We Must Run Aground on a Certain Island

October 5, 2025 · Acts

Series · Acts · Week 117 of 120

Scripture referenced 8 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Psalm 34:8 worship song 'Taste and See' identified as coming from this psalm

8 Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation
Keep this verse

Acts 27

main passage preached through, the voyage and shipwreck of Paul

1 When it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band.

2 Embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea; Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

3 The next day, we touched at Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him permission to go to his friends and refresh himself.

4 Putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

5 When we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us on board.

7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and had come with difficulty opposite Cnidus, the wind not allowing us further, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone.

8 With difficulty sailing along it we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

9 When much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast had now already gone by, Paul admonished them,

10 and said to them, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”

11 But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship than to those things which were spoken by Paul.

12 Because the haven was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised going to sea from there, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there, which is a port of Crete, looking northeast and southeast.

13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to shore.

14 But before long, a stormy wind beat down from shore, which is called Euroclydon.

15 When the ship was caught, and couldn’t face the wind, we gave way to it, and were driven along.

16 Running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat.

17 After they had hoisted it up, they used cables to help reinforce the ship. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis sand bars, they lowered the sea anchor, and so were driven along.

18 As we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw things overboard.

19 On the third day, they threw out the ship’s tackle with their own hands.

20 When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.

21 When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them, and said, “Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss.

22 Now I exhort you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

23 For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve,

24 saying, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’

25 Therefore, sirs, cheer up! For I believe God, that it will be just as it has been spoken to me.

26 But we must run aground on a certain island.”

27 But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land.

28 They took soundings, and found twenty fathoms. After a little while, they took soundings again, and found fifteen fathoms.

29 Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight.

30 As the sailors were trying to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow,

31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you can’t be saved.”

32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let it fall off.

33 While the day was coming on, Paul begged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing.

34 Therefore I beg you to take some food, for this is for your safety; for not a hair will perish from any of your heads.”

35 When he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it, and began to eat.

36 Then they all cheered up, and they also took food.

37 In all, we were two hundred seventy-six souls on the ship.

38 When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

39 When it was day, they didn’t recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay with a beach, and they decided to try to drive the ship onto it.

40 Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes. Hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.

41 But coming to a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground. The bow struck and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.

42 The soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim out and escape.

43 But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stopped them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should throw themselves overboard first to go toward the land;

44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. So they all escaped safely to the land.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Luke 1

referenced as Luke writing an accurate account for Theophilus

1 Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,

2 even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,

3 it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;

4 that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.

8 Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division,

9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.

11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14 You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.

17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.

20 Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple.

22 When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.

23 When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.

24 After these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,

25 “Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.”

26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary.

28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.

30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.

36 Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”

38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” The angel departed from her.

39 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,

40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 She called out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!

45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”

46 Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.

47 My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.

49 For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.

50 His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.

51 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,

55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.”

56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

57 Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son.…

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

John 3

mentioned as the passage being studied in the men's lunch group

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

2 The same came to him by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.”

3 Jesus answered him, “Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.”

4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”

5 Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’

8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus answered him, “How can these things be?”

10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things?

11 Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness.

12 If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

13 No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15 that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

17 For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

18 He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.

20 For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.

21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.”

22 After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them, and baptized.

23 John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized.

24 For John was not yet thrown into prison.

25 There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification.

26 They came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”

27 John answered, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.

28 You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’

29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

32 What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness.

33 He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.

34 For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.

35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.

36 One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Matthew 6:10

Lord's Prayer sung at the opening, 'on earth as it is in heaven'

10 Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

2 Corinthians 13:14

spoken as the benediction closing the service

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Luke 24:30-31

referenced in connection with communion, Jesus breaking bread on the road to Emmaus

30 When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them.

31 Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

1 Corinthians 11:23-25

quoted during the Lord's Supper distribution, the words of institution

23 For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.

24 When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”

25 In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”

World English Bible · Read it in another translation

Keep this verse

Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Acts 27 is the story of Paul's voyage to Rome as a prisoner, and Pastor Ray worked through it section by section on a rainy Sunday morning. The chapter follows a ship battered by a nor'easter across the Mediterranean for fourteen days, with cargo thrown overboard, the lifeboat lost, and all hope of survival abandoned. The thread running through it all is that God's purposes move forward even when every human plan falls apart.

What was said

The journey starts with decisions made completely outside Paul's control. Luke writes "when it was decided," and Paul is simply handed over to a centurion named Julius along with other prisoners. Pastor Ray noted that before a single wave hits, Paul has no say in where he goes or when he leaves. The opening word of the whole ordeal is that it was decided for him.

Things go wrong almost immediately and keep going wrong in layers. The winds are contrary from the start, forcing a longer coastal route. They transfer to a bigger Alexandrian ship, which sounds like an upgrade, but the wind still doesn't cooperate. They limp into a harbor called Fair Havens, which was, as Pastor Ray put it, named by the Chamber of Commerce, because it was no fair haven at all.

