Exodus chapter 12, it's on page 68 of the Church Bible.
So Exodus chapter 12 and it's verse 1 to 14.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt,
This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month,
each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
If any household is too small for a whole lamb,
they must share one with the nearest neighbor,
having taken into account the number of people there are.
You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
The animals you choose must be year-old males, without defect,
and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,
when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door frames of the houses
where they eat the lambs.
That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire,
along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast.
Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water,
but roast it over the fire, head, legs and inner parts.
Do not leave any of it until morning.
If something is left till morning, you must burn it.
This is how you are to eat it,
with your cloak tucked into your belt,
and your sandals on your feet,
and your staff in your hand.
Eat it in haste, it is the Lord's Passover.
On that same night I will pass through Egypt
and strike down every firstborn,
both men and animals,
and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt.
I am the Lord.
The blood will be assigned to you on the houses where they are,
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
This is the day you are to commemorate for the generations to come.
You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord,
a lasting ordinance.
Okay, this reading is from 1 Corinthians 11, verse 12,
and that's on page 1152.
That's 1152.
I think I have a book in verse 17.
Oh, right.
Okay.
Yeah, that's 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17.
In the following directives,
I have no praise for you,
for your meetings do more harm than good.
In the first place,
I hear that when you come together as a church,
there are divisions among you,
and to some extent I believe it.
No doubt there have to be differences among you
to show which of you have God's approval.
When you come together,
it is not the Lord's supper you eat,
for as you eat,
each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.
One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?
Or do you despise the church of God
and humiliate those who have nothing?
What shall I say to you?
Shall I praise you for this?
Certainly not.
For I receive from the Lord
what also passed on to you.
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed,
took bread,
and when he had given thanks,
he broke and said,
This is my body, which is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after supper,
he took the cup, saying,
This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.
Do this whenever you drink in remembrance of me.
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
So, please keep your Bibles open at 1 Corinthians 11.
Kirstie's or Angelina are handing around pens and sheets.
If anybody would like that to take notes,
please feel free to do that.
Looking at different aspects of our gathering on Sundays
when we meet together.
Looking at things like hearing God's word from the Bible,
prayer, singing together,
and something we also do is to remember Jesus' death.
So, this morning we celebrate the Lord's Supper
and we're going to focus and look in that
and hopefully what we do this morning
is going to help us.
It will shape a little bit more
of how we should think about this very simple meal.
Well, let's pray together
and ask for God's help in this.
Our Father, thank you again for your amazing grace.
Thank you for the word of your grace.
Thank you that we can hear you speak to us
by your Spirit.
and we pray that you would continue to change us
and transform us
and as we think about the Lord's Supper,
something we do very often
and maybe we just do without thinking,
we pray that we would learn afresh
what it is all about,
how it changes us
and how it helps us to understand
your grace better.
So, we ask for your help in this this morning.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, depending on your church tradition,
the celebration of the bread and wine
is known by different names.
So, if you happen to come from a Protestant tradition,
you might call it something like Holy Communion
or the Lord's Supper.
If you come from a Catholic tradition,
you might call it the Eucharist,
which simply means Thanksgiving
or the Sacrament.
But we're not so much interested
in various church traditions.
We want to hear what the Bible has to say.
Primarily, when we're thinking about the Lord's Supper,
it is a dramatic visual picture
of the Gospel.
The good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins
and that we can be forgiven.
That's why we can call it,
or as I have termed it,
the Grace Meal.
As we gather,
we remember and we participate
in God's grace to us.
It flows from God to us.
And as we gather,
we practice
and we announce God's grace to each other.
So we receive God's grace
and we give God's grace.
The detail of this Grace Meal
is mentioned only five times
in the New Testament.
We read about it three times
in the Gospels,
Matthew, Mark and Luke,
and there's a couple of references,
one of which is here
in Corinthians.
It's a command from the Lord Jesus
as we read in verse 23 of chapter 11.
This is Paul writing, he says,
For I received from the Lord
what I also passed on to you.
So he got it from the Lord,
the Lord Jesus instituted it
and he passes it on to his church,
to his people.
So let's have a look at what this Grace Meal
is all about.
And to do that,
we're going to look at four things
as we share in this meal.
First one,
we remember God's grace.
Second,
we participate in God's grace.
Third,
we practice God's grace.
And fourth,
we announce God's grace.
So we're going to look at those four things
to help us better understand
this simple meal.
First,
we remember God's grace.
Look at verse 24.
