The Parable of the Sower
Notes
Transcript
ome will act like they are truly saved but will yield no harvest as they get caught up in the temporal things of this age and reveal they never knew Him.Opening Illustration
ome will act like they are truly saved but will yield no harvest as they get caught up in the temporal things of this age and reveal they never knew Him.Opening Illustration
Beloved, pay attention to the list of words I am about to say and think about what it is describing...
All these words are how the Bible describe this particular object:
Wicked...
Desperately sick...
Perverse...
Evil...
Insane...
Unclean...
Deceitful...
Disloyal...
Errant...
Unrepentant...
Unbelieving...
Blind...
Deceived...
Hardened...
Proud...
Greedy...
Foolish...
Idolatrous...
Rebellious...
Perverse...
Stubborn...
.......
And finally...
Dull...
.......
Any guesses?
.......
Beloved, these words are how Scripture describes the heart...
Yes, the heart!
So, all of those negative terms expose the depths of human depravity...
And if a heart is not first transformed...
If a heart is not turned to flesh...
Then it will not respond to the life saving message of the Gospel.
.......
So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 8 and focus on verses 4 through 15.
Our message this morning is titled, “The Parable of the Sower”
.......
This message today will focus on one of Jesus’ best-known parables...
We will witness how Jesus describes four different responses to His preaching about the Kingdom of God...
In our passage we will see how our Lord and Savior makes it clear that the issue is not the gospel message, nor is it the skill or methodology of those proclaiming it...
The determining factor is the condition of the hearer’s heart.
.......
So, this morning we will cover six main points:
The Purpose of Parables...
The Path...
The Rock...
The Thorns...
The Good Soil...
And...
The Call to Action.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
.......
Heavenly Father...
The sovereign ruler of all of creation...
We worship You and praise You for who You are!
You deserve glory every minute and every second...
For the act of us drawing breath is a miracle in itself that comes from Your love, mercy, and kindness!
.......
Thank You for having mercy on Your elect...
Thank You for taking our stone heart and making into a heart of flesh...
Thank You for removing the horse blinders from our eyes...
Thank You for all that You do for your children!
.......
Open out minds now to understand Your truth...
Open our hearts to cherish those truths...
Embolden us to live out Your truths...
For Your truth is the only truth worth knowing and standing on!
.......
And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
.......
Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,
10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
So, let’s look at our first point...
.......
However, before we do...
I want to let you know we are going to be expounding this passage a little differently than we normally do...
Since Jesus gives the parable in full in one part and then explains it right afterwords in a second part...
We are going to jump back and forth from the parable and the explanation of the parable...
So, every verse will be covered but we will go a little out of order in order to concentrate on one point at a time...
So, our first point will be The Purpose of Parables.
1) The Purpose of Parables
1) The Purpose of Parables
Verses 4 & 9-10 : And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,...And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Before we can start exploring the parable that Jesus gives us...
We need to understand what a parable is in the first place?
And why did Jesus use parables as a favorite teaching tool?
.......
The MacArthur Study Bible has this helpful note on parables to kick start our study this morning:
“Parables were a common form of teaching in Judaism.
.......
A parable is a long analogy, often cast in the form of a story.
Before this point in His ministry, Jesus had employed many graphic analogies, but their meaning was fairly clear in the context of His teaching.
Parables required more explanation and Jesus employed them to obscure the truth from unbelievers while making it clearer to His disciples.
.......
For the remainder of His Galilean ministry, He did not speak to the multitudes except in parables.
Jesus’ veiling the truth from unbelievers this way was both an act of judgment and an act of mercy.
It was ‘judgment’ because it kept them in the darkness that they loved, but it was ‘mercy’ because they had already rejected the light, so any exposure to more truth would only increase their condemnation.”
.......
Additionally, it should be noted that Jesus references Isaiah 6:9-10 and describes God’s act of judicially blinding unbelievers...
So, here Jesus is saying the ones Isaiah writes about are they who do not respond to Jesus’ teaching in faith...
They hear the parables that Jesus is saying but they do not understand the true meaning of it...
To those outside...