Paul warns the crew and soldiers plainly: if they sail on past Yom Kippur, they will lose the cargo, possibly the ship, and possibly lives. Nobody listens. A moderate south wind comes up, they take it as their sign, they weigh anchor, and within a short time a violent nor'easter called a Euroquilo sweeps down on them. The ship is taken by the wind and the crew simply lets it drive them.

The storm runs fourteen days. Cargo goes overboard on day one, the ship's tackle on day three. The sun and stars disappear for the duration, which means no navigation at all. Luke writes that all hope of being saved was abandoned, and Pastor Ray stopped there to note that Luke includes himself in that, not just the sailors, not just the prisoners. Everyone on board reached that place.

Paul stands up, acknowledges he told them so, and then immediately pivots to telling them to take heart. An angel had come to him during the night with a word: do not be afraid, because Paul must stand before Caesar, and God has granted him the lives of everyone sailing with him. Pastor Ray paused on the Greek word behind "must," the same word used when Jesus says we must go through Samaria. It is not logistical necessity. It is divine appointment.

On the fourteenth night they feel land approaching in the dark, drop four anchors from the stern, and pray for daylight. The sailors try to slip away in the lifeboat under the pretense of setting more anchors from the bow. Paul catches it and tells Julius; Julius orders the lines cut. The lifeboat is gone. When dawn comes they spot a beach and run for it, strike a reef just short of it, and the ship begins to break up on the back end. The soldiers' plan is to kill the prisoners before any can escape, but Julius, wanting to see Paul safely to Caesar, overrules them. Everyone makes it to shore on planks and wreckage, and the island turns out to be Malta.

Before the ship strikes the reef, Paul takes bread, gives thanks to God in front of all 276 people on board, breaks it and eats. Pastor Ray noted that the language is almost exactly the same as the accounts of the Lord's Supper, and he led the congregation into communion on that thought. The bread and the cup were distributed while the band played, and the service moved toward its close with Paul's storm still fresh in the room.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Ray opened the sermon by pointing out that Paul had no say in the decision to sail for Italy, and then drew a parallel to moments when things are simply out of our hands. When have you felt that way, and how did you respond to not being in control?
Paul warned the sailors and soldiers that setting out was a bad idea, and they ignored him. Have you ever had good counsel ignored, or ignored good counsel yourself, and what came of it?

and 3 more questions in the guide

Open the study guide

Read the full transcript 8,024 words

Find in this transcript

Speaker 3Thinking of it. And then all of sudden we stopped and was like It came to a screeching halt. Sorry, though. What's your favorite one again? Lord, I need you.

That one's been my favorite for, like, ever since I ever heard it, like, for the first time in high school. Yeah. I think my favorite one to sing as a band, as a like us, like, first be specific is we did it last week, I think, and it was Taste and See. That one, I love doing. Yeah.

Yeah. It's psalm, like, one yeah. Thank you. Psalm three four. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2Mhmm. Yeah. But,

Speaker 3like, my favorite, like, probably contemporary worship song is Lord I need You. Yeah. Yeah. If you ever want me to lead on that one, I think it's low enough that I can I can do it? Yeah.

Yeah. Like okay. I'll let you know. Okay.

Speaker 2Singer told you guys,

Speaker 1just relax.

Speaker 3Just sit back. Yeah. Yeah. Some of them, I feel like it's too hard for them to follow along because it's too high, like, when I sing it. But that one is low enough where, like because chlorine would have sometimes when we do that, and I like, there were some that would work because it was low enough for them to follow.

But, yeah, with, like, the keys that they're I mean, we could always, like, change the keys, but, like, who wants to do that if we Oh, yeah. Yeah. No. Doing I cannot do both at all. I know how to play piano, but I cannot think and play.

I'm not very good though, so don't get any ideas. Don't get any ideas. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

Oh my God. No. Moreau is, like, auditioning for grad school, and they were like, like, so you play piano? And I was like, yeah. Absolutely.

Yes. And they're like, okay. So you could accompany people. I'm like, no. Can play the chords.

To practice. Yeah. And I can, like, study a piece and, like, play it fine, but, like Yeah. Anyway.

Speaker 2Good morning, First B. I hope you're enjoying this fall rainy morning. We appreciate you being here. Just wanted to to mention, you know, let's just take a deep breath and remember why we're here to meet with our living God. And would you stand and join us in singing Lord's Prayer?

Father, let you let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven right here in our hearts.

Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. We've got a few announcements, and we'll see what they are together. Hey. Praise his name.

I'm fixed upon it. Here we are. Awana, it's happening tomorrow night. So that's happening 05:45 to 07:30 tomorrow evening. Starting out in this room, around this game circle, we'll have pre k all the way up through fifth grade, Cubbies, Sparks, and truth and trainers.

If you wanna register, you can do that ahead of time with that little QR code or going on the website. But you can just bring the kids in at 05:45 and we'll get them signed up. And that is fun. It was it was a great Just a big old barrel of monkeys last week. It was wonderful.

It was nice to be here and see everybody together and just having a ball. The JH Women's Community Bible Study is happening ten to noon. This time, they're meeting at the Presbyterian Church at Jackson Hole. They're covering the book of Genesis and there is childcare provided. That's a way to sign up if you want to, but also you can just show up if you want to do that.

