I Could Wish Myself Accursed
First B Jackson
2016-08-07

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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We are gonna be singing here in just a second. You gonna come up and help? We had a a full and free service this morning. It was it was a barn burner. So, we'll see if that continues.

Come on up here and would you stand with us and join us in song for he keeps me singing and. Yeah.

Belter out.

I think the lightning this morning at 06:00 woke everybody up really early. They were ready to worship when they got here. So

Alright. Unity in Christ this morning. This is a wonderful song. There's within my heart a mellow deed. Jesus whispers sweet and low.

Near not, I am with thee. Peace be still in all of life's heaven flow. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing keeps me singing as I go all my life was wrecked by sin and strife discord filled my life with pain Jesus swept across the broken strings, stirred the strumbling chords again. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fill my every longing, keeps me singing as I go, Feasting on the riches of his grace, resting beneath his sheltering wings, always looking on his smiling face. That is why I shout and sing.

Jesus Jesus Jesus sweetest name I know fills my every longing keeps me singing as I go though sometimes he leads through waters deep trials fall across my way though sometimes the pain don't rip and steep see this but zips all the way Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go. Amen. Yeah. She's still going. We'll just keep going.

Soon he's coming back to welcome me far beyond the starry sky. I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown. I shall reign with him on high. Amen.

As we sing along. That's

right. Amen. We're gonna sing the old rugged cross. Hymn number three twenty seven. You are gonna need your hymnals not for this one.

Y'all know this one but two songs from now. Trust me. You're need your hymnals. Be finding them, okay? Because we are gonna learn this one together.

Alright. This one we know. So, sing out like you mean it. You'll wish you had two songs from now, sir.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross where the dearest and best in a world of lost sinners was shamed. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophy's at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. O the old rugged cross so despised by the world has a wondrous attraction for me.

For the dear lamb of God left his glory above to bear it to dark cavalry. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see. For 'twas on that old cross, Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify me.

So I'll cherish that old rugged cross till my trophy's at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. To the old rugged cross, I will ever be true in shame and reproach gladly bear. And then hold me someday to my home far away where his glory forever I'll share. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross exchange it someday for our

Amen. Y'all y'all can have a seat. We have some announcements this morning. Not today. Bailey is gonna come forward.

Bailey Larson Morley is kinda in charge of the nursery. She's a nursery coordinator. I'm gonna let her talk about this for a minute.

Hi, y'all. I'm Bailey. And so I think there's a second slide up there. We need volunteers for the nursery for both our 09:00 and 11:00 services. Basically, the more people that we have, the less that you'll be in the nursery.

I think a lot of people get nervous that if you sign up or volunteer, you're gonna be in there every Sunday, but that's not the case. And so the more we have, the more we can offer this service to all of our families here, which then is a direct ministry to our congregation and our body. So my email and phone number is up there. I'm also around between both services. And so I just ask that you all would pray for us and maybe see if God is leading it on your heart to volunteer in this in this way.

So, thanks.

Thank you very much, Bailey and if you are normally come to this service and you want to help out for the first, you can still come to this service and cover somebody so it allows a family to come up that might be down there. So, we're we're taking turns. Obviously, if there's a bigger pool, you don't have to do it nearly as often and it's fun. Anyway, so if God's laid it on your heart, talk to that lady right there. Monday nights at First B are happening this week.

They're on. We have Carl back in the saddle again. He came and let us in worship this morning and so he's gonna be preaching tomorrow night. 06:00, meal, music, and a message. So, that ought to be fun.

He's in the book of Luke right now. There is a multi church young adult cookout. Is Chris staring in the room right now? Nope. So, 20, 30 have been saying, we ought to get together not just with our church but with other churches and so there are at least four churches that will be represented probably most of the churches in the valley.