When he,
that Jesus,
had given thanks for the bread
and broke it,
he said,
This is my body,
which is for you.
Do this in remembrance
of me.
In the same way,
after supper,
he took the cup saying,
This cup is the new covenant
in my blood.
Do this whenever you drink it
in remembrance
of me.
But what is it
that we are remembering
about Jesus?
Well,
there are two events
that we need to look at.
The first has to do
with the Passover.
Look at verse 23.
He says,
For I received from the Lord
what I also passed
unto you.
The Lord Jesus,
on the night
he was betrayed,
took bread.
But what happened
on that night?
The first time
Jesus celebrated
with his disciples.
Well,
Paul is giving us
a context
to help us
to understand
what we are to remember.
He's bringing to our minds
to think back
to what happened
when Jesus was with
his disciples
on that night.
Let me read to you
what happened
on that night.
It's Matthew 26,
verse 17.
Just listen to these words.
The disciples said to Jesus,
Where do you want us
to make preparations
for you to eat
the Passover?
Jesus replied,
Go into the city
to a certain man
and tell him,
The teacher says,
My appointed time
is near.
I am going to celebrate
the Passover
with my disciples
at your house.
So the disciples did
as Jesus had directed them
and prepared
the Passover.
Now,
as we read
just a moment ago
in Exodus,
the Passover
was a special
annual meal
to remember
the rescue
of Israel
from their slavery
under Pharaoh
in Egypt.
And because Pharaoh
would not release
Israel,
God's people,
from their slavery,
God had promised
a plague.
He was going to send
the angel of death
who would pass over
every home
in Egypt.
And the eldest son
in each home,
God said,
would die
as a sign
of his judgment
and his justice
because of their sin,
because they would not
let the people go.
But it wasn't just Egypt.
We have to ask the question,
how would Israel,
God's people,
also survive
the angel of death?
Because, well,
let's face it,
they were as messed up
as everybody else.
They weren't pure
and perfect.
So as this angel of death
was going to pass over,
how would they survive?
Well,
they were told by God
to take a lamb,
to kill this lamb,
to eat it.
And then they were
to take some of the blood
from the lamb
and they were to put it
on the door frames
of the house.
And through this very act,
the people were learning
that this little lamb
would die
instead of them.
The lamb that they would
eat together
as a family
was being sacrificed
in their place.
So when the angel of death
passed over
and when he saw
the blood on the door,
he would pass over
that house
and all inside
were kept safe
from God's judgment
and justice.
And as we read
in Exodus,
every year following,
they were to remember
this rescue
with a Passover meal.
Every year,
they were to remember
God's rescue
and liberation
of his people.
That was until Jesus
gave it a new meaning
and a new interpretation.
Because as Jesus
celebrated that Passover meal
with his disciples,
on that occasion,
that very night,
something very significant
happened.
Look at verse 24
of Corinthians 11.
Jesus took some bread.
And when he had
broken it,
when he had
torn that bread
apart,
he gave it to them
and said,
this is my body
broken for you.
This is for you.
And then he took some wine
and he poured it
into a cup
and he said,
this is my blood.
It's for you.
So here we have
a bread,
a torn body.
We have this wine
representing spilt blood.
Jesus is obviously
talking about
a terrible
and a violent death.
Except Jesus
is no longer
talking about
what happened
to the lamb
in the Passover meal.
Jesus is talking
about himself.
You see,
in this text here
in Corinthians 11,
there's no mention
of a lamb.
There's no lamb here.
Why?
Because Jesus
is the true lamb.
What happened
in the Passover meal
was only a sign
of something
far greater.
The lambs
that were broken,
that were torn.
The blood
that was spilt
and that was put
across the door frames
could never
deal with sin
and deal with
God's judgment
and justice.
They pointed forward
to the greater need
for a bigger
and a greater sacrifice,
a perfect one
and a complete one.
So as Jesus
sat with his disciples
to celebrate
this meal,
he was talking
about his death
and the cross
which was just
about to happen.
His body
broken for you.
His blood
spilt for you.
Jesus was saying
to his disciples,
I have come
to die for you.
I have become
the sacrifice
for you.
I am the lamb,
the lamb that was cut
and torn up
and eaten.
I am that lamb
who's come to deal
with the judgment
and the justice
of God
so that you
can be kept safe.
So first,
as we remember
or come to this
simple meal,
it's a simple
remembrance
of God's
amazing grace
demonstrated
as Christ died
on the cross.
And second,
we not only remember
but we participate
in God's grace.
