Woe There: The King Condemns Hypocrisy
Hopson Boutot
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Lead Vocalist (Phoebe Garcia)
Welcome & Announcements (Jason)
Good morning family!
Ask guests to fill out connect card
3 announcements:
1) Multi-Church Night of Worship
Join several area Pillar Network churches for a night of worship
Tonight at 6:30 at Seaford Baptist Church
2) Discover Class
Begins September 10
Please sign up online or talk to one of the pastors
3) Church Luncheon
September 24 after morning worship
Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.
Call to Worship (Psalm 26:8-12)
Prayer of Praise (Brannan Holdren)
All Praise to Him
Psalm 150 (Praise the Lord)
Prayer of Confession (Colin Smith), Hypocrisy
Assurance of Pardon (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Nothing But the Blood
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Scripture Reading (Matthew 23:1-39)
Pastoral Prayer (Jason Wells)
SERMON
START TIMER!!!
Good morning family!
Although it was a joy to worship with our brothers and sisters at The Cross Church in Pensacola, FL while we were on vacation last week, it is always a much sweeter joy to return home to worship with you, our family, where we are known and loved.
Turn to Matthew 23
Since we’re covering a large portion of Scripture, I’m not going to read or comment on every verse in our passage, so it will help you immensely if you have a Bible open so you can follow along with me.
Please, everyone grab a Bible!
While you’re turning there, consider this:
Sometimes what appears to be vicious and cruel is actually an incredible gift of saving grace.
Just ask David Lindsay.
He had just settled down for an afternoon nap when he was awoken by a bloodcurdling scream.
As unsettling as it is to wake up to your wife screaming, what was more unsettling was what she said.
“The puppy’s chewing your toe!”
David looked down to see a bloody mess, and his 7-month-old bulldog puppy gnawing away.
The damage done to David’s toe was so severe he was forced to remain in the hospital for nine days while doctors worked to stop the infection from spreading to his bones.
How vicious and cruel does a bulldog puppy have to be to gnaw away at it’s owner’s toe?
I’m sure David and his wife seriously considered re-homing their puppy Harley...
Until the doctors discovered why David was able to sleep while his dog turned his toe into a tootsie pop.
After carefully examination, the doctors learned David lost all feeling in his toes because he had two blocked arteries in his leg.
If this issue wasn’t discovered and treated, David was in serious danger of a leg amputation or worse.
Thanks to Harley, David lost his toe. But also thanks to Harley, his leg (and possibly even his life) was saved. [1]
Because sometimes what appears to be vicious and cruel is actually an incredible gift of saving grace.
If there is any chapter in the gospels where Jesus appears to be a vicious and cruel bulldog, it’s Matthew 23.
Remember, it’s Tuesday afternoon, just a few days before Jesus’ crucifixion.
Jesus is locked in an escalating conflict with the Pharisees.
Last week we watched as they confronted Him with a series of questions hoping to trap him in His words.
But now Jesus is going to get the last word against the Pharisees.
And in doing so, He looks kind of like a bulldog. Just listen to some of the names He calls the Pharisees in this chapter:
Hypocrites, children of hell, blind guides, fools, dirty dishes, whitewashed tombs, serpents, brood of vipers, and murderers.
Why does Jesus talk like this? What about gentle and lowly Jesus, meek and mild Jesus, softly and tenderly Jesus? Is Jesus just fed up? Has He finally reached the end of His rope? Or is there something else going on here?
The Big Idea I want you to notice from today’s sermon is that Jesus’s harshest words are actually an incredible gift of saving grace that should lead us to careful self-examination.
The fact that Jesus warns the Pharisees is a gift, isn’t it?
Think of these words as Jesus holding up a mirror to expose the Pharisees’ sin.
Jesus’ words may severely wound the Pharisees’ egos. But if they will carefully examine themselves in the mirror of His Word, they can be rescued.
But these words are not only for the Pharisees. These words are for us too.
The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to write these words as a gift for us.
Jesus’ words here may severely wound our egos too. But if we will only carefully examine ourselves in this mirror we too can be rescued.