The parables of Jesus are a riddle...
The reason for this is because they willfully hardened their hearts against the truth, God judicially hardened them, just as He did with Pharaoh...
While such people cannot understand spiritual truth, believers can.
.......
If you survey the Gospels you will notice that recorded within them are some sixty different parables of Jesus...
So, the parable was truly a favorite teaching tool of our Lord and Savior.
.......
Consider too, this note on parables by New Testament scholar James R. Edwards:
“Most of Jesus’ parables intended to teach something about the kingdom of God, which he illustrated by everyday episodes of fishing and farming, housekeeping and family life, royalty and banquets.
No special knowledge or vocabulary was required to understand Jesus’ parables.
Parables reflect daily life, but they are not simple or easily understood.
Jesus’ parables often confront hearers with the unexpected, confounding them and forcing them to perceive things in a new light.
A few of Jesus’ parables have allegorical qualities, but allegory is not their chief characteristic.
In allegory an element in a story equates directly with a reality outside the story, and once the equation is made, the story itself ceases to be significant.
An allegory can be objectively resolved, but one must enter into a parable if one is to understand the kingdom of God.
Parables are like stained-glass windows in a cathedral, dull and lifeless from the outside, but brilliant and radiant from within.
Parables do not simply dispense good advice.
They are good news, but the good news cannot be understood apart from the one who announces it.
The life of Jesus is the greatest parable of all.”
.......
Now in Matthew’s account of this same event he provides a little more dialogue that Jesus shared with His disciples...
That can be found in Matthew 13:10-17 which says:
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Jesus continue to employ parables in His ministry to the point that records that Jesus did not speak to the crowds without a parable as Mark 4:33-34 records for us:
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
So, we really see how the parables were used by Jesus as a weapon...
It was a tool to hide the truth from some and enlighten others according to the purpose of God’s will.
.......
Even today...
When we simply recite the truth of the Word of God we are meet with two types of reactions...
We either are meet with hostility and disinterest...
Or we are meet with joy and reception...
And this has to do with what kind of person we are dealing with.
.......
A natural person or a person of the world who lives by the flesh...
They cannot understand the truth of God...
Not to it fullest extent...
Yet, those who are born again and live by the spirit...
They are able to discern the truth contained in God’s Word...
For things of the Spirit of God can only be spiritually discerned...
Or as 1 Corinthians 2:14 says:
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
.......
Even Jesus who taught and preached perfectly...
Even Jesus who was perfect and sinless...
Even He was meet with hostility to the message He gave...
For the ones who are not of God can’t accept the words of God!
John 8:43–47 records this truth for us to keep in mind:
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
.......
So, now that we have discussed what a parable is and it’s purpose...
Let’s get to the parable itself...
Let’s get to our second point of our message today.
2) The Path
2) The Path
Verses 5 & 11-12: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it...Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
In a parable it is crucial to identify what a term represents...
Like who is the sower?
And what is the seed?
The disciples needed some help with this so Jesus guided them and guides us now too.
.......
So, the “sower” in the parable is primarily represented by Jesus and in a secondary sense every faithful preacher of the Gospel...
The various soils mentioned in this parable represent human hearts...
And the “seed” is the Word of God.
.......
Regarding the Word of God in relation to this parable the Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke says:
“The productivity of the various soils depends solely on how the word of God is heard.
Right hearing is hearing that leads to faith, and right faith is faith that leads to behaviors consistent with the word of God.
.......
The three initial hearings—the seed sown on hard earth that the birds/devil take away, the seed sown on rock that does not take root, and the seed sown among thorns that is choked out—are not unproductive because the word has been wrongly or only partially proclaimed.
The fourth and final hearing of the good soil, likewise, is not productive because the word has been better and more fully proclaimed.
The problem is not the proclamation:
The seed—the word of God—is the same life-giving element in all four instances.
How the word of God is heard is the sole deciding factor in whether the word will bear fruit or not.”
.......
This illustration of the Word of God being the seed is again used by the apostle Peter...
Clearly remembering what Jesus taught him in this parable he later says in 1 Peter 1:23:
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
.......
