says,
He also told them
a parable.
Can a blind man
lead a blind man?
Will they not both
fall into a pit?
A disciple's not
above his teacher,
but everyone,
when he's fully trained,
will be like his teacher.
Why do you see the speck
that is in your brother's eye,
but do not notice
the log that is
in your own eye?
How can you say
to your brother,
Brother,
let me take the speck,
let me take out the speck
that is in your eye,
when you yourself
do not see the log
that is in your own eye?
You hypocrite.
First take the log
out of your own eye,
and then you will see
clearly to take the speck
out that is in your
brother's eye.
For no good tree
bears bad fruit,
nor again does a bad tree
bear good fruit.
For each tree is known
by its own fruit,
for figs are not gathered
from thorn bushes,
nor are grapes picked
from a bramble bush.
The good person
out of the good treasure
of his heart
produces good,
and the evil person
out of the evil treasure
produces evil.
For out of the abundance
of the heart
his mouth speaks.
Why do you call me
Lord, Lord,
and not do what I tell you?
Everyone who comes to me
and hears my words
and does them,
I will show you
what he's like.
He's like a man
building a house
who dug deep
and laid the foundation
on the rock,
and when a flood arose,
a stream broke
against that house
and could not shake it
because it had been
well built.
But the one who hears
and does not do them
is like a man
who built a house
on the ground
without a foundation.
When the stream
broke against it,
immediately it fell,
and the ruin
of that house
was great.
These images
increase in gravity,
don't they?
The first,
you have to admit,
is a bit comical.
It assumes
that the disciples
will be leading others
and teaching others
and training others.
That's good.
And yet there's a problem.
Jesus says,
how can the blind
lead the blind?
How can a student
get above
their faulty teacher?
How are you going
to get that speck
out of your student's eye
when you have a beam
swinging around
out of yours?
I mean,
imagine walking around
with a giant piece
of lumber
protruding out of your face.
And it's not just me,
it's all of us.
Church becomes
a pretty dangerous place
to hang out.
You just might get
hit in the head.
Watch out.
So we need some help,
don't we?
We need to do
some self-examination.
And we need to be open
to each other's correction.
But the next image
is a little more serious.
A good tree
doesn't produce
bad fruit,
Jesus says.
How often do we think
that my bad actions,
that slip of the tongue here,
that burst of anger there,
that small revenge
over here,
ah, well,
those are just
little slip-ups,
you see.
Deep down,
I'm really a good person.
That's me acting
out of character.
But friends,
if the fruit
coming off the tree
is bad,
then that tells you
that something
is wrong with the tree,
doesn't it?
The evil person
out of his evil treasure
produces evil.
And suddenly,
Jesus has stopped
being funny.
No more beams
sticking out of eyes,
now we're getting
down to the heart.
You need more
than just a little push.
You need more
than just
some remediation.
What you need
is a new heart,
Jesus says.
Third image.
Two houses,
one flood,
one house stands,
the other comes
crashing down
in ruin.
And that's the image
Jesus leaves us with.
A house.
Devastated.
Utterly in shambles.
And why?
Because they heard
Jesus' words,
but didn't actually
do what he said.
By the way,
it's quite a claim
Jesus makes,
isn't it?
The only way
to avoid
utter spiritual ruin
is to build your life
on his words.
anything or anyone
else will simply
not do
shocking.
And yet,
how should we
respond to this
string of images
that Jesus
ends with?
There's really
only one way
to respond.
Humility.
Doesn't Jesus
remove any ground
for spiritual pride
in this final movement
of the sermon?
This is the most
uncomfortable sermon
conclusion I've ever
heard.
Who of us
doesn't fall short?
Who of us
really does
love our enemy
exactly as we
ourselves would like
to be loved,
as verse 31 says?
This is how you're
supposed to love them,
exactly like you'd
want to be loved.
I mean,
I can get loving
my neighbor as myself,
perhaps,
but I'm not so sure
about loving my
enemy as myself.
You see,
friends,
Jesus is pushing
us here,
pushing us
to acknowledge
our need
for grace.
Because the church
on mission
ceases
to be the church
at all
when it forgets
that it lives
solely by
and through
grace.
friends,
our logs
are wide
and our hearts
are dark
and our house
is built on sand.