We're not only
to remember
this meal,
we are to get
involved in it.
Look at the words.
He says,
do this,
take this,
eat this bread,
drink this wine.
Flick back to
chapter 10,
verse 16.
chapter 10,
verse 16.
He says,
is not the cup
of thanksgiving
for which we give
thanks a participation
in the blood
of Christ?
And is not the bread
that we break
a participation
in the body
of Christ?
You see,
if we are to
experience
God's grace,
if it's going
to change us
and transform us
from the inside out,
we've got to
participate in this
meal.
We've got to be
involved in it.
Now,
there's two very
different traditions
when it comes to
participating in
this grace meal.
And I'm not
wanting to
pinpoint or
direct things
in any particular
way because
both of what
I'm going to say,
both,
I don't think,
get it right.
So hear me out.
First of all,
the Catholic teaching
takes the literal
view.
It says that
the bread and
wine actually
become the body
and the blood
of Jesus.
So when you
eat the bread
and when you
drink the wine,
you automatically
receive the
saving grace
of God.
In other words,
you can only
get eternal life,
you can only
have forgiveness
of sins
when you
eat and
drink.
Theologians
call it
transubstantiation.
Now,
the problem
with looking
at it like
that is that
the participation
is just simply
physical.
It doesn't
require you
to engage
the heart.
It's just
a physical act,
something you
do that you
don't necessarily
have to understand
or enter into
or be involved
and it's
just there
to cover
over sin
until the
next time.
So,
sin this
week,
take something,
cover over,
and so on
and so on.
There's no
assurance.
In fact,
it goes against
everything Jesus
teaches because
he is saying
that it's not
what you do,
not even what
you eat and
drink,
that brings
salvation.
It's faith
in what Christ
has done
and completed
on your behalf.
So,
that's the
literal view.
Protestant churches
talk about
the symbol
view.
So,
as Jesus
ate the meal
with his
disciples,
he didn't
mean that
the bread
and wine
actually became
his body
and blood.
No,
it was a
symbol,
a sign
of his
death
to come.
The bread
and the
wine
represent
Jesus.
We look
beyond them
to what
Jesus had
done.
So,
when we
see the
bread being
broken,
when the
wine is
being poured,
it's a
visual picture
of the
gospel,
the good
news that
Christ died
for us.
Now,
I think
that's
beginning to
get to
a right
interpretation.
We do
treat the
bread and
the wine
as symbols.
But there's
also a
problem with
that view.
The
emphasis
that the
bread and
the wine
are just
symbols
and that
they can
never
change
you
seems to
go against
what Jesus
is teaching.
In other
words,
we can go
so far to
try and
correct a
literal view
that we
lose something
of its
actual effect
and our
involvement
and our
participation.
So,
how do we
participate
in this
grace meal?
How can
we
experience
God's
grace?
Well,
look at
those
words in
chapter 10
verse 16
again.
Is not
the cup
of
thanksgiving
for which
we give
thanks
a
participation
in the
blood of
Christ?
And is
not the
bread that
we break
a
participation
in the
body of
Christ?
You see,
as we
eat the
bread,
as we
drink the
wine,
by faith,
we are
participating
in Jesus'
sacrifice
for us.
The very
physical act
of taking
something in
your hand,
of holding
the bread
in your
hand,
of drinking
the wine,
reflects our
absolute
dependence
upon the
sacrifice of
Jesus.
As I eat
the bread,
I am
saying,
Jesus had
to be
broken for
me.
As I
drink the
wine,
I am
saying,
Jesus had
to be
slain for
me.
That if
he didn't
do it,
I'm
lost,
I'm
nothing,
I need
God's
grace,
and I
need to
take it
into my
life.
But more
than that,
we are to
take the
grace of
God by
faith,
so that
it becomes
part of
us.
And I
think this
is what
Jesus wants
us to
grasp when
he says,
take and
eat,
this is
my body,
this is
my blood,
drink from
it,
all of
you.
John
Stott,
an Anglican
minister,
he's now
in heaven,
he wrote
and he put
it like
this,
our faith
looks beyond
the symbols
to the
reality
they
represent.
bread and
even as
we take
the bread
and wine
and feed
on them
in our
mouths by
eating and
drinking,
so we
feed on
Christ
crucified
in our
hearts
by faith.
we must
eat and
drink,
we must
as it
were
take in
by faith
the grace
of God,
we must
realise that
we are so
needy people
that without
God's grace
we are
nothing.