Sisters Saved by Grace is meeting here down the hall at the in the fellowship hall, Praying with Power is the book that they're going through together. That's happening. That's a great group of ladies that get together, and they pray together, and they love one another. They usually eat something together, and they just have a good time down the hall. That's fun.

This is a morning study. Thursdays at 9AM, sharpen your colored pencils and come in. It's inductive Bible study, the old precept inductive Bible study. This week, we had technical difficulty and they actually talked to each other. That's a good thing.

It wasn't a bad thing. Nobody complained. It was fantastic. They were there to study the word together and the little thing didn't work the way it was supposed to and so they just had a ball together. Stayed there, got together, it was wonderful.

Men's lunch study is happening on Thursday, 11:55 in the Fellowship Hall. That is, like I said last week, low calorie. There is no lunch served. It's just during lunchtime. So if you wanna bring lunch for yourself or for anybody else, bring it on.

That's great. But we get together and kind of feast on God's word. It's really good. We're in the book of John right now. John three is coming, and it's just a beautiful beautiful thing.

So is there anything else? Discovery class. The discovery class is today at 10:00. Gary Geek, who usually meets folks out in the foyer right out there, he's probably still out there. He will be leading that in my office down the hall, second door on the left, discovery class today between services at 10AM.

There is a Guatemala missions trip that that most of everybody is leaving before you see them again next week, they'll be gone. So some of them leave on Wednesday, some leave it on Friday, some Saturday. But I'm gonna invite them to come up to the front, if that's alright. Mike is leading this rogue band I mean, this band of missionaries. He's looking for others who are here.

Everybody is resting right now.

Speaker 2But I'll I'll be here to receive prayers on their stead.

Speaker 1Here they come. Here they come. Here they come. And so Guatemala missions trip is happening. The eleventh through the eighteenth are the official dates.

Some of us are going a few days early because have you all noticed it takes a long time to get anywhere from here? It it does. So I'm on this trip, but I will I'm planning on being here next week. So I have a funeral on Saturday. Laurie Grant's funeral is Saturday next week, 11AM, and I'll be here to preach on Sunday.

And then some one of y'all one of y'all take me to the airport? I'm leaving right after church on on Sunday, so thank you. Can I just pray for us? Yes. Okay.

Lord God Almighty, thank you for this team this team. This church that is sending this team and this team that is willing. Here am I. Lord, send me. I pray that you would work in each of our individual hearts, but collectively that we would accomplish whatever it is that you have for us to accomplish down there, Lord.

If it's if it's direct evangelism, if it's helping to build in this organization that helps so many with physical needs, humanitarian aid sort of stuff, Lord, would you use us in the way that you intend? May we question what needs to be questioned, and may we challenge what needs to be challenged. At the same time, Lord, can we just help what needs to be helped? I pray that we would be loving, merciful, and forgiving people towards all that we come into contact with, and that would be winsome and attractive, Lord, that you would bring people into a meaningful relationship with you because of the humble obedience of this this church, these that are going. In Jesus' name, ask your blessing.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Alright. Would you all stand?

If there are any other announcements, I don't know what they are. Would you stand up?

Speaker 2Once you greet one another, we'll bring you back with a song. God, we just come before you this morning, and we just pray that you would remind us why we're here. And and it's to come before the living God, the creator, and and worship you and and give thanks back to you for for what you've done on the cross and allowing us to to have a relationship with you. And we just come before you humbly and ask that you would touch our hearts this morning. Teach us us teach us something that you want us to know.

Each name we pray. Amen. I love you, Lord, for your mercy never fails me. You can have a seat for a minute. This is the worship through giving part of the service, and I'll invite the the ushers to come on forward.

We're gonna sing firm foundation, but before we sing, good Ray, would you pray?

Speaker 1Lord God almighty, we're so thankful, Lord, to be here, to be a part of a part of something that's larger than each of us individually, Lord. Something that's way bigger than that. I pray that you'd use this group assembled here in your name, Lord. Singing your praises. I pray that you'd use us throughout this week.

Lord, for the advance of the gospel that Jesus Christ saves. He is mighty to save. That his forgiveness is real. Those who are feeling hopeless and tossed about by life, Lord, will find their rest, find their safe harbor in him. Would you use us to help bring people into that safe harbor?

In Jesus name, I pray that you'd use this offering however you would, Lord. Your will and your way is what we wanna be doing. So that's what we pray for. In Jesus name, amen. Amen.

Y'all can have a seat. It's time for children's church downstairs. Sunday school teachers are waiting and excited, I'm sure. In light of the sermon today, this is gonna sound ridiculous, ridiculous, but I had the roughest night sleep I've had in a while, and that's saying something because I don't sleep much. And there was everything, everything competing with sleep last night.

We have a bunny for those of you who did did not know, Foggy. Foggy has been a rough little bunny lately. Foggy needed to be in her condo instead of just roaming about the house free range. And when bunnies are angry, they thump. That's nothing.

And about, I don't know, 01:15, foggy starts thumping. About 02:30, foggy keeps on thumping. I have just been a little sore, you know, not not sore like angry 1950 style, but sore like sore, physically sore. And I got up and when I did the to deal with foggy. When I got up, the fan turned on full blast.