If you’re an unbeliever, I pray the Spirit will use Jesus’ words in this passage to awaken you to your need for a Savior. May you repent and believe in Jesus today.
If you’re a Christian, I pray the Spirit will use Jesus’ words in this passage to convict you of your sin. May you repent and be restored today.
With God’s help, I want each of us to ask Eight Self-Examination Questions as we walk through our text together.
1) Am I Preaching and Practicing the Truth?
1) Am I Preaching and Practicing the Truth?
In verses 1-4, Jesus warns the crowd and His disciples that the scribes and Pharisees do not practice or preach the truth.
The scribes and Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day.
When Jesus says they “sit on Moses’ seat” in verse 2 He doesn’t mean they found Moses’ antique La-Z-Boy.
To “sit in Moses’ seat” would be kind of like saying you’re preaching in Charles Spurgeon’s pulpit.
It’s a position of religious authority to teach the law of God.
Teaching God’s Word is good, but these religious leaders are not practicing what they preach.
They take the law of Moses—which was already a burden that God’s people couldn’t carry—and make it even more burdensome.
For example, you may remember from Matthew 15 that these same religious leaders were angry with Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands correctly. Although Exodus 30 has a brief instruction about handwashing for priests, the Pharisees had written nearly four thousand words about how to wash your hands correctly. They had rules for washing wrists, rules for how much water could be used, and rules about where the water could come from and what the water could be carried in. [2]
No wonder Jesus says in verse 4 that the Pharisees have “tied up heavy burdens” that are “hard to bear.”
If that’s what the Pharisees were doing, why does Jesus say in verse 3, “observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do”?
Some have argued that the Pharisees teaching was right. The only problem was that they didn’t practice what they preach.
Not practicing what they preached was certainly a problem. But it wasn’t their only problem.
If you look carefully at Matthew 23, you’ll notice that Jesus has serious problems with the Pharisees teaching too...
In verse 15 Jesus says those who follow their teaching will become children of hell.
In verse 16 Jesus calls the Pharisees “blind guides.”
In verses 17-22 Jesus completely debunks some of their teaching as flat-out wrong.
So why does Jesus tell us to do what they say?
I agree with the many scholars who believe that Jesus is being sarcastic.
“Go ahead and do what the Pharisees say… if you want the door of heaven to slam in your face… or if you want to become a child of hell.”
These words may seem harsh, but they’re a gift of grace if we’ll carefully examine ourselves.
So what about you? What message are you preaching? When you talk about Jesus and the Scriptures are you speaking the truth? Or have you added to the Scriptures? Or taken away from the Scriptures?
And are you practicing what you preach? Do you say one thing on Sunday mornings but live differently the rest of the week?
Do you say you believe that sinners apart from Jesus will go to hell, but never talk to any sinners about Jesus?
Do you say you believe the Bible, but ignore what it teaches about how we raise our children?
Do you say you love your spouse, but treat him or her as if they exist to fulfill your needs?
Let’s be careful here: I am not suggesting that any of us will be perfect in any of these areas. We’re not talking about perfection, but direction. So when you look at the general direction of your life, do you see a trajectory towards obedience? Or towards hypocrisy?
Would you carefully examine what you practice and what you preach?
There’s a second question we need to ask ourselves...
2) Am I Interested in Looking Holy or Being Holy?
2) Am I Interested in Looking Holy or Being Holy?
In verses 5-12, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for being more interested in looking holy than being holy.
Notice in verse 5, He begins saying “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”
And then He gives several examples.
In verse 5 He talks about broad phylacteries and long fringes. What is that all about?
SHOW PHYLACTERIES & FRINGES IMAGE
A phylactery is a small box worn on the forehead or the arm, worn in an attempt to obey Deuteronomy 6:8. In that passage, Moses commands God’s people to bind God’s Word on their arms and foreheads. The point of that verse is that God’s Word should affect how we think and act, but the Pharisees took that command literally and began putting mini scrolls in a box and strapping it to their heads. And if you really wanted to look holy, you just got a bigger phylactery.
The same basic thing was happening with the fringes of their garments. These are the long tassels hanging from the man’s prayer shawl. And the longer the tassels, the more holy you appeared.