And so our
participation
isn't just
thinking,
oh well these
are just
symbols and
they're never
going to
change me
or do
anything to
me and
you know
it's just
as much as
reading the
Bible and
going to
church is
never going
to save
me, so
doing this
is never
going to
save me.
Yeah that's
right, but
we are to
engage, we
are to be
involved and
see that in
eating and
drinking we
are by
faith taking
in God's
grace to
transform us
and to
change us.
So we
must participate
in God's
grace.
Third, we
must practice
God's grace.
This grace
meal is
something we
don't just
do alone,
we participate
together, that's
why we're all
here.
We don't just
have our little
individual meals
at home.
But you
know what,
there was a
problem whenever
this church in
Corinthians were
meeting and I
don't think it's
unlike most
churches.
Look at
verse 18 of
chapter 11.
He says,
in the first
place I hear
that when you
come together
as a church
there are
divisions among
you and to
some extent I
can believe it
because, well,
you know, we're
people and people
make mistakes.
Verse 20.
When you come
together it is
not the Lord's
supper you eat.
For as you
eat each of you
goes ahead without
waiting for anybody
else.
One remains
hungry and
another one
gets drunk.
pretty mad,
eh?
You see,
unlike our
church practice,
the early
church would
have met for
a meal
beforehand.
And then they
would have
shared in the
Lord's supper.
It was a
little bit like
a potluck
lunch.
Everybody
brought their
own bit of
food and,
well, they
were all meant
to share it
and be together
in it.
But what they
were doing was
they were all
doing their
own thing.
Some were
just plain
greedy and
they had
lots of
money and
had nice
food and,
well, they
could just
eat away.
And there
were poor
people there
who didn't
have money and
maybe the
only actual
meal they
were going
to have was
the bread
and the
wine that
was there
for the
Lord's
supper.
And others
were just
too busy
getting drunk
on the
wine that
they bought
to notice
the needs
of anybody
else.
There was
chaos.
And Paul
was furious.
Verse 22.
He says,
don't you
have homes
to eat
in and
drink in?
Or do you
despise the
church of
God and
humiliate those
who have
nothing?
What shall I
say to you?
Am I going
to praise you
for this?
Well done,
you're behaving
very well.
Absolutely not.
It's a
disgrace.
Now, I
don't think we
have to be
too hard on
these guys.
Well, we
have to be
hard on
them because,
well, they
weren't doing
what's right.
But I
don't think
we're any
different to
some extent.
not saying
that we're
all turning
up drunk
or anything
else like
that, but
we're all
messy people,
aren't we?
And we
fail to
understand the
workings out
of God's
grace.
And instead
of joining
together as a
family, and
he's at these
people here,
they were all
huddling into
cliques.
The rich were
with the rich
and the poor
with the poor
and the insiders
were separated
from the
outsiders, and
well, all the
good people who
read their
Bible and
went to
church and
went to
prayer meetings,
they all
huddled together,
and then all
the bad people
who kept
messing up and
failing, well,
they were all
over here.
It was quite
ironic that the
meal that was
supposed to
unite the
family of God
was becoming
a meal of
division.
And in
response, Paul
directs them
back to the
grace meal.
We are to
remember God's
grace.
We are to
participate in
God's grace
so that we
can practice
God's grace
to each
other.
You see, the
grace meal is
a great
leveller, isn't
it?
It brings us
all into line.
We all think,
well, I'm here
and they're
there.
Well, actually,
no.
Regardless of
our class or
our culture,
our religious
background or
our heritage,
we are all
brought into
line equally.
The reality
is none of
us deserve
God's grace.
We're all in
desperate need
of God's
grace.
We're all
outsiders, but
we have become
insiders through
the sacrificial
death of
Christ.
So when we
gather together,
we are reminding
ourselves through
the grace meal
that there's no
room for
superiority, nobody
can think of
themselves better,
and there's no
room for
inferiority to
think that I'm
no good.
By remembering
and participating
in this grace
meal, we
accept one
another, we
welcome one
another, just
as Christ
accepted and
welcomed us.
So third, we
are practicing
grace as we
meet together.
Fourth, we're
announcing God's
grace.
Because this
grace meal is
not just to be
kept for
ourselves.
It is to be
announced, to
be proclaimed.
Look at how
this meal
finished in
this passage,
verse 26.
For whenever
you eat this
bread and
drink this
cup, you
proclaim, you
announce the
Lord's death.
You talk about
his grace
grace until
he comes
again.
At one level,
this meal is
exclusive.