I've never seen the fan turn on full blast before. It was lifting papers off of the floor. And I was like, good grief. Now I know what I have to preach this morning, of course, on Saturday night. I already am thinking about it, and I thought, the little inconveniences of life that happened.

And this is real. This is I did not plan on saying this. This is real. A little bitty inconveniences of life are just enough to just go, you know. And here we go.

Here it is. Now, when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, we, Luke is writing. Remember, Luke is writing an accurate account so that Theophilus, the friend, lover of God, the friend that he has sent this letter to would have faith that the faith that he has is real and grounded and good. And so, this is the understatement of all understatements. Now, when we last left Paul, he's in Caesarea.

He's been declared innocent by Felix, but kept in jail anyway. He's been declared innocent by Festus, but kept because he appealed to Caesar. He's been declared innocent by Agrippa and Bernice, and he's waiting to be shipped to Caesar. Now, when it was decided, it's out of his hands. I want you to notice that from the very beginning, it's out of his hands.

When it was decided, we didn't have any say so when this would happen. That we would sail for Italy. Paul's a prisoner. That's where they're going. The little Caesarea, the blue star down here is where they are, and Rome, Italy is where they're headed.

That's a lot of Mediterranean between, especially in those days. So here we're going forward. That's the trip. And so depending on what time of year you're going on that trip, there are different routes you might take. So they proceeded to turn Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion of the Augustine cohort named Julius.

Bless Julius. He's the guy in charge. A cohort is 600 guys at least, but he is one of the centurions, so he's handling at least a 100 guys in this cohort. And we boarded an Andromedian ship that was about to sail to the regions along the coast of Asia. So basically, Julius commandeers this ship.

I see folks in the navy looking at me. I learned more about ships and boats and stuff this week, and I cannot express it all to you. But, Andromedion's ship was not a huge huge ship, but it was a pretty good sized ship, and we'll see that at the end of this, how big it must have been. But it also was going to be sailing around the coast of Asia. So that's the coast of Asia at the time.

Turkey nowadays, Greece is right there too. But Asia is where they're going to be sailing, and it says, and put out to sea accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, one of Luke's buddies, one of Paul's buddies. The next day, put in at Sidon. So they left out of Caesarea and they didn't get very far. Caesarea is right here, that's part of Israel.

If you go on an Israel study tour, you're going to end up being in Caesarea Maritima, Maritime Caesarea. But Sidon is not too far above that, it's in modern day Lebanon. And if you think, well, that's not very far, It's rough going. And they start off and they come into Sidon and Julius treated Paul with consideration. And he allowed him and his friends to go in and receive care.

Well, that was sweet of him. It it's unprovoked grace really. He may have been at Caesarea, the Augustine cohort was there a lot, and so he may have just been around and knowing Paul just thought, yeah, this guy's not a threat. He's been in prison for something he didn't do for a long time. I'm gonna let him out here.

And if you read the book of Luke and the book of Acts, both, you see Sidon is usually, although it's foreign, Sidon is where the Syrophoenician woman met up with Jesus. And he taught them a little taught his disciples a little lesson about their own racism. And Sidon is generally favorably looked upon in the New Testament and here again, friends receive him and give him care there. Now from there, we put out to sea and we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary. This is an understatement too.

So here we are leaving from Sidon and going up and around Cyprus because the winds are contrary now. They're coming over to Asia, we know that they're going to do that. So we see that we had sailed through the sea along the coast of Cilicia, Tarsus where Paul is from is a city in Cilicia and Pamphylia, and we landed at Myra and Lycia, and so this is their route that they took. Here they are, and they were staying close to shore because it's a little bit smaller ship, probably. And the Aegean Sea up in here is not nearly as deep as the major Mediterranean.

So they're sticking fairly close to the shore and not getting out in the middle for any reason. It looks like they could have just gone Caesarea straight on over if they were going to do that, but they're staying close to shore and playing it safe, playing it careful. Now there, the centurion, you all remember Julius, found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy. Alexandria is down here in Africa, but Alexandria to Rome is a very common trade route. They go back and forth, they carry things from Africa, things from Italy back, but that's a very common trade route.

And this would have been a much bigger ship. It's not The Andromedium was a little smaller, and then this one is much bigger. And so, he put us aboard it. He gets to say, he's the centurion. He's in charge of the Roman, you know, at least a 100 guys.

But he put us aboard this ship, commandeered that one too. And when we had sailed slowly for a good many days and with difficulty, we had arrived Alpha Kinetis. I don't know how to say that. I am from Georgia. You got a better guess than that, you use that in your mind.

Alright? But that's where Canidus is, right around there, somewhere. They're stopping, it's kind of the Southern Aegean Sea, not as deep, but Alexandrian ship, bigger ship now, and it says, since the wind did not permit us to go farther. Okay. I'm going to break away from the text for just a second.

Have you ever felt like the wind would not allow you to go farther? I felt it last night for crying out loud, the fan being on full blast. No. I mean, we can take this and it is absolutely great history and everything tracks. Everything tracks.