But the Pharisees’ problem was bigger than how they dressed.
In verse 6 Jesus rebukes them for angling for the best seats in any sort of public gathering.
In verse 7 He rebukes them for loving the loud, respected public greetings they received in the marketplaces.
In verse 8-11 He rebukes their obsession with fancy titles.
Then in verse 12 Jesus concludes, “if you want to exalt yourself, you’re going to be humiliated. But if you humble yourself, you will be exalted.”
Once again, these words may seem harsh, but they’re a gift of grace if we’ll carefully examine ourselves.
So what about you? Are you more interested in being holy or looking holy?
Are you here to be seen, or to serve?
Are you more interested in your children appearing well behaved, or actually loving Jesus?
Do you spend more time preparing your body for worship gatherings, or preparing your heart?
Do you love it when people address you in special titles like “deacon,” “elder,” “teacher,” or “pastor”?
Do you love being recognized when you walk into a room or onto the stage?
Would you carefully examine yourself to see if you’re more interested in looking holy or being holy?
There’s a third question we need to ask ourselves...
3) Am I Hindering or Helping Others?
3) Am I Hindering or Helping Others?
Beginning in verse 13, Jesus transitions from talking about the Pharisees to talking to them.
Along the way He will say the words “woe to you” seven times.
The word “woe” is used to express grief, despair, sorrow, pain, curse, and judgment. It’s a word threatening damnation and destruction. [3]
In the first two woes we see the Pharisees hindering other people from following Jesus...
In verse 13, the Pharisees are hindering people by misleading them about Jesus.
As the experts of the Old Testament, they should have known that Jesus was the Messiah. They should have welcomed Jesus, worshipped Him, and led others to do the same. But instead they not only rejected Jesus, they led other people to reject Him.
They were like someone slamming a door in people’s faces.
They didn’t enter the Kingdom of heaven, and they didn’t allow others to enter the Kingdom either.
Although most of us would never lead people to reject Jesus in the same way the Pharisees did, we do this in subtle ways.
If we tell people Jesus doesn’t care how they live, we’re misleading them about Jesus.
If we say Jesus will affirm anyone and everyone just how they are, we’re misleading them about Jesus.
If we tell people they have to clean themselves up to become Christians, we’re misleading them about Jesus.
If we tell people that following Jesus means they’ll be prosperous in this life, we’re misleading them about Jesus.
If we tell people the right things about Jesus but don’t actually follow Him ourselves, we’re misleading them about Jesus.
And if we don’t tell people anything about Jesus, we’re misleading them about Jesus by giving them the false impression that Jesus doesn’t care if we speak about Him.
So what about you? Are you teaching people the truth about Jesus? What are you doing to grow in your understanding of the person and work of Jesus so that you will lead people rightly?
In verse 15, the Pharisees are hindering people by making disciples of themselves.
A proselyte is a convert, a disciple. The Pharisees were willing to work hard and travel anywhere to make disciples.
But they weren’t leading people to follow God. They were leading people to follow them. And as a result, they were leading people to hell.
The temptation to make self-disciples exists for everyone who teaches God’s Word, whether it’s in family worship, a discipleship group, a Bible study, a Sunday School class, or a Sunday morning sermon. Rather than pointing people to follow Jesus, we can become so enamored with the praise we receive for teaching God’s Word that we begin to point people to ourselves.
So what about you? If you teach God’s Word, are you seeking to make disciples of Jesus or yourself? If you don’t teach God’s Word, are you seeking to make sure that those who do teach God’s Word are teaching it rightly? Are you like the Bereans in Acts 17 who examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul taught them was actually true?
Would you carefully examine yourself to see if you’re hindering or helping others?
There’s a fourth question we need to ask ourselves...
4) Am I the Exception to the Rule?
4) Am I the Exception to the Rule?
In verses 16-22, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for the many loopholes they had created that allowed them to break their promises:
“As long as you don’t swear by the gold of the temple, you don’t have to keep your promise!”
Or, “As long as you don’t swear by the sacrifice on the altar, you don’t have to keep your promise!”