It is for all
those who
come to
Jesus by
faith to
receive and
experience God's
grace.
But in
another way,
this meal is
open.
There's an
inclusiveness to
this meal.
There is this
open invitation
to all
those who
see their
need of
grace to
participate in
it.
The grace
that we have
received from
God is not
private.
It is to be
proclaimed.
It's to be
announced.
Jesus came for
sinners and I
reckon that we're
not the only
sinners.
As we're
reminded in
this text in
verse 23,
that it all
happened on the
night, Jesus
was betrayed.
Remember
Judas, the
one who turned
his back on
Jesus, the
betrayer, the
failure, the
sinner, was
present at
that meal.
And grace
was offered
to him.
He rejected
it, but it
was offered.
And in the
same way, we
are to announce
God's grace to
all who
will come in
faith to
receive and
experience God's
amazing grace.
So four things
that help us to
grasp and
understand a
little bit more
what we're going
to celebrate, and
we're going to do
that in just a
minute.
We remember
his grace as we
look back to the
cross.
We participate
in that grace as
we involve
ourselves by
faith.
And we
practice grace to
one another,
welcoming each
other as Christ
welcomed us, and
we announce that
grace, saying that
God's grace is
available to all
who will come
in faith.
we're going to
sing Behold
the Lamb, which
is a song that
really takes us
through the
whole story of
the grace meal.
We're going to
sing it all the
way through, and
then we're going
to share in that
simple meal together.
But just use these
words to reflect,
to meditate, and
also to give
thanks to the
Lord Jesus for
what he has
done.
We'll stand
together as we
sing this.
Behold the Lamb
who bears our
sins away,
slain for us.
And we
remember the
promise made
that all who
come in
faith find
forgiveness
the cross.
So we
share
in this
bread of
life, and
we drink
of his
sacrifice
at the
time
of our
palms of
peace.
Around the
table of
peace.
The body
of our
Savior,
Jesus Christ,
torn for
you.
Read and
remember
the wounds
that heal,
the death
that brings
us life,
save the
pride to
make us
one.
so we
share
in this
bread of
life,
and we
drink
of his
sacrifice
at the
side
of our
bones of
love.
Around the
table of
the
king,
the
blood that
cleanses
every stain
of sin
shed for
you.
Drink and
remember
he
drained
death
cup that
only enter
in to
receive
the
life
of
God.
so we
share
in the
bread of
life,
and we
drink
of
his
sacrifice
at the
side
of our
bones of
grace.
Around the
table of
the
king,
and so
with
thankfulness
and faith
we
rise to
respond,
and to
remember
our call
to follow
in the
steps of
Christ,
as his
body
here
on
earth.
As we
share
in
his
suffering
we
proclaim
Christ
will
come
again
and
we'll
join
in
the
feast
of
heaven
around
the
table
of
the
king.
Please
do take
a seat.
So as
we gather
to share
in this
grace
meal,
we want
to come
and we
need to
involve
all of
who we
are.
We need
to bring,
if you like,
our senses
to this
meal.
We need
to use
our eyes,
we need
to use
our ears,
and our
mouth as
we taste,
as we
celebrate
in this
grace
meal
together.
prayer.
We need
to use
our
life
as we
visualize.
We
think of
the cross
of Christ.
We
think of
Jesus
holding
the
bread,
speaking of
his
day.
His body
broken,
torn for
us,
ripped
for us,
broken
for us,
we visualize
and we
remember
Christ.
And when
he comes
to
the cross
to the
light,
we visualize
and we
remember
himself.
His blood
shed,
slain
for us,
dying
for us.
a visual
picture,
a reminder
of a
broken
body,
blood
in the
sense,
the
true
man
sacrifice
for us.
So we
use our
eyes as
we
visualize,
but we
use our
ears to
listen,
listen to
this from
God's
words,
for his
words give
interpretation
and meaning
to the
bread and
to the
wine.
I tell
you the
truth,
Jesus
says,
he who
believes,
who has
faith,
has
everlasting
life.
Jesus
said to
them,
I tell
you the
truth,
unless you
can eat
the flesh
of the
Son of
Man and
drink his
blood,
you have
no life
in you.
Whoever
eats my
flesh and
drinks my
blood has
eternal life
and I will
raise them
up at the
last day,
for my
flesh is
real food
and my
blood is
real drink.
Whoever
eats my
flesh and
drinks my
blood,
remains in
me and
I in
him.
Just as
the living
Father sent
me and
I live
because of
the Father,
so the
one who
feeds on
me will
live because
of me.