20 and 30 are going to meet at River Crossing Church, Tuesday, August 9 at 07:00. You know, have fun, long games, and they're going to provide the meat but bring a little something if you'd like and it's a multi church young adult cookout. This morning, Eli Kaufman came forward during the first service during the announcement time and we prayed for him, had all the elders come up and lay hands on him. Eli is heading off to be a soldier. He heads from Wyoming where he's grown up his whole life here to where I'm from in Georgia.

25 miles from where I grew up is Fort Benning and so, I came from there here. The summertime is better here. Trust me. Pray for Eli, okay? He's going from Wyoming for his whole life and now he's gonna be inducted at Fort Benning for the next four and a half months.

He'll be he'll be there. So, Fort Benning, Georgia in August. I can't imagine a more stark contrast. So, if you would, please pray for Eli, not just Eli but for Dave and Melissa and for Daniel too for kissing their little boy goodbye to go to Georgia for a while. So, for everything else, all of the other announcements, they should be in the bulletin.

Have I forgotten anything? Good. I usually do. If it's not up there, I usually forget it. So, if y'all would stand up and greet one another, hugs, high fives, and hashtags as it says, and we will bring you back together with a song.

A song you know.

Great song here. Great words. Makes me think of Christmas. Oh, Danny Boy. Good melody.

Side and come to me. Let me let me look over your shoulder. In love was born a child for me that holy night. Love him. Here he is.

I cannot tell why he the joy of heaven should give himself to suffer for my sin my holy God should love me in my shamefulness why he should die to draw my soul to him why hold the Lord is risen and praise his name he risen now in me because he lives I'll rise to life eternal He took my guilty heart and I'm forever free. I cannot tell when he will rule the nations how he will claim his loved ones as his own and who can tell the holy jubilation when all his children gather around his throne but this I know all flesh will see his glory and as all creation sings the sun will rise on one eternal morning when Christ the savior of the world is lord and king

Amen. So, you knew the tune of that one whether you have heard the words or not, right? The next one that we're gonna sing is a great song and I don't know the words or the tune but I'm gonna read it and I'm gonna ask y'all to grab your hymnals. Those of you that can read music and sing as loud as you can.

Some of y'all know.

So that the ones will just join in with you because when you're looking at that wall, it doesn't have any notes. So, it's gonna get muddled, alright? It is hymn number three fifty one. Three fifty one, Amazing Love.

Some of y'all will know this.

This is not in there, is it, Renzi? Because this is not that song.

I don't think so.

You know what?

We're not

gonna sing this song, man.

Swing and a miss, Swing and

a miss. Get your hymnals out. Rick, Rinsey, will you just turn off that and everybody get your hymnals out? We're gonna turn to 351 and try this one.

Hymnals are the little books underneath your seats.

Up under. Yeah.

The blue books that are the wondering what that is. Alright. That was a good song too, wasn't it?

It's a great song.

We're not doing this song.

Learn it with us.

This is what it would have sounded like. What song do you want to is this it? Three fifty one. Okay. Good.

We're doing it. Okay. Yeah. Kick it off again. Let's let's

Kick off again. Hymn number three fifty one. Everybody's with us.

I like the the words in this one. Amazing love oh what sacrifice given for me my dead he pays and my death he dies Amen.

Great job. Y'all can have a seat. Thank you, Judy. That's a beautiful song. Never heard it before in my whole life but it's beautiful.

So, I'm gonna invite the frontline team if you would come forward. Would you pray with me this morning? Lord, the crack of thunder this morning awakening us. Is amazing and to know that on this dry and parched land that is burning with wildfires, smoky, hazy. Lord, you you gave a quenching rain and we're for that we're thankful.

We thank you lord that you are that you're God, that your ways are above our ways, higher than our ways. Lord, thank you for providing for us. Feeble creatures that we are, those of us who call upon your name, lord. I pray that you would inspire us. Inspire us to be generous with your words, generous toward others with your grace.

We have been forgiven freely and we want to freely forgive. Lord, you have given to us freely and we want to freely give. So, at this time where we consider you and consider our blessings, material, financial, lessons, in particular at this time. We ask that you would take what we give back and that you would multiply and extend it to do your kingdom work to the ends of the earth. In Jesus' name, would you start right here at 90 West Kelly, Jackson, Wyoming, and spread it to the absolute other sides of the globe.