They’re kind of like a kid who says he doesn’t have to keep a promise because his fingers were crossed.
Why are the Pharisees doing this? Because, just like you and me sometimes, they liked to believe they were the exception to the rule.
Rather than responding to God’s Word, they preferred to create loopholes. Rather than turning from their sin, they preferred to justify themselves.
Because of this, Jesus calls them blind in verse 16, 17, and 19.
In fact, they’re worse than a blind man because they think they can see. They are blind fools.
Once again, these words may seem harsh, but they’re a gift of grace if we’ll carefully examine ourselves.
So what about you? When God’s Word speaks against some sin in your life are you looking for loopholes?
I know I shouldn’t date an unbeliever, but this time it’s going to be different.
I know I should be more involved in church, but look how busy I am!
Do you use your circumstances as an excuse?
Well, if you knew what I was dealing with you would understand why I acted that way!
If only my spouse gave me more attention I wouldn’t be tempted to look elsewhere.
Do you use some other term to describe what the Bible calls sin?
It’s not pride, it’s self-esteem. I’m not gossiping, I’m venting. I’m not angry I’m frustrated. My child isn’t being disobedient, she’s just tired.
My problem isn’t sin, it’s a disorder that I cannot control.
As long as you view yourself as the exception to the rule, faithful preaching will not penetrate your heart. Your inner attorney will always find some reason to tell you that this isn’t really about you.
Will you carefully examine yourself to see how you’re acting as if you’re the exception to the rule?
There’s a fifth question we need to ask ourselves...
5) Am I Majoring on the Minors?
5) Am I Majoring on the Minors?
In verses 23-24, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for majoring on the minors. For obsessing over minor details while avoiding what mattered most.
The specific example Jesus gives to prove His point is about a practice called tithing.
In the law of Moses, the people of Israel were commanded to give a tenth of their income to the nation’s treasury.
That word tithe in verse 23 actually means “tenth.”
The tithe would go to support the tribe of Levi, whose job was to take care of the temple.
Occasionally Christians will ask me if tithing is still required for Christians under the New Covenant.
Do we still have to tithe today? On no, Christian! You are free to give more!
If the Jewish people could give ten percent of their income to celebrate their freedom from bondage to Egypt, should we who have been freed from bondage to sin and death by the blood of Jesus give less?
If you’re not currently giving regularly to your local church, ten percent of your income is a great place to start. But I would encourage you to regularly ask yourself, how can I give more?
Alright, let’s get back to Matthew 23...
The Pharisees were big advocates of the tithe.
In fact, in verse 23 Jesus says they went to their spice racks and measured out ten percent of their spices and included it in their tithes.
Imagine if we passed the offering plate and somebody started pouring in a few teaspoons of cinnamon and paprika!
But that’s not all. The Pharisees were tithing from their spice racks and at the same time ignoring the weightier things like justice and mercy and faithfulness.
They were majoring on the minors!
As a result, Jesus says in verse 24 they’re like a fool who is carefully straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel!
Once again, these words may seem harsh, but they’re a gift of grace if we’ll carefully examine ourselves.
So what about you? Are you majoring on the minors?
Are you quick to judge others who have different convictions about modesty, entertainment, politics, or alcohol, while ignoring the pride and gossip in your own life?
Do you nag your spouse about petty annoyances while ignoring the bitterness that’s festering in your heart towards them?
In your family life, do you make time for soccer practice, homework, sports camp, and honors classes while ignoring family worship and consistent church involvement?
What is more important to you: your political party winning elections, or winning souls for Jesus?
Will you carefully examine yourself to see how you’re majoring on the minors?
There’s a sixth question we need to ask ourselves...
6) Am I Ignoring My Heart?
6) Am I Ignoring My Heart?
In verses 25-28, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for ignoring their hearts.
They looked great on the outside. They appeared to have it all together. They had a lot of religious knowledge and they did a lot of religious things.
But their hearts were cesspools of wickedness. On the inside, there was all manner of evil like bitterness, pride, anger, and rebellion.
They were like dirty dishes, clean on the outside but filthy on the inside.