Luke is a great historian and he's telling about a journey he was on. But if you look at it metaphorically, you're like, you know what? There's a lot of stuff that I don't have any control over. When we when it was decided that I was going to do such and such, it was decided that I was going to do such and such, and I was just a slave to whatever happened. And then, just as I was getting comfortable in that one ship, I got swapped to another ship.

And then, when I thought, well, maybe this thing will be faster and easier. This is obviously better, higher powered. No. They're not powered. They're powered by the wind.

Oh my goodness. The wind didn't permit us. We sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmon. So they left from there, and this looks like they're going backwards, doesn't it? Well, they went around Crete because the winds were coming out of Well, let's just let the text say where they're coming from.

And with difficulty, we were sailing past Crete, and we came to a place called Fair Havens. And Fair Havens was named by the Chamber of Commerce. Not a Fair Haven, not at all. It was a terrible place to try to stay for long. And so, they came to a place called Fair Havens, was near the city of La Silla, and when considerable time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous.

Does it sound like the voyage has been kind of unpleasant already? It's unpleasant and now it's dangerous and we know it. Since even the fast was already over. This fast is Yom Kippur, the fast of Yom Kippur, which is next Sunday. So this is the time of year, and I know there are tons of y'all that are about to make an exodus to get away from Jackson back wherever in the South y'all live most of the time.

This is that time of year where travel is alright. You're getting out before the snow falls, you're getting out before the winds get to be too terribly unfavorable. The fast was over and that was a signifier for any of the Jews like, you don't sail the Mediterranean after Yom Kippur. You just don't. That's not a good idea.

Everybody knows it. Nobody would do it. Paul, had he traveled a lot by this point? Yeah. More than almost anybody that we know about, you know.

If you were not a sailor, you probably hadn't traveled more than Paul. So the fast is already over. Paul started to admonish them. Paul's good at admonishing. He was saying, men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss.

Not only of the cargo and of the ship, but also of our lives. It's going to be it's going to have a cost and you all know better than to get out on the sea. But the sailors generally listen to landlubbers? No. Hey, or preachers.

Centurion and his soldiers, we have on board prisoners, we don't know how many, and the ship's crew. That's the people that are on board. There may have been some other people who are paying for passage, not just like stowaways are possible, but you know, people paying for passage. This is the way people got around this time. The harbor was not suitable for wintering Fairhaven.

It was not fair for wintering. So the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there. If somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing Southwest and Northwest, it had a great harbor, and spend the winter there. That was the decision, so they wanted to go to where the little red star is on Crete here from Fair Havens to Phoenix, and when a moderate south wind came up, this is what we're looking for fellas, Thinking that they had attained their purpose, I don't care what Paul says, they weighed anchor. Weight anchor, does that mean they put it down?

It means they lifted it up. Am I right, navy people? Yes. Okay. I knew I was right about that one.

They weighed anchor. They lifted the anchors and they began sailing along creek closer to shore. They didn't want to get out in the middle of the Mediterranean in the fall. But before very long, a violent wind called a Eurokilo. Can you hear Luke?

Like, he's a smart guy but he's not a sailor. And so he's describing it from the person that's on board. They call this wind a Eurokilo. Eurokilo is a word that's made out of two words. It's a Greek word, Eurus, the the God of the East is Eurus in Greek mythology.

And then the kilo or that way is either it means north or it means violent wind depending on who you listen to. But there's no doubt it means North Kilo does. Clydon is the other way. If you've got a King James Bible say, you're a Clydon. It's a difference of like a diphthong in in Greek.

It's not much different. Uraquila rushed down from the land. So this violent nor'easter, that's what we would call it as a nor'easter. It's a wind coming out of the Northeast. And when the ship was caught up in it and could not head up into the wind, we gave up, and we let ourselves be driven by the wind.

Okay. Let's back away from the text for a moment. Metaphorically, have you been overcome by a storm where you finally just threw up your hands and said, take me where you will. Nothing I can do about this. Spinning, running under the shelter of a small island called Cauda, we were able to get the ship's boat under control only with difficulty.

So here we are, and they're swirling, and there's a little bitty island off a creek called Cauda, and they're able to finally get it kind of calmed down. And after they had hoisted up the boat, now the ship's boat is like the lifeboat or the dinghy, and so they're able to get it under control. It had been apparently swinging off the side and bashing against the ship. So after they had hoisted up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship, and this is the way that they would have done it at this time. They take a couple of ropes and go around from the front and move them all the way to the back and tie them off and twist them together, and so it strengthens the hull of the ship.

So undergirding the ship, fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Sirtis. Doesn't that sound like Lord of the Rings? These are probably the shallows of Syrtis, is this shelf off of North Africa. It's a nor'easter, and they're thinking this is going to blow us right into these rocky, ugly lands, the shallows, and it's going beat us to death. So they let down the sea anchor and they let themselves be driven along this way.

So that's to slow them down, but they still found it would be more dangerous to root themselves down or to just let it go. So sea anchor is they're going but slower than they would have. The next day, as we were being violently tossed by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo. Now, what have Paul said? Hey, let's don't do this.