Would you fill us up to overflowing and then take these offerings and expand them to do your kingdom's work. In Jesus name, amen. Thank you, Bob. I love that style. Love that style.

We have this morning. This is an unusual sermon. I'll admit it upfront, alright? I'm going to start off with that and it's spelled wrong. It's supposed to be chiastic, chiastic, or chiastic construction.

To start off with this, you go, what in the world is he doing? We're going to be in the scripture but I'm gonna share only the A part today. We've got an ABC at least and maybe an ABCD to go through. I'm only gonna share the A part. Hopefully, it will intrigue you to get you into God's word to reading this.

There's a kiosk to construction though which is ABBA. It's actually ABC the way I have it listed. CBA and I have done this several times before. I mentioned it whenever I I see it and I think it's important enough to point out. I I do point it out.

Seminary students love to find these things. Chiastic constructions is somewhere in the text of the scripture, there will be something where a point is made and it goes somewhere and then it goes and follows the same order back. So, A, B, C, D, and then C, B, A. Now, as English speakers and English thinkers, most of us, we don't generally think like this. It's a very Hebrew way of thinking and Greek, the Greeks picked it up too.

Greeks were good at picking up mnemonic devices from wherever they could find them and the Hebrew scriptures are full of keyastic constructions. I'll give you an example. This is the flood narrative from Genesis. It is absolutely the truth. It is absolutely inspired by God but when you are telling a story, it helps to have something to key the major part tone.

Do you agree with that? When you're telling something, you don't wanna leave anything out. It's easy. A lot of the Psalms and a lot of things in the Old Testament Psalms especially will have the alphabet. It'll be the alphabet starts the first verse.

The the next letter of the alphabet starts the second verse and it does that. That's a mnemonic device to help out. It's true praise to God. It's helpful for remembering things too though. Look at this.

In Genesis six, we have a mention of Noah and his sons and that goes on for a couple of verses and then, it talks about all life on Earth. The a curse coming over the Earth. The flood was announced. The ark is mentioned. All living creatures, food, animals are in man's hands.

The entering of the ark where God seals the door shut. He draws them in and seals the door shut and then, the waters increase and God remembers Noah, it said, in eight one. So, that's two chapters that we've covered right there going up and ascending to that central point and then we see a mirror image basically of that, the waters decrease whereas before that God remembering Noah, it said, water is increased. So, water is decreased. There's the exiting of the ark.

There are animals, food, all living creatures. Do you see how that mirrors ark? No flood in the future where the flood was announced in D above, D below is no flood in the future, the promise of God. See, a blessing on the Earth in place of the curse and then, all life on Earth and Noah and his sons are mentioned again. Do you see how that works?

Okay. So, this happens over and over and over again in scripture. You see it in different places and like I said, seminary students love to point it out. I I think it's important and in generally, the first thing that he mentions and the first thing he comes back to is what it's about and how this goes but the central point of the message is usually right there in the center. In this case, X marks the spot.

God remembers Noah. Are you with me? Okay, good. How does that fit Romans nine? So, after the service last week, I was up to Romans nine.

A lot of you are reading ahead of me. I asked you at the beginning of our study of Romans. If you would read ahead of me and go ahead and read the whole book of Romans at the very beginning. It's only 15 pages and a lot of y'all let me know that you had and some of you got up to Romans nine, saw a few things that either confused, alarmed, or made you mad and you got in touch with me and said, I don't know about all. I don't, this is, this makes me uncomfortable and so I said, okay.

Well, we'll get there eventually. Let's go all the way through eight, the great eight last week. All things are working together for the good, to those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. We went through that 28 through 39 was last week's message. An absolute mountain top of Romans.