They were like painted tombs, shiny on the outside but filled with dead people’s bones on the inside!
Once again, these words may seem harsh, but they’re a gift of grace if we’ll carefully examine ourselves.
So what about you? Are you focusing entirely on external things and ignoring the heart?
Are you so consumed with religious activity that you never stop to think about your heart?
One pastor warns us that “the inner workings of your church can offer more than sufficient cover for a works-oriented person to take shelter from the gospel. Someone can think they are doing great with God because of all the time they volunteer at church without ever meeting [the Bible’s] criteria of loving their brother or sister.” [4]
Are you so busy doing things for Jesus that you don’t spend time with Jesus? How often are you reading your Bible? How often do you pray? How is your soul?
Will you carefully examine yourself to see if you’re ignoring your heart?
There’s a seventh question we need to ask ourselves...
7) Am I Deceiving Myself?
7) Am I Deceiving Myself?
In verses 29-35, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for deceiving themselves.
In Jesus’ day, Jerusalem was littered with monuments honoring the Old Testament prophets.
And the Pharisees were instrumental in building and decorating those monuments.
Because of that, they had deceived themselves into thinking that they would have treated the prophets differently than their forefathers.
Verse 30—‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
But Jesus says, they’re just as guilty.
In verses 34-35, Jesus accuses them of murdering the prophets.
In fact, Jesus says the blood of all the Old Testament saints from Abel to Zechariah—from A-Z—will fall on their heads.
After all, these Pharisees are even now planning to kill the greatest Prophet, Jesus Christ.
So Jesus says, you guys are nothing but a bunch of murderers!
Once again, these words seem very harsh, but they’re a gift of grace if we’ll carefully examine ourselves.
So what about you? Are you deceiving yourself?
Do you think that because you sometimes do good things that you’re a fundamentally good person?
Have you looked in the mirror of God’s Word to see your sin?
Have you forsaken it?
Will you carefully examine yourself to see if you’re deceiving yourself?
The problem, of course, with asking you to do this is that you can deceive yourself into thinking you’re not deceiving yourself.
So let me encourage you to do something that will be painful, scary, and just maybe one of the best things you ever do: ask a brother or sister who knows you best to examine you here.
Ask them, “where do you think I’m deceiving myself? What blind spots do you see in my life?”
Finally, there’s one more question we need to ask ourselves...
8) Will I Repent?
8) Will I Repent?
In verse 33, Jesus asks a crucial question: “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?”
If everything Jesus has said about the Pharisees is true, God cannot be a just God unless He punishes their evil!
Don’t just think, “Yeah, get ‘em Jesus!”
We need to ask ourselves the same question...
How are we going to escape being sentenced to hell?
I told you earlier that Jesus words in Matthew 23 are like a mirror. They’re given to us that we might carefully examine ourselves and see our sin.
If you've been faithful to carefully examine yourself in the mirror of Jesus’ Word this morning, I am certain you have seen something ugly there.
But what do we do next? We have three options...
We can look at our filth in this mirror and then walk away and do nothing.
We’ll be like the middle school boy who looks in the mirror and sees lettuce in his teeth. But he doesn’t care, so he just moves on.
If we do that, we will receive the same judgment that fell upon these Pharisees.
We can look at our filth in this mirror and try to use the mirror to clean ourselves.
Now of course, mirrors are useful tools for revealing but not for cleaning.
In the same way, Jesus’ words here are wonderful for revealing our sin. But we cannot cleanse ourselves by simply doing the opposite of what the Pharisees did.
In fact, if you try that you’ll find yourself either more proud or frustrated than ever.
We can look at our filth in this mirror then run to Jesus.
That’s exactly what Jesus offers in...
Verse 37—“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”
Jesus says to the people of the city, “I’m ready to receive you! Just come to me! Return to me and I will restore you!”
But how can Jesus restore us?
Unlike us, Jesus has never sinned.
And yet in a few short days He will die on a cross, paying the penalty for all the ways we have sinned just like the Pharisees.
And three days later He will rise from death, proving that He has truly paid the penalty for our sin.
Jesus concludes the chapter by condemning the city of Jerusalem for rejecting Him.