Now that we have defined and identified all the key terms...
Let’s take a look at the first of the four areas that the seed falls on...
Let’s take a look at what it means that some seed fell on the pathways.
.......
You see Church, Jesus is referring to pathways through fields that are not plowed, and how seed that falls there is wasted...
He was not referring to a thoroughfare or highway, but to the beaten paths that separated the narrow strips of cultivated land...
Farmers used those paths to access their plowed fields, and travelers used them to travel through the countryside...
As these paths were not plowed, in the dry semi-arid climate of Israel, they would become virtually as hard as concrete.
.......
So, the seed cannot sink into the ground so it is crushed by foot traffic or snatched from the surface by birds...
You see Beloved, birds are often a figure for evil in Judaism...
And here the bird devouring the seed is a reference to the work Satan does against the spreading of the Word of God in people’s hearts.
.......
So, the first group of that is addressed by Jesus represents those whose response never has a chance to germinate...
The cause of this tragedy is that Satan comes and prevents the message from taking root in the person’s heart...
For such people, hearing is the only thing that happens...
There is no attraction to the message or reflection on it.
.......
This immediately brings to mind the first interaction between humans and our enemy, Satan...
This immediately brings to mind the account found in Genesis 3:1 which says:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Did God actually say?
Did God actually say?
Did God actually say?
Four words...
When stringed together in this order are very deadly...
Many lives have been lost for an eternity because of this very question!
The questioning of God’s truth is the primary strategy of Satan from the very beginning and he still uses this same tactic to this very day!
For Satan knows that if he can get you to doubt God...
If he can get you to doubt God’s goodness...
If he can get you to doubt the promises of God in His Word...
Then he has got you in his cross hair and he will not hesitate to deliver the killing blow!
.......
The apostle Paul warns of Satan’s evil schemes as recorded in 2 Corinthians 4:4:
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Satan and his minions are relentlessly working against all of mankind...
They continue to blind the mind of unbelievers...
Devouring the seed before it can even grow in a person...
This is our very real enemy and he will not stop...
His demons will not stop...
As this is guerrilla warfare and the spiritual warfare we are all a prat of whether we like it or not.
.......
So Beloved, be warned...
As 1 Peter 5:8 says:
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The only way to stand up to the devil is to surrender to God...
And accept the truth in the Word of God...
But before we get to the good soil...
We still have a few other places to discuss regarding were the seed also fell...
And this takes us to our third point.
3) The Rock
3) The Rock
Verses 6 & 13: And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture...And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
A second portion of the seed falls on rock, a thin layer of ground with limestone right under the topsoil, a condition common in the Palestinian hill country.
This is not a field with many rocks, but a base of rock under the soil...
The underlying rock bed was deep enough below the surface to avoid being struck by the plow so it was not easily detected.
.......
So, Jesus is talking about rock covered with a layer of soil too shallow to hold sufficient moisture...
Basically, this is a situation were a plant does not have sufficient root depth to absorb essential moisture to live...
In other words, the root cannot receive water because the ground cannot hold moisture.
.......
Our Lord and Savior is talking about those who for a time looked like believers but they eventually departed from the way of truth to reveal that they were never actually part of God’s family and had never truly and savingly believed in Jesus Christ as it says in 1 John 2:19:
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
So, when Jesus says this group “believe for a while” it is merely intellectual “faith” and not saving faith.
.......
Often times in Scripture we will see that it says that some people will “fall away” from the faith...
This is the group of people Jesus is talking about...
And again this does not mean they were genuine believers and then fell away...
No, that is not it!
This means they appeared to be believers...
They may have even joined a church as a member and started volunteering in different areas of the church...
For a time they seemed like legit believers...
But it was only for a time...
When testing came...
They crumbled...
They lost what they never really had from the beginning...
Basically, they were shown to be false converts.
As Matthew 24:10–12 says:
10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.
This was something the apostles dealt with in the early church...
John the Beloved wrote 1 John in response to a group that left his church and became false teachers...
Teaching a kind of pre-Gnosticism...
We covered that epistle when I first came here.
.......