It's great. Now, Paul goes into a mode in chapter nine where he starts to explain how God deals with Israel and the rest everybody else, okay? So, Jews and Gentiles, let's say. When we get to Romans nine, I believe and I think lots and lots of other people believe it's not a not an unusual theory that this is a kiosk construction all the way up through the end of chapter 11. So, I'm going to ask you just like I ask you to read the whole book of Romans at the beginning of our study.

If you would, this week, agree with me that you're and I know you're some visitors back there, a whole row of em and a lot of others here too. Probably won't be here next week but I'm going to ask everybody here. If you would read Romans nine through 11 and study it. Think about it. What does God have for us in this passage?

A lot of us have read this and have been taught this politically speaking and so, I'm also going to ask you to kind of drop your political lenses for a moment too and see what it is that God is saying about his people, Israel. Nine, all the way through the end of 11. So, it's three chapters. I'm only gonna preach the A part today and the A part of this is this and the last four verses in chapter 11. Are you with me?

Okay. So, it's an unusual because I'm skipping a huge gap in the middle between these two but I'll start with nine one through five. That's the A part. B is nine six through 29 or the first part of the B part and this is it. It's these four slides, okay?

So, those are the B part. I'm not going to preach that right now although I want to. Y'all would be here all afternoon if we're going to go through this all afternoon. The C part is right here. Romans nine thirty through ten twenty one.

So, Romans nine thirty is another one of those. What shall we say then passages? Now, he's getting to his central point and he gets there in the middle of chapter 10. We're going to keep on going. Right here, the scripture says, whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.

Now, when I ask several of the last week about chapter nine, what's coming up? They said, just preach the sovereignty of God and I will. I promise you, will. God is completely sovereign and in God's sovereign choice, he has made man responsible and given him free will. There's no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same lord as lord of all abounding in richness for all who call upon him for Old Testament quote, Jews should know it.

Gentiles might be hearing it for the first time. Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Then, it goes back in still in the C part and we're going on several more. Old Testament backing up. He's got several Old Testament quotes in there.

That's the indented pieces and then we'll get back to the B part. It's a kind of a mirror image of that front part. I say then that God has not rejected his people, has he? Well, may it never be. So, this is about his people, Israel.

He goes on for quite some time with Old Testament quotations covering him up. This is part of the B part and then we get back to the A and it is this, Romans eleven thirty three to 36. So, that's what I'm going to do. The first five verses and the last four verses of this section, I think they need to be taken as a unit and we'll see where it takes us today, okay? Are you with me?

Not nearly as many slides today as I had two weeks ago, only half as many as I had last week but considering this kiosk to construction and the main point is that central point and this, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Once somebody came up during the shake hands time and said, I thought you're going to go all Presbyterian on this last week. Well, I try to preach the passage in front of us exactly as it what it says and so, if you read what it says, one paragraph at a time, you will be left in a couple of different places getting nervous about God. When the when the paragraph ends that Jacob, I loved and Esau, I hated. That's a hard paragraph to just stop right there.

So, I'm going to ask you to read it all the way through because I think his logic makes through if you carry it out to the end. He's speaking to to humans. This can be understood even though he ends in a place saying that God's wisdom and God's knowledge and God's understanding is above our ways and unfathomable and unsearchable. So, here we go. Romans nine one through five, just the A part today and I hope it intrigues you enough to draw you in to read those three chapters, okay?

We're also gonna end today with communion, the Lord's table and I want you to consider that as we're going through this, what binds us all together, Jew and Gentile and in our modern circumstance, in our modern life, application points for today. Those of us who are raised in church to know better and still rejected him and still rebelled against him or and did everything right in a churchy church way but not that no one is righteous. Can we back back up to that? So, whether we fall in the legalistic ditch or we fall in the license ditch, no one is righteous, no, not one. The good old gospel way, the blood of Christ is what binds us together.

So, on the political spectrum, that's hard right now and I I mentioned that last week but church wise, political, conservative, liberal, if you are trusting in anything other than the blood of Christ, you're you don't get it. Do you understand that? You don't get it. If you really think, oh, it's grace and this, you don't get it. It really is grace.