And at the end
of the day,
we need more
than a teacher.
We need a
redeemer.
And that's
who Jesus is.
Look at this
sermon.
Who does it
really describe?
Whose character
is on display
here?
Blessed are you
who are poor.
Jesus Christ
was the one
who truly
became poor,
friends.
He left
heaven
to become
poor
and despised
and rejected
so that through
him,
we might gain
heaven,
though we deserve
no part in it.
Love your enemies,
Jesus says
to his disciples.
And on the cross,
Jesus died
for his enemies.
for you and me
so that we could
become his friends.
Do you see
what he's done
for you?
Have you let
that sink in?
Do you see
that he's the only
one who's lived
this sermon
perfectly
and he lived
it perfectly
for you?
how are we going
to be ultimately
the church
on mission?
Only
when we live
in humble
dependence
on grace.
But if we do
that
by his spirit,
if we live
in constant
dependence
on grace,
then we won't
be afraid
to lose
anything.
Reputation,
wealth,
status.
Friends,
if God
did not
spare his
own son,
how will
he not
graciously
with him
give us
all things?
And if we
live
in Christ's
grace,
we'll even
find the
strength
to love
our enemies.
Because we
see that in
the light
of the cross
that I was
once an
enemy.
And he
loved me
and gave
himself for
me.
Friends,
this is the
church that
the world
desperately
needs.
Paul says
in Romans
8,
the creation
is groaning
for the
revelation
of the
sons of
God.
Speaking
ultimately
about the
kingdom
coming in
fullness.
But isn't
it true
now?
Isn't our
city groaning
for the
church to
be the
church?
Willing to
lose,
willing to
love,
and permeated
with grace?
That's what
it looks like
to be the
church.
In just
a second,
we're going
to go to
the table
and we're
going to
remember what
Jesus did
for us on
the cross.
And this,
around the
cross of
Jesus,
is where we
find the
strength and
the power
and the
resource to
actually do
this.
So as we
do so,
let's pray that
God makes us
into this kind
of church.
Not so that
people think
much of us,
but so that
they think
much of
Jesus,
who's not
just our
teacher,
but who's
our
redeemer.
Let's pray
together.
Lord Jesus,
what shocking,
startling,
and seemingly
impossible commands
you've given
us.
Lord, this
way of life
we confess
in our own
strength,
in our own
power,
in our own
thinking is
beyond our
reach.
And yet,
Lord,
and yet,
you have
given us
your own
spirit.
You have
come,
and you've
gone before
us,
becoming poor
for us,
loving us
in our
hatred of
you,
changing our
hearts,
releasing us
from a
love of
this world.
Lord,
you've given
us what we
need,
depending on
your grace,
dependent on
your grace
to go
forth and
live this
way.
So help
us to
do it,
Lord Jesus.
Help us
to be your
church on
mission,
for your
name's sake.
Amen.
I wonder
if those
who are
helping with
the Lord's
Supper would
come up.
In 1 Corinthians,
Paul says,
for you know
the grace of
our Lord Jesus
Christ,
that though he
was rich,
yet for your
sake he
became poor,
so that you
by his
poverty might
become rich.
Friends,
when we come
to the Lord's
Supper,
we're coming
again to
remember the
cross of
Jesus Christ,
where he
spent literally
everything in
order to pay
your debt in
full and to
earn for you a
righteous record
with the
Father that is
perfect in every
way.
This is what
Christ has done
and this is why
we come to the
table, to
remember it and
to take hold of
it again.
And to
confess sin in
ways in which
we've fallen
short, but to
receive again and
remember again is
grace for us.
So friends, if
you're here and
you've turned from
sin and placed
your trust in
Christ, then
you're welcome to
take this bread and
take this cup and
to remember Christ's
death with us
together.
If you're here and
you're not a
follower of Jesus,
then instead of
taking the bread and
cup, just pass them
by and use this as a
time to pray.
What would it look
like for you to
build your life on
the words of
Jesus?
And not just on
the words of
Jesus, but on the
work of Jesus.
What's keeping you
from stepping over
that line?
Use this time to
do some soul
searching and take
hold of him.
So let's take the
bread first.
James, would you
pray first?