Paul deals with this issue two when he warns of many of the Galatians following the false teaching of the Judiazers...
He does not hold back when he says in Galatians 1:6:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
Even today we are seeing those who seemed like fellow brother and sisters in Christ leaving the faith to join cults and apostate churches...
As shocking as this may seem it was foretold in Scripture...
1 Timothy 4:1 says:
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
.......
Consider 2 Timothy 4:3–4 and tell me if this does not sound like our time right now:
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
If a person claims to be a follower of Christ that is great but give it time...
The true follower of Christ will endure until the end...
They will praise the God of the Bible in good times and times of testing...
They will not be seduced by false teachers that tech a different gospel.
And they will always bear good fruit...
As this is a by product of saving faith...
And this takes us to our fourth point.
4) The Thorns
4) The Thorns
Verses 7 &14: And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it...And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Jesus is describing thorns which are hardy, fast-growing weeds...
As New Testament theologian, Darrel L. Bock says:
“The third group of seed falls in good ground, but shares that ground with greedy neighbors:
Thorns.
These Palestinian weeds can grow up to six feet tall and often bud with flowers of various colors: red, blue, or yellow.
They also take so much nourishment from the ground that nothing else can grow around them.
Despite the plowing that would have accompanied the growing season, such thistles inevitably remain.
The seed is not purposely mixed with thorns, but when the seed sprouted, thorns are also present.
Once again, an outside factor has intervened to prevent the seed from producing fruit.”
So, Christ is talking about those who are distracted by affluence as the cares and riches and pleasures of life hinder the Word of God from coming to full fruition in these people’s lives.
.......
There is a reason why Scripture over and over again warns of greed and the love of money...
As 1 Timothy 6:10 says:
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Again, it must be understood that those who “wandered away” from the faith where never truly born again in the first place...
These are individuals who heard the Gospel message and thought it sounded good until they realized that doing the will of God would interfere with there love of the material things of this world.
.......
They like the idea of adding Jesus to their life but they want to keep the love of money and comfort in their heart too...
They may like some of what Jesus has to say but they will not actually surrender to Him...
And that won’t do, Beloved.
.......
Instead of craving money and the comforts of this would we are called to trust in God...
For He provides us with true joy and spiritual comfort...
As Hebrews 13:5 says:
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
.......
We are instructed in Scripture to not be anxious about anything in this world...
For to be anxious is to lack trust in God...
To be anxious is to lack trust in God’s perfect Word...
So, take to heart the truth found in Philippians 4:6 which says:
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
.......
For the ones who take everything to God in prayer and supplication...
The ones who depend on Him for everything...
The ones who trust in God’s goodness and faithfulness...
And the ones who trust in God’s Word...
They are the ones who truly and genuinely surrender to God and are His children...
For they receive the Gospel message with an honest and good heart...
And that takes us to our fifth point.
5) The Good Soil
5) The Good Soil
Verses 8(a) & 15 : And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold”...As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Let’s start by defining a few key words...
The phrase “a hundredfold” is an abundance far beyond what any crop can be expected to produce...
For example, typical agricultural yields ranged from about fivefold to fifteenfold...
And a tenfold return was considered a good crop...
So, a hundredfold return represents the blessing of God.
.......
The term “hearing” refers to understanding and believing...
The word “hold” refers to ongoing obedience as a test of a true and living faith is perseverance...
The phrase “bear fruit” is in reference to good works...
And the word “patience” can also be accurately translated to “perseverance.”
.......
So, in contrast to the first three soils, the seed in the good soil produces genuine salvation...
Luke has mentioned this before in Jesus’ teaching in our study and here it is again...
The life of a believer will always be accompanied by good fruit...
It is a must!
As pastor John MacArthur says:
“As both Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts reveal, there are varying degrees of fruitfulness.
All believers, however, will bear some genuine fruit; fruitlessness is a mark of false, non-saving faith.”
.......
But before one can bear good fruit...
One must surrender to the Lord...
One must surrender to the life saving message found in the Word of God in total humility and meekness...
As James 1:21 says:
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
With an honest and good heart we must hear and accept the word’s of Christ...