It's the grace of God. So, we're going to start out with Paul. This is one of the most empathetic not pathetic, empathetic situations in all of scripture. I can't think of another place where Paul is more empathetic towards people than right here. He's just gotten through saying, all things are working together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

These things, what can separate us from the love of Christ can heighten our depth, our death, our life, anything else. He says, all that and then the next thing he says, he's filled with empathy and he says, I'm telling the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. No matter what you see when you see me, I'm not lying. My conscience is testifying with me in the Holy Spirit.

This is right in the center of God's will. I have a burden, a grief. I have great sorrow and an unceasing grief that is in my heart. Now, he's the one that says, rejoice in the Lord always and again, I say rejoice but he also says, I have this deep burden, great sorrow, unceasing grief in my heart for I could wish that I, myself, were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Are you getting what he's saying there?

Paul, this guy who was raised as a Pharisee, a Jew of Jews, Hebrew, Hebrews, circumcised at the right time, everything, raised at the feet of Gamaliel, knows his Bible inside and out, upside down, and backwards. He knows it and he says, after he meets Christ, you're, I'm yours, you're mine. I'll do whatever you tell me to do. This, I could wish that I, myself, were a curse. Now, that's contrary to reality.

The Greek, it makes no doubt about it. English makes no doubt about it. I wish that I were. I could wish that I were a curse. I'm not.

I'm heaven bound. I'm bound for glory. There's no doubt about it. It's on the basis of Christ shed blood for me. I'm going but he says, I could wish that I were damned, separated from God, completely accursed for the sake of my brothers and sisters, the Jews, Israel.

I wish that I were. If I could, I would. Exchange my salvation for the salvation of all the rest of you but he can't. Paul had sinned in his life before he met Jesus. I'm sure that he sinned after he met Jesus.

He's saying, I wish that I myself were a cursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers and sisters. I would give my life to save them if I could but I can't. Christ has already done that. In God's sovereign will, he made a way and the way is Jesus. The message of the cross.

His perfect life for our imperfect ones. If we will trust him, he will be ours. Whoever will call on the lamb of the Lord will be saved. I wish that I, myself, were accursed. It's not pray.

The word is Euchami right there, not pros Euchami. It's it's I wish. It's a strong desire. He says, I feel this inclination. If you were raised in church, and some some of us were inoculated against the gospel.

We saw churchy church not the gospel, not grace. We saw all the things that we need to do, all the things that we should do but we didn't get the fact that grace still had to be grace. Do y'all agree with me? Some of y'all raised like that. So, somebody that comes from the outside of that and gets saved and is pulled up out of the license ditch, okay?

They're pulled up and they're saved and there's no doubt about it. We see this dramatic transformation and we applaud God from the legalistic side. That's great that he come came up out of that ditch but we don't realize we're still in the ditch. I wish that I myself were accursed. If you've come up out of the legalistic ditch and you're standing in the center of the good old gospel and you're seeing all those people that think they have it figured out.

Down in the ditch. And you're proclaiming the good old gospel from up here. Paul's saying, I wanna get back down there in the ditch and push all of them to the top of this hill. Do y'all get that? Are you with me?

Okay. I feel that. I feel that kind of empathy. I I had a a professor that called it the pastor's burden or the preacher's burden. Knowing that the gospel works and then seeing people that reject it for whatever reason.

It's tough. It's especially tough when they know the right way and it is true but they just haven't been able to latch on to it for themselves yet and actually trust in God's grace. So, I wish that I, myself, were a curse separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers and sisters but I can't. Those are my kinsmen according to the flesh. Who are Israelites?

Chosen people of God to whom belongs the adoption as sons. God, with his command to Abraham, with his reaching out to Abraham, and telling him that he would bless, who blesses him, he curse, who curses him, all of the promise to Abraham to whom belongs the adoption of sons. And the glory, and the covenants with Moses and the giving of the law and the temple servants, all the Levites, all of that stuff from Leviticus and the promises. All the prophets. Who's the Israelites?