Fellas, come on. It's going to cost you like what you're trying to get to Italy with, you're not going to have by the time you get to Italy. And it's going to endanger our lives too. But the next day, as we were being violently tossed by the storm, they began to throw over the cargo. And on the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard.

Oh my goodness. This is getting serious. With their own hands, like a shipment who's throwing over the tackle with his own hands, Luke says. It's hard to see that happen since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small storm was assailing us. From then on, all hope of our being saved was slowly abandoned.

Okay. Let's back away from the text for a minute. Have you ever hit a place where you had given up and let the winds drive you wherever they would, and then you hit a place and you just thought, I don't think I'm ever gonna get out of this. You hit a place of desperation. Luke is saying, we did this.

It wasn't just the ship's crew and it wasn't just the prisoners. All of us felt this way. So when many had lost their appetites, I think I'd have lost it before I hit Sidon, honestly. That's why I'm not a shipman or a navy person at all. I'm not a deep sea fisherman, that does not appeal to me in any way.

When many had lost their appetites, Paul then stood up among them and said, men, I told you so. Different commentators kinda some of them say, Paul is saying I told you so, and others say, no, Paul is being very gracious to them right now. Paul is pleading with them saying, I told you so, and I'm telling you again. Okay? Men, you should have followed my advice and not have set sail from Crete, and thereby spared yourself this damage and loss.

So this is probably some of the the ship's crew and maybe not maybe not the owner, but the ship's crew, the people responsible for the load getting to Italy now don't have the load. When you don't have the load, you don't get the don't get paid for the load. Right? And yet now, I urge you to keep up your courage. Okay.

So he's not saying don't do something, he's saying take heart. Take heart. Keep up your courage for there will be no loss of life among you. What I said before was damage to the cargo, it's going to be gone, damage to the ship and possibly our lives. There's going to be a price to pay.

Y'all keep up your courage, keep working hard, there's not going to be any loss of life among you, only the ship. Are you looking forward to the shipwreck? You're going to lose the ship. Oh, yeah. You've already lost the cargo, you're going to lose the ship, but you're not gonna die.

For this very night, an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me saying, do not be afraid. Paul, you must. Day in Greek is a is a divine necessity. So, when Jesus says, we must go through Samaria. It wasn't because it's the only way to get back to where he was going.

It's a divine necessity that this happens. It's a divine appointment. Do not be afraid, Paul, because you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has graciously graciously granted you all of those who are sailing with you. Amen.

Therefore, keep up your courage, man. For I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I've been told. I don't have any doubt about it. But we must, again, divine necessity. It's the same word.

We must run aground on a certain island. He doesn't say which one. We're gonna run aground on a certain island. But when the fourteenth night came, how many of y'all thought this was gonna be over in just a day or two? Goodness gracious.

Goodness gracious. Two hundred and seventy six hours, something like that. Yeah. Fourteenth night came as we're being driven about in the Adriatic Sea. I know that most of us think of the Adriatic Sea as just this side on the backside of the boot of Italy, but at that time, it was considered all the way down to the tip of Sicily was Adriatic.

So they're just being tossed about in there and doing all they can, but that's deep water, and so they're not worried about hitting up against the rocks during the time that they're being tossed about and the storm is blowing. The cyclone or violent wind, hurricane force winds, and they're just being drifting about in there. About midnight, the sailors began to suspect that they were approaching some land. Now, there's clouds all around them. They hadn't seen the sun or stars in days, that's the way they normally would have navigated, but they started to feel it.

And those are guys who've been out there before. They feel like we're getting close to something. So they took soundings, they found it to be 20 fathoms. A fathom is six feet. It's the kind of average length.

My my fathom is a little further than a fathom. And there are others in here who's a little bit less than a fathom, but 20 fathoms is a 120 feet deep. So that, for the size of ship that they're in, is okay. They're right. They're starting to feel it probably because they can hear it.

I know I've got some submarine guys in here who know what it's like to be underwater, and you can feel the difference. And that's what they were feeling. And a little farther on, they took another sounding, and they found it to be 15 fathoms. And it's fascinating how they did this at the time, but lowering ropes over the side and then measuring them when they come up, one fathom, two fathoms, 15 fathoms. So this is 90 feet deep.

So just in a little while, they've gotten 30 feet, gained 30 feet lost 30 feet of depth. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern. Hey, do you all know what the stern is? I'm not a boat guy. It's the back.

They cast four anchors from the stern. Now the reason for it wanting to be from the stern, if they're losing depth, they're headed towards land, and they put it in the back of the boat so that they can head the front of the boat towards whatever they're getting closer to. Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and they prayed for daybreak. That wasn't just me and the bunny praying for daybreak this morning. Fourteen days.

Fourteen days. But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship, what? These are the guys who were protecting everyone else's life. These were the ones that were protecting the soldiers' lives that had commandeered their ship. But they lost their cargo.

Paul says they're going to lose their ship. As the sailors are trying to scrape from the ship and they had let down the ship's boat, that's the lifeboat or the dinghy, the little lifeboat. They let it down into the sea on the pretense that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, the bow being the front. They've already laid the anchors from the back. Oh, yeah.