We must cherish it’s truth and it our conviction is true...
Then we will experience eternal life...
As Jesus promised in John 5:24:
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
.......
As born again believers we will not be deceived by Satan and the false gospels he peddles through his false prophets!
As born again believers we will not falter when we are going through hard testing!
As born again believers we will not exchange the allegiance to God for the love of money and worldly comforts!
In all the obstacles that would lead us from God we will endure and persevere due to the Holy Spirit who now lives in use and seals us...
As Romans 5:3–5 says:
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
.......
So, those with eyes to see and ears to hear will acknowledge the the words of Christ...
And live by them...
And this takes us to our sixth and final point of our message today.
6) The Call to Action
6) The Call to Action
Verses 8(b) : As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
With this closing phrase, Jesus is calling on His audience to do more than hear...
He wants them to understand and apply His teaching to their lives.
.......
The phrase “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” is a popular one that Jesus uses...
We witness these repeated throughout the book of Revelation...
And along with that phrase comes the promises to those who do hear with a humble and honest heart.
.......
Just take a look at what it says in Revelation 2:7:
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
In Revelation 2:11 Jesus says:
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
And for good measure take a look with me at what it says in Revelation 2:17:
17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
.......
What beautiful and amazing promises by our Lord...
All we have to do is surrender and genuinely surrender our will and desires to Jesus!
All we have to do is surrender and genuinely accept the Gospel message!
All we have to do is surrender and genuinely accept the Word of God as containing the truth of eternal life!
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study this week:
During a particular drought several years ago, much of the seed that had been planted did not come up.
The seed that did produced runty plants that promised a scanty yield, if any at all.
Grass burned up in the intense heat, and the cattle nearly starved.
Many farmers were forced to sell their cattle.
Except those who faced bankruptcy or foreclosure, few farmers were giving up. In many cases they could be seen plowing up hopelessly lost crops and planting other seed.
They worked in hopes of refreshing rain and an eventual harvest.
.......
If they were so persistent, should sowers of the seed of the Word of God do less?
.......
Yes, many will reject our witness.
Others will receive it superficially, only to show their true colors when the going gets rough.
Some will act like they are truly saved but will yield no harvest as they get caught up in the temporal things of this age and reveal they never knew Him.
But we must persist, knowing that others will be saved and will give themselves wholeheartedly to the service of the Lord, yielding an abundance of souls led to Christ
.......
So, let us go and share the good news with all!
Let us go and share how Jesus came down from heaven to save a people who were headed for destruction!
Let us go and share how Jesus was the the Good Shepherd and went after us while we were lost!
Let us go and share how Jesus was the light in the darkness!
Let us go and share how it was Jesus who sacrificed His life for us!
.......
And it is now about Christ’s sacrifice that we bring our attention to.
Communion
Communion
As we begin our communion service, I want to invite every genuinely born-again believer in the room to partake in this act together.
If you do not yet know the Lord and do not have a relationship with Him...
Or if you are under church discipline from this church or another church...
Then I will ask that you wait until you have resolved your issue before participating.
.......
As you came in you should have picked up a communion packet if you are joining us.
This has both the bread and juice in a convenient package.
.......
If you have not received one of these please raise your hand and someone will get you one.
.......
Before we join in communion together, I would like us to consider the words of the hymn “Man of Sorrows! What a Name” by Philip P. Bliss:
“Man of Sorrows,” what a name
For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
.......
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood;
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
.......
Guilty, vile, and helpless, we,
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full redemption—can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
.......
Lifted up was He to die,
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high;
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
.......
When He comes, our glorious King,
To His kingdom us to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
.......
So, Beloved...
Let’s all take a moment right now in silent prayer to thank the Lord for all He did for us...
(MOMENT OF SILENCE)
.......
Tom will you pray before we partake in the bread:
.......
The Word of God says in Luke 22:19:
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
(TAKE THE BREAD)
.......
Adrian will you pray before we partake in the cup:
.......
The Word of God says in Luke 22:20:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(TAKE THE CUP)
.......
With that we conclude the communion portion of our service.
.......
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
.......
Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.