Whose are the fathers, the patriots, and from whom is the Christ? According to the flesh, Christ was born out of this chosen people, Israel, according to the flesh and according to the will of God, from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is overall, God blessed forever. Amen. Now, the God blessed forever, amen, right there at the end. I want you to see that.

Forever, amen. That's the beginning part of this kiosk construction and that's the tag right there that helps you because when we get to the next section, it's going to end basically exactly the same way. God be praised forever. Amen. Forever and ever.

Amen. Okay? To the end of the age. So, that's nine one through five. I'm telling the truth in Christ.

I'm not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit. Think about that. He had just said in verse 26 that the Holy Spirit is is groaning for us or he is filling up what is in our weakness actually in twenty six and twenty seven. Said that he's praying with us in our spirit.

I'm not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart for I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ. Now, he's not saying he wants to be damned. He's saying that if it would make any difference for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he would gladly lay his life down for them but he can't. Christ can and he already has and so, he is going to fill up what lies lacking in the afflictions of Christ by proclaiming what Christ has done and you have the choice to accept that or reject that.

Are you with me? Okay. It's a balancing act. Nine, ten, and 11 is a balancing act between the sovereignty God and the free will of man and it's very hard for us to understand from within time but God is bigger than time. How unfathomable and searchable and unsearchable he is.

Let's go to the next part. Now, that is a very empathetic passage and then there is a very theological passage. The B and C parts are both very theological. I want you to remember this as you read this week from nine to eleven. All good theology.

Now, I've I've stolen this from people who've stolen it from other people. I don't know who originally said this. All good theology should lead to doxology. If your theology is good, Lagos Theos, a word about God. If your word about God is good, it should lead to doxa logos which is glory word, a word of praise for God's glory.

Are you with me? Okay. So, all good theology should lead to doxology. The first part was an empathetic passage kicking off a long theological section which I'm skipping right now and it leads to this A section again in chapter 11 verse verses 33 through 36. Now, this is a praise God.

There's an exclamation point. After both of those sentences right there, do you see that? Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, not just the scripture, the wisdom, but the knowledge of God, knowing him. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has become his counselor? So, I asked the first service this morning and I I hope it does not sound blasphemous to you but I'm gonna ask you to put yourself in the position of almighty God. When it comes to a race or a whole people, a whole creation, humanity that has rejected you. No one is righteous, no not one. How would you save those folks?

Who has become his counselor? If you come up with a better way than God, you're not going to, okay? Now, in his sovereignty, he has made a plan. Who has known the mind of the Lord, who has become his counselor? A lot of people for everyone who ends up in what should be their natural destination of hell.

People wanna keep God on the hook for that. God has made a way out. God is not at fault. If Israel rejects him, it is not God's fault. So, throughout this central section, the B and the C section, we will see what that's all about with Jews and Gentiles but as you consider how you would have saved them.

If you were to say, you will choose me I have made you and I'm your God and you're going to turn to me is that love. This is the balancing act that I'm talking about. It you have to have free will for that to actually be good. Are you with me? I don't think anybody really denies it.

It's what the scripture says but people who are very very much leaning towards say the Calvinistic side or very much leaning towards the Armenian side tend to emphasize some of these verses without all these verses. We have a task before us. There are three chapters and they're good and they're really good. The central passage there being God's sovereign way is that whoever calls on him will be saved. Who has become his counselor?

You're not going to come up with a better way. God chose a way. Jesus is that way, that truth, and that life. Amen. No one comes to the father except for by him.

Who has first given to him, to God, that it might be paid back to him. He owes us nothing. Are are you in agreement with that? I mean, what we deserve is death, hell, and the grave but he owes us nothing. We have not given to God so that he has to repay to repay us.

It ends up being Doxa, glory. For from him and through him and to him are all things. He's echoing that all things, these things, all these things, and he's echoing it again. For to him be glory forever. For from him, he was the originator.