We're just going to drop into the water and go hang the anchors from the front. And Paul said to the centurion, Julius and to the other soldiers, unless these men remain on the ship, you yourselves cannot be shaved. They're the guys who know what they're doing. Don't let them go. They're lying to you right now.

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship's boat. So the lifeboat's gone. No lifeboat. That would have been normally when you harbor, you send people in on the lifeboat and they come back. You know, it's like the marina.

Right? You just do that. No more lifeboat. They let it all fall away. No more dinghy.

Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept on encouraging them. Do you have anybody like that in your life than when everything is looking dark and everything is looking like you're adrift or you're you've hit the point of absolute desperation? Do you have anybody that'll just keep on encouraging you? I pray that you do. And if you don't call me, I've been through a lot of stuff.

Paul kept on encouraging. Y'all eat, take some food. Today is the fourteenth day whether you've been counting or not, that you've been constantly watching and going without eating and haven't taken in nothing. Therefore, I encourage all of y'all to take some food for this is for your survival, for not one hair from your head of any of you is going to perish. God will protect you.

I believe him. Having said this, he took bread and he gave thanks to God. This is almost exactly the same. We're gonna do communion here in a minute, Lord's supper. This is almost exactly the same verbiage that it says that Jesus took bread and gave thanks to God and the presence of them all, he broke it and they began to eat together and all of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.

So, how many people? We were 276 people. How many of y'all are here? I bet they're real close to 276 of you. 243 chairs in here and there's some of you back there.

That's a lot of people. That's a lot of folks on a boat. Right? That's a lot of people with the ship's crew and the centurion and the soldiers and the prisoners. We don't know how many.

Luke puts them all on the same even keel. I can't help it. Sometimes the puns are just there. We're 276 people on the ship and all, and when they had eaten enough, they began lightening the ship again by throwing the wheat out into the sea. So shame for shame.

They had been fasting, now they were going gluten free. Sorry. That reminds me, the little the little cups right here, the muffin cups have gluten free wafers in them. I forget that every week. Now, when day came, they could not recognize the land, but they did notice a bay with the beach.

You see, they recognized that it was land, but they didn't know what land it was. And these are sailors, and they're supposed to know. I'm always amazed when I go up to Jackson Lake with somebody who's got a boat, that they know where they are. That's a big lake, and that's not a big lake compared to the Mediterranean. And they've been adrift for days.

So they saw land, they didn't know what land it was, but they did recognize a beach, and a beach is sandy. And if you're going to run your ship aground, you'd rather run it aground in a sandy spot. So they resolved to run that ship onto that beach if they could, that was the plan. And casting off the anchors, okay, now they've lost the lifeboat and they cut the lines for the anchors too. When I was in seminary, had a buddy named Sam.

He's he was an his first my first degree was bachelor of fine arts. His first degree was underwater archaeology specifically in Mediterranean. He had pulled up anchors from the Mediterranean from this time period. They cast off the anchors and they left them in the sea, while at the same time, and maybe back away from the text here, Ray, is there anything that's weighing you down that you just need to cut loose? Cut loose.

There's a great it's sometime in June. My utmost for his highest, you could Google it with this, cut loose from the moorings. Oswald Chambers says, cut loose from the moorings. Just let yourself go on God's grace. Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea and while at the same time, they were loosening the ropes of the rudders because they wanted to steer this ship into the beach, the bay there, and they hoisted the foresail to the wind and they were head for the beach.

We are going straight that way. But they struck a reef. Just when you think it's gonna be alright. Right? And it's it's been like this over and over and over again.

And I know that Luke was just keeping an accurate record, but man, the metaphors are there, you know. Just when you think it's gonna be alright, there's another diagnosis. Or just when you think it's gonna be alright, there's a loss that you had not expected. They struck a reef where the two seas meet and they ran the ship aground and the prow, that's the same thing as the bow, that's the front because they were aiming for the beach, stuck firmly and it remained immovable. So the front stuck firmly and remained immovable while the stern, that's the back, started to break up due to the force of the wave.

So what Paul said was coming to pass. You're going to lose the ship, but you're not going to lose your lives. He had already told him that. Little individual revelation from God to Paul that he shares with them and he encourages them with it. Now, the soldiers plan was to kill the prisoners.

What? Goes It from bad to worse. Every time you think they're gonna get out of this, they're gonna get out of this, they're gonna get out of this. They're now they're stuck in a reef and the boat's being beaten to pieces and the soldier's plan was, well, we're soldiers. If one of them escapes, it's on us.

We've seen that elsewhere in scripture that a Roman soldier who allows the escape of a prisoner has his own life to pay for the life of that prisoner. So the soldiers plan, just kill the prisoners so that none of them would swim away and escape. But the centurion, remember Julius? Thank God for Julius, wanting to bring Paul safely through. Paul's relationship with this guy was enough that 276 people on board and and Julius was thinking about Paul.

I don't want. I want Paul to see Caesar. I want Paul to make it. The centurion wanting to bring Paul safely through kept them, the other soldiers, from accomplishing their intention. Direct order, don't kill the prisoners.