In verse 38 Jesus says their house—the temple—is going to be made desolate.
In verse 36 Jesus says this will happen before that generation passes away.
In verse 39 Jesus says the city of Jerusalem will not see Him again because at this point His public ministry is over.
After this chapter, Jesus doesn’t perform any more public miracles or provide any more public teaching.
The next time the city of Jerusalem sees Jesus in power it will be when He returns, not as a rescuing Savior, but as a righteous judge!
There’s a crucial lesson we must learn from these verses: The offer of repentance IS genuine, but it is NOT permanent.
Our only hope is to repent. To turn from our sins and run to Jesus before it’s too late!
You don’t have to face Jesus as a vicious bulldog. You can run to Him as a chick runs to a mother hen!
For some of you that means running to Jesus for the first time. It means turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus alone as your Lord, Savior, and Treasure. It means making that public through baptism and commitment to a local church. If that’s where you are today, would you talk to me or one of our pastors after the service so we can help you as you seek to follow Jesus?
For some of you that means running to Jesus as a Christian. You’ve wandered from Him. In one or more of the ways we’ve discussed this morning you’ve fallen short. So as you examine yourself this morning, confess that sin. Perhaps you need to talk with another person because you’ve sinned against them too. Or perhaps you need to talk to someone for accountability. But if you belong to Jesus you must keep fighting your sin. You must keep repenting!
Prayer of Thanksgiving
In just a moment we’re going to sing a song, and after that we’re going to take the Lord’s Supper together.
Let me remind, you the Lord’s Supper is a special meal for Christians to remember the body and blood of Jesus.
If you are not a follower of Jesus, we invite you to repent and believe in Him today!
If you have not made your faith public by following Jesus in believer’s baptism, we invite you to talk with us about that today.
Pastor Jason is in the lobby ready and waiting to talk with anyone about any of these things. You can make your way to him in a moment when we stand to sing.
If you’ve not repented of your sin and followed Jesus in baptism as a believer we would ask you not to take communion with us in a few moments.
That’s not because we think we’re better than you or anything like that.
But because we want you to receive Jesus Himself, not merely the symbol that reminds us of Jesus.
Because we believe the Bible teaches baptism is the first step of obedience as a follower of Jesus, we shouldn’t take later steps until after we’ve taken that first step.
So if that’s you this morning, you’re welcome to remain in your seat when your row is dismissed to take communion in a few minutes.
Or, if you prefer, you’re free to leave the service when we stand in just a moment.
If you choose to leave, nobody is going to be staring at you or judging you because there will also be a bunch of parents getting up to collect their kids from the nursery while we’re singing so that all our volunteers can join us for communion.
Now let’s stand and sing together, and continue to examine ourselves as we sing the words in this song...
Come Ye Sinners, Poor & Needy
LORD’S SUPPER
1 Cor 11:23-28—“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
Hopefully you’ve been examining yourself throughout our service today, but I encourage you to continue to examine yourself over the next few moments.
The bread and cup we’re about to take is a sobering thing. It reminds us of the body and blood of Jesus.
The very One who created galaxies and upholds them by the word of His power, was nailed to a tree so that we could be saved.
So we dare not approach the table wrongly.
As I said earlier, we shouldn’t take the bread and cup as an unbeliever. Or as a believer who hasn’t made our faith public through believer’s baptism.
We also shouldn’t take the bread and cup with unconfessed sin. If the Lord has convicted you of something this morning, confess that to Him. Than rejoice that if you confess your sin He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I’m going to pray over the bread in just a moment.
When your row is dismissed, please come to the front using THIS aisle.
Pastor Sterling will serve you the bread at this table. You can eat the bread as soon as you’re ready.
Pastor Mike will serve you the cup at this table.
After you receive the cup, please take it back to your seat using THAT aisle.
Then once everyone has been served we’ll all take the cup together.
Please bow your heads with me.
[PAUSE FOR A MOMENT THEN PRAY]
If you haven’t eaten the bread yet, please do so now as we prepare to drink the cup.
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Let’s sing together
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen
Doxology
Benediction (1 Timothy 6:15b-16