So we
use our
eyes to
visualize,
our ears
to listen,
and in a
moment we're
going to use
our mouths as
we taste
and eat
and drink
and by
faith we
receive and
experience the
grace of
God.
Before we do
that we're
going to read
together a
portion of
a psalm,
Psalm 32.
If you turn to
that's Psalm 32,
that's Psalm 32.
We come without
any masks,
we come without
any sense of
pretense,
we may hide
our sin,
our secret
sin from
one another,
but the
Lord knows
us and
he invites
us to
come as
we are
with all
of our
sin and
all of
our mess
and our
failures
to receive
his
forgiveness
because
he took
our sin
on himself
and died
in our
place.
So let's
read this
as a
means of
our
confession
and
reminding
us
of the
grace of
forgiveness.
Let's
read Psalm
32 verses
1 to
5
together.
Blessed
is he
whose
transgressions
are forgiven,
whose
sins are
covered.
Blessed
is the
man whose
sin the
Lord does
not count
against
him and
in whose
spirit is
no deceit.
When I
kept silent,
my bones
wasted away
through my
groaning all
day long.
For day
and night
your hand
was heavy
upon me,
my strength
was sacked
as in the
heat of
summer.
Then I
acknowledged
my sin
to you
and did
not cover
up my
iniquity.
I said,
I will
confess my
transgressions
to the
Lord,
and you
forgave the
guilt of
my sin.
God's
will
pass the
bread
around
and you
will
taste,
you
will
visualize
and you
will hear
those words
we have
just read.
Hold on
to that
piece of
bread and
then we
will eat
together
because we
participate
together
and we
practice
grace
together
as God's
family.
so please
take the
piece of
bread,
hold on
to it
and then
we will
eat
together.
As we
visualize
and we
remember
Christ's
body
torn,
broken
for us,
taking
our sin
upon
himself,
by faith
we
participate
to
experience
and receive
his grace.
Let us
taste and
eat
and remember
let's
eat
together.
Let us
eat
together.
he made
known his
ways to
Moses,
his deeds
to the
people of
Israel.
The
Lord is
compassionate
and gracious,
slow to
anger,
abounding
in love.
He will
not always
accuse,
nor will
he harbor
his anger
forever.
He does
not treat
us as our
sins deserve
or repay
us according
to our
iniquities.
for as
high as
the heavens
are above
the earth,
so great
is his
love for
those who
fear him.
As far
as the
east is
from the
west,
so far
has he
removed
our
transgressions
from us.
we're
going to
sing
together.
Only by
grace can
we enter
because it
is only
because of
the grace
of God
it picks
up something
of that
theme that
we were
looking at.
It's not
by our
human
endeavor,
nothing that
we do,
but by
the blood
of the
Lamb,
but by
Jesus
Christ.
we'll
remain
seated
as we
sing this
through a
couple of
times.
verse.
Only by
grace can
we enter,
only by
grace can
we stand,
not by
a human
endeavor,
but by
the blood
of the
Lamb.
Into
your presence
you call,
we call
us to
come.
Into
your presence
you jolt,
and now
by your
grace we
come.
Now by
your grace
we come.
Lord,
if you
mark our
transgressions,
who would
die?
Thanks to
your grace
we are
cleansed by
the blood
of the
Lamb.
Lord,
if you
mark our
transgressions,
who would
die?
Thanks to
your grace
we are
cleansed by
the blood
of the
Lamb.
The blood
of the Lamb.
Only by
grace can
be
enter,
only by
grace can
be
stand,
not by
our
human
endeavor,
but by
the blood
of the
Lamb.
Into
your
presence
you
call,
you
call us
to
come.
Into
your
presence
you
draw.
Now by
your grace
we come.
Now by
your grace
we come.
Now by
your grace
we come.
we
continue to
visualize
as we
look at
the wine
we remember
Christ's
sacrifice
on the
cross.
his
blood
our
faith
in
his
death
for
us
that
rescues
us
and
forgives
us.
As
this
is
being
passed
around
drink
as
you
receive
but
let's
use
this
as
an
open
time
to
give
thanks
and
to
praise.
We
have
had
our
personal
reflection
and
repentance
but
now
we
celebrate
his
forgiveness
we
celebrate
that
new
life.
So
let's
take
this
time
as
it's
being
passed
around
to
pray
if
you
want
to
pray
out
loud
or
read
something
of
prayer
or
of
praise
to
do
that
as
we
gather
together.