And he commanded that that those who could swim were to jump overboard first because they don't have a lifeboat, they don't have a dinghy. Those of you who can swim, jump out first, and you all get to land. And then the rest were to follow. Some on planks, others on various things from the ship, anything you know, when you throw stuff overboard, you don't throw over the stuff that floats. There's blotsam and jetsam.

You throw off the stuff that's heavy, not the stuff that floats. So that we were at the mercy of whatever is happening, and then we find it difficult to walk forward. I said this morning, I feel like I'm walking in deep mud just for having lost couple hours of sleep. When you got a diagnosis or when you got a difficult thing coming up, when you lose your job or whatever is going on, the storms of life that are on you feel like they're just insurmountable. And sometimes you just have to run and let it let it drift, and then other times you're under the shelter of some little island.

I pray that you have someone that will encourage you like Paul. I pray that you'll have God's protection in the midst of it. I pray that you do everything those sailors were doing everything that they could to make the right decisions. I pray that cooler heads will prevail that you don't like the soldiers just decide to do something rash or harsh. I pray that you'll lean towards the future that God has for you.

Now, when they had been brought safely through, then we found out that that little island, that certain island that we must run aground on some certain little island, hey, the name of that island is Malta. And they still celebrate Paul in a very very big way. There's more to the story. We'll get to it next week. I think I'm gonna finish the book of acts next week.

That's ambitious. But we're going into a time of communion right now. And I think of Paul on that boat, and I think of all of us and how God has been bringing us through whatever storms and I just pray that you would like those soldiers and sailors right here at this table that you would find some encouragement in taking this food. Jesus says, and I'll invite the ushers and the elders to come forward. We're gonna distribute this.

The band can come on up. We're gonna play a couple of songs, Darren. Lord God almighty, I pray that you would bless during the distribution that we would consider lord our way and we'd consider where we'd given up and we'd consider where we ought to give up, whether we are anchored to some mooring that is keeping us from you and we need to cut that loose or whether lord, we've just decided we're not doing anything anymore. In Jesus name, I pray that you'd draw us into the certain beach that you want us on, the certain ground that you want us on. I don't know what it is for every individual in here.

I I I'm glad that Paul did. Our common destiny, lord. Our common destiny. We're in this boat together, all of us are. And so lord, I pray that that you would that you would have your will way.

You would do your will and your way among us. As we consider this the Lord's supper, I pray Lord that you would forgive us of our sins. The first song that we sang today was on earth as it is in heaven, Lord, that you would forgive us as we forgive our trespasses. Lord, may we just be letting go of the things that we're holding against them. You said vengeance is mine.

I will repay. Every sin that has ever been committed will either be justly condemned by you or mercifully forgiven. We can do no better, Lord, than to obey your command and forgive them and let you decide. In Jesus name, I pray that we would, as a celebration of the life that Jesus lived perfectly, as we distribute this cup and we take this bread and we take it and we hold on to it and wait to all take it together. In Jesus name, amen.

This week, I'm thinking of Paul on that ship breaking that bread or Jesus at the end of Luke with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, being invited into their home and breaking the bread there and then recognizing him in this, the the act of the Lord's Supper. And I pray that we would remember him as he said. On the same night that he was betrayed, he took bread after supper and he broke it and he gave it to his disciples that were gathered there with him after he'd given thanks And he said, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and take it in and do it anytime that you will in remembrance of me. Thank you Jesus for leaving the glories of heaven and coming to this earth and walking out in perfect submission to the spirit, the plan of God.

The sinless plan of God. You did not fail in your probation like Adam and like every one of us. You have the perfect record that you offered, Lord, and you did so by shedding voluntarily and sacrificially your innocent blood. We celebrate that right now as we distribute this little plastic cup of grape juice. It's a representation of the blood that was spilled on Calvary by the lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

In Jesus name, I pray that you'd bless this cup as we distribute it lord and if there's anyone who is not yet convinced and does not persuaded and has not believed lord and they let this pass. I pray that you would work upon their lives through your word and through these folks who are gathered here in your name. But Lord, for those of us who will partake, I pray that we will center ourselves and on you and follow you in submission to the spirit. Whatever the walk is that you have for us, whatever the storm is you have for us to come out the other side. I pray lord.

In Jesus name, would you bless this cup? Amen. Just in the same way that he had taken the bread, he also took the cup after supper. The common cup for them most likely, but for us is this little plastic cup. He said to them and his voice still rings to us.

This is the new covenant in my blood. Take this. Take it in. Do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Lord God, we're we're thankful for the new covenant.

Amen. Would you stand with me? I think the band's up there. We're gonna sing through. We believe.

We believe in God the father. We believe in Jesus Christ. Quick reminder, quick reminder on the discovery class, the new member class is down the hall. If you're thinking about becoming a new member, you're welcome to join. Gary Geek in my office down second door on the left and the blessing for today is from second Corinthians 13.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all in Jesus name. Amen.

Topics

Encouragement Losing Control Perseverance Shipwreck Storms Of Life Trust God

Recap

What was said

Doing a Bible study?

Topics

Share this message

Come find us