Through him, in him we live and breathe and have our being and to him are all things. What's the chief end of man? Really sound Presbyterian now, don't I? To glorify God and enjoy him forever. To him be the glory forever, amen.

So, this is just the A section and that is what I wanted to present so that you'll read the B and C sections, okay? I really want for you to dig in with this and I want for you to grapple with it. The next two or three paragraphs, I talked to Diane this week. How am I gonna present this? I've got enough enough time to present about 10 or 11 verses and I've got three chapters that need preaching.

Y'all are gonna do the the first layer of pain, okay? Prime the paint, do the first layer, and when next week we get back, we'll go through the B section and the week after that, we'll go through that C section. I'll be trying to use the same slides I used today, just slower next week for the b section. Okay? Are you with me still?

Okay. Alright. It is a balancing act, and I don't wanna take anything off of it. I want for you to read it, I want you to grapple with it. I want you to end up though at an open table.

This table is open for all who have called upon the name of the Lord for everyone who puts their trust in the provision that God has made. So, I don't care what your denominational background is. I know some of you and I know what some of your backgrounds are and I know that some of you this in the first service, I was looking around and I, in my head, while I was talking, I could count about 15 denominations. I think they're probably more than that in this service. We've got folks from Free Methodist to Dutch Reformed.

We've got folks in here who were raised in church and we've got folks who just arrived very very recently by the glory of almighty God and by his grace is the only way. So, we're gonna remember his broken body that is the perfect life that he lived. One that was without sin where he was the only lamb of God, the only one who can give his perfect life in exchange for our imperfect ones. He shed his blood by his stripes were healed. He was beaten and bruised for our iniquities.

If you believe that, if you have accessed God by faith in Jesus Christ, you're welcome to take partake today. So, can I get the frontline team to come forward? Judy, if you would. Take the piano. And I'm gonna pray.

Lord, as these servants come forward to distribute this little cracker, this little symbol. God, as they come forward, I ask a blessing on each of your servants here. Those who have called upon you, who have bent the knee to you and not to everything else. I pray that for each person who would partake this morning that they would feel a oneness with the family of God, that it wouldn't just be some ethereal. Yes, I believe in God, but I believe in God by virtue of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

And I'm one with his family because of what he has done and not because of what I have done. God, as we distribute this bread, I pray that you would bless each one who partakes and for each one who knows that they are not a believer, have never trusted in Christ, and they must let this plate pass. I pray that you would draw them through your servants, Lord, who do partake. In Jesus name, would you bless this bread as we distribute it? Amen.

He took bread after supper and after he had given thanks, he broke it and he said, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me. For the credit available by the perfect life of Jesus. We praise you for his faithfulness, for his absolute surrender to the spirit of God. I thank you that he never rebelled.

Thank you, Jesus for that and thank you lord that you offered yourself that no one took it away from you, that you laid yourself down in our stead. Lord, in your blood, there is healing. There's a cleansing flood. That saves and it sanctifies. Jesus, as we distribute this cup, we remember you.

God, I ask your blessing on everyone who partakes that it would be, a very real, sense of your presence, lord. And for everyone who does not partake, I pray that you would draw them closer to you. Convict them of their sin, but more importantly, or just as importantly, your righteousness. In Jesus name, Lord, would you bless this cup? Amen.

That Jesus had taken the bread. He took the cup after supper and he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. Take this and drink and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Paul says that as often as we do that, we we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. Remember earlier in Romans about chapter six or so, he started saying that when you died, you died with him.

When he died, you died with him. So, praise God for the new covenant available in his blood. In Jesus name, would y'all stand up with me? And in this service, I think we'll end with a different song, Judy. Can we do Blessed Be the Tide that Binds?

Do enough of y'all know that to carry the tune?

Blessed be the tithe that binds our hearts in Christian love the fellowship of kindred hearts as like to that

Amen. May the Lord bless and keep you. Make his face to shine upon you, draw you into the center of his will, and remind you of the shed blood. In Jesus name, may you overflow with grace this week to others. Amen.

Amen.